keys861

I just purchased a 2003 Frontier. I've only owned it 4days. I've noticed that the factory installed temp gauge doesnt even move until about 6 or 7 mins of run time. I get heat output from the heater in just a few minutes, but the gauge still hasn't moved. The temps outside is a little chilly in the 20's. I was just wondering if this is normal or not.

aaronford

Yeah, it's normal. My 95 does the same thing and has since it was new. The heater in this truck works better than any I have ever owned. They also set it up to defog the drivers side before the passenger side. Thats one of those good ideas that you think all manufacturers would do, but they don't. I try to let my engine warm up before I turn on the heat ( so the important stuff warms up first) but I am not sure that it matters. Aaron

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Aaron Ford
95 2WD Nissan PU E
2002 Oldsmobile Intrigue GX
"The hard part about playing chicken is knowing when to flinch" Scott Glenn in The Hunt for Red October

black_knight

yeah mine does it too... it takes almost ten minutes or so before the coolant temp budges but the heater works in only 2 or so minutes... I won't complain unless the heater takes ten minutes! LOL

later,

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Black Knight - 2004 Crew Cab XE-V6 4x4
"...God made men the way they are because we desperately need them to be the way they are. Yes, a man is a dangerous thing, but so is a scalpel. You don't make it safe by making it dull, but instead you put it in the hands of someone who knows what he's doing." - John Eldridge

jadcock

From the sounds of it, it's normal, but my temperature gauge reads fully warm after only 3 or 4 miles of driving. It's half way up to the normal area before I get out of my neighborhood. I park in a garage, so that may help some, especially on the cold nights. I just start it and drive it.

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Jason Adcock
Always Tread Lightly!
1995 4x4 XE King Cab - 189,000 miles
1997 Cadillac Seville - 141,000 miles

Zilverado

Definitely the same here - '92 pathfinder, V6-SE. On cold mornings (it was -30 C / -22 F here this morning), it can idle forever and even blow nice warm air, but the gauge will not register until we've been on the road for a while. Then suddenly it move and reaches operating temp quickly.

Sounds "normal" to me.

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Zilverado
1992 Pathfinder V6-SE 4wd

keys861

Thanks for all the info. It makes me look forward to summer!