Nissan Won't Honor Capacity Warranty, Says I Am 4 Days Late. 8 Bars

[Valdemar]

Nissan's offer to pay half seems pretty fair to me.

+1, considering in most previously reported cases like this they were pretty strict on paying nothing.

 

[DuncanCunningham]

Nissan's offer to pay half seems pretty fair to me.

+1, considering in most previously reported cases like this they were pretty strict on paying nothing.

-1 I disagree. We are talking days on this one. Days. really, it's not our problem if it's out a few days? Most things, yes, but at over 6k a pop for the battery, I'd be pushing it for a full 100%. I will not get such for my 2012 SL. It's battery is still on 11 bars, so I'll never get it down to 8 in time.

 

[Zythryn]

Nissan's offer to pay half seems pretty fair to me.

+1, considering in most previously reported cases like this they were pretty strict on paying nothing.

-1 I disagree. We are talking days on this one. Days. really, it's not our problem if it's out a few days? Most things, yes, but at over 6k a pop for the battery, I'd be pushing it for a full 100%. I will not get such for my 2012 SL. It's battery is still on 11 bars, so I'll never get it down to 8 in time.

If I have a 5 year (for example) warrantee on anything, and I contact the manufacturer after the 5 years, any discount the manufacturer gives me is a gift.
I don't care if it is 10 minutes after the end of 5 years, or a year, it is all a gift.

Now, it is good PR, and is great for holding onto a customer, but it is a gift.

 

[DuncanCunningham]

+1, considering in most previously reported cases like this they were pretty strict on paying nothing.

-1 I disagree. We are talking days on this one. Days. really, it's not our problem if it's out a few days? Most things, yes, but at over 6k a pop for the battery, I'd be pushing it for a full 100%. I will not get such for my 2012 SL. It's battery is still on 11 bars, so I'll never get it down to 8 in time.

If I have a 5 year (for example) warrantee on anything, and I contact the manufacturer after the 5 years, any discount the manufacturer gives me is a gift.
I don't care if it is 10 minutes after the end of 5 years, or a year, it is all a gift.

Now, it is good PR, and is great for holding onto a customer, but it is a gift.

You might want to read the OP original post. he contacted them to get the car in for the warranty check and they stalled him, a couple of times. I read the facts of his situation before making a comment.

 

[Nubo]

You might want to read the OP original post. he contacted them to get the car in for the warranty check and they stalled him, a couple of times. I like to read the facts of his situation before making a comment.

They did produce delays but it was already 5 days past the warranty expiration before the initial contact was made.

 

[DuncanCunningham]

You might want to read the OP original post. he contacted them to get the car in for the warranty check and they stalled him, a couple of times. I like to read the facts of his situation before making a comment.

They did produce delays but it was already 5 days past the warranty expiration before the initial contact was made.

i stand corrected. actually, I'm sitting.

 

[mxp]

I recently received a letter (yeah, you can call it junk mail) from a lemon law firm in the Los Angeles area marketing that they can fight a case with 2011 Leafs. The Calif lemon law requires the manufacturer to pay for all the legal costs. The letter did state that the solicitation is not about a class action.

Has anyone (in California specifically) in our forum taken Nissan to court via Lemon Law for the battery degradation?
Is this even a viable option?

 

[Valdemar]

Several, myself including, were successful through a BBB arbitration, no lawyers were involved.

 

[rpmdk]

Several, myself including, were successful through a BBB arbitration, no lawyers were involved.

What was your situation?

I made the mistake of being extra careful, babying the battery as much as possible to get maximum life out of it. Now I'll be at four bars around 6 weeks after my warranty expires. Absurd that right now I am driving a car with what 70.2% capacity and I will get nothing.

Has Nissan done anything for people who miss the warranty? Particularly those with excellent battery reports?

 

[Valdemar]

Nissan have done nothing. The discussion accessible through the BBB link in my signature has all the details.

 

[rpmdk]

Nissan have done nothing. The discussion accessible through the BBB link in my signature has all the details.

Thanks, I'll read that thread tonight.

 

[TomT]

In general, nope! There my be one or two outliers who made such a stink that Nissan offered them something but it is very much the exception to the rule! Nissan is pretty much sticking to the letter of the class action lawsuit settlement. That is one of the reasons why I abandoned them...

Has Nissan done anything for people who miss the warranty? Particularly those with excellent battery reports?

 

[TimLee]

... Has Nissan done anything for people who miss the warranty?

One person that was over the mileage limit reported that after numerous email contacts with numerous Nissan managers that Nissan finally did agree to replace the pack.

