LEAF reliability survey, view results, sign up to help

[dgpcolorado]

...I actually have had a break on my Leaf. The driver window does not auto-up anymore. Very strange, it simply doesn't. I haven't brought it in, nor will I, so I haven't counted it as a "return from repair" on truedelta's questionnaire.

Pardon in advance if you've already tried this, but you know that auto-up (and auto-down) are reset by holding the button in the up (or down) position for several seconds after the window has reached its final position, right?

 

[mkaresh]

Thanks. We do ask about unrepaired problems when cars are sold.

Auto-up seems to be the most likely function to fail in the window switches in many different cars. No idea why this particular bit is so fragile.

 

[dgpcolorado]

...Auto-up seems to be the most likely function to fail in the window switches in many different cars. No idea why this particular bit is so fragile.

Perhaps because it has be be programmed and, if the function is lost, many people don't know how to do it? Just a guess.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Thanks. We do ask about unrepaired problems when cars are sold.

Auto-up seems to be the most likely function to fail in the window switches in many different cars. No idea why this particular bit is so fragile.

not sure if auto up breaks or simply its user error. most cars I drive for work do not have auto up, just down and guessing its a programmable feature. guessing its disabled by default as a protective measure against trapping bits of one in the window's path

 

[mkaresh]

We've updated our reliability stats for the LEAF to include owner experiences through December 31, 2013.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2013 LEAF: 49, moderate
2012 LEAF: 6, low
2011 LEAF: 7, low

We have two additional statistics, "Nada-odds" and "Lemon-odds", to indicate the percentage of cars with no repairs in the past year and those that required 3+ trips to the repair shop:

2012 LEAF: 93, < 1
2011 LEAF: 92, < 1

We'll have further updates in May and in August. The more owners participate, the more comprehensive and precise these will be.

To see the repairs behind these stats, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Nissan LEAF reliability ratings and comparisons

 

[mkaresh]

...Auto-up seems to be the most likely function to fail in the window switches in many different cars. No idea why this particular bit is so fragile.

Perhaps because it has be be programmed and, if the function is lost, many people don't know how to do it? Just a guess.

Usually it's fixed by replacing the switch, not just programming.

 

[dhanson865]

We've updated our reliability stats for the LEAF to include owner experiences through December 31, 2013.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2013 LEAF: 49, moderate
2012 LEAF: 6, low
2011 LEAF: 7, low

We have two additional statistics, "Nada-odds" and "Lemon-odds", to indicate the percentage of cars with no repairs in the past year and those that required 3+ trips to the repair shop:

2012 LEAF: 93, < 1
2011 LEAF: 92, < 1

We'll have further updates in May and in August. The more owners participate, the more comprehensive and precise these will be.

To see the repairs behind these stats, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Nissan LEAF reliability ratings and comparisons

Gotta love how the Leaf appears more reliable than the Prius when you look at 2011 or 2012

http://www.truedelta.com/Nissan-LEAF/reliability-968/vs-Prius-272" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

2013 Nissan LEAF 49
2013 Toyota Prius 4

2012 Nissan LEAF 6
2012 Toyota Prius 8

2011 Nissan LEAF 7
2011 Toyota Prius 19

It doesn't look good for the 2013 comparison but at least if you live in a cool climate you can expect your older Leafs to hold up well.

 

[mkaresh]

Our reliability stats for the LEAF now include owner experiences through March 31, 2014, making them nearly a year ahead of other sources.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2013 LEAF: 42, moderate
2012 LEAF: 12, low
2011 LEAF: 13, low

We have two additional statistics, "Nada-odds" and "Lemon-odds", to indicate the percentage of cars with no repairs in the past year and those that required 3+ trips to the repair shop:

2012 LEAF: 87, < 1
2011 LEAF: 86, < 1

Thank you, once again, everyone who has been helping. Next update in August.

For a deeper dive, including the stats for other cars and repair descriptions, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Nissan LEAF reliability ratings and comparisons

 

[jlsoaz]

Hi again:

liking this survey, a few further thoughts.

