my vehicle service experience

[eMaS]

Took my Leaf in for the yearly service. Had to bring it in anyways because of computer updates and I almost have 15000 miles on it.
I was more than a little upset that Nissan dealership tried to get me to consent to brake fluid replacement. I can't imagine that brake fluid will go bad in one year. And I have never ever heard any independent organization recommend it for normal street vehicles on a yearly basis. I drive the vehicle for environmental reasons, that means that the unnecessary replacement of parts and fluids is bad. They got me on the cabin filter exchange - next time I will purchase the filter and replace it myself if necessary after I have looked at the old filter.
It seems that missing oil changes have to be made up by artificially creating new dealer support possibilities.

 

[smkettner]

I know of very few oil burners that get away with just the oil and filter.
Just standard regular dealer upsell and over maintain at any cost as long as you pay.

I am tempted to just drive and never have the Leaf checked :shock:
I bet plenty could go 100,000+ with spending zero dollars except for wear items like tires.

 

[mwalsh]

Yeah, you really have to watch them on that. The service booklet for Schedule 1 (the more severe) does call for a brake fluid change at 15,000 miles/12 months. But Schedule 2 (the less severe) calls for the first one at 30,000 miles/24 months. If you truly think your car is being operated in less severe environments, you have to stick with your convictions!

 

[eMaS]

have driven my Toyota Rav4 EV for over 110,000 miles and they had no such outrageous requirements. Thanks for mentioning the different service choices and I hope this will help others.

 

[ebill3]

Well, in my opinion, the cabin filter replacement is not always necessary. I have not checked the LEAF's filter, but on other vehicles I found that tapping the filter on a hard surface covered with white paper does a pretty good job of cleaning it.

How in the world did we survive before they started putting in filters? My 2000 Toyota van didn't have a filter, and the AC and heater worked just fine.

Bill

 

[LakeLeaf]

I have not checked the LEAF's filter, but on other vehicles I found that tapping the filter on a hard surface covered with white paper does a pretty good job of cleaning it.

Thanks my usual approach too. Especially for something like a cabin filter who's absolute cleanliness is not critical to vehicle performance.

 

[Yodrak]

...I have not checked the LEAF's filter, but on other vehicles I found that tapping the filter on a hard surface covered with white paper does a pretty good job of cleaning it.l

Would tapping the filter on a hard surface covered with black paper, or with no paper at all, do just as good a job of cleaning the filter I wonder? Granted, the white paper makes it easier to see how much 'stuff' comes off the filter. Looking at the filter itself will tell one how much is still on the filter.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

tapping your filter will visually clean it only. you need to wash and dry it to even begin to effectively clean them especially if you live in a high pollen area like i do.

as far as paying someone to replace your filter?? no way. i bought a 3 pack from a place in WI for $20 and i will simply rotate them in and out of my car every 6 months just as i have done with my Prius for years.

i will say

1) the cabin filter for the Leaf is much less durable than the Prius filter

2) is 10 times more difficult to replace than the Toyota filter which can be done in less than 5 minutes. it took me the stated 20 minutes (there is very very piss poor instructions that came with the filter and it states its a 20 minute job) to replace the Leaf filter.

i think the dealer wanted to charge me like $40 for filter change? as it is, i paid $70 for the fluid change.

i do think fluid changes are a good idea to insure no contamination from the factory. this should do me for another 2 years or so

 

[EdmondLeaf]

someone still have to explain to me why brake fluid change is so important in Leaf?

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

someone still have to explain to me why brake fluid change is so important in Leaf?

As part of the maintenance schedule it is not to be ignored but I doubt we will get an explanation anytime soon. Some will ignore itand it will be revealed how vital this update is

Now this reminds me of Toyota doing a backstep when they changed the oil change interval to 10,000 miles a few years agobut only after a lot of user feedback on used oil analysis reports started being posted online

 

[TomT]

It is no more or less important than any other car. The two year/30,000 mile schedule 2 regular service interval is more than sufficient unless you consistently drive down VERY long, steep grades with a full battery and no regen. I plan to follow schedule 2 and do it once during the life of my four year lease at the 2 year mark (and not at the local Nissan Dealer with their ridiculous price). Nissan can do the second one after I give it back to them.

someone still have to explain to me why brake fluid change is so important in Leaf?

