make inner tie rod ends replaceable

[smh342]

struck the curb at low speed and bent the inner tie rod. inner tie rod on the leaf is not replaceable (as it is for most other cars) and requires the replacement of the entire steering rack ($2800 worth of parts and 12 hours of labor). This would have cost a few hundred dollars in any other car but for the leaf is upwards of $3,500. I'd like to know the reason these aren't serviceable. After this experience I'm not surprised the leaf costs so much to insure. I wonder what other minor incidents cost big $'s on the leaf. (don't get me started on the lack of a spare tire and the replacement price for the tire goop)

[Durandal]

viewtopic.php?f=30&t=8121&start=20

[smh342]

thanks for the link. i posted over there (though it's an old topic) to get more information about replacing just the inner tie rod ends. in talking to the service writer the leaf has the only fully electric power steering rack (the others use electric pumps over typical hydraulic steering) which makes me doubt that these really are the same as other nissan cars. clearly someone is remanufacturing them as there's a $200 core charge when you buy the new one but in my area there are few enough of these around to have a reliable source of used / reman. parts. Oh well, really curious if this was an engineering decision driving this or a financial decision.

pardon me while a weep at the cost of this repair...

[fixedmyleaf2013]

thanks for the link. i posted over there (though it's an old topic) to get more information about replacing just the inner tie rod ends. in talking to the service writer the leaf has the only fully electric power steering rack (the others use electric pumps over typical hydraulic steering) which makes me doubt that these really are the same as other nissan cars. clearly someone is remanufacturing them as there's a $200 core charge when you buy the new one but in my area there are few enough of these around to have a reliable source of used / reman. parts. Oh well, really curious if this was an engineering decision driving this or a financial decision.

pardon me while a weep at the cost of this repair...

Hello all!!!

I just wanted to reply to this post by saying that I had hit a pothole a couple of weeks ago and I also bent my front inner tie rod. I was quoted by the dealership at a cost of about $1,380.00 with $300.00 in labor cost.

I stumbled across this forum by accident and I was encouraged to search for a cheaper option. After a lot of searching I have finally found the solution. Any one that encounters this problem in the future can a search on Ebay for "Dorman front inner Tie rod end" or just enter the item number "523-243" hit enter and presto!!! The part fit on my 2013 Nissan Leaf and it works perfectly fine now. It cost me only $30.15 including shipping, labor was $139.00. Personally I would much rather pay $169.15 as opposed to $1,680.00 for my repair. I was so happy that I found that part and took a chance as it says it fits 2011-2012. I can only vouch for the 2013 model year, however, I think its worth a shot for anyone with this problem to try the part out before anything else.

I hope this helps anyone in the future that encounters this problem. Be safe on those roads!!!