- it says that 5% of problems for 2013 Leaf are with the "Engine". This is clearly wrong (there is no "Engine"). Have you considered creating additional fields more appropriate to BEVs and PHEVs such as Traction Battery, Starter-lighting-ignition battery (so as to distinguish), etc., so that respondents can fill in more accurately and not have to choose "other" or an incorrect area? Or maybe ask respondents to fill in a word where they don't see the area, so you can start to generate a list of areas that you're presently not carrying. Perhaps also in the narrow case of a few BEVs, prevent choosing certain fields that don't exist on BEVs.

- I guess I'll be looking to see if your report and-or driver comments fill in whether the quality downturn that seemed to come up in 2013 is being addressed or not.

Our reliability stats for the LEAF now include owner experiences through March 31, 2014, making them nearly a year ahead of other sources.

[...]
For a deeper dive, including the stats for other cars and repair descriptions, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Nissan LEAF reliability ratings and comparisons

 

[aarond12]

Our reliability stats for the LEAF now include owner experiences through March 31, 2014, making them nearly a year ahead of other sources.

I see. You've jumped the gun about the LEAF getting a 3.8l V6 engine and 4-speed automatic transmission, too.

http://www.truedelta.com/Mitsubishi-i-MiEV/specs-1079/vs-LEAF-968" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[TomT]

I suspect that if there was a traction battery problem field, you'd see the reliability rate plummet for the Leaf, particularly for 2011 and 2012s...

 

[mkaresh]

Our reliability stats for the LEAF now include owner experiences through March 31, 2014, making them nearly a year ahead of other sources.

I see. You've jumped the gun about the LEAF getting a 3.8l V6 engine and 4-speed automatic transmission, too.

http://www.truedelta.com/Mitsubishi-i-MiEV/specs-1079/vs-LEAF-968" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This was a short-lived bug. As for the nomenclature, it isn't always easy to find words that everyone will understand and that fully apply in every situation. For electric vehicles "engine" includes the entire power system, including the battery.

The stats won't include many batteries because we usually only count successfully completed repairs, and in many cases owners are living with problems that Nissan hasn't entirely acknowledged. We do count unrepaired problems when a car is sold.

 

[mkaresh]

We've updated our reliability stats for the LEAF to include owner experiences through June 30, 2014 (making them about 14 months ahead of some others).

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2013 LEAF: 42, moderate
2012 LEAF: 16, low
2011 LEAF: 15, low

We have two additional statistics, "Nada-odds" and "Lemon-odds", to indicate the percentage of cars with no repairs in the past year and those that required 3+ trips to the repair shop:

2012 LEAF: 85, < 1
2011 LEAF: 85, < 1

Next updates in November and in February. The more owners participate, the more comprehensive and precise these will be.

For repair descriptions, the stats of other cars, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Nissan LEAF reliability ratings and comparisons

 

[jlsoaz]

Thanks, once in awhile I have participated on your site, but to add a comment here on this site, it seems once in awhile worth re-stating that my 2012 Leaf SL has been remarkably trouble-free (aside from the loss of a bar, but I'm thinking that's being addressed with the new Lizard battery, so it's not a good thing for those who bought the car early in some areas, but I think is being addressed). Reliability/durability is very big with me along with handling and a few other things. If it were not for the fact that Nissan has thus far declined to offer a higher-priced longer-range option, I would be recommending the Leaf for a significantly broader range of uses to all friends and family that I speak with.

Looking at the page you provide, I'm thinking that at some point the quality issues with the 2013 Leafs started to get addressed, but I haven't followed the discussion here on MNL to be up to date on this.

We've updated our reliability stats for the LEAF to include owner experiences through June 30, 2014 (making them about 14 months ahead of some others).

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2013 LEAF: 42, moderate
2012 LEAF: 16, low
2011 LEAF: 15, low

We have two additional statistics, "Nada-odds" and "Lemon-odds", to indicate the percentage of cars with no repairs in the past year and those that required 3+ trips to the repair shop:

2012 LEAF: 85, < 1
2011 LEAF: 85, < 1

Next updates in November and in February. The more owners participate, the more comprehensive and precise these will be.

