Lost 4th bar. What next?

This morning I got in my Leaf and the 4th bar is gone! I bought my Leaf used from Carmax. It is a 2011, has 45,000 miles and I understand was put in use May '11. I seem to be in the 60 mth/60,000 mile window. Do I take it to the Dealership? Just need to be pointed in the right direction.
Thanks!

Yep, you need to take it to a dealer for them to confirm the loss and then order a replacement battery. It also wouldn't hurt to open a ticket with EV customer support at the 800 number...

Glenn54 said:

This morning I got in my Leaf and the 4th bar is gone! I bought my Leaf used from Carmax. It is a 2011, has 45,000 miles and I understand was put in use May '11. I seem to be in the 60 mth/60,000 mile window. Do I take it to the Dealership? Just need to be pointed in the right direction.

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Don't suppose you have LEAFSpy and can give us AHr readings?

mwalsh said:

Don't suppose you have LEAFSpy and can give us AHr readings?

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Sorry, no. I'm a new owner and still learning. Ill give you anything from dash if that will help.

I understand that Leaf owners could have opted out of the deal with Nissan through cash or free charge vouchers? Is this true? If so, how do I find out if the previous owner did this?

Glenn54 said:

I understand that Leaf owners could have opted out of the deal with Nissan through cash or free charge vouchers? Is this true? If so, how do I find out if the previous owner did this?

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I think you can call the Nissan EV support line, but you can definitely go to a dealer and ask them to look at the SERVICE COMM screen to see if there is a B0133 warranty exclusion noted on your car.

Thanks. I contacted Leaf Support and they confirmed my Leaf is eligible for the warranty. I am calling the dealership tomorrow. Ill keep posting regarding the process.

Update: I took my Leaf into the dealership this morning for the battery pak installation. This process has been a challenge. The dealership has been less than cooperative. If it weren't for me contacting the Leaf helpline I do not think the replacement would be getting done.

My first word to anyone going through this is to call the helpline FIRST and get a case# (1-877-664-2738). Once the helpline verified that the there was not a warranty exclusion on my car they then told me to take it to the dealership for a battery diagnostic. This is where it got hairy. The dealership had no idea what I was talking about re:the warranty. As a matter of fact, I was told that they NEVER replace the big battery that is was only the small battery. I knew then it was going to be a problem.

This dealership is a large dealership downtown Nashville. It isn't a small dealership. If my experience is indicative of most, an education for the dealership will be required. BUT these guys ego wont let the customer educate them. That's why you need the helpline folks. At one point I was told that I need to lose 5 bars before they will do anything! It seemed to me they were pulling stuff out of their -you know what- just to get rid of me. It was remarkable. After several conversations and at least three (3) different calls from the Leaf hotline people they finally agreed to do it. This took several days. It took a week for the battery to arrive and the call I got about it came from the hotline folks, not the dealership.

These guys are used to educating customers, not customers educating them. So they don't kindly to 1. the customer being right and they being wrong and 2. going over their head and having Nissan call them to set it straight.

It is baffling since Nissan is paying for the job. But the bottom line is the installation is in process. I am told it will take a couple of days.

Confusing to me that you got a pack quickly and from seemingly local stock, while folks on this coast are being told packs are coming from Japan in 4-6 weeks.

If true, it makes me wonder how old that pack was and its lineage...

mwalsh said:

Confusing to me that you got a pack quickly and from seemingly local stock, while folks on this coast are being told packs are coming from Japan in 4-6 weeks.

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mwalsh said:

Confusing to me that you got a pack quickly and from seemingly local stock, while folks on this coast are being told packs are coming from Japan in 4-6 weeks.

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What Leaf hotline told me was that the battery pack may have come from the Nissan plant in Smyrna, TN. About 20 miles down the road. That sounds sensible but you have me concerned.

Glenn54 said:

What Leaf hotline told me was that the battery pack may have come from the Nissan plant in Smyrna, TN. About 20 miles down the road. That sounds sensible but you have me concerned.

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That makes a lot more sense to me than the several dealership claims lately that "the battery has to come from Japan". I think that either:
a) they are so totally uninformed that they don't even know the battery factory is in TN, or
b) they are so used to spouting that BS just so you aren't expecting a fast repair. I would imagine that *some* parts may need to come from Japan, but since the cars are now built here I would think that Nissan has plenty of spare parts in a warehouse in the US.

Update: My Leaf has been in the dealership since Monday the 2nd. I am told that they have to order a "retro-fit" part (?) for the 2011 & 2012 models. Not much else was said.

Glenn54 said:

Update: My Leaf has been in the dealership since Monday the 2nd. I am told that they have to order a "retro-fit" part (?) for the 2011 & 2012 models. Not much else was said.

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Ah, good. That'll be the fitting kit. Proof (somewhat) positive that you'll be getting a lizard pack. Of course, if they'd ordered that with the pack...

The same thing happened to me even though I sent them the list of needed parts...

mwalsh said:

Of course, if they'd ordered that with the pack...

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keydiver said:

Glenn54 said:

What Leaf hotline told me was that the battery pack may have come from the Nissan plant in Smyrna, TN. About 20 miles down the road. That sounds sensible but you have me concerned.

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That makes a lot more sense to me than the several dealership claims lately that "the battery has to come from Japan". I think that either:
a) th assessment thatey are so totally uninformed that they don't even know the battery factory is in TN, or
b) they are so used to spouting that BS just so you aren't expecting a fast repair. I would imagine that *some* parts may need to come from Japan, but since the cars are now built here I would think that Nissan has plenty of spare parts in a warehouse in the US.

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x2. Agree with this assessment that the dealers are speaking out of ignorance/habit.

UPDATE: I picked up my Leaf this morning. While I am deliriously happy with the 106 mile range (previously I could only get 62 miles max), I am not EV tech savvy enough to what/which battery was installed. The part number is 295B0-3NF9E if someone can identify. The service mgr showed me his invoice for the battery (at my request) it was $5,795.00.

In the end, once the dealership got on board they were great. The Nissan Leaf support line was VERY helpful and are probably the reason the job got done.

I welcome suggestions, ideas re: battery care, maximizing range, battery longevity, etc.

Thanks!

Glenn54 said:

The part number is 295B0-3NF9E if someone can identify.

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2015 pack; latest widely available revision thereof.

Glenn54 said:

UPDATE: I picked up my Leaf this morning. While I am deliriously happy with the 106 mile range (previously I could only get 62 miles max), I am not EV tech savvy enough to what/which battery was installed. The part number is 295B0-3NF9E if someone can identify. The service mgr showed me his invoice for the battery (at my request) it was $5,795.00.

In the end, once the dealership got on board they were great. The Nissan Leaf support line was VERY helpful and are probably the reason the job got done.

I welcome suggestions, ideas re: battery care, maximizing range, battery longevity, etc.

Thanks!

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Congratulations! Sometime within the next 12 months before your new battery warranty expires, start thinking and gathering parts and knowledge about how you are going to provide cooling to your battery pack.

Thank you! Good to know.

Thank you. I do have what I hope is an anomaly to report. After picking up my Leaf, I was admiring the 98 miles showing in the dash (I had never seen 98 miles before!) when, out of the blue, it instantly dropped to 80 miles. Obviously it freaked me out. I got to my destination and shut the car off. I restarted it hoping to "re-boot" it back. It still read 80-something miles. I decided to charge it back up later to see if it happens again. I re-charged it to 108 miles and have now driven it down to 31 miles without incident.

I am hopeful that it is just a post installation one-off anomaly, but I am reporting it to the Leaf Support Line just so it is on record in case it continues.