Nissan NP200 problem & Nissan SA's response

Background: Our business focuses on agricultural irrigation for farms in the Great Karoo. We use mostly larger pick-up vehicles (Isuzu, Mazda etc), but for light trips to clients over long distances, we use some smaller vehicles (Ford Bantam, Nissan NP200).

The problem: In 2014 we purchased a new Nissan NP200 for use in our business, which is still under warranty at this time. Since new, we have experienced the following problem with this vehicle: The fresh air ventilation system blows hot air into the cabin even when the heater is off. This air is considerably hotter than ambient temperature – easily +10°C. We have taken this vehicle to Nissan on several occasions over the past few years, to get Nissan to resolve this issue, since it is unbearable to drive this vehicle in the Karoo in summertime. Our business requires a lot of travel on dirt roads, where the windows have to be closed against dust. This is where this vehicle becomes a torture – small enclosed cabin with hot air blown in. This is unbearable, the only mode in which to drive this vehicle is with windows open – which gives a prolonged dust bath to the driver, and a filthy cabin prior to arriving at a client. To shorten a long discourse: Every time we received the vehicle back from Nissan (Port Elizabeth) they claimed it was fixed, or nothing was wrong with it. When we lately transferred the vehicle to our other branch near Klaarstroom, it was taken to Oudtshoorn Nissan for its next (90 000km) service. Since this was a different branch servicing the vehicle, I requested that they take a look at the hot air problem.

Nissan’s response: Oudtshoorn Nissan stated that they found no fault with the system, but added one significant comment: That the vehicle will take hot air from the engine bay into the ventilation system, unless the system is set on “recycle”, instead of “fresh air” (even when the heater is turned off). They claim that this phenomenon is absolutely normal, and “within design specification”. Their proffered solution to the problem was to not use the ventilation system on “fresh air” setting, but just to use the “recycle air” setting. I thus finally concluded why Nissan could never fix the problem…it appears to be (in my opinion) a design defect – the fresh air intake is located high under the engine hood! There is a lot of safety related data that proves the dangers of breathing recycled air in the confines of a 2 seater cabin. Research shows that the “recycle” option was installed in vehicles for the purpose of temporarily avoiding sucking in outside air when it is contaminated, eg driving behind a smoking truck, or in a tunnel, where exhaust fumes reach toxic concentrations. “Recycle” is not a setting for regular/prolonged driving with closed windows, because it forces the occupants to breathe the same stale air, and a continual build-up of exhaled carbon dioxide.

Nissan South Africa’s response: I realized that this matter needed to be taken up with Nissan South Africa directly, and through deliberations came in contact with Mr. Justin Stelzer form Nissan SA. Mr Stelzer was polite, but even after I had presented him with researched evidence that this phenomenon was not normal in the automotive industry, he maintained that there was nothing wrong with the fact that the vehicle’s ventilation system blows hot air into the cabin, and maintained that this was normal, and “according to specification”. Nissan’s strategy is thus not to deny that the vehicle blows hot air into the cabin when the heater is off (Nissan themselves admitted to this in writing), but rather to claim that this is “normal” and that there is thus nothing wrong with the vehicle. I realize that resolving an inherent design defect post facto, is often difficult, expensive, or impossible. Thus I recommended to Nissan a solution that will be acceptable to me – to install, at Nissan’s expense, an air conditioning unit in the vehicle. This will enable me to breathe fresh air in the vehicle with the windows rolled up, and to visit my clients without being covered in dust. Nissan declined.

My questions / request: Is it normal or acceptable for a modern vehicle to blow hot air, significantly exceeding the ambient temperature, into the cabin when the heating system is turned off? If this is the accepted norm, please point out to me which other makes and models display these characteristics, as I have never heard of it, nor encountered it in my 30+ years as a vehicle owner, having driven many makes and models in my lifetime. If this is not acceptable or normal, please advise how a solution could be obtained from Nissan, who refuse to admit that this is abnormal. Could you kindly advise what course of action could best be taken in this regard.

Further observations: Nissan commented that my complaint is rare, and not a regular complaint they receive. I have no way to verify the accuracy of this, and such a statement is probably standard protocol in many businesses today. How can Nissan claim that they do not receive many similar complaints about this model, since this will be manifest in all these vehicles? Unless this is a false claim, a possible answer would be that this type of vehicle is not often bought as a “personal” or “private” vehicle, but rather as a delivery or fleet vehicle, in which case it is mostly a paid driver (as opposed to an owner) driving it. Paid drivers are not owners, did not pay for the vehicle, and tend to be more accepting of the hassles with a vehicle their employer tells them to drive. They “live with it” because they are paid to drive it. Secondly, most such light delivery/fleet vehicles are used on tarred roads, where driving with windows open does not present the level of problems it does on dirt roads. Thirdly, many drivers do not know what the proper use of the “Recycle” setting is for, and would just set it on whatever feels best to them, which in this vehicle’s case would seem to be the only choice in order to avoid hot air. Thus, by default, most of these Nissan NP200’s are in summer driven with a combination of “Recycle” and open windows (unless the model is fitted with an air-conditioner).

Yours truly Paul Zietsman