Canadian Nissan Truck Club

We got our 2013 in November 2016. Beautiful truck. Still learning about features.
So far 2nd winter & the cold is not a friend of the Frontier. Cabin only warms up once we get rolling.
In park, idling, the cabin still isn't warm or defrosted after 15min.
Once we start driving, everything warms up and business as usual.

Questions:
Are we doing it wrong? (AC/Heat/Dash settings?)
Is this just a notorious issue for Frontiers?
Is it a mechanical thing?
If it is just a common issue, is there a mod that will heat up the cabin faster? My 04 impreza is toasty in 5min.

Thanks, Mike

It seems the 2nd gen have this issue frequently. My parents 2012 Xterra had it as well. What I did to fix it was bleed the cooling system. It took about 30 minutes but seemed to work.

Thanks Adam!

We're definitely noobs. Don't even know what 'bleeding the cooling system' means. I assume flushing the fluid and replacing it? Can that be done at home?

Sorry to ask more info.

Welcome to the club. Don’t be sorry to ask for info. That is why the club is here.


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Not a flush no (although given the age of the truck that's not a bad idea to)
To bead the system park with the front of the truck uphill to rase the rad higher. Then pull the cap (make sure the truck is cold first) and fire it up. This should help move air out of the system although you may need to rev it up a bit.

There are some fancy burping funnels that can help

Mike_n_Jubes wrote:Cabin only warms up once we get rolling.
In park, idling, the cabin still isn't warm or defrosted after 15min.
Once we start driving, everything warms up and business as usual.

I thought this was normal for most new cars.

Is this a change from the previous year? If so, the thermostat might not be fully closing. If you plan to do a flush anyway, a new stat is inexpensive.

After running the truck for 5-6 minutes, the engine should be fully warmed up.

If you get in, and the HVAC is still blowing cold, put your foot on the gas and bring the rpms above 1500

If it starts to blow hot, then you 100% have an airlock in the heater system and will need to bleed the air out of it as the guys have suggested above.

Welcome to the club!

I've had this on my 07 X not on the new fronty yet. Everytime all i had to do was bleed the air out. seems like a typical problem with the Gen2's after a few years.

Finally logged back in. Big thanks for so much support from everyone here. We have to comb through this advice and take some time out to test them.

Again, much thanks.

Hope to have an update for you soon.

Thanks!
Mike

Don't know if it's the recommended procedure for an x but on my Mazda they said to warm it up, then hold it at 2-3k rpm for 2 to 3 minutes, twice, then rev to 3k rpm for 10 seconds twice.
Repeat if the heat doesn't stay. Two cycles of that fixed it right up.