KeithFrechette
Well-known member
This morning as I was about to head to work, I was greeted with the "Tire Pressure" warning. I'd only had the LEAF for 4 days, so I wan't sure why it would have dipped in pressure. Once I got out to take a look, I noticed that by driver-side rear tire was completely flat. There was no obvious sign of a puncture (other than the completely deflated tire 
), so I just re-inflated it. It seemed to take the inflation rather easily, but once I put the pump away and started the car again, the tire pressure warning was still illuminated, so I checked the pressure again, and it had already dropped to from 36 psi to below 32 psi. (In less than 2 minutes time.)
So, I called my Nissan dealer for guidance. They recommended that I use roadside assistance to bring the vehicle in and avoid using the LEAF tire repair kit. (I live about 20 miles from the dealer.) So I called for 1-800-NISSAN1 to schedule assistance. I was immediately turned off by the recorded "We'll charge you for the tow, but your dealer may reimburse you if it's a covered repair" message. But I proceeded with it, anyway, knowing that supposedly we get 3 years of free roadside assistance. I was on hold for quite a while, and eventually I walked out to see how my tire was doing, expecting it to be completely flat again. It appeared, though, that the tire stabilized at around 20 psi. So I decided to skip the tow, over-inflate the tire to 40 psi, and take my chances. Since my pump operates via the car's power, I brought it with me in case I needed to re-inflate the tire again on the way.
Well, although the tire pressure warning showed when I started the car, within a mile or so it went away. I presumed that it came on initially because the tire was over-inflated, and that it went off when the inflation was back in the acceptable range. I then expected to see the warning to come back on once the tire deflated further, but I managed to make it all the way to the dealer without it coming back on.
It turned out that the tire had a roofing nail embedded in it. Although the diagnosis and repair took about 2 hours (because they wanted their LEAF specialist to examine it, and because he was working on other issues at the time), they repaired it for free. When I asked about why I wasn't being charged for the repair, the rep said, "You just got the vehicle. We can't do that to you." :mrgreen:
So, all-in-all, a pretty good Nissan service experience with the folks at Nissan of the Eastside, in Bellevue, WA. Of course, now I have to have a talk with my LEAF--Bella--about playing with roofing nails. "They may look all cute and harmless, but they'll prick you and make you bleed!"
), so I just re-inflated it. It seemed to take the inflation rather easily, but once I put the pump away and started the car again, the tire pressure warning was still illuminated, so I checked the pressure again, and it had already dropped to from 36 psi to below 32 psi. (In less than 2 minutes time.)So, I called my Nissan dealer for guidance. They recommended that I use roadside assistance to bring the vehicle in and avoid using the LEAF tire repair kit. (I live about 20 miles from the dealer.) So I called for 1-800-NISSAN1 to schedule assistance. I was immediately turned off by the recorded "We'll charge you for the tow, but your dealer may reimburse you if it's a covered repair" message. But I proceeded with it, anyway, knowing that supposedly we get 3 years of free roadside assistance. I was on hold for quite a while, and eventually I walked out to see how my tire was doing, expecting it to be completely flat again. It appeared, though, that the tire stabilized at around 20 psi. So I decided to skip the tow, over-inflate the tire to 40 psi, and take my chances. Since my pump operates via the car's power, I brought it with me in case I needed to re-inflate the tire again on the way.
Well, although the tire pressure warning showed when I started the car, within a mile or so it went away. I presumed that it came on initially because the tire was over-inflated, and that it went off when the inflation was back in the acceptable range. I then expected to see the warning to come back on once the tire deflated further, but I managed to make it all the way to the dealer without it coming back on.
It turned out that the tire had a roofing nail embedded in it. Although the diagnosis and repair took about 2 hours (because they wanted their LEAF specialist to examine it, and because he was working on other issues at the time), they repaired it for free. When I asked about why I wasn't being charged for the repair, the rep said, "You just got the vehicle. We can't do that to you." :mrgreen:
So, all-in-all, a pretty good Nissan service experience with the folks at Nissan of the Eastside, in Bellevue, WA. Of course, now I have to have a talk with my LEAF--Bella--about playing with roofing nails. "They may look all cute and harmless, but they'll prick you and make you bleed!"
