Should I have to pay for this??

This all started when I started hearing the infamous click noise when i accelerate and come to a stop. I figured it was the same click noise everyone else was having. I did some research thinking it was the service bulletin fix that involved lubing the axle. I take my car into the Nissan dealership, they drive it, and tell me it is exactly that. NTB10-055f. They did the repairs, found out the noise was "also" coming from the traction motor. They decided I needed a new traction motor but still insisted that I paid for the axle lube (450.00). The traction motor is under warranty, not gonna cost me anything.

My question is, should I have to pay that 450.00? I felt that the problem was wrongly diagnosed. I have to admit, my general car knowledge is weak but I'm pretty sure the axle and traction motor have nothing to do with each other. Do I have a case to request my 450.00 back? Any recommended verbage I could use when requesting a refund? If there is little hope and I'm probably SOL on that 450, it's not the end of the world. Honestly, I live on Oahu, there are 2 dealerships here, I really don't wanna piss 1 of them off. This same dealership replaced my battery also, no questions asked. They have been good to me, however, what's right is right and I feel that the axle lubing was completely unnecessary and should be reimbursed.

The info is much appreciated, thanks

If you were told that the axle would be lubed as part of a TSB, then you owed them nothing for it. The incorrect diagnosis is not just their fault - they likely got payed for the TSB work by Nissan. They are scamming you. Escalate it to the regional or national Nissan office.

Realistically, the ax!e lube issue was probably causing the noise so you may not want to argue about the charge (assuming they gave you an estimate of your cost before they started). TSBs are not necessarily warranty, they may or may not be performed without cost to the customer. The language in the TSB may explain this, but the axle would be covered by the powertrain/EV system warranty so an argument could be made for warranty coverage (especially if they did not explain the costs and get your authorization in advance). Traction motors rarely fail so I doubt that it needed replacement, but they are doing the replacement under warranty without additional cost to you.

I appreciate the reply. What you said makes perfect sense. The only problem is, the axle lube didn't fix the problem. The clicking noise is still there so then they decided it must be the traction motor. Doing research, I was only able to find one other person that had a traction motor replaced. Also a 2013. Who knows... at this point I guess the 450.00 for an axle lube + new traction motor just is what it is. Let's hope it is in fact the traction motor making the noise. Car is at Nissan as we speak. I'll keep you posted. Thank you for your input.

Am I understanding correctly that the car had TWO service visits:

1. Axle was lubed
Still heard clicking
2. Motor was replaced

If true then (2) has nothing to do with (1), and your question becomes
"I paid for a service that did not fix my problem. Do I get my money back ?"
Yes - you owe the money.
That said, perhaps a TSB is free of charge to the customer ?

When were you charged the $450 ? After (1) or after (2) ?
If the latter, perhaps the dealership could only charge Nissan for one of the services and decided to charge you for the other. If this is the case then you have a much better footing to call the dealership out for their behavior. I have no idea if Nissan will care.

This does not make sense... The drive axle on a leaf is just like any car. It is a CV joint axle which is covered with a rubber boot. I cannot imagine how sliding aside the Rubber boot, greasing, and sliding the boot back cost $450?? That sounds like a 5 minute job.

Also, in my past experience with many cars, a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) is treated just like a recall. It is free. The only difference is that on a recall, the car company seeks out the owner and "must" bring in the car for the work. TSBs are up to the owner to make the appointment on their own.

It is my understanding that there are two kinds of TSB. One is for genuine mechanical defects that affect the operation of the car, and the other is for annoyances that don't affect the operation of the car. I'd be surprised if the axle lube fell under the latter category, because it is a malfunction in the drivetrain. I stick to my opinion that the dealership is not just in the wrong, but are knowingly ripping off the OP.

SageBrush said:

Am I understanding correctly that the car had TWO service visits:

1. Axle was lubed
Still heard clicking
2. Motor was replaced

If true then (2) has nothing to do with (1), and your question becomes
"I paid for a service that did not fix my problem. Do I get my money back ?"
Yes - you owe the money.
That said, perhaps a TSB is free of charge to the customer ?

When were you charged the $450 ? After (1) or after (2) ?
If the latter, perhaps the dealership could only charge Nissan for one of the services and decided to charge you for the other. If this is the case then you have a much better footing to call the dealership out for their behavior. I have no idea if Nissan will care.

Click to expand...

all in 1 visit. dropped the car off, received a call mentioning it would cost 450.00 to lube the axle, after completion, got another call saying the noise didn't go away and they need to replace the traction motor. I left the dealership same day in a rental.

So ya, i suppose it's "i paid for a service that didn't fix the problem. do i get my money back?"

This is the 2nd TSB on this car for me. 1st was having a spring spacer installed @750.

I love this car, but never had this kinda **** in my honda.

Thanks for the info

whats the spring spacer?

450 seems very excessive for the amount of work with the axle.. unless they spent a bunch of time trying to mess with it to get the click to go away. did they tell you 450 up front (fixed bid) or 450 after it was done (time and materials)?

i suppose at the end of the day a new traction motor for 450 is not a bad deal

Marko

estomax said:

whats the spring spacer?

450 seems very excessive for the amount of work with the axle.. unless they spent a bunch of time trying to mess with it to get the click to go away. did they tell you 450 up front (fixed bid) or 450 after it was done (time and materials)?

i suppose at the end of the day a new traction motor for 450 is not a bad deal

Marko

Click to expand...

the spring spacer was another TSB. I guess the my springs were getting snagged as they would spin so they installed spacer. who knows.. 450 up front. I do live on Oahu. The service specialist told me there a difference in mainland labor vs. hawaii labor.

I spent some quality time with Google about this TSB and found that it had been issued for quite a few Nissan models. Not surprising, of course; I'm sure most of the car shares parts with other Nissan models besides the battery, motor and high power electronics. So the first rule of car repair applies: avoid the dealership if at all possible !

A half shaft axle replacement starts at ~ $200; if it is only getting more lube the cost should be less.
And for the DIY'rs, a nice tutorial:

https://www.carid.com/articles/cv-boot-repair-kits-replace-boot-not-whole-axle.html

powersurge said:

This does not make sense... The drive axle on a leaf is just like any car. It is a CV joint axle which is covered with a rubber boot. I cannot imagine how sliding aside the Rubber boot, greasing, and sliding the boot back cost $450?? That sounds like a 5 minute job....

Click to expand...

The lubrication may have been more involved. The noise may not be from the CV joint, but rather the splines/flange etc... I haven't been able to find TSB details without some stupid "sign-up" ceremony so I don't have the details. But it is at least conceivable that the axle would have to be removed or partially removed.

On one hand the dealer might reasonably say that the procedure was necessary to diagnose the problem. On the other the owner might reasonably say "your work didn't fix anything". Since you signed the work order, you do owe the money but I'd still ask for some goodwill consideration. Can't hurt.