whidbeyleafer said:
mn4az said:
Congrats. Now the question will be new pack or buyback. Keep us posted please. I'm not too far behind you. Hopefully by end of May.
Brought my Leaf into my local dealer today. They took about three hours to look at the car, and at the end of it, they said, Yep you qualify for a new battery. They said this is the recommendation of their leaf expert.(they had some specific term for the person, I can’t remember.) They said they would be sending in the recommendation to Nissan and that I can expect it to take between six and 18 months to get the new battery.
I thought it was interesting that they were really excited about it. It sounded like it would be a great thing for the dealership for some reason. They said the battery costs $20,000. They said this several times.
One thing about it that I didn’t like is that they refused to give me a copy of any of the paperwork other than the basic battery report. I didn’t even get the normal print out of the service performed. So my plan is to contact Nissan corporate through their website (I guess) and try to get some kind of written confirmation that I am in line.
A few more details about my experience at the dealer.
When I arrived, the exact same guy I had spoken with over the phone on the day prior acted like he didn't know why I was there. I had to explain again about the battery health, 9 bars, etc. Then, the first thing the dealer's maintenance manager said was that the Leaf was out of warranty because it was beyond 3 years / 36,000 miles. I had to educate him on the extended warranty on the Li-ion battery. Then someone else said, "oh, the battery has to drop below 8 bars." I had to suppress a groan! We actually had to pull out the warranty language and read it together for them to understand it. Also, they actually said that they couldn't access the warranty language on their computer system until Nissan opened at 8 am pacific time!
I guess it's possible they were truly ignorant, but it's hard to give credence to that when they later mention that they have several other Leaf's waiting for new batteries. Are they willfully ignorant, and trying to push off / decline valid warranty claims? This is also inconsistent with their later exuberance about getting such a costly warranty repair.
Definitely a confusing experience. I thought I'd share these details in case others encounter these obstacles.
Regarding Nissan corporate:
I used the chat feature on Nissan's website to request documentation that the dealer has submitted my battery claim and that it is in progress. First, the Nissan rep told me they can't give me anything because all repairs are "dealer facing". When I told her that the dealer had declined to give me any documentation, she asked me for my account info. We have an account, but (I don't know if anyone else has noticed this), but their "garage" will not allow me to add my 2016 Leaf (maybe because it's too old?). The rep got fixated on getting proof of ownership rather than addressing my question. Finally, she agreed to give me a case number and assign a "regional rep" who would later get in touch with me. I thought "great!". Later that day, I received an email from the Nissan rep I had chatted with containing the case number, but no description of my request for documentation, and no mention of my battery warranty claim. The email was entirely focused on getting my Leaf on their account system (which I couldn't care less about, and never asked for). I replied to the email reiterating my request for documentation.
We'll see!
