air conditioner problem

[dyyuan]

hmm, dealer just called and told me it'd be $145 to look at the problem.
but he's "pretty sure it'd be covered under warranty, unless a rock hit the compressor or something".

is this now a standard thing they do?

 

[djjazzy]

Dropped my car off Tues evening for a Wed am appointment, and service advisor stated that he just finish dealing with another Leaf owner who said the A/C went out again, after already having the High Pressure tube/hose replaced 2 times already! But the tube/hose was replaced with the same original part, not the newer version. Same part, same problem. This Service Dept just became aware of Service bulletin NTB14-045B ( to replace hose with updated high pressure hose ) I was told I'd be getting the updated hose, and it was instock, so hose was replaced and system recharged and checked for leaks, none found, and op checked good. One day service, from Nissan Serramonte. If you have the high pressure hose replaced, be sure to have it replaced with the updated hose. BTW, I was not charged the $150 to "look at the car"

 

[chansman]

One more report to throw in here - my 2013 LEAF S, started life Jan-2014, one morning just made a hissing noise when the A/C was turned on, no cooling (and still hissing/gurgling) after about 10 seconds, shut it back off and knew I needed to take it in for service. Service wrote-up "tech tested A/C and found 0 PSI in system. added refrigerant. found leak at condenser to high pressure tube. recommend replace condenser and high pressure line". Same stuff everyone else seems to be reporting here - except since I shut it off immediately after noticing the problem, I probably saved the compressor from overheating damage. "Yay, Nissan quality!" in sarcasm, but "yay, Nissan warranty" in honesty. Glad I don't have to pay for it, and the parts will only take 1 day to get here. Woot!

I'm taking mine in for this same issue tomorrow. It started hissing and now isn't cooling. It's a 2013 S with 16,000. I'm glad there's only 8 months left on the lease.

 

[gustavo]

This is a topic dear to my heart. I have had the "high pressure ac line" replaced now three times. The last time, the dealership told me there was a service bulletin about a new part because of so many problems with the old part. Mine is a 2013 leaf with hoses now replaced in 2013, 2014, and 2015 ("newly designed part"). If you have this problem, you should ask Nissan about the service bulletin. In my opinion, the part is defective.

 

[foolios]

I've been bit in the hind quarters twice by the same AC problem others here are reporting.

Leased a 2013 S in late March '13. Everything ran perfectly and my wife I were thrilled with the car. Late summer '13 the AC forgot how to chill. Took it in, they replaced hoses and fittings (no wait for parts, luckily), and for the rest of the summer it was great.

This year, it was, again, perfect all year until the last two days, when the AC went from performing normally to barely chilling the air to not chilling at all in about 48 hours.

Tomorrow morning I will call the dealer and book a repair appointment, and hope that the dealer (a high-volume auto mall) again has the parts in stock.

As for what's causing these issues, I have to agree with the comment earlier in this topic that it likely wasn't Nissan or their Smyrna plant, but the supplier. I'm sure Nissan doesn't build the AC components; it sounds like one of their suppliers needs to spend a little more time on QA.

I leased mine, 2013 S in late March '14. A/C problems began this holiday weekend, 05/22/2015.
I can't figure out from the warranty manual whether the A/C is still under warranty. 11,600 miles on it.
Any help on figuring that out would be appreciated. I tried to make a call to the dealership today, but they are closed for the holiday.

Thanks in advance for any info.

EDIT: Previous page had the answer; 36 months.

Thanks for the posts!

 

[accessmark]

Same with me. 2013 leaf purchased in Colorado sept 13. Taking in today for 2nd time this year and once in 2014. Great car bad ac. Probably my first and last Nissan purchase.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Anyway, I have a 2013 SV that has had zero problems with the A/C. However, the warranty ends next Spring, and I may extend my lease one more year or even buy the car if the offer is good enough. Having had A/C units fail on Hondas, Toyotas, Volvos, etc long before I sold the cars, though, I want to avoid having the A/C fail and kill the compressor after the warranty ends. How do the prospects look for a TSB on this, for all of the 2013 units...?

 

[ElectricEddy]

Anyway, I have a 2013 SV that has had zero problems with the A/C. However, the warranty ends next Spring, and I may extend it one more year or even buy the car if the offer is good enough. Having had A/C units fail on Hondas, Toyotas, Volvos, etc long before I sold the cars, though, I want to avoid having the A/C fail and kill the compressor after the warranty ends. How do the prospects look for a TSB on this, for all of the 2013 units...?

