Factory Maintenance Schedule-Ideas?

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gasmiser1

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 18, 2010
Messages
431
Location
Cambria, CA Central Coast of Calif.
For those of us whom haven't had an EV before the Leaf, what do the EV veterans think the maintenance schedules will be like?

Normal driving?

Extreme conditions?

Obvious regular items will include: Tire pressure monitoring and topping off every 2 weeks.
Weekly car washes and vacuuming. Waxing every 3 months.
Rotating tires and brake pad check every 7,500 miles.
Change/flush brake fluid every 3 years or 36,000 miles(or if fluid is dirty/gray-black).
Flush inverter fluid every 4 years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Replace the factory 12 volt battery at 4 year mark(usually factory 12 volt dies at 3+yrs)
2 free factory traction battery pack check-ups paid for by Nissan.
??
??
 
I can't find the exact text right now, but I believe we're supposed to come in at 12 and 24 months for a free battery check. I don't know if you would consider that part of Factory Maintenance or not.
 
JasonT said:
I can't find the exact text right now, but I believe we're supposed to come in at 12 and 24 months for a free battery check. I don't know if you would consider that part of Factory Maintenance or not.

Yea, I forgot about that one. I think we get two or three free traction battery checks at Nissan's expense. I'll add this service to the schedule.
 
Does Nissan have any super-long life coolant available? On my Toyota they have some super-long life coolant and it will go 100,000 between changes. I just hit 100k and mine still looks bright pink.

-Peter
 
Tires every two weeks? How about once or twice a year.
Wax every 3 months? Maybe a full detail and wax at five year interval.
Wash once a month works fine on my current vehicle.
I will go at least 10k on tire rotation, brakes should last 30 to 50k+ with regen braking. Is that unrealistic?
Brake fluid gets done when I do brakes.
Coolent should last at least 100k or 5yr considering the very mild environment compared to ICE.
12v battery may well last 10 years as it will not be used for starting. Check the water level if caps are removable.
Battery pack inspection? I know it is a warranty requirement so I may drag it in or maybe not.
 
Software updates. This car is a rolling computer and the firmware will likely be updated over time to patch flaws discovered in the field, to improve the management and telemetry functions, and to include to additional features. I suspect we'll have an update or two very early in our ownership as issues are discovered from actual real world customer usage. After that, we might have an update every year or so. Question is will we need to go to the dealership for the software update or will they be able to do it over the Internet?
 
indyflick said:
Question is will we need to go to the dealership for the software update or will they be able to do it over the Internet?

I'd say dealership - over the internet it is too unreliable / risky.
 
Coolant for what? As I understand it, the batteries aren't being actively cooled, so there's probably no coolant liquid.

I don't expect that there's a separate 12V battery. Instead, there's probably a DC-DC converter used to provide low-voltages (12V, 5V, etc.) for the dashboard/entertainment electronics.
 
How long should the shocks and suspension last? It's pretty heavy for a subcompact.

The 12v accessory battery may last a lot longer than 3 or 4 years. I suspect it's a deep cycle lead acid battery. The on board management system will use the 24kWh pack to keep that battery topped off and in optimal charge condition. Many golf cart batteries last 6 to 8 years and they aren't being actively managed.
 
DaveD said:
Coolant for what?
The inverter

DaveD said:
I don't expect that there's a separate 12V battery. Instead, there's probably a DC-DC converter used to provide low-voltages (12V, 5V, etc.) for the dashboard/entertainment electronics.
Actually there''s a separate accessory battery.
 
I used "Nissan Chat" off the dashboard site to ask for a maintenance schedule.

Apparently, Nissan won't be releasing an actual "Leaf Maintenance Schedule" until the end of October, which is when they said the production of the car will start.
 
Weekly car washes and vacuuming. Waxing every 3 months.

Woah, someone must be really obsessed with cleanliness :)

I haven't waxed any of my cars... ever and I vacuum once every 3 years, washes are more frequent at once a month.
 
IBELEAF said:
I haven't waxed any of my cars... ever and I vacuum once every 3 years, washes are more frequent at once a month.

I've been thinking about a car wash for about 3 or 4 months. I'll get it done one of these days ...

ps : I promise, I'll take better care of Leaf :lol:
 
IBELEAF said:
Weekly car washes and vacuuming. Waxing every 3 months.

Woah, someone must be really obsessed with cleanliness :)

I haven't waxed any of my cars... ever and I vacuum once every 3 years, washes are more frequent at once a month.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yup. I kind of a car maintenance fanatic. Last Honda Insight at 287,000 miles was so well cared for that the Toyota dealer gave me private party price for it at trade-in (I made the Prius deal and got invoice price per Consumers Guide before I offered the trade-in). The Insight looked and drove like it had under 100k miles.
 
indyflick said:
How long should the shocks and suspension last? It's pretty heavy for a subcompact.

The 12v accessory battery may last a lot longer than 3 or 4 years. I suspect it's a deep cycle lead acid battery. The on board management system will use the 24kWh pack to keep that battery topped off and in optimal charge condition. Many golf cart batteries last 6 to 8 years and they aren't being actively managed.

LOL, not in the intense heat of AZ. With a regular car battery (deluxe) you will be lucky to get much over two years here. I have yet to have one go three (out of 6 so far). I'm hoping the LEAF aux will last much longer...we will see.
 
DaveD said:
Coolant for what? As I understand it, the batteries aren't being actively cooled, so there's probably no coolant liquid.

I don't expect that there's a separate 12V battery. Instead, there's probably a DC-DC converter used to provide low-voltages (12V, 5V, etc.) for the dashboard/entertainment electronics.
Yes, but the inverter is liquid-cooled. You can see the coolant lines connected to the inverter and the 12V battery is also visible in the under-the-hood pictures which have been floating around the internets.
 
smkettner said:
Tires every two weeks? How about once or twice a year.
Wax every 3 months? Maybe a full detail and wax at five year interval.
Wash once a month works fine on my current vehicle.
I will go at least 10k on tire rotation, brakes should last 30 to 50k+ with regen braking. Is that unrealistic?
Brake fluid gets done when I do brakes.
Coolent should last at least 100k or 5yr considering the very mild environment compared to ICE.
12v battery may well last 10 years as it will not be used for starting. Check the water level if caps are removable.
Battery pack inspection? I know it is a warranty requirement so I may drag it in or maybe not.

I think the above schedule is realistic, and I agree with it. I subscribe to the concept of: "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
 
derkraut said:
smkettner said:
Tires every two weeks? How about once or twice a year.
Wax every 3 months? Maybe a full detail and wax at five year interval.
Wash once a month works fine on my current vehicle.
I will go at least 10k on tire rotation, brakes should last 30 to 50k+ with regen braking. Is that unrealistic?
Brake fluid gets done when I do brakes.
Coolent should last at least 100k or 5yr considering the very mild environment compared to ICE.
12v battery may well last 10 years as it will not be used for starting. Check the water level if caps are removable.
Battery pack inspection? I know it is a warranty requirement so I may drag it in or maybe not.

I think the above schedule is realistic, and I agree with it. I subscribe to the concept of: "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".


I did nothing on my Ev for years and don't expect to do much other than wipers unless you drive many miles and wear tires. An EV with proper regen gets brakes at about 150K miles in flat areas. My truck battery is on 6 years now and is fine. There is really no much to do if it is built well, ask RAV4 owners.
 
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