# 2006 nissa pathfinder not blowing hot air when idle .



## nachumama (Aug 16, 2015)

Hi all, i'm experiencing an issue for the past month. I live in the northeast and i'm used to turning the car on for 20 minutes before i got to work. My issues is that for the past 3 weeks, when i turn on the car and turn on the heat while on park, there is no heat coming out, only cold air. I've never had this problem before. The engine temperature needle is right in the middle after 20 minutes of the car being on idle, the only time the heat works is when i start driving the car and i believe i have to hit certain rpm before it starts blowing hot air again. I've been reading about trying to change the thermostat but i want to hear your opinion before i start working on it. I'm not a car person at all but with some guidance i believe i will find a way to fix it, if it's fixable. So what do you guys think? do you think i should replace the thermometer or do you think there's something else that is causing this problem? also do you guys have a picture of where i can find the thermostat? I don't have a driver's manual. Please help me, because it's so cold in the morning and i can't defrost the windshield when i need it the most during winter time.
thank you and i hope i can get some replies explaining i could be wrong.


----------



## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

I don't have your generation pathfinder but can tell you this doesn't sound like a thermostat to me.
It the problem the Air mixer valve, it controls the hot and cold air mix to vary temperature.
If you set temp to max and heat is it hot ?


----------



## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

This is a very common problem on 2004 and newer Titans and 2005 and newer Pathfinders/Frontiers/Xterras. If your temp needle stays in the middle, it is likely not a thermostat issue. Most of the time, it's caused by air trapped in the cooling system which may or may not involve low coolant level. A second problem that sometimes occurs is that the "heater pump" fails. The heater pump looks like an electric heater cock. It is mounted to a bracket off of the firewall and sits at the driver's side of the engine. It's a round, black plastic device with two wires going to it and heater hoses attached to it. Inside there is an impeller that helps push the coolant through the heater system. Like I said, they "usually" don't go bad very often...but they can.
For most, purging the system gets the heat back. The first thing you want to do is make sure the coolant level isn't low. With the engine cold, top off the coolant in the radiator and install the cap. Then, add coolant to the "MAX" line in the reservoir, if needed, and install the cap. If the coolant is low, check for leaks, including the rear lines if you have rear heat. Jack the front end of the car up as much as safely possible; if you don't have a jack, then try to find a steep grade which will allow you to park with the nose facing uphill. Start the engine and turn the front and rear heaters to the highest heat settings. Run the engine for at least 10 minutes (longer if necessary) at 2500-3000 RPM (it's a lot easier if you can find a way to hold the gas pedal in place other than your own leg). After 10 minutes, check the air coming out of the vents. If it's not hot, continue to run another 10 minutes; if not hot after that, it's possible that the heater pump is not working. Once you have good heat coming out of the vents, you can shut the engine off and lower the vehicle, if jacked up. You may want to recheck the coolant reservoir after it's cooled down. If there seems to be a restriction in air flow, remember this vehicle has cabin air-filters behind the glove box that are supposed to be replaced every 15000 miles.


----------



## Damian Farns (Mar 8, 2017)

smj is correct and if that isn't the issue I don't know if the blower fan has an equalizer tube or not but if it came off that will affect the heat transfer at an idle.


----------

