Nissan Rogue Climate Control Problems [Plus Solutions]

So you think your Nissan Rogue climate control system is acting strangely, and you’re trying to fix the problem? This post is your go-to resource.

In the following paragraphs, you’ll discover what the strange signs from your climate control system mean and how to fix them. We’ll also explore the precautions you can take to prevent climate control problems from occurring in the future.

Table of Contents

Nissan Rogue Climate Control Problems

Here are some issues you may experience if your Nissan Rogue climate control system is malfunctioning:

1. AC Blows Warm Air on Low Temperature Ranges

A quick way to tell if your Nissan Rogue climate control is faulty is if the AC blows warm air when you set it to a low temperature range. The reason this issue may occur is because of a programming error in the climate control system.

High temperature ranges like 70° can beat the error because they are overrides. An override tells the AC to blow air at its maximum temperature.

Due to the nature of this issue, you might not be able to fix it yourself. Take it to a dealer and ask them to reprogram your climate control system.

Please note that some dealers may claim that there is nothing wrong with your climate control system. If your dealer falls into this category, you may need to cope with the climate control problem until you find someone else to fix it.

You can work around the issue by turning on auto climate control and fiddling with your temperature dial until you get the coolness you want.

2. AC Blows Hot Air in the Driver’s Side

Another sign of a problematic Nissan Rogue climate control system is when the AC blows hot air on the driver’s side. In this case, the passenger side blows cold air and works normally.

This problem often points to a bad driver’s side blend door actuator/mix door.

The driver’s side blend door actuator controls the temperature of air that flows from the climate control system. This actuator receives information from the A/C computer on the temperature of the air released into the driver’s seat.

If your driver’s blend door actuator is faulty, it may misinterpret the signal from the A/C computer and release air that is warmer than your desired temperature.

To resolve this problem, you’ll need to replace your driver’s side blend door actuator. The driver’s side blend door actuator is located under the driver’s side dashboard.

3. The Heater Isn’t Working

If your Nissan Rogue climate control system doesn’t release hot air when set to heat, the system is problematic.

Your climate control may be unable to produce heat because the splines on the mix door are stripped. These splines move the mix door around as it works to modify the temperature of the air that moves into your car.

The splines that work with your blend door actuator form part of the body of your climate control case. So, the only way to replace them is to change the entire climate control case.

We recommend asking a dealer to do the replacement.

4. The Blower Doesn’t Work Sometimes

You can tell that your Nissan Rogue climate control system is faulty if your blower often fails to work when you turn on the system. Sometimes, the blower may start working again if you restart your climate control.

The reason your blower motor hardly works is that the brushes in the motor are corroding.

The mechanism of the blower motor in your Nissan Rogue car is a group of brushes that roll around a rotor. Every time a brush comes in contact with the rotor, it increases the speed of the blower motor.

But as the brushes start rusting, they may not make proper contact with the rotor. This means that the speed of the blower will reduce.

Perhaps you started your car when the rotor was facing a worn-out brush. Because the blower motor’s speed was sluggish, you wrongly assumed it wasn’t working.

Once the worn-out brush moves past the rotor, the speed of your blower motor rises again. And your blower starts working normally. This is why your blower motor resumes blowing air when you restart the climate control system.

The only way to resolve this problem is to change your blower motor.

5. The Heater Doesn’t Blow Air Until After Several Miles of Driving

If your heater doesn’t blow air until you’ve driven several miles, your Nissan Rogue climate control is faulty.

You might be facing this issue because the coolant level in your radiator is low. The heater core stops working when you don’t have enough coolant in your car. To fix this issue, you’ll need to refill your radiator.

Another reason your heater may not blow air is a bad temperature sensor. Either the ambient, cabin or intake temperature sensor might not be working properly. This faulty sensor may read the interior/outside temperature as hotter than it actually is.

As a result, your heater will think that it doesn’t need to blow any hot air.

Test your temperature sensors with a multimeter to determine which one is malfunctioning. Once you find the culprit, change it.

However, if you discover that all the temperature sensors are still working properly, your mix door might be the problem. The mix door, or blend door actuator, controls the temperature of the air in your climate control system.

Depending on the information it receives from your temperature sensor, the blend door actuator decides how cool/hot the air should be. But if this actuator is bad, it might not be able to respond to the signals received from your temperature sensor.

