Leaf S Heater DOA

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I think mechanics can still learn, they just don't want to spend the required time to learn the car's systems when instead they can be making money by turning wrenches. I'm in the aircraft mechanic business. They pay us by the hour and make us go to school.

TomT said:
Actually, no... Many automotive technicians/mechanics these days don't have a clue what to do unless there is a DTC that tells them what failed or what the issue is... Few truly have good diagnostic skills anymore.

johnrhansen said:
So many parts changers, so few technicians. Doesn't anyone know how to troubleshoot anymore?
 
There were less than 150 MY13 LEAFs delivered to Quebec, and four or five people from there have posted about having dead heaters. Considering not every owner frequents EV forums, I wonder what the actual failure rate is.

I suppose there are many owners in mild climates who don't realize their resistance heater is defective, because the heat pump is able to carry the load. This is not a problem in Quebec, due to dozens of below zero Fahrenheit days this Winter.

One poor soul in Quebec has been without his LEAF for six weeks due to this issue, but at least he knows his car is alive, because he gets Carwings warnings about needing to plug-in to run the battery warmer. :(
 
TomT said:
Actually, no... Many automotive technicians/mechanics these days don't have a clue what to do unless there is a DTC that tells them what failed or what the issue is... Few truly have good diagnostic skills anymore.

johnrhansen said:
So many parts changers, so few technicians. Doesn't anyone know how to troubleshoot anymore?

Well in fairness to the technician, they were just following the troubleshooting chart provided by Nissan. First item was the PTC heater, second was the power distribution module and then the third was the water temperature sensor. If they had all the parts on the shelf, they would have been done in one day. But because it takes two weeks for each part they try to replace, I was out for a month. I even tried to get them to order the first part before I dropped of the car, but they said they could not do that until they went through the manual and it led them to a part that needed replacement.

I do agree also that if they were more skilled/experienced technicians they would have thought about checking some other things instead of just working down the list one at a time. I also think that their list should probably have the temperature sensor as the first item to check since it is the easiest to check, to change, and the least expensive. As it is, Nissan got a bill for almost $3000 to repair a broken temperature sensor. Perhaps this will be incentive for them to update the troubleshooting procedures.
 
Heating elements and temperature sensors can both be checked with an ohmmeter, especially before you change an expensive electronic component. Looks like a parts changer was writing the manual as well. Often times a wiring problem or another defective component will blow the expensive part you installed trying to troubleshoot by shotgun. That's why auto parts stores don't take back electrical parts.
 
The heat in my 2013 LEAF quit working this past Friday. It is currently 14 degrees in Denver, about the forecasted high for the day. No word from the dealership yet about how long it will take to fix. I wonder if its going out was related to the very cold weather, or if it was just a coincidence that its failure corresponded to a cold spell.
 
Berlino said:
There were less than 150 MY13 LEAFs delivered to Quebec, and four or five people from there have posted about having dead heaters. Considering not every owner frequents EV forums, I wonder what the actual failure rate is.

I suppose there are many owners in mild climates who don't realize their resistance heater is defective, because the heat pump is able to carry the load. This is not a problem in Quebec, due to dozens of below zero Fahrenheit days this Winter.

One poor soul in Quebec has been without his LEAF for six weeks due to this issue, but at least he knows his car is alive, because he gets Carwings warnings about needing to plug-in to run the battery warmer. :(

My dealer here in Montreal has only sold 4 or 5 2013's and is doing the 3rd heater assembly.

The replacement is a different part number and an upgraded unit so there is something wrong with them.
 
Just got a call from my dealer. The heat pump in my new, got it 1/31/2014, Leaf SL failed. He said currently the parts are on hold in Japan and it will be at least a month before they can get a replacement.

They offered a rental call for the period and would reimburse me for gas. I refused and asked to have the car replaced since it was only 5 days since we got it.

It failed on the 5th, when it was -11 here in CO! GF drove it 48 miles that way, with a stopover half way.

I called Nissan Leaf Consumer Affairs and opened a case. The issue is covered in tech bulletin NTB14001 per the customer service rep "Insufficient heater output you have 30 degree air coming from the system and it should be 130". They are calling my dealership to get more details, but said there is not a month backlog\hold on the replacement heater assembly. Only in SL & SV models.

Called dealership back at 4PM, 1st talked to them and NLCA about 10AM.
He said only a certain amount of replacement parts have been released. They sent an e-mail "dpick", but it normally takes 4-5 days to get a response before they will know when parts will be released.

2/7 2PM Update:
Got a call back from my dealer that the part has been released and they should have it by Thursday next week (would have been nice if they shipped it 2 day or something) and they hope to have me back in the car by next Friday.
 
Can someone post the details of the service bulletin? I've registered for that Nissan site that has it but I'm still unable to see the details. My S took over a month to fix and the new one failed within a week. Now it's completely dead. Since it took a month to fix it before I want to trouble shoot it myself first and hopefully fix it if it's just a bad sensor. For now, we drive the volt since it has a working heater.
 
I have a 2011 that is a six months out of out of warranty and the PTC went out. Has anyone been able to get there's fixed after warranty due to the service bulletin? NTB14001 Seems like a known issue that should be taken care of. I'm talking to the Nissan folks about it, but was wondering if anyone has gone down this path post-warranty.
 
The same problem with used Nissan Leaf 2013 in Ukraine. Almost all 2000 cars were imported as used from USA, and many of them has DOA heater, my car 2013 SV too.
As I know, Nissan implement a third version of PTC Heater from late 2016 in Leaf, by I haven't Part number for it.
Any progress in replacement in USA?
 
We just fixed our with a bypass, took photos but this forum has no easy way to just attach them.
Basically we picked up 2 20$ PTC heater elements off eBay 200 watts each and pulled power off the driver side panel fuse box which has an open high power lug we tapped with a 30@ fuse and ran 10 gauge zipcord under the dash up through the defroster vents to the PTC heaters placed center over each defroster vent.
The more air we blow the more power they draw.
They are very fast to defrost, and keep the cable air a touch about e freezing in our Finnish winter's.

I would be happy to email the pics to anyone willing g to take the time to post them online and link them to this discussion...
 
I just posted some YouTube video instructions for:

100$ 2012 Nissan leaf extended winter package PTC defrost with heated floorboards and heater fix.

Enjoy

https://youtu.be/2R2knucN5NE
https://youtu.be/cy6k1oNFXxE
https://youtu.be/GoMfFfVwN2c
 
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