For repair descriptions, the stats of other cars, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Nissan LEAF reliability ratings and comparisons

 

[mkaresh]

We've updated our reliability stats for the LEAF to include owner experiences through September 30, 2014.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2013 LEAF: 34, moderate
2012 LEAF: 30, low
2011 LEAF: 20, low

We have two additional statistics, "Nada-odds" and "Lemon-odds", to indicate the percentage of cars with no repairs in the past year and those that required 3+ trips to the repair shop:

2013 LEAF: 72, < 1
2012 LEAF: 80, < 1
2011 LEAF: 84, < 1

To view the repairs behind these numbers, check the stats for other cars, and sign up to help improve this information (next update in February):

Nissan LEAF reliability ratings and comparisons

 

[jlsoaz]

Hi - this looks to me like good news - are the 2013 Leaf numbers (somewhat) improved since more owners have reported in? Why is there no line-item for the 2014 numbers? I was comparing a bit to the Versa and Versa Note gasoline vehicles, just to get an idea, and it does look like there are 2014 line-items for those vehicles, even if there are not many reports yet. Or, maybe there is a reluctance to provide 2014 numbers on the Leaf until a certain threshold is reached?

We've updated our reliability stats for the LEAF to include owner experiences through September 30, 2014.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2013 LEAF: 34, moderate
2012 LEAF: 30, low
2011 LEAF: 20, low

We have two additional statistics, "Nada-odds" and "Lemon-odds", to indicate the percentage of cars with no repairs in the past year and those that required 3+ trips to the repair shop:

2013 LEAF: 72, < 1
2012 LEAF: 80, < 1
2011 LEAF: 84, < 1

To view the repairs behind these numbers, check the stats for other cars, and sign up to help improve this information (next update in February):

Nissan LEAF reliability ratings and comparisons

 

[mkaresh]

New stuff this time. We've updated our reliability stats for the LEAF to include owner experiences through the end of 2014. Plus we've added reliability trends graphs. These indicate how a model's reliability has changed as it has aged, and how different model years performed when the same age.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2015 LEAF: 0, low, small sample size
2013 LEAF: 25, low
2012 LEAF: 33, moderate -- far more suspension problems (leaking struts, clicking axles) reported for the 2012 than for the 2011
2011 LEAF: 21, low

We have two additional statistics, "Nada-odds" and "Lemon-odds", to indicate the percentage of cars with no repairs in the past year and those that required 3+ trips to the repair shop:

2013 LEAF: 74, < 1
2012 LEAF: 74, < 1
2011 LEAF: 88, < 1

We'll have further updates in May and in August. The more owners participate, the more comprehensive and precise these will be. We especially need more 2014s and 2015s.

To see how competitors compare, and to sign up to help improve this information:

Nissan LEAF reliability ratings and comparisons

To view the new graphs, select "reliability trends" in the breadcrumbs at the top of the linked page.

 

[jlsoaz]

New stuff this time. [...]

a few random thoughts:

Looking at this overall Nissan list:

http://www.truedelta.com/Nissan/brand-reliability-27" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

sometimes when I am looking at Nissan gasoline vehicles, I check out the Versa because it is decidedly inexpensive and some variants have a slight similarity to the Leaf in terms of style. I see that you do have some Versa data, but it is somewhat lacking for some years, so in any case, I will be curious how the Leaf stacks up compared to the Versa over time.

Also, looking at this overall competitive sort of graphic of all the manufacturers and their reliability:
http://www.truedelta.com/car-reliability-by-brand" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- what's up with Tesla? Looks like off-the-charts bad reliability scores compared to every other brand??
- I wonder if, over time, BEVs prove to be relatively reliable, we would be able to look at your data and conclude that such vehicles help a manufacturer's score overall. It might make for an interesting story if some manufacturers start to see BEVs both as a way to meet CAFE and as a way to improve their reliability reputation. It's also just a general long-standing issue I think.... to be able to quantify and back up the idea that BEVs are more reliable and less expensive to maintain in both time and dollars.

 

[TimLee]

As for the nomenclature, it isn't always easy to find words that everyone will understand and that fully apply in every situation. For electric vehicles "engine" includes the entire power system, including the battery.

The stats won't include many batteries because we usually only count successfully completed repairs, and in many cases owners are living with problems that Nissan hasn't entirely acknowledged. We do count unrepaired problems when a car is sold.

If you want your vehicle reliability tracking to be relevant and respected you need to use correct nomenclature.

To lump everything about fuel storage and the motor under engine makes your quality survey look incompetent and not worth looking at or participating in.

 

[TimLee]

...
To view the new graphs, select "reliability trends" in the breadcrumbs at the top of the linked page.

Please clarify.
The statement is incomprehensible.