I need some wisdom and advice both on the mechanical issue in question and on dealing w/ my Nissan dealer. I''ll try to make this as short as possible.
99 max SE w/ the electronic climate controls. Everything running fine until a few months ago i started getting nothing but hot air. HOT as in ran through the heater core air. Fan speeds all work fine, selector of what vents i want it to come out of work fine, Electronic unit works like it always has, but all get is HOT no matter what i do. Did some research here on the forum and in other places and figured out it is most likely the mix door motor/actuator way down under/behind the dash. Not a hugely expensive part but a nightmare to access. I haven't had a car worked on other than ordinary service in 10+ years so i can usually get things accomplished on my own but the thought of messing with that made me want to hurt myself so i thought I'd take it to the dealer. I would be happy to write a check for $500 just to get it fixed without messing with it.
Took it in and described my issue to the service intake guy who is an old aquaintance of mine. He is a good guy so i believe everything he tells me is legit. I left it and told him to call me when the tech has had a chance to look at it and could quote me a price. Hour later he calls and says that the tech told him I'm completely out of refrigerant bc my low pressure hose is leaking and they need to order the hose, pressure check and recharge to the tune of $500 something. That's way more than i could that job for but whatever, id be happy to have it up and going and in good shape for the 110+ degrees that are coming.
BUT......I cant imagine that that is what is causing the problem i described! I should be able to at least run in air form the outside without the AC system pressurized, correct? So I asked him to inquire of the tech why it would be that i couldn't even get ambient ar from the outside (vent air) if the only thing wrong was the ac pressure. He calls me back and said that the tech was irritated (something about asking if I was REALLY asking that question) and then related a message from the tech about the "sliders working fine" (scary since i have electronic unit) and then did a further explanation that i really didn't fully understand. He talked about the compressor not engaging b/c of the low pressure blah blah blah - all true!, but why can't I get vent air?? So i said all i want is for the HVAC to work correctly, are you saying that $500-whatever will do that? And he said yes.
SOOOOO now im sitting here thinking. Parts wont be in until Friday so no work has been done yet. I have nothing in writing. Do i go back up there and insist on a printed estimate/quote? And if so I'm assuming i need one that lists the problem i was having rather than a quote just for the work he wants to do.
My fear is that I get a $500 bill and a car that STILL wont blow anything but hot air because it has been the effing mix door the whole time. Then a quote for $500 more if I want them to do the next step. I just picture the tech seeing "blows hot" on the paperwork, hooking up the gauges, finding a leak and making a quote without addressing why i actually brought them the vehicle. so my questions are.....
1) Mechanically am i wrong when i say that the problem i am having cannot simply be caused by a broken low pressure hose discharging the AC system?
2) how do i deal with the dealership to assure that they wont be expecting me to fork over $500 for a car that STILL blows hot air after they perform a service that i don't think addresses the problem my car is having?
What should i do next? Sorry for the novel! I appreciate your time and help.
99 max SE w/ the electronic climate controls. Everything running fine until a few months ago i started getting nothing but hot air. HOT as in ran through the heater core air. Fan speeds all work fine, selector of what vents i want it to come out of work fine, Electronic unit works like it always has, but all get is HOT no matter what i do. Did some research here on the forum and in other places and figured out it is most likely the mix door motor/actuator way down under/behind the dash. Not a hugely expensive part but a nightmare to access. I haven't had a car worked on other than ordinary service in 10+ years so i can usually get things accomplished on my own but the thought of messing with that made me want to hurt myself so i thought I'd take it to the dealer. I would be happy to write a check for $500 just to get it fixed without messing with it.
Took it in and described my issue to the service intake guy who is an old aquaintance of mine. He is a good guy so i believe everything he tells me is legit. I left it and told him to call me when the tech has had a chance to look at it and could quote me a price. Hour later he calls and says that the tech told him I'm completely out of refrigerant bc my low pressure hose is leaking and they need to order the hose, pressure check and recharge to the tune of $500 something. That's way more than i could that job for but whatever, id be happy to have it up and going and in good shape for the 110+ degrees that are coming.
BUT......I cant imagine that that is what is causing the problem i described! I should be able to at least run in air form the outside without the AC system pressurized, correct? So I asked him to inquire of the tech why it would be that i couldn't even get ambient ar from the outside (vent air) if the only thing wrong was the ac pressure. He calls me back and said that the tech was irritated (something about asking if I was REALLY asking that question) and then related a message from the tech about the "sliders working fine" (scary since i have electronic unit) and then did a further explanation that i really didn't fully understand. He talked about the compressor not engaging b/c of the low pressure blah blah blah - all true!, but why can't I get vent air?? So i said all i want is for the HVAC to work correctly, are you saying that $500-whatever will do that? And he said yes.
SOOOOO now im sitting here thinking. Parts wont be in until Friday so no work has been done yet. I have nothing in writing. Do i go back up there and insist on a printed estimate/quote? And if so I'm assuming i need one that lists the problem i was having rather than a quote just for the work he wants to do.
My fear is that I get a $500 bill and a car that STILL wont blow anything but hot air because it has been the effing mix door the whole time. Then a quote for $500 more if I want them to do the next step. I just picture the tech seeing "blows hot" on the paperwork, hooking up the gauges, finding a leak and making a quote without addressing why i actually brought them the vehicle. so my questions are.....
1) Mechanically am i wrong when i say that the problem i am having cannot simply be caused by a broken low pressure hose discharging the AC system?
2) how do i deal with the dealership to assure that they wont be expecting me to fork over $500 for a car that STILL blows hot air after they perform a service that i don't think addresses the problem my car is having?
What should i do next? Sorry for the novel! I appreciate your time and help.
Senior Member
Since you know where the air mix door motor is, take a look at it and see if it works. Get down in the passenger foot well and take the plastic trim piece off that covers the end of the ECU. Turn the ignition switch on (you don't have to start the car) and change the temperature setting from hot to cold while you watch the arm on the air mix door motor. If everything is good, the arm will move. If the arm doesn't, something is messed up but it isn't because of the a/c not having a charge.
There is a built in self diagnostic you could also run. Click on this link to view section HA (heater & air conditioner) of the FSM: http://boredmder.com/FSMs/Nissan/Maxima/1999/HA.pdf
Go to page 70 and follow the procedure. There is one section of the diagnostic that takes kinda long, so don't worry that the test hung up.
There is a built in self diagnostic you could also run. Click on this link to view section HA (heater & air conditioner) of the FSM: http://boredmder.com/FSMs/Nissan/Maxima/1999/HA.pdf
Go to page 70 and follow the procedure. There is one section of the diagnostic that takes kinda long, so don't worry that the test hung up.
Member who somehow became The President of The SE-L Club
Where do you live? What's the temp outside?
You should be able to blow outside air in but remember even if you set the system to 65, if the cabin temp is lower then 65, it's going to blow hot air.
You should be able to blow outside air in but remember even if you set the system to 65, if the cabin temp is lower then 65, it's going to blow hot air.