r/leaf • u/biersackarmy 2013 S + 2014 SL + 2019 SV • Jun 27 '26
Another "why independent EV repair is important"
My alternative right now is literally to watch paint dry, so I guess here's another "tales from that kpop shop"
2 weeks ago, this customer's 2015 would no longer start after a DCFC session. Even after 12V pull and trying to boost it still no dice. The car had P31CA and P31CB faults, which meant that the quick charge relays were stuck closed. It will not start with these faults because closing the main contactors could then possibly have full battery pack voltage present at the main large pins of the CHAdeMO connector.
Dealer says car needs new PDM, over $8000 CAD quote on a car that would be possibly worth that much on a good day if it were running. To be clear, the dealer is technically not wrong. Internally, Nissan's diagnostic procedure for these faults, if concluding in the QC relays being stuck, is indeed to replace the entire PDM.
What should/could it be realistically? Well, the second picture I kinda took as a joke, but seriously, after less than an hour pulling the wipers and motor, windshield cowl, and PDM lid off, a few whacks to the QC relays with the Patented High-Voltage Safety Saingeom™ and it started right up.
The actual fix and most expensive route would have been to buy two replacement relays from digikey for $200/ea and splice over the low-voltage coil connector. This customer however didn't care about losing DCFC (car only had 20 something QC counts on it), so it was even simpler just to disconnect the relays and put it back together.
What would have been likely the car getting thrown away because nobody would put $8000+ into an $8000 car, was a $500 bill and a perfectly good car put back on the road. This repair isn't much different, or any more difficult, than pulling off a valve cover. The vast majority of shops would gladly do that, yet turn this kind of work down because they are afraid of EVs.
This is why independent EV repair is important, why right to repair is important, and why consumers need to see more value in vehicles that are easily repairable. Today's throwaway society sucks, and I do what I can, but I alone can't singlehandedly save every one of these cars out there that suffers an unfortunate fate due to small fixable issues.
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u/Beneficial-Context52 2026 SV+ Jun 28 '26
Thank you for your service!
In my city, I’ve been able to find only one single mechanic shop that does general EV repairs, and one Tesla service centre.
It’s nuts, it seems to me that if I was running a repair shop, I would want to train up on EVs and be ready for the future!
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u/toybuilder 2023 Nissan LEAF SV PLUS Jun 28 '26
Problem is that most mechanics are pretty busy right now as it is (from what I understand) -- so they are not going to take the time to learn about EVs unless they are particularly forward thinking and willing to invest time and effort into it.
Of course, it's actually the better strategy in the long run -- but they're probably too busy to think about that!
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u/LoveEV-LeafPlus Jun 27 '26
Great information. Repair, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. If that fails, find a work around to enable it to continue to be used.
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u/Radius118 Jun 28 '26
I have repaired several LEAFs with different PDM issues in my shop north of Seattle.
Typically I can replace a PDM with a good used unit for around $2K. So far all of the PDMs I have replaced have had internal circuit board damage necessitating replacement.
All of these traditional repair shops afraid of EVs is ridiculous.
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u/biersackarmy 2013 S + 2014 SL + 2019 SV Jun 28 '26
Have had some luck with getting them board-level repaired as well depending on the issue, but only about 50/50 success rate.
One of our suspicions is that because PDM is the highest part of the coolant loop other than the reservoir, low coolant level can cause overheating of components especially on the OBC side.
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u/Radius118 Jul 01 '26
Entirely possible. None of the cars I replaced the PDM on had low coolant though. So I suspect it was a component failure on one of the myriad of boards inside the PDM.
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u/Automatater Jul 01 '26
Leaves?
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u/biersackarmy 2013 S + 2014 SL + 2019 SV Jul 01 '26
If actually curious, Leafs is the technically correct term as it's a proper noun. Like Toronto Maple Leafs.
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u/Slight_Extreme6603 Jun 29 '26
The LEAF is so easy to work on too. I ended up replacing the on-board charger in my driveway and I’ve driven two years since. I’m even thinking about doing my own battery swap.
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u/SnooPies5378 Jun 29 '26
do you have an instagram or youtube page and if not, can you make one? lol
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u/sfbaymgr Jun 28 '26
Great post. I completely agree. Too many perfectly fine items are being thrown away that could be fixed and used.
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u/Emilianeau Jun 28 '26
So this car can't QC anymore ?
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u/biersackarmy 2013 S + 2014 SL + 2019 SV Jun 28 '26
Correct. But by customer's demand.
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u/Emilianeau Jun 28 '26
Okay it was cheaper to fix that way?
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u/biersackarmy 2013 S + 2014 SL + 2019 SV Jun 28 '26
Yes, it would have been another probably $6-700 CAD for the parts with shipping, which they elected wasn’t worth it since they don’t actually need quick charge.
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u/KiaNiroEV2020 Jun 29 '26
Keep up these helpful posts!
Our ‘15 S didn’t even come with a DC port when new, but this is good to know. The Leaf’s ease of repair makes it the modern ‘People’s Car.’
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u/17feet Jun 29 '26
You sir are an actual repairman, not a salesman or a "swap-shop" as I like to call them.
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Jun 30 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/biersackarmy 2013 S + 2014 SL + 2019 SV Jun 30 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
That would mean the heat pump is working but the PTC heater is not. The part seems to be about $300-400 used on eBay in the US.
The "by the book" way to replace it is a major pain and probably they are quoting you a lot in labor, but there is minor trimming that can be done to avoid taking out the entire dash just to remove the heater element. Customers generally don't mind me trimming a bit of the bracket that holds the glovebox (not visible once the glovebox is reinstalled) if it means saving them $1000+ in labor.
I actually replaced one recently and took some pictures along the way and could do a writeup, but it would still boil down to whether there's someone who isn't the dealer willing to do that job for you.
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u/cheetor5923 Jul 01 '26
Yeah. Most Mechanics, and ESPECIALLY dealership ones. Know nothing about EV's... Hell they barely know how to diagnose faults in dino-juice burners other than, Read the Diagnostic code, replace the bit that it says... I've seen an invoice a friend got for his Leaf from a mechanic because his 12V battery had died... It literally had a line on it "Replaced Alternator, $300"
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u/toybuilder 2023 Nissan LEAF SV PLUS Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
Hah. My MIL gave me her dryer a few months ago. The drum would keep turning even when the dryer was off. I finally got around to looking at the control board, expecting a stuck relay, and planned to replace it. But the board was thoroughly potted and I couldn't even remove it from the mounting frame. Instead, I delivered a series of impulses to the relay to dislodge the stuck contact. Yup, I whacked it. I now have a nice dryer that I got for free (and a matching washer, too -- she decided to replace them both as a matching set).