pajaha1

Hey guys,
I purchased 2 weeks ago and I've noticed the engine seems to be giving off more heat than any of my previous cars have. Even when the a/c isn't running, it just feels like there is a lot of exhaust coming from the front and sides of the car. I can feel warm air coming from the vents under the dash and at night the windshield seems to fog up often, even on less humid nights. In my last car, I used the windshield defroster maybe once a month and now I'm turning it on once a night. I'm hoping it's just the newness of the car, but am wondering if anyone else has had similar observations. Thanks

swatcop

No problems here and I live in south Louisiana. I have not had anything out of the norm!

IFuXwiTuZ

you ever notice how closed off the engine compartment is?
and yes i noticed the same thing ....

when i turn off the car it stays hot even 5-7 hours later.....isnt a problem for me because i dont gotta wait long for engine to get warm in morning

Maxima2009

My windows are constantly fogging up at night.

pajaha1

I'm glad I'm not alone but this is unacceptable.

NiteCrawler

iTrader: (1)

Just let the windows down....thats all

dauntlessmax

Not being a smart***, but why don't you use the Window Defogger?????

IFuXwiTuZ

because the AC turns on and these ballers with a BRAND NEW 7th gen complain about it...lolol such ballers huh.... you guys do know in a mercedes the AC turns on automatically all the time without you knowing until you notice the light is on and you turn it off....i wonder why?

because it actually works...and well 2 because ballers only buy new cars =D

man o man no wonder germany says "its so hard to make stupidly spoiled americans happy with cars" i bet you people would complain about this dumb **** if you drove a bently

LtLeary

Living in Florida ALL cars "fog up" at night but I don't recall ever feeling warm air coming up from the vents at all. Granted, down here the AC is hardly ever off, but I'll give it a go to see if I get the same thing. And yes, the engine heat does seem to radiate a bit more heat (I wouldn't call it a great deal more) downward than other cars I've owned but I have chalked that one up to how the engineers chose to deal with the heat dissipation.

bk2k3max

Well it is no secret that the VQ Series engines run hot, go and read any of the tests done on the Z vs the Porsche and you'll see that our cars just do not perform as great as they do when they're heated but that's with any car but it is especially true for our cars.
Yes, you do tend to have a lot of heatsoak afterwards and it is partly due to the plastic cover they have over our engines which IMO only further perpetuate the heatsoak that is going on while the car is trying to cool

I park my car in my garage with the engine hood open to help aid in cooling, that plastic cover holds too much heat and it plagues the cars performance, the Z had to be cooled extensively after about 4-7 runs, our CVT acts the same way too and it needs time to cool as well.

I recommend that all of us with the VQ Series engines start parking indoors with the hood up to aid in cooling or you could always do the old racing trick by placing a bag of ice over the manifold. LOL

LtLeary

Well, I went for a little 50mile jaunt yesterday (only to research this issue, not because I was looking for an excuse to drive my Max) but as it was a little warm and humid I still couldn't tell if any heat was coming from the interior vents post ride.

pajaha1

Europeans also make fun of Americans for grammar like this.. Anyway, I've owned 2 Lexus previously and never had to use the defogger. I guess I'll just have to adjust. I shouldn't have to use the defroster on nights with low humidity and I almost always have the windows open, to answer to some of the other responses.

Maxima2009

First off who said that we were ballers. If I was a baller I would have you driving me around and second I hate turning my ac on when its cold outside.

lightonthehill

Keep in mind that the air conditioner 'conditions' air. Many folks think that means COOLING the air. That is only part of story. No matter what the season may be, and no matter what the outside temperature may be, the MOST IMPORTANT task of the air conditioner is to REMOVE MOISTURE from the air.

If you have ever run an air conditioner in hot weather with the moisture not being removed, the air gets cool, but it is an uncomfortable, clammy cool, like a cold, damp cave.

Likewise, in wintertime, when the weather is humid, we need to remove moisture from the air, otherwise the windows will fog up. The ONLY way to remove that moisture is via the air conditioner. That DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN the air conditioner is COOLING the air; When I run my air conditioner in winter, I am running it with the temperature set on WARM. That way, I stay comfortable, and the windows stay clear. That is why the air conditioner is very important ALL seasons of the year.

The car has been set up to know this, and properly uses the air conditioner any time of year to keep the cabin air at the proper humidity for safe, comfortable driving.


Edited to remove mentioning the AC dryer from this post, as it is 'drying' the refrigerant, not the cabin air. The cabin air is dried by the ac unit itself. CT Maxima and mtrai760 explain that in posts further down in this thread.

CT Maxima

Light,

The a/c removes water and heat by chilling the air below its dewpoint. Water condenses, drops out, leaving cool dry air which will not fog the windows. If the conditioned air is too cold for human comfort, the heater (using engine heat) can warm the already dried air before passing into the cabin. The re-warming can be done manually or automatically.

There is no separate "drier."

BMWHIGH1

I Notice with my other Maximas it would take awhile for the engine to heat up. It seems that this engine heats up from a cold start in a matter of minutes. I guess thats good for the winter time

lightonthehill

I guess I am showing my age. From the time air conditioners first appeared on cars in the 1950s until sometime after 2000, vehicle air conditioning systems had a component called a 'dryer'. I was not aware that was no longer the case. Sorry.

mtrai760

iTrader: (19)

They still have a drier, however the function of the drier has never been to remove moisture from the air. The drier's function is to keep moisture out of the R134. The A/C system functions as follows:

The compressor, well, compresses the R134, aka freon.
The R134 at this point is warm, and a gas.
It then passes through the condensor. The condensor cools the R134 and turns it into a liquid.
The R134 then passes through the drier, aka reciever drier or freon filter. The function of the drier is to keep moisture out of the system.
The R134 then goes through a expansion valve. The function of the expansion valve is to meter the flow of the R134, and it changes it from a liquid to a gas, cooling your evaporator, which in turn provides cold A/C to your car.

Want to know more? www.howstuffworks.com goes into more detail

mtrai760

iTrader: (19)

To the OP, you don't get more HP out of an engine without creating more heat. Everything has it's tradeoffs.

CT Maxima

NP Light. The 'dryer' you are talking about is a device that is in the Freon circuit of the a/c unit.

lightonthehill

mtrai760 and CT Maxima - Thanks for the explanation. Now I know who to call if my Trane Home air conditioner begins to act up.

mtrai760

iTrader: (19)

You can't afford me