NTB14-045a is the only service bulletin I am aware of concerning possible leak in a line that should be replaced with a new one. I will be asking Nissan when I bring Lithy in later this month for the second year "battery check" if they feel it is neccesary.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I suppose that I could spend $150 to have the newer design hose installed even if I have no problem, but I'd do that only if buying the car off lease.

 

[Thetechlink]

I just bought a used 2013 Nissan leaf s 2 months ago. The air conditioner just stopped cooling. Did not notice any noise just the lack of noise. Have service scheduled for next week. After seeing this forum I am wondering if I should upgrade to the Nissan 100000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. Has anyone found the price of a repair without warranty?

 

[JohnB]

I had my A/C stop working over the summer. I regret getting this Leaf.

 

[jpadc]

I had my A/C stop working over the summer. I regret getting this Leaf.

Welcome JohnB to MNL. I assume the regret has more to do with other things about the car than just the AC as that they will fix under warranty. There is lots of info on this site that can be helpful to owners to ease some of the frustrations of the limited range and other things that make the car a bit frustrating at times. Hopefully some of that info will help you as well.

 

[jjeff]

My A/C just quit blowing cold air when I ran it today 2/12/15. I probably use the A/c about 1-2 times a week just to be sure it's working, even in the winter time. Out here in SF bay area, we have mild winters. Don't really use the A/C that much even during the summer, as my commute is only 25 mins along 280 and 101.

2013 S
Purchased Sept 2013
11,005 miles

Is it still under warranty? No extended warranty was purchased.

Must be the same "leak due to a small crack at the “end form” of the A/C pipe."
that I've been reading about. Service bulletin NTB14-045a

First warm day here in MN since fall(last Sept??) and went to use the A/C on my '13S(put into service June '14, ~2yrs old 20K miles) but only luke warm air
Outside fans come on when A/C is turned on but never blow warm air, suspecting low on freon/coolant?? Living in MN A/C hasn't been used since last September?? Wow, basically one season of light use and it's out :? Have appointment for next Tuesday, no mention about a down payment, assume it should all be covered under warranty.
Just for the heck of it I tried the A/C on my '12SL(purchased used a couple months ago, was originally from LA so I'm sure the AC got a workout) and luckily it was blowing cold air. I say luckily because vehicle was put into service on 11/'12, which means the 3 year warranty expired in Nov of '15, heck I don't think I even tried the A/C until now and being over 30 days from purchase I doubt the dealer's warranty would still be in effect. With past cars, Toyotas, Geo, Scion, etc. I never had A/C issues until the 8-10 year mark, less than 2 years and only 20K miles is pretty bad IMO
I'll mention to the service adviser the Service Bulletin NTB14-045B that was mentioned earlier in this thread.
Damn, it's warm here again today, 80

 

[LeftieBiker]

Maybe I should post the plans here for my 12 volt accessory plug-powered "Portable Freeze-Block A/C." It got me through several years when the A/C failed in my '86 Civic Si. It's more like a dehumidifier in genuinely hot weather, but even that helps a little.

 

[kap0w]

How cold should the air conditioner be on these cars? I just picked up a 2013 SV and I believe that year switch to a heat pump design for both heat and AC. I used my AC for the first time yesterday on a mild day - probably low 70s but hotter in the car - and it seemed like it was helping but only extremely slowly. Not blowing hot air, but not blowing cold. Should I expect this thing to perform like most any other AC system?

 

[jjeff]

How cold should the air conditioner be on these cars? I just picked up a 2013 SV and I believe that year switch to a heat pump design for both heat and AC. I used my AC for the first time yesterday on a mild day - probably low 70s but hotter in the car - and it seemed like it was helping but only extremely slowly. Not blowing hot air, but not blowing cold. Should I expect this thing to perform like most any other AC system?