Without the blend door actuator, you may not be able to get any air. Replace this actuator if your heater doesn’t blow air after you’ve tried the other solutions above.

6. AC Barely Blows any Air

Your Nissan Rogue climate control is problematic if the AC barely blows air.

The AC may start off blowing air at a normal rate. Then, the air will keep reducing until hardly any air comes out of the vents.

The reason your AC barely blows air is that there is too much ice around your evaporator coil. This issue is caused by a leaky expansion valve.

The function of the expansion valve is to convert your liquid refrigerant to vapor. Your blend door actuator then uses the vapor to transform hot air into cool air.

Once your expansion valve acquires the necessary vapor required to cool air, the rest of the liquid refrigerant forms around the evaporator coil. This excess liquid later turns to ice. And this ice can block the flow of air out of your climate control system.

To prevent ice from building up quickly around your evaporator coil, your expansion valve collects the liquid refrigerant in moderate quantities.

However, if the valve is leaky, it may accumulate surplus amounts of refrigerant. This makes ice form around the evaporator coil at a faster speed than usual.

As more ice builds up around your evaporator coil, less air flows into your car. This may continue until you turn off your AC.

If you turn off your AC and leave your fan on, the ice around the evaporator coil will melt. And your airflow will resume working normally.

When you discover that your AC is barely blowing any air, park your car and turn your AC off. Then, leave the fan to run for a while. Your AC should start blowing air properly when you turn it back on.

Please note that this solution is only temporary. Eventually, you’ll need to replace your expansion valve to fix the issue permanently.

7. Air Blowing through the Wrong Vent

In some 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue models, air may blow through the wrong vent. For instance, if you set the climate control to blow air through the front air vent, the system may only release air through the floor vent.

This issue points to a faulty front air control unit. If your front air control unit part number is 27500-4BB0A, 27500-4BB0B, 27500-4BB0C, or 27500-4BB0D, Nissan will change the part for you. Otherwise, you’ll need to buy a new front air control unit out of your pocket.

8. Climate Control Blowing too Hot or too Cold Air in Manual

One common indicator of a climate control problem is that the system blows air that is too hot or too cold than your preferred temperature setting when in Manual. Other parts of the AC, like the fan speed button, may work properly, but you won’t get the temperature you’ve set on the dial.

Sadly, there is no lasting solution for this issue at this time. However, you can work around the problem by setting your climate control to Auto and fiddling with your temperature dial until you get your desired temperature.

9. Noisy and Leaky Climate Control System

If your Nissan Rogue climate control system keeps leaking and making strange noises, the system may have developed a fault. A noisy climate control system often indicates that you have a dirty blower motor.

Remove and clean your blower motor if you are hearing weird noises from your climate control system.

If water is dripping from your climate control system, your cowl top cover might be filled with debris. As such, you’ll need to clean the part to stop your climate control from leaking.

Nissan Rogue Models with the Most Climate Control Problems

The Nissan Rogue models with the most climate control problems are:

2014 Nissan Rogue
2015 Nissan Rogue
2016 Nissan Rogue

Carcomplaints.com states that the 2015 Nissan Rogue received 41 complaints about climate control issues, which is the highest number across all Nissan Rogue models.

The 2014 and 2016 are also notorious for AC/heater problems. These models received 37 and 19 bad reports, respectively.

Nissan Rogue Models with the Least Climate Control Problems

The following Nissan Rogue models have the least climate control problems:

2010 Nissan Rogue
2020 Nissan Rogue
2021 Nissan Rogue

According to carcomplaints.com, no user reported climate control issues with the 2020 Nissan Rogue. The 2010 and 2020 models also feature on this list because they only received one complaint each about Nissan Rogue climate control problems.

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

It costs between $245 – $1221 to fix a Nissan Rogue climate control problem. Repair costs vary based on the price of the affected part.

For instance, while replacing an AC compressor may cost over $1000, you might only need to pay $450 for an electric control module.

Tips to Prevent Nissan Rogue Climate Control Problems

Wash your car daily.
Switch off your AC when idling.
Recharge your AC once a year.
Use only the PAG refrigerant.
Don’t park your car in areas without shade.

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Wrapping Up

Now that you know the solutions to your Nissan Rogue climate control problems, go ahead and fix them. If you encounter a sign that we haven’t discussed here, contact your dealer.