Expensive first maintenance in 6 months

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I've said it in a previous post, and will repeat it. Brake fluid is part of a hydraulic system which exerts thousands of pounds per square inch (psi). You trust YOUR LIFE to the fact the car will stop when you need to.

The main quality of brake fluid is that it ABSORBS water like a sponge. You should change it about every 4 years..... No questions.

Since it will eventually contain water, it will 1) eventually rust and contaminate (I'm talking thick, hard crud) the interior hoses, calipers, and master cylinder. 2) When the car is braking, the heat of the friction heats the brake fluid, and the water could make the fluid "boil", not good. If you change it regularly, you will never have to change any brake items except pads....

A telltale sign of the brake fluid needing change is when it starts to get "dark", "brown", or in the case of my Honda.... "Green". new brake fluid is clear like water. Brake fluid change is not complicated or difficult procedure, and it is so easy that one person can do it. The basic idea is that you drain out the old fluid from each wheel, while continuing to add new fluid in the engine compartment "master cylinder" (just thought of Felix the Cat! hee hee,,,,). Cost is about $10 in NEW brake fluid, and the tools (wrench and hand vacuum pump to suction out the fluid.... You can also use a partner to pump the brake pedal when needed for free.). OR you can bring it to a mechanic who can do it for under $100 dollars, which is a bargain....

The Leaf is such a low maintenance vehicle...... Don't be a cheap ass and complain about this service.... And also.... You do not NEED to change the cabin air filter... If you are a smoker, then you should every couple of years...
 
downeykp said:
I wouldn't do any of that. Rotate the tires and you are good to go. It just Nissan BS. In the 7 years I have owned mine I have changed the cabin filter once and rotated the tires every 5000 mi. Brake fluid change is also stupid. I have not done this and my brakes work fine. Save your money.

I agree 100%. Don't get sucked into paying for maintenance that is not needed
 
cwerdna said:
I've never changed the brake fluid on my used '13 Leaf (built 5/2013). I have no idea if the previous driver did (was a 2 year lease return) and bought it when it was ~25 months old. I've owned this car for over 3 years now. A few weeks back, I finally used a brake fluid tester to measure moisture and some Phoenix brake fluid test strips to measure copper levels. They were both fine. No need to change what I have.

I suspect the stupid brake fluid change intervals along w/the "required" annual battery check (first two free) were just bones that Nissan threw to dealers to help make up for lost ICE service revenue (oil changes, brakes, belts, spark plugs, fuel injector cleaning, etc.)

Bingo! I agree with cwerdna 100%. BTW---I am an ASE Certified auto repair mechanic, and my 2011 Leaf has never been to the dealer, except for "under warranty" service, and to install a new traction battery.
 
sgksgk said:
My Leaf is around 11000km. My dealership is getting me to do the first maintenance in 6 months. They will be charging me CDN $199 + $129 + tax to do tire rotation, brake fluid change, a bunch of (visual?) inspection. Nissan website suggests doing brake fluid change at the second year service. I can rotate the tires myself so is it really necessary to get the dealership to do these inspection? I felt it way overpriced.
Do nothing for 36 to 48 months. Just charge and drive. Maybe check tire pressure and clean the windows.
 
I recently had my Mercedes A service done. I was told that Mercedes requires a full service on a leased car. I only wanted the filters changed and the annual battery check. I was told that if I owned the car I could do as I pleased but since it was leased I was screwed. $365 vs 189, ouck.
 
I agree with minimal maintenance steps. I work on all of my cars myself and only bring them to the dealer for recalls.

I just bought the 2018 Leaf in September. I was told by the dealer -- and I confirmed it within the Nissan manual and warranty booklet -- that I need to bring the car in to the dealer once a year so Nissan can download the battery usage data; this is required as part of the battery warranty conditions. The first 2 visits are free, but the rest are on my dime. I have to perform these visits at intervals of (approx) 12, 24, 26, 48, 60, 72, and 84 months. Looks like I'll be Scott free after 7 years.
 
For the 1-year maintenance, I didn't want to haggle about the "required maintenance" cabin air filter, so I stopped at NAPA Auto on the way to the dealer, bought a filter ($12, I think), installed it (5 minutes), and left the old filter in the NAPA box on the passenger seat when I took the car in. The dealer didn't mention a filter change to me, and did the free multipoint inspection and the useless battery report. I probably didn't need to spend the $12, but it was cheap and fast. I don't think it even used a single tool.

The 2-year maintenance lists the cabin air filter again, plus a brake fluid change, plus a multipoint inspection (and nothing else). One thing I wonder about, is whether skipping the brake fluid change at 2 years could cause a warranty issue. For example, if an ABS ring sensor or caliper piston seal goes out at 2.5 years, would the dealer point out that I did not have the required 2-year fluid change? (even if the fluid still looks clear)

If so, I could easily buy a $7 brake fluid bottle and bleed the brakes before I take it in for the 2-year inspection. Or, I could decide that there's not much on the brakes which can go wrong between the 2-year maintenance and the 3-year warranty expiration, and who knows if they'd even care if the fluid change was done?
 
Use a brake fluid test kit. If it passes, skip the fluid flush. It will almost certainly pass. Most of us wait 3-5 years for a brake fluid flush, and quite a few don't do it at all.
 
powersurge said:
You should change it about every 4 years..... No questions.
Correct for an ICE.

