2011 Heater Core $1240 - Part B714300Q0A PTC - Alternatives?

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brycenesbitt

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 31, 2016
Messages
151
Ouch.
The 2011 Used Leaf with 20,000 mikes seemed like such a bargain.
After a few months, the heater has given out. The shop just called to say the heater core is bad, and it's a $1240 part plus $1100-$1400 labor.
The dealer gave more or less the same price. The dealer says no service bulletin exists for any sort of discount.

Are there alternatives? At this point this is a $7000-$9000 car.
2011 Heater Core $1240 :eek: - Nissan Part B714300Q0A or B7143-00Q0H

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Are the failures of this part likely to be the temperature sensor, or the actual ceramic restive heating element?
 
This was a common failure among 2011/2012 Leafs; the price sounded low until I see that doesn't include labor.
 
http://car-part.com/ + independent shop could save you some $$$. Or not. The risk being you pick a wrong part or the shop messes something up.
 
There were a number of failures on 2013 resistance heaters (first year of dry ceramic type), but I think the hot water tank heaters on the 2011/2012 models were pretty reliable (although slower to heat). Is the shop certain that it is the heating element assembly (water tank) and not a control, sensor, or water pump issue?

Gerry
 
GerryAZ said:
There were a number of failures on 2013 resistance heaters (first year of dry ceramic type), but I think the hot water tank heaters on the 2011/2012 models were pretty reliable (although slower to heat). Is the shop certain that it is the heating element assembly (water tank) and not a control, sensor, or water pump issue?
Gerry

As far as I can tell, they think it's the sensor element embedded in the heater core assembly referenced above.
 
The liquid temperature sensor is in the hose external to the water heater module. I was not aware of internal sensor(s). The labor charge noted in your original post seems really high because the heater is readily accessible under the hood near the 12-volt battery. The price for the part online at Nissan USA is $1175 so the shop's price probably includes shipping.

Gerry
 
brycenesbitt said:
Ouch.
The 2011 Used Leaf with 20,000 mikes seemed like such a bargain.
After a few months, the heater has given out. The shop just called to say the heater core is bad, and it's a $1240 part plus $1100-$1400 labor.
The dealer gave more or less the same price. The dealer says no service bulletin exists for any sort of discount.

For $2500, I'm willing to do a lot of shivering. I used to ride in an old VW bus that seemed to defy the laws of physics and actually be colder inside the vehicle than outside. The saying in the old days was "A beater with a heater," now the heater is half the price of the entire car? :shock:

If it isn't leaking, I could never see any justification for putting $2500 to fix it, even doing the work myself and a $1250 part I'd never do it, let Nissan keep their overpriced heater. You really can't get one from a junkyard either since there is no telling when that one will go out. I'm wondering if mine in my 2011 LEAF works, as I never use it here in Florida.

It seems though that GerryAZ may have something worth trying if you can actually replace the external temperature sensor for a reasonable amount of time and money. Otherwise maybe it is possible to modify it (at your own risk of course) with some wiring and a switch to override the temperature sensor and force the heater to work?
 
Hold on there... The heater core is the equivalent (and reverse) of the radiator... That is not a moving/ operating part, it is just a box that lets coolant pass through... If there is no heat, then there is a problem with the antifreeze circulation through the core.

Before doing a job like that, (which the mechanics would love to do), check the condition of the antifreeze. It could be considered to be relatively old. Also, someone may have put some additive that clogged the tubing of the core.

If the antifreeze level is good, and there are no leaks, then I would first flush the old antifreeze, run the heater with water and cooling system flush, and then "reverse flush" the cooling system with a garden hose to push out anything clogging the core..

I have had cars with NO HEAT and gotten great results with reverse flushing the heater with a hose. And it is a simple thing you can do in your driveway..

If that doesn't work, then start checking if there is an electric coolant pump that circulates the antifreeze. I have a Ford Escape Hybrid that had a recall with failing electric cooling pumps, which I had changed under warrantee. THAT could be the weak point in the system because it is an electrical moving motor that can fail over time.....

Good Luck..
 
I wouldn't be scared at all to buy a junkyard one. Typically you get a 90 warranty from a junkyard. New from dealer is 12 months. Could it fail? Sure. For a sixth the price I'll take my chances. The new one can fail in 13 months. I've bought engines, transmissions, electrical components, a/c components, all kinds of things over the years and have yet to have one fail or be bad. Sure it's possible but in my experience not very likely. Coolant maybe but it only has 20000 miles. Maybe the circulation pump but I'm assuming it was properly diagnosed. Certainly possible for a electric resistance heater to fail, it's not just a conventional heater core where circulation and leaks are the only things preventing it from working. Sensors, switches, the wiring and even the element itself can all fail.
 
