What do the dealers actually do when "servicing" a LEAF

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
M

MartyOZ

Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2013
Messages
11
Hi all,

I am from Australia, so might be slightly different Downunder.

I was just emailed a pamphlet on the capped Scheduled Service Intervals for LEAF:

6 months/10,000km $89.01

12 months/20,000km $255.78

18 months/30,000km $89.01

24 months/40,000km $330.25

30 months/50,000km $89.01

36 months/60,000km $225.78

42 months/70,000km $89.01

48 months/80,000km $330.25

54 months/90,000km $89.01

60 months/100,000km $255.78

66 months/110,000km $89.01

72 months/120,000km $330.25


Since some members have been to a few of these "services" I was wondering what it is they actually do and put on the invoice, please?

Are there any fluids to change or top up other than wiper and battery coolant (if any)?
The $89 I can live with, but $255 and $330? I would be surprised if they spend more than an hour in labor and bugger all in parts on any one of these "services".
 
Those prices seem kind of high, especially the 6 month services which are basically little more than a tire rotation (between $0 and $25 depending where you go).

What is Nissan AUS recommending at each service interval? For us here in the US:

6 months/7500 miles: tire rotation
1 year/15k miles: above, plus a series of checks and inspections, replace cabin filter
2 years/30k miles: all of the above, plus brake fluid flush
5 years/60k miles: coolant flush

These are for "normal" service vehicles. Like with their ICEVs, Nissan has a "severe service" schedule but IMHO unless you drive your car frequently off-road or through deep water it's unnecessary to use that with the Leaf.

Now in the US, it is not unusual for a dealer to upsell services that are largely unnecessary. A few folks here have been pressured during the sale to pre-purchase maintenance contracts for hundreds of dollars, when the actual services themselves cost far less than that.
 
RonDawg said:
Those prices seem kind of high, especially the 6 month services which are basically little more than a tire rotation (between $0 and $25 depending where you go).

What is Nissan AUS recommending at each service interval? For us here in the US:

6 months/7500 miles: tire rotation
1 year/15k miles: above, plus a series of checks and inspections, replace cabin filter
2 years/30k miles: all of the above, plus brake fluid flush
5 years/60k miles: coolant flush

These are for "normal" service vehicles. Like with their ICEVs, Nissan has a "severe service" schedule but IMHO unless you drive your car frequently off-road or through deep water it's unnecessary to use that with the Leaf.

Now in the US, it is not unusual for a dealer to upsell services that are largely unnecessary. A few folks here have been pressured during the sale to pre-purchase maintenance contracts for hundreds of dollars, when the actual services themselves cost far less than that.
Click to expand...



Hi there,

this is the reply I got from the service manager from the Nissan joint that I have taken a test drive in a LEAF last week from, they obviously don't worry about spell checking their correspondence :cool: :lol: :



DEAR Martin

The leaf service schedule is as follows.

All components are inspected every service incl usuall checks such as:
Brakes, steering, suspension,tyres,battery condition,seat belt buckles/restraints,etc.
Note: Included in the capped price service, is the adjustment of the h/brake(emergency brake)
:top up of windscreen washer fluid
:coolant is a non serviceable item(coolant runs the heater only)

The guideline for fluid level/filters over time are as follows:

Cabin filter (particulate filter) is to be replaced every 20k. (20k,40k,60k intervals etc)
Brake fluid(hydrolic oil) is replaced every 40k. (40k,80k, intervals)

Costing of front brakes is as follows:
Front pads $180.00

Front rotors $205ea (note an additional 1.5hours laybor charge in fitment of these items)

I hope this helps

Kind regards Peter

Service adviser
 
derkraut said:
My answer to the title of your post: They take your money. :roll:
Click to expand...


That was my thinking exactly. Lots of money for next to no work.

Had the same deal with my Mazda Miata. Amongst other things on the checklist they ticked check spare wheel pressure, thread depth and condition even though I kept it in my basement until I sold the car....

Maybe the mechanics are psychic or something :twisted: :lol:
 
MartyOZ said:
this is the reply I got from the service manager
All components are inspected every service incl usuall checks such as:
Brakes, steering, suspension,tyres,battery condition,seat belt buckles/restraints,etc.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
You already paid for this as a part of the base price of the car, at least in the US. The Service and Maintenance Guide calls it a "complimentary Multi-Point Inspection (MPI)."

