AC quit at 5600 miles 2013 LEAF & terrible service

Well my LEAF has been great up till now. Today the A/C stopped working. The air blows, but not cold. The compressor under the hood isn't making it's usual sound. just the whir of the fans. I cycled the car a few times, no help. When switching the A/C button on/off there is no change in air temp. I'm bummed.

The biggest problem is the Dealer I bought it from United Nissan of Las Vegas on Sahara don't have a competent service department. I have been repeatedly called about my $85 7500 mile "service" all 4 calls have gone about the same. On the 3rd I asked what exactly do you do for a LEAF, Kim promised me she would have the LEAF expert (tech) call me. I never received a call. on the 4th call I let Kim know I never got that call promised. When I asked what you do for a electric car? the women Kim couldn't tell me other than "Oil change, oil filter, air filter, adjust the brake, lube the chassis" she then called Paul the Service manager. Then called me back the answer was the same "Oil change, oil filter, air filter, adjust the brake, lube the chassis" and "the details are in the owners manual" REALLY? oil change on a EV! I'm sure this incompetence is not what corporate Nissan wants for public image/service.

At Planet Nissan the cars all have a "desert protection package" installed at prep before being brought to the lot. This adds $2500 to the price. The sales person said it's standard at their lot. One of the things this adds is the Red Alert warning system. which blinks the 3rd brake light to deter rear end collisions and has its own insurance guarantee. Mine has never worked. I talked to Paul (the manager) at the service counter and scheduled an appointment to have it looked at. he said the LEAF expert would have to look at it. we scheduled a time. I called the night before to verify the appointment. Paul wasn't there. another guy helped me and said there is no appointment in the books. I asked that Paul calls me as soon as he comes in. I never received a call that day or the next (the day of the appointment) I called later and noboby knew anything about anything :roll:

So you see my pickle. What do you guys think?

There IS no 7,500 mile service on the Leaf, per se, with the normal service schedule (which applies to virtually every Leaf)... A tire rotation is about it, but you can do that anyplace.

That title really needs to be edited. "Terrible Service" maybe...?

Desert Protection Package $2500 non negotiable?
WTF?
Seriously?
I'd love to know Exactly what that entails for $2500?

6 Pack of water bottles and a snake bite kit?
I thought it was against the law to modulate any rear brake lights on a registered motor vehicle?

Find another Dealer.

Planet Nissan? Sounds more like "what planet are they from Nissan?"

They charge you for a blinking third stop light? Do they not know blinking stop lights are illegal at the Federal level?!

http://regulations.justia.com/regulations/fedreg/2005/05/23/05-10136.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

aarond12 said:

They charge you for a blinking third stop light? Do they not know blinking stop lights are illegal at the Federal level?!

http://regulations.justia.com/regulations/fedreg/2005/05/23/05-10136.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Our 2015 also has the blinking stop light, I asked for it and the dealer installed it. On our last Nissan truck I changed 5 rear bumpers in 12 years, maybe that blinking stop light will help me avoid being rear ended. How is it legal? Maybe the light in the spoiler is not consider an "emergency braking light"?

They get around the reg by having a mode that does not turn it all the way off. That is legal. The module is about 18 bucks... There are even a few vehicles that are now providing the function as OEM from the vehicle manufacturer.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FADDOL4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2C3OEB0RE1BRS" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

aarond12 said:

They charge you for a blinking third stop light? Do they not know blinking stop lights are illegal at the Federal level?!

Click to expand...

Update, Took the car to Henderson Nissan in the Las Vegas valley. they were great. turns out there is a vibration problem and a tech guide that has them eliminate one of the brackets holding a AC line under the hood near it's coupling. the stress causes cracks around the casting of the tube end and starts leaking. The lo freon condition of course cause the hi/lo limit switch to stop the compressor from running. No recall, just gets fixed when LEAFs show up with the trouble. The tech even took me into the busy shop to show and explain the whole thing. Great guys there.

^^^
Of course there's no recall. Recalls are generally only for safety defects and non-compliance of FMVSS.

From http://www.nhtsa.gov/Vehicle+Safety/Recalls+&+Defects/Motor+Vehicle+Safety+Defects+and+Recalls+Campaigns?renderPage=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;:
"Examples of defects NOT considered safety-related:

Air conditioners and radios that do not operate properly."

Sorry to hear about your awful experience w/the 1st Nissan dealer.

I would still like to know what the "desert prep" package is? Any specifics?

Yo Vegas Brad: If you ever take your Leaf to That Vegas Nissan dealer again, you'd better bend over when you get there.

Good Grief!! Talk about "getting the shaft"!!

