Well...moments ago my dealer called me after they called the dealer Tech line.......I quote: " no fix yet, no Service Bulletin yet, no advice for a dealer as to how to fi the issue yet"
There's nothing I can do except congratulate the 2 or 3 folks who have reported here that their dealers were somehow able to fix or get advice as to how to fix the heating issue.
But...at least NOW Nissan admits that there is a problem whereas back in October, when I first complained they looked at me like I was crazy!
(but I bet the newest Altimas rolling off the assembly line have seats that work perfectly!)
fix is coming in 3 weeks. New wiring harnesses are going out to dealers. They don't want dealers rewiring and futzing something else up, so new harnesses it is.
__________________ The Car: 2013 SL - Cayenne Red, Rear Spoiler, External Ground Lighting, Floor Mats, Trunk Carpet Liner, Trunk Storage Tray w/Safety and 1st Aid Kit The Cost: Sticker - $29,830 - Paid $27,130 + Tax, Tag, Title Additions: Illuminated Kick Plates, 128 GB Flash Drive w/my music library Wish List: LED trunk, license plate, puddle & rear passenger dome lights; Legal Sylvania Silverstar headlight upgrade. Worst Car Ever: 2005 Passat, my first and LAST VW, they SUCK
fix is coming in 3 weeks. New wiring harnesses are going out to dealers. They don't want dealers rewiring and futzing something else up, so new harnesses it is.
O yeah? Where did you get the info from, am curious? I had a call from Nissan today (like the 4th call from them since complaining back at the end of September) saying that they were still working on a fix. The guy also told me they were sending me a $250 debit card for my trouble which would be good at any Nissan dealer, but would expire six months after issuance. I certainly hope your info is right, it's been damn cold here in upstate NY!
Just got car (two weeks old) back last night from dealer - they wouldn't fix or attempt any rewire not authorized by Nissan - So I'll continue to flip the switch as I drive along..... Also have a passenger air bag problem - they wouldn't fix - but think I'll comment on that in a different thread. I wish the dealers would take more ownership and help apply pressure to Nissan - rather than the percieved non-caring attitude.
With all due respect to some of my fellow Altima owners and posters on this site......I have spent a fair amount of time tying to duplicate what a few others have posted and have come up "empty".
After extensive research and numerous phone conversations with Nissan Consumer Affairs AND Nissan Corporate Executive Offices the following is what I've been told is true or false. Most "official" responses are in conflict with what some posters have claimed:
1. TRUE - Nissan is aware of the heated seat issue and is working on a fix...but no fix has been issued yet, and no issuing date has been predicted.
2. FALSE - There is a fix planned for 3 weeks from now that includes a new wiring harness (although it is true that a new harness will probably be part of the fix eventually)
3. FALSE - Nissan is giving owners, who complain, $250 gift cards "for their inconvenience". No such program exists (by Nissan) although an individual dealer can offer a customer what ever they want...but it comes out of that dealerships pocket.
4. TRUE - At least 1 owner's dealer (in MA) did fix an Altima's heated seat issue....but that is the only case. (I confirmed that personally with a phone call to that dealerships service mgr.)
5. TRUE - The Dealer Tech Line is the only source for the dealers to learn about this issue BUT they must make the phone call to that department, since no documents have been posted or published by Nissan....and none will be UNTIL the fix is "officially" issued via a Service Bulletin.
If anyone wishes to dispute what I've wriiten, feel free to post the phone numbers w/extensions and the names of the specific Nissan employees that have given you contradictory information to the above, so we can verify.
I'd love to have that $250 gift card.....LOL....
Last edited by rob175; 01-25-2013 at 03:22 PM.
The Following User Says Thank You to rob175 For This Useful Post:
Well...moments ago my dealer called me after they called the dealer Tech line.......I quote: " no fix yet, no Service Bulletin yet, no advice for a dealer as to how to fi the issue yet"
There's nothing I can do except congratulate the 2 or 3 folks who have reported here that their dealers were somehow able to fix or get advice as to how to fix the heating issue.
But...at least NOW Nissan admits that there is a problem whereas back in October, when I first complained they looked at me like I was crazy!
(but I bet the newest Altimas rolling off the assembly line have seats that work perfectly!)
My car was in yesterday and dealer called the service line and they said they were told no fix as of yet, but that they are aware of it and working on it.
My car was in yesterday and dealer called the service line and they said they were told no fix as of yet, but that they are aware of it and working on it.
Well, just got word my service mgr did make the call to Nissan (possibly to the 'new/redesigned model group') and got an approved fix for what I understand to be an incorrect under-seat harness. Wires in my case were 'wrong color' hence the need for new harness (I guess the better to match to the install instructions). She reports that the car is fixed for that issue.
