1 year service

[Fabio]

I'm about to celebrate my one year LEAF anniversary, so I'm due for the one year service.
My closest NISSAN dealer is Boardwalk Nissan in RWC. I know I need to have the battery checked (which is supposed to be free of charge), is there anything else that the Nissan dealer needs to do, or can I have the rest of routine maintenance (tire rotation, brake fluids) done somewhere else?

 

[Randy]

The maintenance schedules for normal and severe operation are in the LEAF maintenance manual. I believe the battery check is mandatory to keep the battery warranty in effect (and the first two are free), and the rest is up to you.

The dealer here automatically will sell the "severe" service if you make an appointment and ask for the "LEAF 12 month service", including brake fluid replacement...I don't consider my driving habits "severe".

 

[trentr]

if you can bring it to Premier Nissan in San Jose the charge for battery check, tire rotation, etc including car wash is $0.

 

[Fabio]

That's tempting, since I work in SJ

if you can bring it to Premier Nissan in San Jose the charge for battery check, tire rotation, etc including car wash is $0.

 

[SilverLeaf]

My 2011 Nissan Leaf celebrated its One Year Anniversary today (April 18). To celebrate, I took it to Pinnacle Nissan in Scottsdale for the One Year Service.

The battery report shows 5 stars on all categories except 4 stars for charging when battery state high. The Battery Status Report shows 100% (all bars).

After one year of use, I rate the 2011 Nissan LEAF A+, I love my LEAF. I just passed 6,000 miles and charge daily to 100%.

The maintenance consisted of generating a battery report and replacing the cabin filter, brake fluid and rotating the tires. While under warranty, I like to do all recommended services (even if a bit excessive).

I also replaced the air in the tires with Nitrogen, as they were running a special for only $1.99.

They also are giving a coupon for 50% off any one service, up to $50 off. Coupons are on their website.

 

[TomT]

There is NO reason to replace the brake fluid at one year unless you simply have extra money you need to get rid of! Tire rotation is your choice but is normally done by mileage, not time...

The maintenance consisted of generating a battery report and replacing the cabin filter, brake fluid and rotating the tires.

 

[mkjayakumar]

Nitrogen in the tires ? Is that a joke ?

 

[DeaneG]

Sunnyvale Nissan did my yearly service (battery check, tire rotation, general inspection, wiper fluid refill) for $0. They said for the kind of driving I do that the brake fluid and cabin filter can wait for the next service. I'm definitely going back to them in the future.

 

[DaveEV]

The battery report shows 5 stars on all categories except 4 stars for charging when battery state high. The Battery Status Report shows 100% (all bars).

After one year of use, I rate the 2011 Nissan LEAF A+, I love my LEAF. I just passed 6,000 miles and charge daily to 100%.

Probably a good idea to heed Nissan's suggestion to either avoid charging back to 100% until you're under 80%, or even better, charge to 80% normally and then top-off to 100% when you know you need the range (takes 90 minutes), especially given that you live in Arizona if you want to maximize battery life.

Any ill effects from topping off regularly to 100% might not be picked up on the battery report for another year or two.

 

[DarkStar]

The battery report shows 5 stars on all categories except 4 stars for charging when battery state high. The Battery Status Report shows 100% (all bars).

After one year of use, I rate the 2011 Nissan LEAF A+, I love my LEAF. I just passed 6,000 miles and charge daily to 100%.

Probably a good idea to heed Nissan's suggestion to either avoid charging back to 100% until you're under 80%, or even better, charge to 80% normally and then top-off to 100% when you know you need the range (takes 90 minutes), especially given that you live in Arizona if you want to maximize battery life.

Any ill effects from topping off regularly to 100% might not be picked up on the battery report for another year or two.

I happened to score the same way on my Leaf. When I asked for more information, the technician said "Every Leaf has shown the same, so no need to worry about it." When I told him that I'm unable to change my behavior unless I know and understand the criteria that determined that score, he just said that Nissan doesn't give them the criteria, just stars. :lol:

My only guess is that when my Blink resets charging at Midnight, the Leaf is counting that as a separate charge event and sometimes it can get to about 85-90% SOC by then. Since I'm driving 60-65 miles a day, this doesn't occur very often so I'm not very worried about it.

 

[TomT]

Do you have a timer set in the blink? If so, you shouldn't... I have a Blink and have never had that issue.

My only guess is that when my Blink resets charging at Midnight, the Leaf is counting that as a separate charge event and sometimes it can get to about 85-90% SOC by then.

 

[DarkStar]

Do you have a timer set in the blink? If so, you shouldn't... I have a Blink and have never had that issue.

