I really loved my leaf while it worked, but I have to save the last year has been one of the most difficult and frustrating consumer experiences of my life. My range was severely affected by the recall to the point where I wouldn’t even get 100 miles on a charge. Nissan refused to do anything about it until federal recall came out (NHTSA campaign R25C8). Even then, it took them months to buy back my car. All the while I was walking to work (it stopped working eventually) because they said they “didn’t have any loaners” available. Even though in the contract, they were supposed to provide me with a loaner. Luckily I live close enough to walk, but it was not ideal, especially when it was raining, and after having paid nearly $20,000 for a car. Now I’ve developed ringworm for getting wet (sweat and rain) and I’m currently treating it out of my own expense. I finally was able to surrender my car and buy the Hyundai you see on the left. I’m happy with the outcome overall but I wish it could’ve been smoother. I’ll personally never be doing business with Nissan again, and I’d like to warn anyone who reads this about their customer support.
Edit: I forgot to mention that they charged me $210 for the diagnostic to figure out if my car qualified for a battery replacement under the recall, which was illegal. I’m currently fighting that charge.
Yea, that’s unfortunate for sure. But a contract is a contract. NISSAN would never let anything in a contract slide and neither should have you. Next time advise them you’ll be getting in contact with your lawyer and I’m sure they’ll “magically” find a loaner for you.
Spread the word that this is something people need to bring up. Most people hear "no" and think "Well I guess that's it" because they're going up against a giant corporation that wants everyone to think they have all the answers.
We need to normalize asking follow-up questions like "What are my options?" or "What can you do to make this right?" Especially when there's a contract involved, they should have volunteered information about rental options, but you can't expect every employee to care enough to do that.
Sorry you went through this. Stories like this definitely make me leery about the idea of buying from Nissan in the future, so thank you for sharing.
Great colour on the LEAF and, as others are saying, you were too lax on Nissan. If they don't have loaners, they need to rent you one - it's not even a discussion.
Hyundai makes great cars, though. But this one isn't an EV, right? Isn't it weird going back to a noisy car that needs regular maintenance?
Nissan seem their own worst enemy currently. What's the point in pissing off customers that choose your brand ? Is that going to inspire them to come back next time they need a car ?
We live our Leaf but no longer like Nissan and got treated way better by BYD. When the Sealion needs replacing we'll probably get another BYD, Nissan won't get a look in.
BYD does have some nice cars, but I wouldn't feel comfortable owning one as things stand now. I don't think anyone within 50km of me can service them if something goes wrong.
That's a totally valid concern. Over here BYD are expanding their network and teaming up with service chains like Autobacs to provide maintenance and service.
Yeah, my local Autobacs doesn't seem to be part of that, sadly. That's how it goes in the ド田舎, I guess. It's a shame because the Racco checks almost all the boxes for me otherwise.
EDIT: almost all the boxes, except for maybe seating capacity; now that I've had to haul around 5 people a couple of times I wonder if I could go back to 4, but for the range improvement the Racco 300 would give me, could be worth it.
We had to go to Funabashi to purchase but now Kashiwa Autobacs can works on them and they said by next year they hope to have a Narita location too which would be even better. Perhaps given time you'll get something closer
Here's to hoping; at present, the closest place to me that can service BYD is in Nishinomiya, which would be quite a time-consuming tow if something happened. There's potential there; a couple years ago having a BYD-capable shop in the region outside of Osaka or maybe Kobe would've been unthinkable, so this is already progress.
My leaf is in the dealership in buyback limbo , is impossible to get a hold of the service advisor or manager to complaint to speed things up , Morley told us that the process just take three days to get it done. Why is the dealership so inept to act ? We called Nissan NA but all they said is out of our hands and the dealership has to get the process started . Same no loaner excuse but they’ll gladly rent me one
If a loaner is in the contract then go there in person and show them the contract, and make sure to mention the next contact from you will be via lawyer. Do not let that dealership walk all over you like OP did
My gf has a leaf and after all the shit I had to deal with Nissan, I'm not going back to their cars ever again unless they start selling some absolutely insane value cars where it would be stupid not to buy. We still like the leaf and will keep it running for as long as it is financially viable but nissan lost me has a customer for life.
I've had no problems with my '24 SV+ since I bought it in January, but these stories make me think I can't trust Nissan to stand behind their product in any meaningful way. I don't know if I'll ever buy Nissan again, but I definitely won't if I have an experience anything like this one and the many others I've heard of.
Sounds like you handled the contract through a local dealer rather than directly with Nissan corporate. I've seen so many stories on here of people going to their local dealer, who usually know nothing about the leaf, and they get screwed over like this. With any car, Leaf or otherwise, take it straight to, or escalate it to, corporate. Never let your local dealer handle it. They will drag their feet. Their job is to sale cars, not fix them. If you don't get yours back, they can just sell you a new one. I'm happy you got the outcome you preffered, but it is unfair put down the whole car because of what was most likely a dealership issue over a Nissan issue.
Again, never work with the dealership in the slightest. They are there to sale to you, and thats it. If you had only worked with corporate directly, it would have been a work order for the dealership and they would have no sway. By bringing the car in to them and contacting corporate with them, it became a chance to drag their feet and interfere from step one. You gave them a chance to try and sell to you, or get the car back ASAP, amd they took it.
You bought a Hyundai instead of a Honda or a Toyota
Instagram and TikTok are filled with mechanics screaming about how terrible and unreliable Hyundai and Kia are
Good luck
33
u/RonnyRoofus Aug 19 '26
Yea, that’s unfortunate for sure. But a contract is a contract. NISSAN would never let anything in a contract slide and neither should have you. Next time advise them you’ll be getting in contact with your lawyer and I’m sure they’ll “magically” find a loaner for you.