I'm not sure about the heat pump cooling but with my '13S with the regular cooling, last year when it was working I easily saw a 30+ degree drop from the temp going back into the A/C system. That is if the air in the car was 90 it would be blowing out <60 degree air, once it cooled down to 80 it would be ~50 degrees, etc. I don't believe the heat pump system produces as much drop, but I don't have one and could be wrong, but the temps your describing would make me think you should have seen cooler discharge temps......I do know the old R12 based cooling systems produced an even larger drop, with those I remember discharges in the 40s and occasionally 30s Ahhh, the benefit of a cooling system that depleted our ozone layer.......
I've never seen what the official "ton" or BTU rating is for the Leaf A/C, either regular or heat pump, but I do know on some of the older cars 5 tons(60K BTU) wasn't unheard of, so large when it kicked in you could feel it even on a 6 cylinder engine, I'm sure our Leaf is nowhere near that nor would we want it to be, running on battery and all.

 

[LeftieBiker]

The heat pump A/C mode is just as cold as any other car's. If it feels tepid or just "cool" it isn't working properly.

 

[jjeff]

My A/C just quit blowing cold air when I ran it today 2/12/15. I probably use the A/c about 1-2 times a week just to be sure it's working, even in the winter time. Out here in SF bay area, we have mild winters. Don't really use the A/C that much even during the summer, as my commute is only 25 mins along 280 and 101.

2013 S
Purchased Sept 2013
11,005 miles

Is it still under warranty? No extended warranty was purchased.

Must be the same "leak due to a small crack at the “end form” of the A/C pipe."
that I've been reading about. Service bulletin NTB14-045a

First warm day here in MN since fall(last Sept??) and went to use the A/C on my '13S(put into service June '14, ~2yrs old 20K miles) but only luke warm air
Outside fans come on when A/C is turned on but never blow warm air, suspecting low on freon/coolant?? Living in MN A/C hasn't been used since last September?? Wow, basically one season of light use and it's out :? Have appointment for next Tuesday, no mention about a down payment, assume it should all be covered under warranty.
Just for the heck of it I tried the A/C on my '12SL(purchased used a couple months ago, was originally from LA so I'm sure the AC got a workout) and luckily it was blowing cold air. I say luckily because vehicle was put into service on 11/'12, which means the 3 year warranty expired in Nov of '15, heck I don't think I even tried the A/C until now and being over 30 days from purchase I doubt the dealer's warranty would still be in effect. With past cars, Toyotas, Geo, Scion, etc. I never had A/C issues until the 8-10 year mark, less than 2 years and only 20K miles is pretty bad IMO
I'll mention to the service adviser the Service Bulletin NTB14-045B that was mentioned earlier in this thread.
Damn, it's warm here again today, 80

Well I took my '13S in for A/C service today, and while we had 4 days in a row of the 80s, today it was 50s :? felt a little funny having the A/C serviced when it was 50 out but that was the first appointment they had. And the damage.......$679, which luckily was totally covered by Nissan. Note when dropping it off I had to agree to pay the $169 diagnostic fee(if it wasn't a warranty issue) but since I was very sure it would be, I didn't think twice about it. I'm not sure how happy I'd have been paying $679 1 year from now(when the 3 year warranty is expired) but for now all is good.......well I hope all is good, since it was only 55 degrees when I picked it up, I'll have to take their word for it, the air felt cold coming out of the vents even with the A/C off :lol:

What was done according to invoice:

"Tech found A/C inop, found broken line for high side, bulletin to replace line, refrigerant leak.
TD12AA RPL HIGH PRESSURE TUBE/HOSE
1 92440-3NF0C PIPE FRONT COOLER HIGH
1 R-134A FREON
TB777A COMBINATION: EVACUATE/RECHARGE - 134A
SYSTEMS ONLY
PART#92440-3NF0C
NTB14-045"

Everything was found out to be A-OK, including a 410 CCA test of my 12v battery
Oh the description the service advisory gave me of what was done was a bracket that held the high pressure refrigerant line apparently puts stress on the line, causing it to prematurely crack. The replacement bracket is apparently designed differently and has foam?? surrounding the hose, again to reduce stress and I'd assume wear on the hose. I'll have to look it over later as I do wonder why my '12SL that came from CA and I'd assume had LOTS more use than my '13S still seems to be cooling......different designed hose? Better assembly in Japan?

 

[DuncanCunningham]

I took my Wife's 2015 S in for tire rotation and yearly battery check this morning. The girl booking me in said that there was a recall that she hadn't seen before. She had to find out if they had in the parts in stock and then told me it would be several hours work to resolve it.

Maybe this is a new recall and you should all be calling your dealership with your VIN to see if yours is included in the recall work?

 

[91040]

The new recall is probably for the passenger air bag sensor.