SageBrush said:
Are you under NDA, or can you provide some details what it took to change Nissan's mind ?
No NDA. After being denied the first time last August, I asked what other avenues I had. I asked about BBB arbitration since I heard about that, in addition i asked about re-opening after losing another bar and she suggested that I do that.
I had started the BBB process online, but never completed the paperwork and BBB closed my case. To my surprise I still received a letter from Nissan re-confirming that no assistance would be provided.
So I waited until the 5th bar dropped, because to be honest the car still did 90% of what I needed, but the lack of range was really starting cause us to drive the Prius more and was also leading to more public charging, though not enough to justify the EVgo subscription. With the degraded battery EVgo starts getting very expensive even on the Nissan Preferred plan. I charged 30 minutes only putting in 6 kWh once costing $7.50 just so I could make it home.
After losing the 5th bar I started the process again. I was told to bring the car in for another battery check, but then I got a call back saying nope, you're stuck, all decisions are final. WTF! I paid for the battery check again (paid for the previous one in August, despite it being 2 months since my annual) and called back pleading my case.
Denied again. I asked what could be done to escalate, he said nothing. Asked again and got it escalated to arbitration team, but no call back. Called back a couple weeks later, got to speak with a supervisor who was willing to escalate to the executive offices.
I got a call back from the executive office a couple days later, but missed the call and left a message, but my contact went on vacation. Called back again after two more weeks. Crickets.
Finally called the EV hotline again again and they were able to contact the executive office again for me and reopen dialogue. Got a call back few days later from the executive office granting me less than 90% assistance. I agreed and one week later I had a new pack in my LEAF!
I received regular calls from my service advisor at the dealership keeping me updated, and two follow up calls from the executive office making sure everything was ok. They provided an almost new Altima rental for basically free. That part was great. But the agony of debating what to do with a car that was quickly losing utility was very frustrating. And I'm still not happy about having to replace the pack in the first place at only 60k miles as that defeats a lot of the purpose of buying an EV for environmental reasons.
Tips I gathered along the way which may help your case:
1. Be pleasant and professional, but persistent.
2. Using the dealership for recommended service.
3. Being original owner and owning other Nissans.
4. How far out of warranty you are. The closer the better.
In the end though, it appears that they have some magic 8 ball making these decisions.