Nissan Altima Climate Control Problems [Plus Solutions]

In this post, I have explained some reasons your Nissan Altima climate control system is acting up and how to eliminate the problem.

First, here are the common causes of climate control problems in a Nissan Altima:

A bad blower motor relay
A broken mode door actuator
A faulty AC compressor
Insufficient refrigerant in your AC
A leaky low-pressure AC hose
A bad AC compressor control valve.

That said, let’s look at the common problems with Nissan Altima Climate control system and how to go about the issues.

Table of Contents

Nissan Altima Climate Control Problems

1. Climate control doesn’t blow air for the first 8 minutes of driving

If your Nissan Altima climate control system doesn’t blow air until after 8 minutes of driving, the system is faulty. This issue often occurs because you have a bad blower motor relay.

When you turn on the heat in your car, your blower motor relay collects power from your HVAC fuses and sends it to the blower motor. The motor then uses this power to blow air into your car.

Since your blower motor relay is bad, it might take a while to collect power from your HVAC fuses. This means that your blower motor won’t start blowing air on time.

To fix this issue, you’ll need to replace your blower motor relay. This relay is located in a small, black plastic box behind your glove box.

2. Climate control only blows intermittently

A common sign of a problematic climate control system in Nissan Altima cars is that the system only blows intermittently.

If your climate control system stops working occasionally, your mode door actuator may be broken.

The mode door actuator is the component that controls the direction of airflow through the vents. This actuator consists of a group of brushes that roll around a rotor to direct airflow through your vents.

Over time, some brushes on your mode door actuator may weaken. If a weak brush hits your rotor when you choose a vent, it might not be able to transmit your command to the vent. As such, the vent won’t blow air.

Eventually, the weak brush will move away from the rotor, and a good brush may emerge and initiate contact with the rotor. If you set your climate control to blow through another vent at this time, the vent will blow air.

This is why your vents blow sometimes and fail to blow on other occasions.

The only way to resolve this problem is to change your mode door actuator. You’ll find your mode door actuator at the top left area of your climate control case.

3. Noisy Engine

If you keep hearing a weird noise from your engine, there might be a problem with your climate control system.

That said, it’s easy to confuse this issue with an engine problem. The easiest way to confirm that it is a climate control problem is if the AC malfunctions when you hear the noise.

This issue may indicate that your AC compressor is broken.

Ordinarily, your AC compressor produces a low grinding noise when it pumps the refrigerant gas from the air conditioner. But as the compressor gets worn out, it expends more effort in pumping the refrigerant.

The strain in the compressor might increase the grinding noise from the system, making it loud enough for you to hear.

To resolve this issue, you’ll need to change your AC compressor. Look for your AC compressor in front of your engine compartment.

4. AC blows warm air

You can tell that your Nissan Altima climate control is problematic if the AC blows warm air.

Your AC might be blowing warm air because you don’t have enough refrigerant in your AC.

Originally, the air in your AC is hot. Your AC compressor uses the refrigerant in your air conditioner to convert the warm air into the cold air you get.

Without sufficient refrigerant, your AC can’t cool air properly. So, it may release warm air when you turn it on.

Recharge your AC if it keeps blowing warm air.

If your AC blows warm air after you’ve recharged it, the refrigerant in the system might be leaking. Refrigerant leaks are often caused by a tear in the low-pressure AC hose.

After your AC compressor pumps refrigerant gas and cools air with it, some quantity of the refrigerant may be left over. This leftover doesn’t go to waste. Instead, your low-pressure AC hose pumps the extra refrigerant from the cooling process back into the compressor.

If the low-pressure hose gets torn, the refrigerant gas will leak while flowing through the hose. As a result, your AC may use up the refrigerant at the speed of a bullet.

To fix this issue, you’ll need to seal the low-pressure AC hose. But first, you might want to confirm that the hose is actually leaking.

You can check if your AC is leaking by doing a dye test on the system. Spread the dye over your AC and use a UV light to detect leaks. If you notice a leak in the system, you’ll need to seal your low-pressure hose.

Locate the low-pressure AC hose in your engine compartment. You should find the hose between the evaporator coil and the AC compressor.

A faulty AC compressor control valve is another reason your AC might blow warm air.

When your AC compressor pumps refrigerant gas from the AC, the gas passes through a control valve in the compressor.

A normal control valve sucks and discharges refrigerant at the same pace. This ensures that air is cooled properly before moving into your car’s seating area.

But since your compressor control valve is broken, the suction pressure in the valve might be higher than the discharge pressure. So, even if your AC compressor collects sufficient refrigerant, it may not get enough time to cool air before sending it through your vents.

Change your AC compressor control valve to stop the AC from blowing warm air. You’ll find the control valve behind your AC compressor.

Nissan Altima Models with the Most Climate Control Problems

These Nissan Altima models have the most climate control problems:

2002 Nissan Altima
2005 Nissan Altima
2013 Nissan Altima.

According to carcomplaints.com, the most notorious Nissan Altima model for climate control problems is the 2013 Nissan Altima. This car garnered 72 user reports about AC and heater issues.

The 2002 and 2005 models also received many complaints about climate control problems. While 38 users reported problems with their 2002 Nissan Altima climate control system, the 2005 model received 25 complaints.

Nissan Altima Models with the Least Climate Control Problems

Here are the Nissan Altima models with the least climate control problems:

1993 Nissan Altima
1995 Nissan Altima
1996 Nissan Altima
1997 Nissan Altima
1998 Nissan Altima
1999 Nissan Altima
2017 Nissan Altima
2018 Nissan Altima
2019 Nissan Altima
2020 Nissan Altima
2021 Nissan Altima.

Carcomplaints.com stated that none of the Nissan Altima models above got any negative reports about their climate control systems.

How Much Does It Cost to Fix Nissan Altima Climate Control Problems?

It costs between $245 – $287 to fix an average Nissan Altima climate control problem. That said, dealers in some locations may charge a higher or lower amount for the repair.

The type of Nissan Altima spec you use can also affect the price you pay to fix your climate control system.

Tips to Prevent Nissan Altima Climate Control Problems

Wash your car every day.
Change your air filters at least once a month.
Recharge your AC yearly.
Do not park your car in areas without shade.
Switch off your AC when you’re not driving.

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Wrapping Up

Use the tips above to resolve the climate control issue in your Nissan Altima. If you can’t find the solution to your problem here, you might need to contact your dealer for help.