B0133 NO BATT CAPACITY WARRANTY

[oakwcj]

I'm going on memory here, but one of Alex Kozinski's arguments at the settlement approval hearing last year was that the proposed settlement was a sham precisely because the battery capacity warranty announcement preceded the settlement agreement. Nissan's lawyers responded that the warranty would not include those who opted out. Kozinski then filed a supplemental brief urging the judge not to allow Nissan to take this route in a belated attempt to make the settlement appear to have some meaningful provisions. The last I heard the parties had agreed to mediation over the settlement. I would guess that if the settlement is changed and approved, one of the provisions would be that the capacity warranty would be extended to those who opted out. But that's just a guess. Only a small number of owners opted out. Of those, an even smaller number would ever be eligible for the capacity warranty. It's hard for me to believe that Nissan would really want to argue that they weren't eligible because they opted out of a lawsuit months after receiving the warranty notification letter which, as others have pointed out, is unconditional, and couldn't possibly have referred to a settlement agreement that didn't even exist at the time. Of course, the logical conclusion of Nissan's little stunt is that, if the settlement isn't approved, it would take away the capacity warranty from everyone. They're obviously not about to do that. There is no final settlement yet. It's completely unlawful for Nissan to take away an unconditional warranty from people who have opted out of an unapproved settlement.

 

[TomT]

+1!

So, by a show of hands, if it ultimately turns out that Nissan did indeed pull this narrow-sighted and narrow-minded crap, how many will never recommend and/or buy another Nissan product of any kind in the future? (Holding my hand up!)

Kudos to Nissan for being so organized. Too bad they can't apply that kind of energy to fixing their products and taking care of their customers instead of being douches.

 

[Stoaty]

So, by a show of hands, if it ultimately turns out that Nissan did indeed pull this narrow-sighted and narrow-minded crap, how many will never recommend and/or buy another Nissan product of any kind in the future? (Holding my hand up!)

Far more important to me is whether the Lizard battery ever comes out, whether we know it has come out, and how much it will cost for me to buy one (in exchange for my current battery) in about 3 years when I need one. A few shenanigans here and there won't mean a whole lot if Nissan makes good in some way on the defective batteries (e.g., giving a pro-rated discount to Leaf owners to buy a new battery after 5 years based on mileage and length of time to 70% capacity). Not that I think that is likely to happen, just think it is more important.

 

[91040]

mWalsh- I think RonDawg doesn't realize that there was a letter sent months before the settlement letter.

Just found out my car is not covered by the capacity warranty, according to the dealer's computer. I too opted out of the settlement. Then again, my 3 year old car is at 74.5k miles with 3 capacity bars lost.

 

[dgpcolorado]

I got notification of the enhanced warranty a full 2-3 months ahead of the settlement paperwork, with no personal knowledge of the class action, and no mention in the accompanying paperwork. I remember this very clearly; the enhanced warranty was an automatic add-on, offered with no strings.

My experience exactly.

Not that the warranty matters to me since I'm unlikely to qualify by 60 months unless I ship my car to Phoenix or Palm Springs.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

The one thing I keep coming back to in their defense is through all this is how many people are there out there who have truly "broken" cars that Nissan hasn't assisted in one way or the other? I haven't really heard of any, but would like to hear if there are. For example are there people in Arizona who couldn't make it work and back any more and Nissan just told them to go F themselves?

It has always seemed to me we don't know for sure what they may do for people in the future, we only know what they haven't done yet. We've lost capacity, but we're still getting by, and I've often wondered if the day comes where the car doesn't work for us anymore if we would just be hosed or it they would do something for us.

 

[keydiver]

So, by a show of hands, if it ultimately turns out that Nissan did indeed pull this narrow-sighted and narrow-minded crap, how many will never recommend and/or buy another Nissan product of any kind in the future?

This was exactly my thought too. Although I have temporarily stopped actively praising Nissan and my Leaf, I don't bad-mouth them, and I held out great hope that Nissan would get the chemistry right this time, I would qualify next year for the new battery, and I could go back to singing their praises. If it takes another lawsuit for me to get justice, that will change everything.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

A buddy of mine wants a leaf but he likes to have things paid off and doesn't want to lease. Should I just tell him to run like the wind and get a cheap ICE car?

 

[abasile]

A buddy of mine wants a leaf but he likes to have things paid off and doesn't want to lease. Should I just tell him to run like the wind and get a cheap ICE car?

Tell him to shop for a BEV or PHEV that takes the heat better!

 

[QueenBee]

The one thing I keep coming back to in their defense is through all this is how many people are there out there who have truly "broken" cars that Nissan hasn't assisted in one way or the other? I haven't really heard of any, but would like to hear if there are. For example are there people in Arizona who couldn't make it work and back any more and Nissan just told them to go F themselves?

Regardless of why my car is excluded from the capacity warranty I still fully expect that Nissan would cover me. It might take a bit of time to get my request up to the proper level but I don't think they would really leave me out in the cold. On this issue I'll probably never have a chance to prove that though.

