A/C Problem
 

My 370 has an intermittent air conditioning problem. When the car is hot from a previous drive, the air conditioning compressor won’t kick on for a few minutes and the air blows hot. It was the worst it has been yesterday. It wouldn’t cool down for probably 10-15 minutes after I started the car. Even then, the compressor just wouldn’t stay on. Early on, I was extremely impressed with the air conditioning in this car. When it is working it is COLD. I am normally one to run the air full blast all the time (especially in the summer), but I can’t do that in this car. It is just too cold. So, I know the air “works”. It does not have a freon leak or something like that. This morning when the car was cool the air blew cold right away and never faltered on the way to work. But I bet if I went out there right now and started the car I would have problems. I honestly can’t remember when this first happened to me, but I THINK it was before I installed the Stillen Gen3 CAI (more on that later). I recall having to turn the air off and then turn it back on and then it would work fine. Yesterday, turning the air on and off a few times did not help.


So, I get on the internet last night and I Google something like “AC problem on 370z”. The first thing that comes up is a description of my problem EXACTLY, but on the 350Z forum. There didn’t seem to be a definitive resolution on the 350 board. But the reason I stopped looking is the SECOND search result: “Stillen CAI causes AC problems”. Apparently the intake tube on the drivers side passes through a hole in the front and sits right next to a couple of AC lines. I knew this, as I had to enlarge that hole to get the tube through and the instructions are very clear about being careful not to damage those AC lines. I don’t believe I damaged them, but I am going to take the front fascia off this weekend and check it out. Again, the AC is CAPABLE of blowing VERY cold still so it does not seem to be a coolant leak (which is what it would be if those lines are damaged). The problem described on this forum seems to stem from the intake tube touching those lines and OVER TIME it actually rubs and vibrates enough to wear through those lines and cause a leak. It seems to take months for this to happen. The instructions further stated that you MAY want to wrap the AC lines in some protective covering to prevent damage. I did NOT do this because I was petty sure I had avoided contact with the lines. However, after reading the posts I will now go back and do that before any damage DOES occur. Everyone that had AC problems ate the repair because damage was caused by an aftermarket part.


Here is where the advice comes in: How do I approach this problem with the dealer?? I am scared to death now to take it in for warranty work with the modifications on it (only other mod is an oil cooler). Especially for an AC problem, since AC problems have been tied specifically to the part I put on! I am thinking about taking it off and putting the stock intakes back on before I take it to the dealer. But what a pain!! You and I both know that the dealer will give me trouble if they see mods. This is so frustrating. I was hesitant to put mods on a car that was still in warranty, but I guess I talked myself out of worrying about potential problems. And now, just a week or two in and this happens. Help!

take the stillen off, take the car in.

and leave stillen off.

If you caused the problem from a faulty install, why would you think this would be a warranty item? It's not a manufacturing defect after all. If this is indeed the issue it will be evident that there was a rub issue caused by something that did not come on the car. You can try to scam them, but it will be just that. Man up!

Oh, I have no problem "manning up" if I caused the issue. I have worked with dealers for many years and they are the ones who won't man up, I am afraid. If you read my post, I am saying I don't have the problem that some people have caused (over time) with their Stillen CAI. If I had that problem the air would never work properly (leak causing loss of coolant). Plus, I am pretty sure this happened before the install, but I am not 100% sure. I didn't take notes. But I KNOW the dealer will look at a moded car and say "not our problem", whether it is or not. That is the frustration. So the point of post is to ask two questions: Has anyone else had the intermittment AC problem that I describe? And has anyone had problems from their Nissan dealer not standing behind a warranty problem because they of a modification that didn't cause the problem.

Look for a "mod friendly" dealer in your area, like Fontana Nissan is here in SoCal.

First question no
Second question no
Take the chance take it in.You might get lucky.Looking back do you regret
installing the stillen?

:iagree:

If the problem was not caused by the Stillen Install, a dealer should have no problem making this right. You may be over or undercharged resulting in things kicking off. This can sometimes happen when there is a faulty pressure switch and/or the system is overcharged (it happens). Good luck, but look at that install to be sure that is not the issue..

Good question. The short answer is that I am not sure yet. When the car is cool I believe this CAI system works OK. It seems more responsive at the throttle, especially in first and second gear. Again, when the car heats up (and we all know these cars heat up a lot), the decline in performance is noticeable. Maybe I am being hypersensitive because this is still a fairly new install (about two weeks). But, my theory is that the design of the Stillen unit is not that great. First the intake tubes are metal. They look great, but when I was trying to diagnosis the AC problem I lifted the hood and these tubes get too hot to touch (remember I am in Tucson, so that does't help). That CAN'T be a good thing for a "cold" air intake. Plus, before installing I thought the filters would have a more unobstructed "view" of the outside world through the grill and be able to suck in plenty of air. These intakes instead are nestled up inside the fascia and the foam bumper "seals" off air flow from the grill. Frankly, I am not sure where the air comes from that they are supposed to suck in. So, between the high temperatures on the tubes and obstructed air flow, I am not so sure this is better than stock.

I think what I will do is play it safe and take the Stillen unit off and reinstall the stock intakes. That will allow me to do several things: See if that cures the AC problem. Do a better job of an A/B comparison between Stillen and stock in all driving environments. And, I will be able to take a less modified car back to the dealer.

Thanks, man. Again, if I broke something, poor me I will pay to have it fixed. But I still don't want to give the dealer a chance to blame me if it is not really my fault. So, as I said above, I am going to take the Stillen units off and re-evaluate. I may check the AC charge too before taking it to the dealer. I did some more driving today and it DEFINITELY is a heat issue. Car hot from running previously (ignition turned off and then turned back on): AC compressor goes crazy. Car cool (relative term here in AZ): AC blows so much cold air I have to turn it down. Can you think of ANYTHING that would cause a temperature related failure like that?

Last thing I noticed: When the AC is in AUTO mode I can't switch between "recirculated" and "fresh" air. Is that normal? Before I noticed this problem, I thought I recall being able to manually select that and still keep the AC in AUTO mode.

I believe the auto mode overrides the fesh/recirc. button. Just one more reason to hate autoclimate control!

I second the recommendation that you find a mod friendly dealer. With previous cars (other brands) I've owned that has made a HUGE difference in terms of honoring warranty issues.

I think that's a good choice. I know you hate to,sometimes you have to lose money to make it. just sell the stillen on ebay,sounds like there not helping your car or peace of mind.

I have a 2010 Nissan 370 Z with that Stillen generation three cold air intakes had the same problem one of my tubes rubbed a hole into the piping for my air conditioner and leaked all the Freon. I bought the car at a good price because the air conditioner didn't work due to that problem I then purchased the warranty and had them look at the car they replaced the compressor and a bunch of other parts and it still didn't work. I just had them replace the transmission at 45,000 miles and told them to fix the air conditioner they found a hole in the tubing due to the cold air intakes I am going to wrap them with rubber or something to prevent future where but car is still blowing hot air AC still does not work????