Ray
 
The only things I've had to pay for in 26 months of ownership of 2011 LEAF that I had done at the dealer were cabin filter change and brake fluid system flush and refill. I don't have the paperwork on the cabin filter change. Seems like it was around $70. You can do that yourself much cheaper if you just buy the filter and change it yourself. Are other threads that provide part #s, sources, and details on how to do it. I chose to let the dealer do it.
The brake fluid flush was a total of $112.24 ($72 17F brake fluid system service, $1.75 EDF Environmental Disposal Fee, & $28.99 VP608334 Brake Flush Kit). Some others on MNL indicated they got it for under $100.
Only other thing I paid for on service was tire rotation once at dealer, $19.95 plus tax; and once at oil change place, $15.95 plus tax. Now that I have had them rotated twice I learned from MNL that Bridgestone owned tire dealers will rotate Ecopias free. I'll try that next time on tire rotation.
 
TimLee said:
The only things I've had to pay for in 26 months of ownership of 2011 LEAF that I had done at the dealer were cabin filter change and brake fluid system flush and refill. I don't have the paperwork on the cabin filter change. Seems like it was around $70. You can do that yourself much cheaper if you just buy the filter and change it yourself. Are other threads that provide part #s, sources, and details on how to do it. I chose to let the dealer do it.
The brake fluid flush was a total of $112.24 ($72 17F brake fluid system service, $1.75 EDF Environmental Disposal Fee, & $28.99 VP608334 Brake Flush Kit). Some others on MNL indicated they got it for under $100.
Only other thing I paid for on service was tire rotation once, which I had done at oil change place that I like that does my ICE. Around $12.
Click to expand...


Hi all,

you guys in the US are lucky. You have all the info I was after at your fingertips online:

https://owners.nissanusa.com/content/tec....ance-gu ide.pdf

http://parts.nissanusa.com/nissanpa...01&partnumber=Part+Number&description=Keyword
 
Hi Marty,

I've owned my LEAF in Melbourne for just over 12 months and have had both services done at the Nissan dealer.
10,000k cost $66.50
20,000k cost $148.18 but they didn't have a cabin air filter in stock so that wasn't replaced.

Not too bad.

My wife's 2008 Prius (100,000k) just cost me $1200 (new front brake disks and pads) and you don't want to know the servicing costs on my 1998 BMW 528!

Leigh
 
In the U.S., Nissan provides two service schedules, in the owner's manual called Schedule 1 (more severe) and Schedule 2 (less severe). Every dealer I've encountered, by default, follows Schedule 1, which of course is more expensive. So if you call up your dealer and say you need the 7500/6 month service they will charge you for the more severe service schedule. Even if you ask them for Schedule 2, they usually don't even know that that involved, so I've had to tell them exactly what the book says.

If you are a by-the-book kind of person you can see which schedule Nissan recommends for your particular needs in the car's service manual. I always just follow the Schedule 2 and have never had a problem.
 
leighf said:
Hi Marty,

I've owned my LEAF in Melbourne for just over 12 months and have had both services done at the Nissan dealer.
10,000k cost $66.50
20,000k cost $148.18 but they didn't have a cabin air filter in stock so that wasn't replaced.

Not too bad.

My wife's 2008 Prius (100,000k) just cost me $1200 (new front brake disks and pads) and you don't want to know the servicing costs on my 1998 BMW 528!

Leigh
Click to expand...


Hi Leigh,

what happened? Didn't you like the car? Or did you have to move?

Have you heard about our little web site for LEAFers Downunder?

http://ozleaf.proboards.com/index.cgi
 
MartyOZ said:
Hi there,
this is the reply I got from the service manager from the Nissan joint that I have taken a test drive in a LEAF last week from, they obviously don't worry about spell checking their correspondence :cool: :lol: :

Costing of front brakes is as follows:
Front pads $180.00

Front rotors $205ea (note an additional 1.5hours laybor charge in fitment of these items)
Click to expand...
Sounds like the dealer is assuming you will need front brakes replaced. The regen on my 2011 is not all that great, but I don't plan to replace brake parts for a very long time. With the now available 'B' mode, brakes ought to last really long.
 