VegasBrad said:

Update, Took the car to Henderson Nissan in the Las Vegas valley. they were great. turns out there is a vibration problem and a tech guide that has them eliminate one of the brackets holding a AC line under the hood near it's coupling. the stress causes cracks around the casting of the tube end and starts leaking. The lo freon condition of course cause the hi/lo limit switch to stop the compressor from running. No recall, just gets fixed when LEAFs show up with the trouble. The tech even took me into the busy shop to show and explain the whole thing. Great guys there.

Click to expand...

Any chance you could take a pic and point out the (former) location of this clamp?

LeftieBiker said:

That title really needs to be edited. "Terrible Service" maybe...?

Click to expand...

sorry ran out of space, I thought the search engine would key better on AC fully spelled out. edit made.

Nubo said:

VegasBrad said:

Update, Took the car to Henderson Nissan in the Las Vegas valley. they were great. turns out there is a vibration problem and a tech guide that has them eliminate one of the brackets holding a AC line under the hood near it's coupling. the stress causes cracks around the casting of the tube end and starts leaking. The lo freon condition of course cause the hi/lo limit switch to stop the compressor from running. No recall, just gets fixed when LEAFs show up with the trouble. The tech even took me into the busy shop to show and explain the whole thing. Great guys there.

Click to expand...

Any chance you could take a pic and point out the (former) location of this clamp?

Click to expand...

I'll try to get a pic when the LEAF is home. The wife takes it to work as her commute is 45miles a day. its on the drivers shock tower

caffeinekid said:

I would still like to know what the "desert prep" package is? Any specifics?

Click to expand...

A whole bunch of stuff like, clearcoat protect, scotch guard with a get the stain out guarantee, "LEX" on the door edges, red alert brake light flasher with insurance :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: That's all I can think of. So you argue you don't want it, they say the car needs it, finally you get them to remove it's charge of $2500 and THATS your discount, nothing off the car itself. After a whole evening of negotiating and having a lease approval available I kept pushing and did get some off plus the $7500 Fed tax credit instantly as I leased it instead of buying it. And that's a whole gotcha people need to be aware of. If you buy a EV and have lots of tax taken out of your paycheck, then don't own the IRS at least $7500 at the end of the year....guess what :shock:

VegasBrad said:

If you buy a EV and have lots of tax taken out of your paycheck, then don't own the IRS at least $7500 at the end of the year....guess what :shock:

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Paying your tax bill in advance (through payroll withholding) doesn't change how much taxes you're charged; it just keeps you from needing to fork over the whole wad on April 15. Go through the rigamarole of computing your net income (remember to deduct any losses incurred due to tail-feather mites on ostriches raised in American Samoa, pusuant to section 5488902, para. g), then from that obtain your taxes. If that number is bigger than your tax credits, such as from a qualifying EV purchase, you're golden.

Levenkay said:

VegasBrad said:

If you buy a EV and have lots of tax taken out of your paycheck, then don't own the IRS at least $7500 at the end of the year....guess what :shock:

Click to expand...

Paying your tax bill in advance (through payroll withholding) doesn't change how much taxes you're charged; it just keeps you from needing to fork over the whole wad on April 15. Go through the rigamarole of computing your net income (remember to deduct any losses incurred due to tail-feather mites on ostriches raised in American Samoa, pusuant to section 5488902, para. g), then from that obtain your taxes. If that number is bigger than your tax credits, such as from a qualifying EV purchase, you're golden.

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Levankay, Thanks for the clarification, the way it was explained to me was off then.

you need to earn 60,000 or more a year to claim the $7500 tax credit.

if your "tax bill" after standard deduction is say $300 then the "credit" you get for the leaf is $300 and no the rest does no carry over.

if your tax bill is $2200 that is what your rebate is. no more.

SO the only way for us shitizens to get the rebate is to let NISSAN get the rebate via lease and have them take it off the price of the car.

This reminds me of when I bought a Saturn years ago and the dealer wanted me to pay for a security key fob which contained a "chip" that allows the car to start. You had to plug the fob into a little slot under the dash with something that looked like the end of a game cartridge. I looked at the device and figured it was BS. Declined the option despite repeated browbeating.

After I got the car home I noticed the device was still under the dash with a small piece of IC board in it. Basically if you didn't buy the system they just broke off the fob in the slot. After examining the "chip" it turns out it just jumpered two of the leads together. Following those two leads back I found where they had cut the starter wire and spliced in this whole contraption, which BTW has leads way under the gague of the starter wires. I took the whole thing back the next day and made them properly repair the starter harness under threat of legal action.

I tell that story to every car salesman/finance guy who tries to sell me anything optional and tell them that's my take on all their BS. I have walked from more car deals than I have closed.

I also make them remove any dealer stickers or labels before I will take delivery. I am a grumpy car buyer.