They discovered also that I have a 'known problem' that occurs when the e-brake has been used: a brake indicator in the info display will flash. I had previously 'solved' by restarting the car. The dealer technician was the next to use the e-brake, and he discovered that I had the issue as well.
Good luck to anyone else with the issue !
Hal in Va. 1/25/2013 24 days post purchase 2013 Altima 3.5 SL
Serv mgr showed me iphone photo of my underseat 'harness' (it's 3 wires leading to a connector with 3 wires on the other side of the connector) - with seat dis-assembled. The wire colors from the input side were not matched on the output side; one plug end had to be rewired so that the correct wire (input) went to the correct wire (output).
(Brown/yellow/red and yellow/black/green as I read it.
"removed pins and used harness repair kit to replace wires per wiring diagram sent by Nissan." "tested and working".
Good luck !
Hal in Va.
Met with region tech specialist this week. He was able to pull a seat from a new car just built and see that my seat was wired wrong. Both my seats now corrected. Issue was actually in the seat wiring and the sub contractor has obviously corrected in the newer deliveries. My car was built in August in Canton.
How you guys get to meet with Tech Reps IN PERSON is beyond me. Numerous calls to Nissan and several local dealers have never yielded a "personal appearance" for anyone.
How you guys get to meet with Tech Reps IN PERSON is beyond me. Numerous calls to Nissan and several local dealers have never yielded a "personal appearance" for anyone.
I was selected to take an indepth purchase experience survey, I completed this survey on-line and then about I week later I was called by a Nissan Representative to basically thank me for taking the survey. I discussed my issues with him, stating that I had been working closely with tech from delearship. I basically listed out all my issues in the survey, including some that I was discovering like the heated seats, helped out by this forum. I did not ask to meet with the Tech specialist, Nissan arranged and it was a SouthEast region guy. Some of the issues are minor like the seats my main issue being the vibration and low gas mileage I was having. I was basically told not to expect anything from the visit. The Tech specialist drove about 200 miles to the delearship. I ended up being late because my 7 year old came down with the flu the night before. We test drove the car and he basically said if there was an issue that could be fixed, they would fix it, but the car does have some characteristics that I might not be accustomed to but are "normal". Prior to him saying this I has already told him my car history, new cars every couple of years since 95. And that what I was experiecing was not normal. The CVT "lugging sound does not necessarily bother me but the vibration does. I mentioned the drive belt and tensioner mentioned on the forum. He indicated that the engineers had a forthcoming solution that involved a new tensioner design and other parts that was not yet released as they are waiting on manufacturing of parts. We decided we would not replace just wait on the permanent fix. I left the car with them the rest of the day leaving around 11AM. Upon returning around 5PM, he was still there working with local repair tech. Long story short, confirmed seat issue in car, confirmed newer delivered model did not have the issue. Pulled seat from newer model to compare found wiring differences. Pulled my seat and made changes. Issue in seat, so really an issue with seat manufacturer. This was after they decided my vibration was much worse than the newer model compare car. They went ahead and replaced belt and tensioner to confirm. Vibration almost completely gone, but indicated it will come back since they only replaced it with same parts that were already on it. Very satisfied with attention. Will wait on TSB and permanent fix.
Interesting...I wish I had been selected for that same in-depth suvey...I only got a survey on my dealership (which has been as helpful as they can be....but that's limited).
I've been patient for the past 4 months for the heated seat fix. I'm quickly running out of patience but will wait until mid February. After that I will promise myself never to buy another Nissan product and I'll pass the word to my many car buying friends. I plan on attending the Chicago Auo Show this year and if I can corral a Nissan executive at the show I'll politly (but firmly) tell them how displeased I am....particularly with the lack of communication on this matter. An official recognition notice of the problems sent out to all owners would have been a good start.
Too bad they spend millions on advertising yet fall short when it comes to communicating with current owners...they could have told us all in writing that they were working on the issues for less than $25,000......penny wise pound foolish!
Since this thread references the heated steering wheel as well as the heated seats and I recalled several members making comments about their heated steering wheel not being as warm as previous models with heated steering wheels---the owners manual says the heated steering wheel is on a 30 minute timer with a thermostat that heats the steering wheel to a maximim 86 degrees surface temperature. The control will not activate unless the steering wheel surface temperature is below 68 degrees.
Never having a heated steering wheel before...all I can say is that my steering wheel gets warm, NOT hot, just warm...so I guess I'm OK with that.......but as I've written many times before I WANT THE HEATED SEATS TO BE FIXED ALREADY.....I've owned the car for 4 months!
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