6 month service and battery capacity check

[bernie82]

I had to make an appointment about a week in advance for the 6 month check up because Nissan's Leaf certified mechanics only work at that dealership twice a week. They rotated the tires and did a battery capacity test. The printed result of the test stated that I was doing a good job in maintaining my battery and it was in normal battery expected range. I told them I wanted the GID count and the "certified" Leaf mechanic told me he had no idea what GIDS are. All he could give me was the diagnostic read out. I told him I wanted to know the amount of kilowatt hours remaining in my battery so I could manage my driving range. He told me Nissan never taught him anything about kilowatt hours. He also told me he was never taught anything about the engineering of the Leaf electronics. He did do a good job rotating the tires. Now I can relax.

 

[EdmondLeaf]

"*****" test is done after 1 year of use, hope you got all the stars

 

[TomT]

Just FYI: No service is normally required at 6 months on a Leaf. At one year all you need is the free battery check, nothing else. Other than that, just rotate the tires at around 7,500 miles like you would on any other vehicle. Brake fluid replacement at two years if you are paranoid, three if you are not. Cabin air filter when you feel the need and depending on where you live.

Leaf mechanics don't know what a Gid is because it is not a Nissan term or measurement and they have no way to determine it with their equipment. They also have no access to KWh capacity during a regular battery check. The battery test sends a lot of data to Nissan but the mechanics have no access to it. As you have learned, the info that you get from the battery check is essentially worthless.

I had to make an appointment about a week in advance for the 6 month check up because Nissan's Leaf certified mechanics only work at that dealership twice a week. They rotated the tires and did a battery capacity test. The printed result of the test stated that I was doing a good job in maintaining my battery and it was in normal battery expected range. I told them I wanted the GID count and the "certified" Leaf mechanic told me he had no idea what GIDS are. All he could give me was the diagnostic read out. I told him I wanted to know the amount of kilowatt hours remaining in my battery so I could manage my driving range. He told me Nissan never taught him anything about kilowatt hours. He also told me he was never taught anything about the engineering of the Leaf electronics. He did do a good job rotating the tires. Now I can relax.

 

[Weatherman]

I would think that, if you get two, free battery checks, why waste one at the six-month mark?

I have a three-year lease. I plan to get the first check in July 2013 and the second one in July 2014 and turn the car in in July 2015, so I don't pay for a single battery check and still keep to the requirements of the warranty.

 

[bernie82]

If you read Tom t response, the Nissan battery test is basically worthless. And yes, I got 5 stars. There's nothing lost by wasting a worthless battery check. If Nissan can't measure remaining battery capacity how can we trust the information they send us from the console?

 

[ebill3]

Seems like a rather clueless dealer - doing the one year check at six months. At least they didn't palm off a bunch of unnecessary maintenance as many do. Or, did they?

 

[RegGuheert]

If you read Tom t response, the Nissan battery test is basically worthless. And yes, I got 5 stars. There's nothing lost by wasting a worthless battery check.

While I agree that the information from the test is worthless, I will point out that the annual battery test is required to maintain the battery warranty. Since batteries can fail in other ways than just losing capacity, I will take it in for the first seven years to ensure I am covered in case the battery fails in some other way.

 

[kolmstead]

So what do you think about getting the second-year battery usage report? My LEAF is due next month, and I'm probably going to skip it. We already know that Nissan isn't going to warranty battery capacity, and mine is down 20%. My LEAF can't make the 84 mile drive to the dealer, so it means a full day of my time and 170 miles on my truck and flatbed trailer just to get a 5-star printout. They'll want to do the firmware upgrades, which are of no value to me. Got better things to do with my time and money.

Karl

 

[TomT]

I'd get it just in case your battery completely blows up at month 27. At least that way you are covered. Without it, maybe not.

So what do you think about getting the second-year battery usage report? My LEAF is due next month, and I'm probably going to skip it. We already know that Nissan isn't going to warranty battery capacity, and mine is down 20%.

 

[LEAFfan]

So what do you think about getting the second-year battery usage report? My LEAF is due next month, and I'm probably going to skip it. We already know that Nissan isn't going to warranty battery capacity, and mine is down 20%. My LEAF can't make the 84 mile drive to the dealer, so it means a full day of my time and 170 miles on my truck and flatbed trailer just to get a 5-star printout. They'll want to do the firmware upgrades, which are of no value to me. Got better things to do with my time and money.
Karl

First, there is no 6 mo. battery check and according to your info, your car was delivered 6/2012. If you meant 6/11, then your yearly BC isn't due until 6/12. If you decide to skip it in six months, you'll void your warranty.

 

[ebill3]

Yep, I would make the effort whenever the yearly check is due. Lots of things can happen to the battery other than loss of capacity.

 

[planet4ever]

So what do you think about getting the second-year battery usage report? My LEAF is due next month, and I'm probably going to skip it. We already know that Nissan isn't going to warranty battery capacity, and mine is down 20%. My LEAF can't make the 84 mile drive to the dealer, so it means a full day of my time and 170 miles on my truck and flatbed trailer just to get a 5-star printout. They'll want to do the firmware upgrades, which are of no value to me. Got better things to do with my time and money.

That's a tough one! I expect you can make it the roughly 60 miles to Mojave where PlugShare says there is a dryer outlet you can use (assuming you have the EVSEupgrade). But you would probably have to sit there for two hours before you could make it the rest of the way to Palmdale, and another two hours on the way back for a boost, even if you filled up in Palmdale, and who wants to spend four hours in Mojave?? Not to mention you'd have to spend about five hours in Palmdale (which might not be all that bad). Yep, a full day for sure.

You are right that the 5-star printout is silly, but that's not what the battery check is about. Nissan gets a lot of good information about your battery - they just don't share it with you. And, yes, the battery is warranted for cell failure or other catastrophic failures, but only if you got the checks.

Frankly, if I were you I would seriously consider getting rid of the car sometime between now and and the middle of April. Ridgecrest isn't quite as hot as Phoenix, but it's pretty darn hot, and you might be able to convince Nissan to take it back. Why April? Because it now seems fairly clear that they give you a three-month leeway on that battery check.

Best wishes,
Ray

 

[kolmstead]

Fixed my delivery date. It was actually January of 2011. Car is two full years old; 18k miles. Just starting to feel squeezed by range loss.