 

[padamson1]

...I can't imagine that brake fluid will go bad in one year. And I have never ever heard any independent organization recommend it for normal street vehicles on a yearly basis. I drive the vehicle for environmental reasons, that means that the unnecessary replacement of parts and fluids is bad. They got me on the cabin filter exchange - next time I will purchase the filter and replace it myself if necessary after I have looked at the old filter.
It seems that missing oil changes have to be made up by artificially creating new dealer support possibilities.

Here's Consumer Reports view on the Brake Fluid replacement http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2011/07/zen-and-the-art-of-nissan-leaf-maintenance.html.

Second, under Schedule 1, the Leaf manual calls for changing the brake fluid every 15,000 miles (or every 30,000 miles on Schedule 2). That stopped us cold. Most cars call for changing the brake fluid at most every 60,000 miles. Nissan expects it four times as often on the Leaf. The service costs $291.95 at one Southern California dealership we called, which has sold 34 Leafs since they went on sale in January.

We called Nissan and they explained that brake fluid has a fairly high tendency to absorb moisture and should be replaced regularly in any car, especially with today’s anti-lock braking (ABS) and electronic stability control systems. “Increasing the brake fluid replacement frequency reduces the likelihood of braking performance issues due to increased moisture content,” a spokesperson wrote in an email.

It may be that with an all-electric car and frequent use of the regenerative brakes, the company is concerned that the hydraulic brakes may get used so little that increased moisture could build up, leading to rusted and dangerous brake lines.

If I wasn't leasing I think I would do the first one around 20K and then skip the second and do the next one around 60k. Unfortunately I have a lease so I need to follow their schedule. I'll state I'm not so severe a driver and do one at 20k and let them do the next one if I give up the car (hopefully to get a new 200mi Gen II LEAF!).

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I got the fluid changed but shop around. There was a $100 difference inprices. Cost $80 plus tax at dealer in Olympia

 

[ebill3]

...I have not checked the LEAF's filter, but on other vehicles I found that tapping the filter on a hard surface covered with white paper does a pretty good job of cleaning it.l

Would tapping the filter on a hard surface covered with black paper, or with no paper at all, do just as good a job of cleaning the filter I wonder?

Yes, black paper will work. So will purple, green, yellow, and red. But not orange - never use orange.

Bill

 

[Train]

This car will not require a lot of maintenance so the dealer, as someone mentioned, will try to convince you some items be serviced and replaced earlier than necessary. I've never heard of brake fluid being replaced just after a year. Guess they have to make service money on you somehow.

 

[ebill3]

Just like ICE oil changes. I don't think any manufacturer still recommends the old 3,000 mile change, but lots of dealers do.

 

[LEAFfan]

I'll have my brake fluid and cabin filter changed in two years (schedule II) and it will only cost me $5 labor plus the parts as I'll have it done at an automotive tech school. When I had my Toyota Celica, the A/C stopped working, but the compressor was still good. I wanted to convert it to the 'greener' freon and Toyota wanted around $2K for the job. They said the compressor had to be replaced. The tech school said the compressor was still good and did it for $85 TOTAL and it worked great! I've saved thousands over the years (14) at the tech school and the students have gained valuable experiences. The most labor I've ever paid was $20 for a two-day job of replacing all four struts/shocks on my old Honda GX.

 

[Herm]

someone still have to explain to me why brake fluid change is so important in Leaf?

Because you cant depend on engine braking in a Leaf, thus the Leaf has oversized friction brakes to deal with a regen failure coming down a mountain.. Nissan is worried you may overheat your brakes and boil the fluid.. if the fluid is contaminated with water it will boil easier and generate vapor, and perhaps your brakes will stop working.

There are test strips for brake fluid.. probably easier and cheaper just to do the change yourself at home every couple of years.

 

[scottysize]

It's a Nissan thing. Every time I take my Titan in, they always tell me I need to replace my brake fluid. I did allow them to at the 40,000 mile mark because my brakes were feeling a bit spungie. Then i took it in last week for the oil change at 43k and guess what? Ya, they want to change the brake fluid.

 

[TomT]

In all fairness, when I dropped off my Leaf today at Nissan Of Mission Hills for the various software updates and the mandatory annual battery report, they did not try to sell me anything and were very friendly and accommodating... My service advisor (Rafael) was also clearly in to the Leaf and walked around the car with me enthusiastically discussing the various mods I have made.

They did the service exactly as requested, had the car ready when promised, did a better than average wash job, and charged me nothing. I could not have asked for anything more.

They only have one Leaf Tech and apparently don't sell a large volume of cars ("20 or so to date") but that had two Leafs scheduled for service that day (the other was a fellow MNLer) and handled that with no issues.