Bought a 2011 Leaf on 03/15/2015 with a "new pack", but...

[mwalsh]

No brainer for me, take the new battery.

+1. And then, once you've got it and you're clear, you have to tell us which dealer it was.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

So, I'm starting to think I might be a victim of a dealership doing the BCM reset trick to make the life meter show 12 bars and then selling me a 2011 that they insisted had a "brand new battery pack" in it. My range has been around 45-55 miles per charge pretty consistently before hitting LBW. Most of my driving is half town, half highway. The car has 48,000 miles on it right now.

I've driven the car approximately 2400 miles since I bought it, and the life meter is already down one bar. I've obtained a service history of the car and there's nothing in it about replacing the pack, only the inverter and intelligent charging system back in Feb of 2014. I've called Nissan EV support, confirmed that the car is battery warranty eligible, and that no pack replacement has been done by any Nissan dealer or authorized service center.

I then bought a bluetooth OBD reader and leaf spy pro, and got these readings off the car after a full night's L2 charge:

http://i.imgur.com/DejwtTq.png" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://i.imgur.com/5BUiJmj.png" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I took the car to the dealer this morning, and paid the $40 battery test fee, and was told "nope, no problems, you're all good", but I suspect that just reads whatever values the BCM tells it (same as the bars on the dash meter), so it's still thinking everything's peachy. I did get a full printout of the service history while I was there.

So, anyone have any advice here? What are my options? Do I try to get the dealer to admit in some provable fashion that they told me it had a new battery at the time of the sale (yes, shame on me for not getting it in writing... my stupidity...) and then start a media shitstorm about it and start talking to a lawyer or what?

you are under warranty. maybe they said you "could" get a new pack which is true since it does appear you will be well within the mileage limits

 

[tkdbrusco]

irregardless of a lawsuit to get a new battery, OP is on target to get a new one within a few weeks due to the warranty coverage. Based on the AHR & SOH reading, it may already have been a 4 bar loser prior to the reset. Charge to 100% and know you're getting a fresh battery this summer.

If anything, Nissan should file an exemption and just speed up the process.

Irregardless isn't a word.

 

[tkdbrusco]

The dealer has admitted they screwed up by telling me the car had a new battery (yes, I'm as shocked as anyone) and they offered to replace the battery with a new one. When I asked for other concessions as compensation for their crap and the headaches, I was told "yeah, I'm not doing that".

No brainer for me, take the new battery.

+1 - Take the battery. The new lizard packs are awesome! You'll be super happy.

 

[kuri]

maybe they said you "could" get a new pack which is true since it does appear you will be well within the mileage limits

They most certainly did not say that, and have admitted that they told me it was a new battery. They're playing it off as the used car manager not knowing there was a difference between the intelligent power distribution module and the battery.

 

[tkdbrusco]

Another positive would be that the dealer will likely not be able to get reimbursed by Nissan corporate for the replacement pack since yours is still above the warranty capacity limit. If you take them up on it now, you'll be hurting the dealer's bottom line. If you hold tight and roll the dice, your battery could degrade to <9 bars and when its replaced, the dealer won't be on the line for the cost. If you want to get them back and hit them with the cost, do it now.

 

[ishiyakazuo]

Well... here's the latest.

The dealer has admitted they screwed up by telling me the car had a new battery (yes, I'm as shocked as anyone) and they offered to replace the battery with a new one. When I asked for other concessions as compensation for their crap and the headaches, I was told "yeah, I'm not doing that".

I've talked to 3 different attorneys, and according to all 3 of them, under CA state law, I'm basically hamstrung by their offer. I won't get anything else out of a judge besides *maybe* getting them to buy the car back, which is going to cause a whole load of other issues and isn't even guaranteed since they've already offered to correct their "mistake".