 

[nosuchthing]

A buddy of mine wants a leaf but he likes to have things paid off and doesn't want to lease. Should I just tell him to run like the wind and get a cheap ICE car?

Tell him to LEASE Spark EV at 15,000 miles/year (if he needs the miles).
It will cost him 100 bucks a month, bumper to bumper, free OnStar etc.
Range: solid 83 miles at 65 mph. Slower speeds (like 45 mph) 115 miles. TMS included!

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

A buddy of mine wants a leaf but he likes to have things paid off and doesn't want to lease. Should I just tell him to run like the wind and get a cheap ICE car?

Tell him to LEASE Spark EV at 15,000 miles/year (if he needs the miles).
It will cost him 100 bucks a month, bumper to bumper, free OnStar etc.
Range: solid 83 miles at 65 mph. Slower speeds (like 45 mph) 115 miles. TMS included!

Not in CA.

 

[Valdemar]

A buddy of mine wants a leaf but he likes to have things paid off and doesn't want to lease. Should I just tell him to run like the wind and get a cheap ICE car?

Tell him to LEASE Spark EV at 15,000 miles/year (if he needs the miles).
It will cost him 100 bucks a month, bumper to bumper, free OnStar etc.
Range: solid 83 miles at 65 mph. Slower speeds (like 45 mph) 115 miles. TMS included!

Is this real? With how much down?

 

[TickTock]

A buddy of mine wants a leaf but he likes to have things paid off and doesn't want to lease. Should I just tell him to run like the wind and get a cheap ICE car?

Good for your friend - smart. As long as all he needs is a vehicle to go 50 miles on a charge and he likes the Leaf, tell him to go for it. It is a great car that will put a smile on his face. If he needs it to go further, then he should pass, as that smile will turn into a frown after a couple years.

 

[Stoaty]

A buddy of mine wants a leaf but he likes to have things paid off and doesn't want to lease. Should I just tell him to run like the wind and get a cheap ICE car?

I would advise him to wait for the Lizard battery to come out before buying. My guess is that Nissan would not be foolish enough to make unsupportable claims a second time.

 

[TomT]

I wish I was as confident of that as you... After this latest B0133 debacle, I have lost most of my faith in Nissan...

I would advise him to wait for the Lizard battery to come out before buying. My guess is that Nissan would not be foolish enough to make unsupportable claims a second time.

 

[RonDawg]

mWalsh- I think RonDawg doesn't realize that there was a letter sent months before the settlement letter.

As best as I can remember, the letter that everybody is talking about (that also talks about the software enhancement), and the "Notice of Proposed Settlement" came to me in one envelope. I found them together in my rather unorganized pile of stuff, so that's why I don't think I got them in two separate mailings.

mwalsh...don't get pissed off at me. I'm just telling you what I got in the mail, and presume everybody else did too.

 

[mwalsh]

As best as I can remember, the letter that everybody is talking about (that also talks about the software enhancement), and the "Notice of Proposed Settlement" came to me in one envelope. I found them together in my rather unorganized pile of stuff, so that's why I don't think I got them in two separate mailings.

mwalsh...don't get pissed off at me. I'm just telling you what I got in the mail, and presume everybody else did too. I'm not the one who advised you (or anybody else) to opt-out.

So can I suggest then, since you are completely misremembering everything that transpired, that you have nothing further of substance to add to this conversation. Because, frankly, I also find your borderline smugness over YOUR decision to be offensive too. Oh, and by the way, bully for you!

 

[RonDawg]

As best as I can remember, the letter that everybody is talking about (that also talks about the software enhancement), and the "Notice of Proposed Settlement" came to me in one envelope. I found them together in my rather unorganized pile of stuff, so that's why I don't think I got them in two separate mailings.

mwalsh...don't get pissed off at me. I'm just telling you what I got in the mail, and presume everybody else did too. I'm not the one who advised you (or anybody else) to opt-out.

So can I suggest then, since you are completely misremembering everything that transpired, that you have nothing further of substance to add to this conversation. Because, frankly, I also find your borderline smugness over YOUR decision to be offensive too. Oh, and by the way, bully for you!

And how do YOU know that I got the mailings separately (like you say you did)? Are you the one that mailed them from Nissan NA? Are you the USPS worker who mailed them to my house?

Don't blame me for making a decision that you are now regretting. Speaking of which, I found the Opt-out thread in which you said you were going to consult with an attorney and requested that others hold off until you got an answer from him or her. Perhaps this is the person to whom you should be directing your anger.

Going through that thread, it appears that people had doubts even then (September 2013) as to whether or not you would retain the warranty if you opted-out.

 

[epirali]

A question: by opting out I assumed you wanted to keep doors open to take action on your own. So I assume you were accounting for the rather significant cost associated in doing this, and calculated that the cost would potentially get you a much better result than the proposed settlement (the warranty).

You have left the door wide open to go after Nissan directly at the cost of the warranty. Why not use that option and see if you can get a better deal?