Dishonest Service Manager

[RickLeaf]

cc: my nissan leaf.com discussion forum; CAA.ca

Mr. Patterson,

Last Aug. I brought my Nissan Leaf to your Maple Nissan facility for service because the brake warning light came on. I was advised that a sensor failed and needed replacing. Your service manager told me that the sensor is "buried" and the car would have to be "powered down" because it's unsafe for the technician to work on it.

I found that the sensor is on the bottom of the master cylinder and was able to replace it in less than fifteen minutes, myself, in my driveway, with a wrench. I paid $174.00 for the sensor.

Your estimate is attached - $1045.00

Last month I came back for service for a recommended cabin air filter and brake fluid flush.

I was told by the same Service Manager that the brakes need immediate service. I told him I'm not experiencing any vibration or any braking issue. He said "the rotors were gouging into the pads" I said "you mean the pads are digging into the rotors" He said "no, the other way around, and there is no friction material left" - very unusual, I told him I would think about it.

I took the car to my local garage. Please see attached their report; no brake service needed for 20,000km.

Your estimate is attached - $956.00



My question is why would you want to destroy a relationship with a customer who purchased his vehicle from you?
I think this treatment is deplorable, verging on illegal and certainly dishonest.

 

[soldcake]

Is there some where in Nissan (Japan and North America) that we can email to?
This "manager" deserves a minus 5 stars evaluation at headquarters. :x

 

[oko]

At least the service is doing some work, though unnecessary. My local Nissan charged me for the services they just pretended to do! They charged for annual battery check, but they did not do it since they are not Leaf certified! I learned this from Nissan Corporate, and Nissan send me a gift card "for my troubles". The dealer still did not refund me, and still claimed that "my car's test results are in the mail". I disputed it with Amex, and Amex said that "if they can prove to us that they did the service in 3 months, your dispute will be rejected". But of course they could not prove it, and I won.

Sometimes the level of dishonesty is mind-blowing.

 

[EVDRIVER]

I think it is funny they picked the brake rotors to be an issue when an EV rarely uses them and this is an issue that likely would never occur. Pretty bold move on the service department.

 

[LeftieBiker]

They probably weren't going to replace the pads, which is why they picked them.

 

[FalconFour]

Never trust the dealer.

Biggest lesson you can learn in Leaf and other EV ownership (except Tesla, of course).

Dealers only really care about their profits. If ever you walk into a dealership, you'd be well served to have your guard 100% all the way up.

Not that they're "all" dishonest, but they're all selling predominantly ICE cars which they have to keep selling, most of them think lowly of EV drivers/customers. They put that fake smile on, then go kick it over the water cooler about how to rip off that dumb-arse Leaf owner that walks around with the holier-than-thou green strut.

With exception of the relatively cool guy I worked with to buy-out my Leaf lease*, dealers are the lowest of swamp scum.

* - in a somewhat successful attempt to regain my trust from the shady dealer stories I have of the past... but away from the EV mecca of SF Bay and LA in CA and few others, the dealers hate EVs.

 

[sendler2112]

What is the address of this dealer? Did you lodge a complaint with Nissan corporate?

 

[RickLeaf]

this dealer is Maple, Ontario, Canada.

 

[SageBrush]

One thing to know about brakes in cars with regen:

The friction components are lightly used, allowing rust to build up on the rotors. This is particularly true in areas with cold winters and even more true if roads are salted. Part of my regular maintenance in the winter is to bring the car up to 60 mph (100 kph) and hard stop once a month.

 

[JimSouCal]

One thing to know about brakes in cars with regen:

The friction components are lightly used, allowing rust to build up on the rotors. This is particularly true in areas with cold winters and even more true if roads are salted. Part of my regular maintenance in the winter is to bring the car up to 60 mph (100 kph) and hard stop once a month.

Well, at least a degraded traction battery not doing as much regen and more friction braking has some benefit... I've never seen rust on my rotors after a drive... So far my service managers have been straightforward, but with the usual dealer labor book rates, that do seem to run a bit high...