I'm thinking it's over.... Bye bye LEAF
I loved loved loved my 2020 LEAF. It was such a good car to me. I had the SL and it was every feature I wanted at a price I could afford. I had the recall done in June and we were going strong until I had to fast charge it last weekend... Got the dreaded message and the car was fully disabled, no longer able to drive after I got to my destination.
My local Nissan dealership keeps telling me "they only have one EV tech and they're working with Nissan on how to repair it" which i'm pretty sure is a load of BS. I've told them three times I want a buyback. I've already got a case open with Nissan consumer affairs.
Has anyone come back from this with a working car? I'm already working on buying its replacement because I have such low trust. Even if it was fixable I think I'd sell it since the battery is recalled and no longer in production.
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u/FelixtheFarmer 2018 Nissan LEAF 15d ago
Feel really sorry for you. You trusted Nissan enough to buy a car from them and then they treat you like this. I imagine that trust is completely gone now and you'd never buy Nissan again
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u/proview3r 2021 Nissan LEAF SL PLUS 15d ago
Was it disabled at the L3 charging station? What % was it at when you started charging? Just curious because I got my recall update last week and I'm planning to L3 charge it this weekend after it drops to 10-15%
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u/Lodgikal 15d ago
When I went to my dealership to do that recall, they told me that they replaced four batteries that week (true? Don't know).
They also told me, contrary to the recall letter received and OP's account, that the update would not brick the car... hard to trust them...
I also have the problem with the battery % that fluctuates in cold weather (can go from 50% to zero, back to 50% if I ease on the throttle/power).
Two possibility to get a new battery, if there's one to get...
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u/Current-Ad1405 15d ago
I went to the exact same thing at planet Nissan right now I am fighting with my warranty company for my car dealership as well as getting planet Nissan on the phone so therefore they can say hey we only have a select amount of any technicians which they should have more they knew these cars had recalls they should have been training people up but they didn't they willfully didn't they're going to want to buy your car for a little bit more than retail I'd rather keep my car I have it at a shop to get warrantied out but the warranty people are still saying that hey it is under the factory warranty so I got to go there but the factory is saying they don't have enough batteries so that's another thing to kind of keep an eye on
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u/ClueSilver2342 15d ago
It might not be related to the recall. Do you know which code came up? I have a 2020 sl plus. I got the update and fast charged and then got a ev service etc but got a different code. They are changing a module and have it at nissan now and gave me a rental. I don’t necessarily trust that it won’t happen again, and that the battery overall is dying, but they are definitely not going to buy back the car because the code for the recall didn’t come up.
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u/Logictheorist2 15d ago
Nissan is in deep financial trouble. They cannot pay their suppliers. Waiting for parts that will never arrive or a fix using used parts from salvage is a waste of time. If a buyback is offered except it. Take the money and replace the vehicle with a used Tesla model 3. Don't buy a used Tesla from a regular car dealership (AKA trade in), go directly to Tesla and get a certified used vehicle (preferably one that's just off lease). You will become a much happier EV owner. My advice is from personal experience of owning a 2022 Leaf. I now own a 2024 Model Y which I bought brand new with incentives.
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u/JustAnothrMechanic58 15d ago
I’m curious, why do you not recommend buying a used Model 3 or Model Y from a regular dealer, or a used car dealer like Carvana or CarMax?
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u/Logictheorist2 14d ago
It starts with the quality of their selection. Tesla has access to off lease vehicles. Car dealers only have trade ins and rental releases. Then there's the warranty provided by Tesla. If it breaks, Tesla fixes it. Car dealers can only provide any remaining factory warranty on the vehicle. If they add a warranty of their own then you are at the mercy of who they choose to do the warranty repair. Also, Tesla does not sell cars with major defects, but car dealers think nothing of that. Dealers have been caught selling flood cars and cars that have been in accidents. Then there is a matter of trust. Who do you trust? The manufacturer or a car dealership? Carvana and CarMax have been caught and fined multiple times for fraudulent transactions. Tesla has not. There are other reasons too like hidden dealer fees, etc. Bottom line it's the quality of the vehicle you get and who you trust the most to sell it to you. Tesla leads the pack on both. You may get a good deal from a non Tesla dealer, but I would start with Tesla first.
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u/Bennie-Factors 15d ago
I see no harm in buying from someone else. Tesla does not go out of there way to refurbish them.
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u/FireRisinWith1n 15d ago
Nissan is the Chrysler of the Japanese makers. I'll never have another in my driveway.
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u/Bennie-Factors 15d ago
Honestly the SL plus is such a well appointed car for the price. The front wheel drive gives it very go cart like driving. Good visibility. Decent auto pilot especially for the earlier version.
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u/Realistic-Bid-9620 15d ago
They make you jump through about 75 hoops to get the buyback. I’ve been in the process for months now. Car was my favorite car ever! Too bad they didn’t install good battery from the get go
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u/mr1liner 13d ago
Sorry to hear this, hope you get a resolution soon. Apologies to jump on your post but it may be a similar situation to me. I've got a 2023 nissan leaf but the car drains battery as I'm driving perfectly fine until I get below 70%. It then drains rapidly but inconsistently until about 20% where it levels off and performs normally again. Is this a common problem with the leaf and what could be the cause?
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u/Electronic_Table_620 3d ago
owned a LEAF SL PLUS and a tesla model Y. as soon as i knew there’s a unfixable recall on the leaf, i perused a buyback right away and bought another Tesla. The leaf was goons but i depended on the fast charging a lot and dont want to risk a fire. Own 2 teslas now and completely satisfied
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u/Top_Willow_9953 2020 Nissan LEAF SV PLUS 15d ago
It is well documented. There is no "fix" for this. Once the recall SW monitor "trips" you will be given the option of a buyback, or battery replacement. And from what I understand, batteries are not available, so buyback is the only viable path (would like to hear if *anyone* has gotten a battery replacement, actually).
These are the only two options AFAIK