Den said:
I guess you will loose warranty if you skip 12 month ($250) service.
Click to expand...

I can't say if this is true in all countries, but in the US you are NOT required to get your car serviced at the manufacturer's dealership in order to preserve warranty, as long as you can find a competent mechanic who does the manufacturer required maintenance within the specified time frame. For example, oil changes for an ICEV or hybrid can be done at an independent mechanic, a "Jiffy Lube" style quick oil change place, or even yourself if you know how to do one (just make sure to keep receipts of the oil and filter purchases, and note the date and mileage, to prove you did it).

There are some exceptions, particularly with alternative-fueled vehicles. With the Leaf, the exception is the annual battery inspection, to be done around the anniversary date of the original purchase/lease of the car, regardless of mileage. That MUST be done at a Leaf-certified Nissan dealer (and in the US, some of them are not especially in small towns) in order to maintain the battery warranties. For US buyers, the first two inspections are free, and I was quoted $100 for subsequent ones.
 
RonDawg said:
Den said:
With the Leaf, the exception is the annual battery inspection, to be done around the anniversary date of the original purchase/lease of the car, regardless of mileage. That MUST be done at a Leaf-certified Nissan dealer (and in the US, some of them are not especially in small towns) in order to maintain the battery warranties. For US buyers, the first two inspections are free, and I was quoted $100 for subsequent ones.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
To maintain the warranty, it must be done around the annual anniversary date regardless of mileage.
But for the dealer to be reimbursed by Nissan, it must be after the anniversary date.
On my first one, the dealer did it a day or two prior to the one year anniversary and had to eat the cost of doing it, as Nissan would not reimburse them.
They scheduled the second annual one a few days past the two year anniversary.
 
RonDawg said:
There are some exceptions, particularly with alternative-fueled vehicles. With the Leaf, the exception is the annual battery inspection, to be done around the anniversary date of the original purchase/lease of the car, regardless of mileage. That MUST be done at a Leaf-certified Nissan dealer (and in the US, some of them are not especially in small towns) in order to maintain the battery warranties. For US buyers, the first two inspections are free, and I was quoted $100 for subsequent ones.
Click to expand...
While I expect that is probably true in practice, at least for now, here is what the 2011 Warranty Booklet has to say:
You are required to perform annual EV Battery Usage Report at intervals of 12 months, 24 months, 36 months, 48 months, 60 months, 72 months, and 84 months. These EV Battery Usage Reports can be performed by a Nissan LEAF certified dealer or any qualified repair shop facility.
Click to expand...
(I don't have the 2013 booklet in front of me right now to see if they have changed that wording.)

I think the catch is that to be "qualified" a repair shop would have to have the Nissan Consult computer, and given the current low volume it would be very hard for a shop to justify that, even if Nissan is willing to sell them one (which I don't know).

Ray
 
planet4ever said:
RonDawg said:
There are some exceptions, particularly with alternative-fueled vehicles. With the Leaf, the exception is the annual battery inspection, to be done around the anniversary date of the original purchase/lease of the car, regardless of mileage. That MUST be done at a Leaf-certified Nissan dealer (and in the US, some of them are not especially in small towns) in order to maintain the battery warranties. For US buyers, the first two inspections are free, and I was quoted $100 for subsequent ones.
Click to expand...
While I expect that is probably true in practice, at least for now, here is what the 2011 Warranty Booklet has to say:
You are required to perform annual EV Battery Usage Report at intervals of 12 months, 24 months, 36 months, 48 months, 60 months, 72 months, and 84 months. These EV Battery Usage Reports can be performed by a Nissan LEAF certified dealer or any qualified repair shop facility.
Click to expand...
(I don't have the 2013 booklet in front of me right now to see if they have changed that wording.)

I think the catch is that to be "qualified" a repair shop would have to have the Nissan Consult computer, and given the current low volume it would be very hard for a shop to justify that, even if Nissan is willing to sell them one (which I don't know).
Click to expand...

I just look and that extra wording is also in the 2012 Warranty Booklet, so I stand corrected. But as you said, very few if any independent shops will have the necessary computer and software to do this. For those of us who will lease for 3 years or less and not purchase it at lease end, it won't cost us anything to bring the car to a Nissan dealer to do this anyway, except for our time and a bit of electricity.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top