My only guess is that when my Blink resets charging at Midnight, the Leaf is counting that as a separate charge event and sometimes it can get to about 85-90% SOC by then.

Correct, I use the Blink timer since I don't use the vehicle timer.

 

[TomT]

FYI. both Nissan and Blink recommend against using a EVSE timer for reasons just like this.

Do you have a timer set in the blink? If so, you shouldn't... I have a Blink and have never had that issue.

My only guess is that when my Blink resets charging at Midnight, the Leaf is counting that as a separate charge event and sometimes it can get to about 85-90% SOC by then.

Correct, I use the Blink timer since I don't use the vehicle timer.

 

[DarkStar]

FYI. both Nissan and Blink recommend against using a EVSE timer for reasons just like this.

No they don't. Why would Blink have scheduling functionality if they didn't expect anyone to use it?

The actual problem is that Blink doesn't "look ahead" in its scheduling software, so the day ends at 23:59:59 and a new day begins at 00:00:00. So when my timer is programmed from 10:00pm until 11:59pm (Blink doesn't allow 12:00am to be used as an end time) and then programmed again from 12:00am until 6:30am.

If Nissan wishes owners to use the built in charging timer on the vehicle, they should get it fixed so that the timer override actually overrides the timer until the vehicle is powered back on. I've seen many Leafs fail to get a full charge at public charging stations due to plug sharing.

 

[SteveInSeattle]

Nitrogen in tires is legit-- Costco uses it. It is more dense than regular air and therefore the tire loses pressure more slowly.

 

[N1ghtrider]

I rotate the tires on all of my family's cars myself, and fix all the flats myself. I wonder how many times over my curb jack has paid for itself.

 

[TomT]

Sorry, but yes they do, as has been stated by both parties before. The Blink timer was included for EVs that do not have their own timer functionality. Remember that the Blink was not designed with the Leaf specifically in mind. The Leaf does not play well with external timers in many situations (an overridden 80% timer as just one example).

FYI. both Nissan and Blink recommend against using a EVSE timer for reasons just like this.

No they don't. Why would Blink have scheduling functionality if they didn't expect anyone to use it?

 

[Levenkay]

Nitrogen in tires is legit-- Costco uses it. It is more dense than regular air and therefore the tire loses pressure more slowly.

Um,... Nitrogen being atomic weight 14 to Oxygen's 16, and air being nearly 80% N2, 20% O2 (the trace of CO2 is heavier still; one C12's worth), however would you think that pure N2 is "denser"???

 

[TonyWilliams]

Nitrogen in tires is legit-- Costco uses it. It is more dense than regular air and therefore the tire loses pressure more slowly.

Um,... Nitrogen being atomic weight 14 to Oxygen's 16, and air being nearly 80% N2, 20% O2 (the trace of CO2 is heavier still; one C12's worth), however would you think that pure N2 is "denser"???

Any system that delivers pure nitrogen is also going to deliver dry nitrogen. Filling tires with nitrogen involves filling and purging several times in succession, serially diluting the concentration of oxygen in the tire. This will also remove any water.

So, to answer your specific questions: With nitrogen, your tire pressures will remain more constant, saving you a small amount in fuel and tire-maintenance costs. There will be less moisture inside your tires, meaning less corrosion on your wheels. You will not be able to feel any difference in the ride or handling or braking, unless your tire pressures were seriously out of spec and changing to nitrogen brought them back to the proper numbers.

Read more: Nitrogen vs Air In Tires - Why Nitrogen in Tires - Popular Mechanics

 

[rborba]

Nitrogen in tires is legit-- Costco uses it. It is more dense than regular air and therefore the tire loses pressure more slowly.

Um,... Nitrogen being atomic weight 14 to Oxygen's 16, and air being nearly 80% N2, 20% O2 (the trace of CO2 is heavier still; one C12's worth), however would you think that pure N2 is "denser"???

This subject is actually fascinating:

"Each oxygen atom has 8 protons in its nucleus, while each nitrogen atom has only 7 protons in its nucleus. Thus, the overall size of the electron cloud of the O2 molecule is smaller than for N2, in part because its electron cloud is drawn in closer to the O nuclei by the greater positive charge on the O nuclei.
...
O2 "permeates" approximately 3-4 times faster than does N2 through a typical rubber, as is used in tires, primarily because O2 has a slightly smaller effective molecular size than does N2."

http://www.getnitrogen.org/pdf/graham.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Also N exhibits less pressure change with temperature swings, and humidity (water) is a bad thing to have inside a tire. N2 is also an inert gas, nonreactive compared to O2 (no oxidation).

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/repair-questions/4302788" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=191" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;