 

[Jeffoff]

Update from the original post writer, me! Nissan refused to respond to any of my calls or emails after they initially stated they would not honor my capacity warranty (I am the guy who brought my 2011 Leaf to Nissan 5 days after 5 year deadline, and they told me to go take a hike) So, I did contact the BBB. Within a week a Nissan representative finally calls me, and states normally they have no obligation to do anything, but after reviewing my case, she offered to pay half the cost of a new battery. I asked her to simply go by the electronic record within the car, which will prove the bars dropped prior to the 5 years. She said she would inquire into if there is a record or not within the cars computer. (but she never followed up on that) I then told her that the capacity warranty states that as long as it fails within the 5 years or 60,000 miles, the battery will be replaced with their latest 30kw battery. I then stated no where does it say that the car must be brought to a dealer to prove the 8 bar drop. I said this is the electronic age where we can now simply read the car's computer and go by it. I said what Nissan is instead saying to every early Leaf owner is, You Must Be A Slave To The Dash Board Gauge! Don't you dare take your eyes off the capacity gauge because if you are a few days late, it will cost you many thousands! Is that the way Nissan wants its EV drivers to feel? Like we must stare every minute a gauge? Because that is the message you are telling me and others. I told her I am not happy with the offer, I want the full cost paid by Nissan, and we ended the call. I then told BBB to go ahead with Arbitration. Then 5 days later, BBB calls me back and says they won't arbitrate the case because their management people, and Nissan agree that Nissan can not be taken to Arbitration on a problem that was already settled in court!! I said I am not questioning the original settlement case on the battery. I agree with it 100%, I am fighting Nissan requirement to prove the 8 bar drop at a dealer face to face, rather than going by the electronic record the car may have within it, and or simply go by the customers own word when its so close anyhow. The BBB rep said I can always request an arbitrator to consider the BBB decision as to whether it is a correct decision they made or not, then see if the arbitrator will then allow case to go to arbitration! I said so now I am fighting BBB and Nissan? I said forget it. I don't have the time or energy to be fighting an agency that is supposed to be defending my rights as a consumer, and fighting the car company that is not honoring their settlement! I thought about it a day, and agreed to the Nissan offer to pay half, and then later I will fight other ways to get that half reimbursed. So as it is now. Nissan in Walnut Creek, Ca., is shipping a new battery. My cost will be about $2,940. They made me put $500 down already. I hate Nissan. And I will see to it that they loose many EV customers. My advice to all 2011 and 2012 Leaf owners, Please get the App that measures the battery voltages and do what you can the wear down that battery BEFORE the 5 year deadline, and then get your butt to Nissan and have them test and document the 8 bar drop! Do not baby the battery as I did with only 5 Quick charges. Instead, burn it up every chance you got because Nissan is not fair, nor are they honest. Once they got you past that 5 year date, they won't even listen to you. No calls are returned, no emails answered, they treat you like Shi* and they hope you disappear. Really piss poor service from such a large company. I wish I did things differently on my battery, but I assumed I was in good hands with Nissan. Wrong! Good luck folks! If you want to Email me directly, feel free to at: [email protected] If there is any detail that I was not clear on. I would love to help as many as possible get their new battery and prevent the Nissan cold hearted tricks they did on me. Wow I hate them, and this will cost them a lot in financial damages as I tell my story to others.

 

[cwerdna]

Your post is very difficult to read due to the lack of paragraphs. As such I haven't read all of it.

I'm unaware of any "electronic record within the car" that indicates on what date how many capacity bars were present. It may not exist.

I then told her that the capacity warranty states that as long as it fails within the 5 years or 60,000 miles, the battery will be replaced with their latest 30kw battery.

No it does NOT. And, you're probably talking about a 30 kWh battery NOT kW, which Nissan has numerous times either made statements that it's not compatible with pre-2016 cars or that there's no upgrade path (for whatever reason). Please find verbiage in the warranty or settlement that says a pre-16 Leaf or any Leaf w/24 kWh battery is entitled to a 30 kWh battery.

The 30 kWh battery didn't even exist until model year 2016 SV and SL trims. Capacity warranty was announced on June 7, 2013. It looks like the Klee settlement was last amended in Jan 2015 from http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=18905.

kW and kWh are very different metrics. It's the same as confusing gallons with horsepower. Think of kW = horsepower, kWh = gallons.

(BTW, 1 hp = ~0.746 kW and 1 gallon of gasoline=33.7 kWh.)

I then stated no where does it say that the car must be brought to a dealer to prove the 8 bar drop. I said this is the electronic age where we can now simply read the car's computer and go by it.

We already addressed the first point. http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=13192 says
"If your vehicle’s battery capacity level gauge is already displaying eight (8) or fewer bars of capacity prior to the above referenced software update (and within the first 5 years or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first), your Nissan dealer will verify this condition and arrange for the repair or replacement of the lithium-ion battery in accordance with the terms of the warranty."