You don't know what you are talking about when it comes to *EVs with regenerative braking.
Read Hobbit's monograph on the subject to get informed.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Use a brake fluid test kit. If it passes, skip the fluid flush. It will almost certainly pass. Most of us wait 3-5 years for a brake fluid flush, and quite a few don't do it at all.
Exactly.

But don't overdo the brake fluid tests. Every time you open the fluid to air, water enters from the ambient air.
 
The maintenance could be worse.

On my Mercedes B I was told that as a leased car I had to do A and in a year I will have to do B. If I owned the car I could have just had the battery checked and the battery filter replaced. .I was told that Mercedes requires the scheduled maintenance.Most items on an Electric cat are just checks.
 
Hello Everyone,

Have my 2018 Leaf SL for about 6 months now and put ~13K. My 6 months maintenance was free of charge. With regards to the 1 yr/24Km maintenance, I am most concern about voiding the warranty. I contacted Nissan Canada and the person I spoke to made a point that I would be voiding the warranty if I opt to not do the brake fluid. I tried to get more details as to which part would be affected, but she just avoiding the answer. Should I be concern about warranty for not doing the brake fluid job?
 
tekkie said:
Hello Everyone,

Have my 2018 Leaf SL for about 6 months now and put ~13K. My 6 months maintenance was free of charge. With regards to the 1 yr/24Km maintenance, I am most concern about voiding the warranty. I contacted Nissan Canada and the person I spoke to made a point that I would be voiding the warranty if I opt to not do the brake fluid. I tried to get more details as to which part would be affected, but she just avoiding the answer. Should I be concern about warranty for not doing the brake fluid job?

Look at the manual carefully. If service requirements in Canada are similar to USA, there are two service schedules. The less severe schedule should be 2 years for brake fluid so you could wait a year.
 
GerryAZ said:
tekkie said:
Hello Everyone,

Have my 2018 Leaf SL for about 6 months now and put ~13K. My 6 months maintenance was free of charge. With regards to the 1 yr/24Km maintenance, I am most concern about voiding the warranty. I contacted Nissan Canada and the person I spoke to made a point that I would be voiding the warranty if I opt to not do the brake fluid. I tried to get more details as to which part would be affected, but she just avoiding the answer. Should I be concern about warranty for not doing the brake fluid job?

Look at the manual carefully. If service requirements in Canada are similar to USA, there are two service schedules. The less severe schedule should be 2 years for brake fluid so you could wait a year.

My location is definitely with "Severe" schedule. Does anyone know the approximate cost for brake fluid change? How would I know if the dealer actually changes the fluid since I would imagine there will be no discolouration after just 1 year.
 
If Canadian maintenance schedules are similar to the USA schedules, Nissan copied the schedules from gasoline engine cars (which require more frequent service with short trips in cold weather or all operation in hot, dusty conditions). I would argue that those conditions are not detrimental to EV operations (except battery life in hot weather) and follow the less severe schedule. I get brake fluid changed every other year when I take the car in for the annual battery check because I have an extended warranty on the car so I want to keep both car and battery warranties intact without argument (brake system has some expensive components). I do all other maintenance myself--not much more than cabin air filter, quick inspections under the car for mechanical or suspension problems, and occasional lubrication of charge ports with food-grade silicone grease to make it easier to plug/unplug and avoid excessive wear of the plastic parts.
 
GerryAZ said:
..., and occasional lubrication of charge ports with food-grade silicone grease to make it easier to plug/unplug and avoid excessive wear of the plastic parts.

Can you elaborate on that? I mean for example, where exactly do you lubricate?
 
ebeighe said:
GerryAZ said:
..., and occasional lubrication of charge ports with food-grade silicone grease to make it easier to plug/unplug and avoid excessive wear of the plastic parts.

Can you elaborate on that? I mean for example, where exactly do you lubricate?

First of all, You do not need to lubricate the charger connector. Drier the better. There is a lime green gasket in the j1772 plug that came off on my charger when the car as 1 year old. I tried to replace it and called the charger company. They told me to forget about it because it really does not do anything... Three years later, I am much happier without that gasket because is used to make it hard to connect the charger...

MAINTENANCE... To everyone who is worried about regular maintenance and warrantees... YOU DO NOT NEED ANY MAINTENANCE FROM THE DEALER.... When you talk to the dealer these days, you will probably get a 22 year old girl with a miniskirt that its GIVEN A SCRIPT of things to say about maintenance. Don't listen to them.

Only maintenance items.. Rotate tires, check 12v battery charge, windshield wipers, wiper fluid, brakes, and change the automatic transmission fluid and brake fluid every 4 years or 50,000 miles. (those are under $100 each at a mechanic of your choice).
 
I have carefully used a small screwdriver to push the gasket back into position a couple of times so I could charge at public chargers--never had a problem at home. I lubricate the plastic and the metal connectors of the EVSE handle and the charge port on the car where they slide together. My EVSE has been used since 2011 to charge my LEAFs enough to drive a total of 120,000 miles so far so it has been plugged/unplugged many times. A couple of applications of food grade silicone grease (which is not detrimental to plastic) has helped to minimize wear on the connector and keep it easy to plug/unplug. A little grease is all that is needed every couple of years.
 
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