So, now I have to decide if it's worth paying a 2 to 3 thousand retainer and rolling the dice in the hope I get something better, or just dealing with the fact that they tried to screw me, got caught doing it, and get away with it with just a "sorry, let us do what we said we did in the first place" and no other ill effects.

Take the battery. Anything else will just eat up more of your time and probably not pan out.

 

[davewill]

They're making you whole on the car itself. Plus, there's always the possibility that initially they really did screw up and think that 12 bars meant a new battery. I doubt a judge would award punitive damages. You probably won't get enough more to make up for the hassle and expense of suing. If you've got documentable expenses (like car rentals) I would try asking them to cover those, but they probably aren't worth suing for. Make sure they provide a loaner during the battery swap.

 

[mtndrew1]

Oh man I'd jump at that new battery as soon as you can get the car in to their service drive.

You've succeeded in getting a car dealer to admit fault and eat a $5,500 repair. This, in and of itself, is a huge win in my opinion. You wanted a Leaf with a brand new battery pack and you got it.

 

[palmermd]

I'll agree with all the other posters. Just take the battery. You won, it's over.

 

[ishiyakazuo]

It probably goes without saying, but I would definitely take Leaf Spy readings before and after. If they thought they replaced the battery before, maybe they think they can "replace the battery" again and shut you up.

 

[kuri]

It probably goes without saying, but I would definitely take Leaf Spy readings before and after. If they thought they replaced the battery before, maybe they think they can "replace the battery" again and shut you up.

oh yeah, definitely

 

[mwalsh]

It probably goes without saying, but I would definitely take Leaf Spy readings before and after. If they thought they replaced the battery before, maybe they think they can "replace the battery" again and shut you up.

I know the OP wouldn't think so, but that would be completely hilarious! :lol:

 

[kuri]

I know the OP wouldn't think so, but that would be completely hilarious! :lol:

I'm pretty sure I'd get arrested for going postal and beating the hell out of everyone in arm's reach at that point. :lol:

 

[ishiyakazuo]

I know the OP wouldn't think so, but that would be completely hilarious! :lol:

I'm pretty sure I'd get arrested for going postal and beating the hell out of everyone in arm's reach at that point. :lol:

That's one way to get them into court... But seriously, if I didn't think it was a possibility, I wouldn't have said it.
Hopefully it's actually a new battery, too, and not some reject battery from a low-mileage junker that's somehow reprogrammed to pair with your car.

 

[tkdbrusco]

Just make sure that they are giving you a 100% new, 2015 model "lizard" pack. There's enough readings on this pack to know what it should indicate at 100% charge. Once they put it in, have them charge to 100% and take a reading. It should indicate 292 GIDS.

 

[Slow1]

And perhaps you already thought of this...

Get the new battery pack, but also get their agreement to do so in writing ahead of time. I.e. a statement saying they will replace it with a new (not used) battery with all parts/labor/warranty on them.

 

[kuri]

Yeah, I already have an email from them GM of the dealership outlining the specific model number of the battery that they will be installing (hence my other thread asking about the model being a "lizard" pack).

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

irregardless of a lawsuit to get a new battery, OP is on target to get a new one within a few weeks due to the warranty coverage. Based on the AHR & SOH reading, it may already have been a 4 bar loser prior to the reset. Charge to 100% and know you're getting a fresh battery this summer.

If anything, Nissan should file an exemption and just speed up the process.

Irregardless isn't a word.

per your definition. a "word" is something that is used to define something. we currently use several "non words" daily and eventually they will become "real" words.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

The dealer has admitted they screwed up by telling me the car had a new battery (yes, I'm as shocked as anyone) and they offered to replace the battery with a new one. When I asked for other concessions as compensation for their crap and the headaches, I was told "yeah, I'm not doing that".

No brainer for me, take the new battery.

+1 - Take the battery. The new lizard packs are awesome! You'll be super happy.

take the pack. trying to get damages from this will take years, tons of money and you do not have a guarantee of any payoff. In fact, I don't see you really having a case.