| Mikecnj |
The heat is not adequate and there is a buzzing/warbling noise when fan is set on high or one notch below high.
Brought to dealer once and they stated that the heat was working at 100% (heat coming out of center high vents 130 degrees). They also were not able to hear the fan noise.
We have the factory installed auto-start and after running for 20 minutes in winter weather interior is still cold.
We leave the heat setting at 90 degrees always when driving and the interior is still not comfortable. Any one else experience this problem. |
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| milgrad |
| I am not aware of any heating issues...When did Nissan start installing a factory remote start? I have never heard of that before......I have an aftermarket remote start and generally within 15 minutes my MO is nice and warm.... |
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| KSmurano |
| It does seem to take awhile to warm up by the heater, maybe that is why I love those heated seats so much! :D |
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| Doombringer |
Yeah, the heater takes a few minutes to warm up. It sucks, but usually by the time it comes on it is pretty warm.
On my last car, if you put the heater on, it would blow cold air at you for a few minutes until it warmed up. At least on the MO, using "auto" will prevent this. |
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| Mikecnj |
Thanks for the replies.
I have an appointment this Friday, 1-16-04. The dealer installed the auto-start in April 2003. The dealer stated it was a factory item though I will double check. The heated seats do save the day.
It almost seems as though the Murano is poorly insulated. If I direct the heat towards the feet it gets cold almost immediately. The dealer said that maybe we are not use to heat in an SUV which isn't true and I also told them that I am used to being cold or warm and we are constantly discussing how cold we are in the Murano. The next few days are going to be exremely cold here which is why I am bringing it into the dealer on Friday. I will drag a service person with me and drive him/her around until he hears the fan noise and feels how cold it is. I will post results next week. |
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| Mikecnj |
| PS: I'm not sure if my wife (since she drives during the week in the mornings) is leaving it on Auto mode. I think she has it set on front defrost with fan on high. I will give the Auto setting a try. Thanks ! |
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| Eric L. |
| The auto setting defaults to "feet" mode for heating if it is very cold. Seems to work fine for me, so much so that I set my temp at 70 and forget it (I get lows where I live to the single digits). |
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| jaak |
| I've found the heating to be fine, even at -20... |
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| pmw0826 |
| It's been -20F here and today it hasn't gone above 0F and the heat works great. The seat heaters are great also. |
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| Eric L. |
I remember a while back, there was a post about poor heating and it was because the user had an aftermarket stereo or remote start or something installed by Circuit City and they accidentally unplugged the harness for the interior temp sensor. With the sensor unplugged, the automatic climate control did not function correctly. You may want to check that out.
However, if the heat is blowing out at 130 degrees, how much hotter do you really want it? I cannot imagine setting my climate control to 90 degrees, I would roast if it were that hot. |
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| milgrad |
| That was me...I had a remote start installed at Circuit City and the interior sensor was unplugged....I either had ALL heat or ALL cold....plugged it back in and it works fine.... |
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| Mikecnj |
Thanks again for the replies !
There must be a problem specific to our Murano. We have the temp always set at 90 degrees and it is still not comfortable. I will have the dealer check the auto-start that they installed. I'm wondering if it may be the engine thermostat. If the snow doesn't prevent me I will be bringing it in tomorrow. |
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| senza |
| MO heating system excellent...gone through several periods of -40C in last few weeks...multiple fan speeds(8?) provide nice adjustment to your needs...fairly quiet as well..(previous vehicle '01 Durango)..in cold weather cannot use "Auto Mode" as air seems directed to floor area only amd windows fog up |
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| Mikecnj |
| My engine heat gauge sits at (if a clock) at 20 minutes after. Is this the same for everyone? |
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| Eric L. |
quote:
Originally posted by Mikecnj
My engine heat gauge sits at (if a clock) at 20 minutes after. Is this the same for everyone?
Yes that is normal. If you look closely there are two dots near the base of the temp needle. Thats where the "normal" range is. |
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| Mikecnj |
| Left my Murano at the dealer and got my salesmans Murano as a loner. There is a significant difference between the heat coming out of his and what comes out of mine. Hopefully they can find the problem and fix. |
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| Mikecnj |
| Just got back from the dealer and though they did not find a problem they said they increased the coolant ratio. Hard to tell if it made a difference yet. Unfortunately I was not able to reproduce the fan noise so that will have to wait for another trip back. They also replaced the visor clips. No charge for any of it. I do give them credit for trying. Nissan gets all the discredit for my numerous trips to visit the dealer. (Altenator replacement at 6,000 miles, door harness after being locked out numerous times and heat and fan noise twice). Will update next week. Thanks again for the help ! |
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| CVeeT |
My preception on heating, in these northeast supercold day , the heat is adequate, the problem is distribution of it.