You screwed up and again, see above re: "electronic record".

Once they got you past that 5 year date, they won't even listen to you.

Nissan's under no obligation to. You missed the warranty date. They don't want to have to pony up the parts and labor that retails north of $6K. Think of it from their point of view. How much profit do you think they've made on your Leaf? How much if any is there after replacing a battery pack?

Nissan cold hearted tricks they did on me. Wow I hate them, and this will cost them a lot in financial damages as I tell my story to others.

There is no "cold hearted trick". The warranty is clear as is their legal obligation, per the terms of the class action settlement. Remember, the '11 and '12 Leaf shipped with NO capacity warranty at all. You keep wanting to read into things to your advantage.

I will agree that warranty is crappy for those who babied their battery, who won't make it in time, that there's no pro-rating, etc. But, you messed up. That said, others have won via arbitration and 1 guy was able to get Nisan to give him a break, due to missing it by 2 miles. Here are 3 of them:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=19880&start=130#p439072
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=19880&p=458489#p458489
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=20725

I personally haven't followed their chronology due to lack of time. And, it won't help me anyway. I doubt my '13 Leaf w/build month of 5/2013 in my climate will be anywhere near losing its 4th CB by 5 years/60K miles, even if I beat the hell out of it (esp. since I can't heat it up w/CHAdeMO since I don't have the inlet). Maybe summer Phoenix heat treatments might do the trick, but I don't like being w/o it for 2+ summers.

Good luck. But seriously, separate with carriage returns/paragraphs! Use the right units. And, I have to shake my head at your reading into things.

This thread title should really start with "Nissan Won't Honor Expired Capacity Warranty", which is what really happened.

If I have a 5 year (for example) warrantee on anything, and I contact the manufacturer after the 5 years, any discount the manufacturer gives me is a gift.
I don't care if it is 10 minutes after the end of 5 years, or a year, it is all a gift.

Now, it is good PR, and is great for holding onto a customer, but it is a gift.

Agreed

 

[Jedlacks]

I hate them, and this will cost them a lot in financial damages as I tell my story to others.

So you bought an old Leaf with the intention of gaming their system to get a new battery? You cut it a little close and got caught on a technicality, and now you want to cause them financial damage all by yourself by telling "everybody" not to buy a Leaf??

Good luck with your crusade, but your advice to other buyers should be to do careful research before trying to compel Nissan to pay for a battery.

 

[Stoaty]

So you bought an old Leaf with the intention of gaming their system to get a new battery? You cut it a little close and got caught on a technicality, and now you want to cause them financial damage all by yourself by telling "everybody" not to buy a Leaf??

I wouldn't call taking advantage of a crappy warranty brought on by a class action lawsuit that sold out the class "gaming the system". Whether the car needed warranty replacement of the battery under the original owner or to a savvy buyer is immaterial. Nissan put themselves in this position of pissing people off because their product was not properly tested and thus did not live up to the claims they boldly made prior to the sale.

PS My Leaf still has 48.68 Ah and 10 bars at 52,000 miles and 5 years in Southern California because I have babied it, don't expect to be anywhere close on the warranty and will probably get 7-8 years of use out of my Leaf before it loses too much capacity for me needs. I don't have a dog in this fight.

 

[DaveEV]

I don't have a dog in this fight.

Well, your only dog may be that you really expected to be around 53 Ahr (80% original capacity) instead of < 75%. And that's with babying it. One shouldn't have to worry about babying the battery and still expect to hit Nissan's estimates of remaining capacity. Instead you've babied it and are still falling short.

I think that's most people's major beef with the situation.

 

[Becky50]

Cwerdna wrote: "

[/This thread title should really start with "Nissan Won't Honor Expired Capacity Warranty", which is what really happened.
I agree 100%.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

**feel goodies please ignore this post**

For those of you who will abandon Nissan for honoring the warranty; good luck with finding another company that will alter theirs. Nissan has changed theirs to a degree that I believe to be unmatched in the industry. Finding a more "understanding" car company is a fool's game.

To the OP; you were late. 5 days, 5 years. It doesn't really matter. You said you had the impression it was 7 years well how many tickets did you avoid by telling the cop you thought the speed limit was 70? You are an adult, act like one.

Sorry to be harsh but I have sympathy for the people who stressed several months before missing the deadline by a week or whatever. You were simply thinking you could talk your way into getting what you wanted. I think Nissan's offer of half was VERY generous.

Finally; this thought that Nissan instrumentation will tell you when you lost your 4th bar is simply not true because Nissan instrumentation is nowhere near that good. If you had LEAF Spy, you know what I am talking about