On 6/29/2017 11:30 AM, wrote:
On Thu, 29 Jun 2017 02:32:48 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:


True North wrote:

On Wednesday, 28 June 2017 18:36:27 UTC-3, Mr. Luddite wrote:
Busy day for me today. Had to go to the main VA hospital in Boston for
some tests. Got a bunch of voice mails on my cell phone from the car
dealership but I couldn't quite make out what he was saying.

So, I stopped in after I got home. Turns out Nissan sent two engineers
from the factory to examine my car. They are baffled as to why it has
no heat and are going to ship the car back to Nissan for a complete tear
down and autopsy. I suspect they are concerned the problem may be more
widespread and a recall may be in order.

It turns out my theory of what the problem is was wrong. It was valid
for Pathfinders up to 2016 but in 2017 the whole heating system was
redesigned and the "heat control valve" no longer exists. In fact, the
rear seat heater in the 2017 Pathfinder is electric. I don't know how
the front works. No wonder there was no fault code. The component
doesn't exist.

Anyway, I am awaiting Nissan's formal offer to repurchase. They sent a
letter of intent to do so and I am waiting to see if their numbers match
what I have in terms of the what the check amount will be. Once I
accept their offer, the car gets shipped back to Nissan and I go car
shopping again.


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Interesting...if they do eventually issue a recall you might have had a
hand in saving lives.

Doubtful. It just doesn't have any heat. Of course, it wouldn't
defrost the windshield in the winter either.

I am still wondering what the electrical burning odor was though.
Somehow, I think it must tie into whatever the problem is.


How do they control the heat if the front is hot water?


I don't know. All I was told was that my theory had merit up to the
2016 model year. The design was changed in 2017 and the "Heat Control
Valve" that I suspected is no longer used. The rear heat is now
electric, eliminating the plumbing to a second heater core.

This is why sometimes an "older design" is also a more mature design
that has the benefit of having all the bugs worked out. I used to call
it the "not invented here" syndrome when I had my company. For some
reason engineers .... and it was usually the mechanical types ... were
never satisfied with a previous and proven design of something if they
didn't have a hand in it's original development. Since they didn't
"invent it" they always wanted to modify or change it. I had to
implement a standing order that if the design of some component of the
thin film deposition systems we built wanted to be changed by
engineering, it required a design review meeting that included me where
the engineer or designer was given the opportunity to pitch his or her
case for the change. One of the critical issues was the hinges for the
big chamber doors. The doors could weigh a couple of tons and the hinge
itself had to allow a certain amount of articulation to allow the door
to easily seal to the chamber flange O-ring. Without the articulation
the hinge side of the door would scuff across the O-ring causing
premature wear and making the door difficult to close. It took a while
to work out a good design but the engineers and designers often tried to
"improve" it.