Aside from the fact that this occurred, none of the Nissan dealership had an AC compressor in stock and could not estimate when they will get it. We basically had to buy the part from Nissan and wait several months for the part to arrive. We only got the part after we called Nissan headquarters, wrote letters and emails and the part was then expedited to the dealership. My husband relies on the car for work, but was unable to use it with no AC and extremely hot temperatures. They have lost me as a customer.

I really love my car, so I don't want this to be all bad/just bashing the 2013 Altima. But, I saw a lot of other complaints about this, so I wanted to add my solution, because this failure really stinks in Texas in July! The car first started blowing lukewarm air at low speeds (aka my whole commute). It was better at high speeds. We got it recharged because it was low on freon. The next hot day, sure enough it was bad again. I gave it some time thinking it was just me being picky/the Texas heat was just doing that to it, but it got worse. Soon it started blowing warm air no matter what speed, then would go cold for a minute, then warm. Never ice cold, but bearable I guess. Also it wasn't blowing as much as most a/c's and you couldn't really feel it in the back seat. I mean, even if the car is hot from sitting outside, cold air in your face helps! I finally took it back to the shop. The solution is now to fix the compressor, condenser, and all other units associated with the a/c. Aka the whole system.

Anyway, I wanted to post this so you guys would all have the (unfortunate but likely) solution to your a/c woes!

Unfortunately, the AC compressor failure happened after my vehicle warranty expired (3 yrs or 36k miles and I was over 3 yrs, but under 36k). It seems to be a common issue for Nissan Altima:

1) when I called a Nissan dealer to ask about possible causes of AC not cooling so that I get a rough estimate of what the repair would cost me, the service advisor mentioned that it most possible cause is the AC compressor

2) when I bought my car in for inspection, at the check out counter, I overheard another customer talking to the teller that he was waiting for repair on his car AC compressor. His vehicle is still under warranty.

I had 2 non-Nissan technicians inspect my car and both of their opinions were the same, an AC compressor should not fail after such low mileage.

I've filed a complaint with Nissan and hopefully they will respond with a fair decision.

2013 Altima a/c problem! The a/c started to not work well (just cool) so I ask my neighborhood mechanic to look at it. He tested pressures and said looks like it needed new compressor. Went to Nissan dealer they did same test and told me the same thing with a quote for $1400. I went home and called a company that only does a/c in our town and they said lets test it. After testing they concluded that the compressor was NEVER getting an electrical signal to the solenoid to open all the way and max the cooling! (this would be covered but not the compressor, imagine that) Nissan told me they never heard of anything like that and couldn't help--Do you want a new compressor? Back to the specialist--You don't need a new compressor! I am now up against the 60000 miles with no where to go. I have repeatedly called the general manager at this Nissan but he's ALWAYS in a meeting and will not talk! I wrote to Nissan USA they won't respond. DO NOT BUY THIS CAR!! If others have any good suggestions I'm listening.

I was having issues with the a/c in my 2013 Altima shooting out warm air at lower driving speeds. Once I got past 40 MPH it began to shoot cooler air. Took to mechanic and was told entire a/c had to be replaced at a cost of about $1500.00.

Ended up taking to a mechanic referred by family friend who tested system thoroughly, and determined it was the cabin air filter - once replaced (so far) a/c is working well again at lower speeds (not shooting out warm air).

Check your cabin air filter (located inside/behind glove box) before spending a large amount for repairs that may not even be needed.

Update from Jun 13, 2017: Edit:

Issue still exists. Cabin filter did not fix.

My 2013 Nissan Altima SL A/C never really seemed to blow ice cold air since purchasing brand new but thought it was because of the heat in Texas. My 2012 always seemed to blow ice cold air and still does & it has almost 90,000 miles on it. Figured it must be some new economical A/C thing Nissan was trying out. Moved to Florida in 2014 and didn't seem to notice any difference until just recently while sitting in interstate traffic for a long time; A/C started blowing warm air and not cool. When traffic finally got moving, A/C seemed to be better; cooler air coming from vents. I saw all these posts regarding their 2013 Nissan Altima doing the exact same thing as mine and now beginning to wonder if it is a factory defect that Nissan needs to address and make right. I thought Nissan made great cars and have always raved about them but this is causing me to re-think my opinion. I don't think I'll be buying Nissan again. I guess the old adage is right: "You get what you pay for!" I currently have an appt. with a car repair company to run an A/C check to see what the problem is. They told me it could run upwards of +$1,000!

Will take car into dealer this week. Based on the many other complaints of the same type, I expect the worst. We'll see if Nissan wishes me to be a repeat customer or not.