Buy a part from EBay or scrapyard.
Find somebody who will work at reasonable hourly fee. Be it 10 or 30$ per hour.
Half day job if you know what you do.
 
arnis said:
Find somebody who will work at reasonable hourly fee. Be it 10 or 30$ per hour.
Something of a shortage in the US of auto mechanics who know what they are doing AND will work for $10/hour. Usually, you can find one or the other. ;)
 
Young mechanics who have their own shop. They do not need to know what the do. The need
repair manual which is available on the internet. Instructions for assembly/disassembly.
Nothing wrong with 20 per hour. It is still a fraction of the price.
 
I figure I'd throw my hat in here as well...

I remember the 2011 heater system. Hilariously complex, but efficient.

It consists of a completely separate coolant loop, but the "coolant" is rather used as "heatant" instead here. I think they just jimmied a standard Nissan HVAC system in there, one typically used for ICE engine cars.

In that coolant loop, there's:
- its own reservoir
- a heating element
- its own pump
- a heater core (goes to the vents) - and pretty much is immune to failure (it's just a dumb copper block!)
- a valve to regulate flow through the heater core
- a few sensors

Right now, the diagnosis is focused on the heating element (I assume - though the title says "heater core", "PTC" and the part number refers to the element). That may or may not be the right one to look at.

To know for sure, you should probably check that the coolant is actually flowing (pump; valve). It flows at all times the car is running, in my experience. So, you should be able to pop the cap off of either reservoir, and see coolant flowing in both. Don't worry, it's a closed system - popping the cap while the car is running won't leak anything out at you, and you should be able to observe turbulence in the liquid inside. No flow? Check your pump.

Next, check if either reservoir gets warm when you've got the heater running - kind of unlikely at this point. Turn car on, set to 90, foot, no A/C, fan on 2. It ought to get warm within 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Next, check the "energy monitor" screen and see if you have any AC/Heating power consumption on the screen. Yes? Then something is heating up (and the heating element is OK) - as that screen monitors actual load. But through those other tests, that ought to have been eliminated...

Then, you can take the diagnosis to eBay, pick up the right part, and quite possibly fix it yourself if you know how to Google the service manual for the 2011 Leaf. :mrgreen:
 
arnis said:
Buy a part from EBay or scrapyard.
Find somebody who will work at reasonable hourly fee. Be it 10 or 30$ per hour.
Half day job if you know what you do.

Update: purchased new used PTC core. Swapped it. No heat.
 
[Four letter word of one's choosing] As a fellow 2011 owner, real life scenarios like your concern me... Sorry for the nightmare on your part... Many of us appreciate sharing your eventual solution... I have noticed a trend that mechanics don't really have a handle on the subsystems, and many minds here do... Best luck toward getting heat...
 
brycenesbitt said:
arnis said:
Buy a part from EBay or scrapyard.
Find somebody who will work at reasonable hourly fee. Be it 10 or 30$ per hour.
Half day job if you know what you do.

Update: purchased new used PTC core. Swapped it. No heat.

"new used" - so actually old and used.
Who said that it was functional before installation?
Also I would assume clearing codes with LeafSpy might explain at least something.
Maybe it has a different problem now. Also some devices lock out of they malfunction.
Maybe clearing codes helps. For Leaf I doubt it, but still.
 
If my electric heater in a 2011-12 required expensive repair, and the rest of the heating system (pump, controls, heatant loop) was operational (not sure if that's your case) I'd consider just replacing the heat source. A few old threads discussed this option.

edatoakrun said:
...The Webatso concept of connecting to the heatant loop is a good one, IMO, which I hadn't considered last Winter.

It occurs to me that their is ample room under the LEAFs hood, for this installation, as well as for a small fuel tank.

Putting the heater there would allow it to vent safely, outside the passenger compartment.

For the US, I'd say propane is the obvious fuel choice. Widely available, cheap, and none of the problems that liquid fuels have with degrading over time.

This would likely be the lowest cost “range extender” for cold climates, but not worth the trouble unless you have months of sub-freezing temps in your area.
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=6505&start=10

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1629

Actually, it looks like room under the hood is the major problem, with all the portable propane water heaters I'm familiar with.
 
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