In 'Auto' mode, the heat is deflected downward, and no heated air id directed from the AC vents (adjecent to redio) or defrost vents (at windshield). This leaves the upper part colder and takes long time to heat. If I switch the MODE so air is directed below and frontal, car heats pretty OK.
Has anyone noticed the warm air coming out of these front vents in AUTO mode ? |
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| Eric L. |
quote:
Originally posted by CVeeT
My preception on heating, in these northeast supercold day , the heat is adequate, the problem is distribution of it.
In 'Auto' mode, the heat is deflected downward, and no heated air id directed from the AC vents (adjecent to redio) or defrost vents (at windshield). This leaves the upper part colder and takes long time to heat. If I switch the MODE so air is directed below and frontal, car heats pretty OK.
Has anyone noticed the warm air coming out of these front vents in AUTO mode ?
The automatic setting defaults to floor with the theory that warm air rises so the car will heat up faster if it the air is allowed to start at the bottom level. It seems to work fine for me. I like to run the heater with AC off (to save gas) and directing it to face level sometimes causes the windows to fog up (necessitating turning on the defogger and AC). |
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| rdangel |
Hey, I noticed the squeaking sound when I turn the heater on full blast. It's annoying!!
As far as the vents, I am noticing that the airflow is horrible on the dash vents and they are tucked so far away that the air ends up heating the back of the speedo console. I think the vent placement was an afterthought by the guy hired to design the wipers! |
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| Tyler_Canada |
| Not only is floor mode selected on auto when cold because heat rises, but I think the back seat heat comes from the floor setting. I hit auto for the fan setting, then mode to set to floor and windshield. Then I just adjust the temp and leave the other settings alone. According to the service manual, this gives 75% air to the floor, 25% to the window. Occasionally it's not enough to keep the ice of the window, so I switch to defrost only for a while. |
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| billi |
| If you have to keep the temp at 90, I think you have a problem, not a design flaw... |
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| Mikecnj |
Well the heat has improved somewhat since the dealer increased the coolant ratio. The fan noise remains and we will have to keep bringing it back until we can have the mechanic actually hear the noise. Still not really satisfied with the heat but we'll live with it.
We are seriously considering cutting our losses and dumping the Murano. If anything else breaks in the next couple of months we will. We have agreed that we will get rid of it before the 3 year/36k mile warranty runs out. Without a doubt the worst new car experience either of us have had. Thanks again for all of your help ! |
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| jasondeno |
I just purchased a 2003 Murano and am also amazed by how lousy the heat is in it.
I drove mine 15 minutes this morning in 10 degree weather (but it was in the 35 degree garage all night) and it never really warmed up. My feet, ears and hands were are cold by the time I got to the gym. I had the thermo set to 75 and I know it never got there. I had the fan maxed, switched to recirculating the interior air and everything.
I have a 1991 Jeep Cherokee that doesn't have this problem and my good 'ol 87 Toyota 4x4 warms up by then too!
I'll test my coolant mix when I get home, but I don't see what good that'd do. If the coolant is too much water, it'd just freeze solid in this weather (did that in the Toyota once when I forgot I used water instead of Prestone one summer- surprise!). My coolant temp gauge would have gone thru the roof when that happened and it didn't.
One note: I did find that closing the ceiling cover for the sunroof seemed to help a little, but still sub-par. |
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| eager |
I thought I posted on this but I guess not. The heater on the Murano could be better no doubt, but the heated seats do take the bite out of winter.
Setting the auto control at 90 on a really cold day will keep you colder than if you set it lower because of the auto fan speed.
I use manual fan control on about half speed as it is the most effective.
Outside air is supposed to be heated by the heater core when it passes through it. If you think -35 degree air is going to heat to 135 degrees in the milliseconds it spends passing through on the highest fan setting you are asking too much. You must slow the fan down for effective heating at very low temperatures.
Also with the fan on high you are blowing moderately heated air in, and just as much air out somewhere, so the cab surfaces never get a chance to warm up. Until the surfaces warm up the vehicle will never feel warm.
After having command start in my last two vehicles I opted not to install it in this one. The new engines just do not warm up the interior effectively at idle speeds because I don't think the water pumps drive enough water through the heater core pipes at idle rpm. Flow and pump pressure increases with rpm and at idle it is minimal with the flow mostly taking the path of least resistance which is certainly not the heater hoses.
As long as cars are designed for average conditions don't expect them to shine in the extremes. |
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