Update from Mar 2, 2018: The dealer replaced both the condenser and the compressor under their "Goodwill" program. No additional A/C issues since but it was only summer of 2017 that the repair was made. We'll see how long it lasts. The total cost would have been over $1500 If I had to cover the cost.

I wanted to thank the dealer for taking care of me in this instance.

My car gets cold while i'm driving although it takes a while. If I'm parked or idling at a stop light it blows luke-warm air. I took it to a shop to have them evac and re-fill the coolant to see if maybe it was just low. It was completely full. The shop says they think it is a compressor problem and its going to cost $1500. I had 2 Nissan Altimas in the past and I used to like them. But I've had nothing but trouble from this one (3 different recalls and two warranty repairs) and now its out of warranty. I definitely wont be buying a new one any time soon.

38000 miles and the compressor goes out. 2,000 miles out of warranty. Had to contact Nissan regional customer relations person in Tenn. After 5 days they decided they would split the cost with me. Really not fair. Its 100 degrees in Texas, the ac does not work at all and the car has been parked. I had to borrow one to get around as I didn't know what they would do if anything. I get there offer this am and spent all day trying to reach the Auto Nation service center. Finally got someone at 4:30 in the afternoon. He told me they had zero 2013 Altima compressors and they are on back order. Nissan won't even tell them when they will have any to ship which tells me my issue is not unique and is widespread. An obvious defect which they should recall. I purchased the car because of its supposed reliability; What a crock... Now I have to go rent a car for God knows how many days. Unbelievable.

Update from Sep 10, 2016: After raising hell to the dealership and Nissan Regional in Tennessee, approx 3 weeks having to deal with out of stock compressors, etc. they ended up paying the vast majority of the repair. The absolutely have a problem. Met a lady that had a 2013 Altima, warned her of the problem, she said she already had to replace hers.

I have a Nissan Altima with 55,000 miles on it. The AC started blowing really hot air on a hot humid Minnesota day (yes, we have those in Minnesota, lol). Took it to Honda (Husband works there and since it is out of warranty that is where the repairs get done at- with a discount of course) and they ran some tests and found the problem to be the AC compressor. I Googled the problem only to find this seems to be the norm.

I called Nissan and they wanted me to take it to a Nissan dealer to diagnose (sorry- not happening as it was already diagnosed and not paying for that again). I am just going to suck it up and pay for the repair through Honda (again the discount comes into play) because from what I am reading Nissan is lucky to cover even half the cost of this repair- which is not pocket change. I am beyond mad and this will be my only and last Nissan I own- ever!

I have had many issues with this car from the start and cannot wait to get rid of it which is too bad because it is a sharp looking car. Too bad the Nissan parts are not so "sharp", which by the way I am putting an aftermarket compressor in! Once I can unload this thing I will buy myself another Honda, too bad my husband didn't work there when we bought the Nissan to begin with. ;)

Last week, while sitting in my car parked in the hot sun, the AC started blowing warm air! It was uncomfortable, and after driving around for a few days, it would blow warm air if I just idled in hot weather (when cool outside, it would cool nicely), or would blow warm air if I was in slow moving stop and go traffic.

Went to the dealer and after their diagnostic, they said that the AC system was overcharged with Freon. what? They basically told me that I, or someone else had tried to charge the system and overcharged it. So Nissan service dept. said they adjusted the Freon level and that everything was good again. I picked up the car, and the next day, I had the same original problem!

Called up Nissan and told them this. I brought it back and they checked it again. I told them that it didn't cool only when parked in hot weather, or driving slowly in stop and go traffic. My car is in the shop now being tested again. Service manager comes back and says my AC is putting out 45 deg F air. I'm like, "BS!". He takes me into his shop where I notice it's like nice and cool. the thermometer is reading 45 deg! But I tell him he needs to park it outside with AC on idling in the hot weather (95deg +, NY hot humid summer!!). So he finally does, and an hour later tells me my AC is not cooling now. They check the system pressure at that moment and it was high...like it was overcharged. So they finally tell me that my compressor cannot cool under a load, and has some internal problem and needs to be replaced! So I have the compressor replaced for $1399 parts, labor and tax!

Luckily, my wife go me breakdown insurance with GEICO which covers my car bumper to bumper up to 75k miles or 7 years...more than the crappy Nissan 3yr or 36k miles basic insurance. So GEICO paid $1149.04 and I paid the deductible of $250 for this. cool. Now my AC works nicely again. I've had my car for only 3 years, but have just over 65K miles...still I don't believe the compressor should have gone out so early. I need to get this traded before something major goes out!! I'll be upside down with the trade-in, but I do need to get rid of this car! Seems to have all sorts of problems!!! maybe i'll get a 2017 Subaru Legacy, Outback or Forester.