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Mr. Luddite

On 5/31/2017 1:59 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 31 May 2017 12:05:52 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

Picked up the new Pathfinder last Saturday early evening.
Drove home and when I exited car I noticed a slight electrical
burning odor. Seemed to be from under hood. Figured it's new (only 3
miles on it when I picked it up) and it was probably normal as new
components get hot.

Sunday I noticed it again. Not as strong but still an electrical type
odor. By the end of Sunday the odor was gone and I forgot about it.

Monday arrived cold and rainy. Temps in the high 40's. Drove to pickup
coffees for Mrs.E. and I and realized I had no heat. Had the
temperature setting to max (90 degrees). No matter what I did, manual
mode, auto mode, front heat, rear heat, it just blew cold air.

So, it's back at the dealership to be fixed. I have a hunch what is bad
so I am interested to see if I am right. I think the damper control
actuator either stuck or was bad from the get-go and it basically burned
up the coil that operates it which would explain the electrical burning
odor.

===

That's too bad. Did you consider getting a Toyota or Honda? We've
had really good luck with them over the years.

I looked at the Toyota version of what I bought (Toyota Highlander).
Liked it but for various minor reasons I liked the Pathfinder more.
Probably the color. Battleship grey. :-) Didn't look at Honda's.

We've bought all our cars over the past 30 years or so from the same
dealership and they have always treated us right. They sell Nissan and
Toyota only now. They used to sell Lincolns, Mercs, etc. along with
Dodge but dropped them. The manager told me they dropped Lincoln/Merc
because of delays in getting warranty parts. They dropped Dodge when
Chrysler was acquired by Fiat.

I haven't lost confidence in it. I had the Nissan Altima for a little
over a year and it was completely trouble-free.

I suspect the damper thing was either jammed shut and the motor or
actuator couldn't move it so it burned up or it was bad from the get-go.
I don't know how extensive the final quality control is to verify
everything works. The engine would have to be run long enough to warm
up and I have a feeling they don't do that at the factory.

It may not even be the problem. It's just my guess.