Replace reduction gear- if I had regular maint. at dealership how can this happen

[2Keikes]

I have a 2015 Leaf purchased new with ~70K miles. Have taken into dealership for annual battery and all points inspection. Why/how can the reduction gear just fail without any warning? No idiot lights- nothing. Car is out of extended warranty.

Cost is a little over $4K which is not on my budget at the moment. I took the car in because there was a "revving noise" that increased with speed.

Thank you for any and all input/advice.

 

[R1200RT]

You should be talking with Nissan of USA to seek help with the cost of the repairs. No reason for this to happen unless the gearbox has no oil.

 

[tomhanman]

Bad luck.

There is quite a debate around the renewal of the lubricant in the reduction gear casing. Certainly here in Europe Nissan dealerships will often say it is sealed for life. Also the lubricant used is very specific and quite difficult to cross-reference.

Also dealerships seem to know little to nothing about Leafs. You'll want to see exactly what the service manual says they're supposed to have done, and check for any discrepancies.

So you'll want to find out if your dealer ever touched the reduction gearbox. Did they check levels, did they replace lube? You'll want to see the oil that comes out now (with whatever bits it had floating in it!). And you'll want to see the under car protection to check for lots of oil residue.

If they have intervened in the past (and this should be fully documented) you'll want to know exactly what they did down to the last fluid ounce of what lub went back in. If they haven't then you'll be wanting to know why... Although as mentioned by R1200RT (although I think that's a motorcycle) the most likely reason for absolute failure would be an empty casing, followed by possibly the wrong lubricant... Or, just plain old bad luck.

**** does happen, this car is 8 years old. Maintenance and check-ups are very diligent, but nothing stops stuff going wrong from time to time. This is a Nissan, not a space ship. Oh, they go wrong as well do they?!

Good luck, I suspect you're going to need it.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I second the dry gearbox - although more likely it had some oil in it, like half or less the required amount.