Body Shops and Parts?

[csriram45]

Considering the Leaf is starting to show up in owners driveways, I was curious what happens when one meets with an accident.

I hope no one gets seriously injured but the car would need to be take to a body shop and will they be able to order the parts and have the equipment to fix it? What happens if the charger in the car is damaged. Without being able to charge you can not test anything else.

How is this issue going to be addressed?

 

[LakeLeaf]

I think what Nissan prefers is that you have the car repaired at a Nissan dealer.

If you're not comfortable with that, I believe the Nissan suggested protocol is to take the car to Nissan to have the electrical system diagnosed, discharged and disabled. Then take the car to your repair shop to get the body work done. Then take the car back to Nissan to have the electrical system re-enabled and checked.

 

[turbo2ltr]

I think I read in one of the manuals that the car should be taken to a dealer to have the battery removed. Then all the work can be done with it at the body shop.

 

[Randy]

Yes, crashing a LEAF and getting it repaired will take a little bit of work at the Nissan dealership first...Lots of stuff to remove before any body shop work can be completed....I'm going to be driving even more defensively than before to keep an accident from happening...

E. Repairs: BODY SHOP WARNING: In the event of a significant accident, the vehicle should be delivered to a certified Nissan LEAF
dealer to have the battery pack and high voltage parts such as the inverter, including the wiring harness, removed prior to painting. Battery
packs exposed to heat in the paint booth will experience capacity loss. Damaged battery packs may also pose safety risks to untrained
mechanics and repair personnel.

 

[DaveEV]

Yep, it's common for them to bake the car to speed up paint dry time - obviously not good for the battery!

 

[csriram45]

Interesting. So the tow truck needs to tow the car to dealership first and the to body shop or take it to body shop and have them deal with everything else and bill the insurance company. Do dealerships do body work on car with accidents? I didn't think ther was an option like that. Insurance company have specific body shops. I did not know you could take it to dealer. If the car is taken to a body shop and they don't have a battery k how can they say that the car runs after they have fixed the damage?

 

[garygid]

Apparently the removal of the battery, inverter, (charger, wiring?), etc. is only "necessary" if the car's new paint will be high-temperature "baked" (often done for quick-drying).

It might be that a slow-dry in a dust-free room will become an alternative that is less costly?

But, with several coats of "paint" required for modern "fancy" paint jobs, warm-dry might have its own "higher" costs.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

will be an expensive proposition at first. i was first to purchase a 2010 Prius in WA state. about 3 months after delivery in Aug, 2009 i had a little ole german lady back into me in the Claris parking lot in Lacey, WA.

the damage was slight but she was very upset (her car was newer than mine) that she had done this and immediately offered to pay for damages. (i figured she had had other "insurance" issues) so i took to body shop for estimate and it was $1300 and change. well, she immediately wrote me a check and that was the end of it.

well, the "damage" was a bump about the size of a silver dollar. the paint was marred a bit, so i weighed the option and decided i would not get it fixed. took the money, got a bottle of touch up paint (that took 3 weeks as the dealer did not have my color in stock and spent a good 20 minutes trying to find the part number to order it)

but so it goes with new stuff. after a few years and a couple thousand accidents, cheaper replacement parts will be available

 

[garygid]

My "virgin" Prius got two similar, small, "deflowering", slight dents in the passenger door, and I got estimates of $1000 to $1800, even though the paint was still intact. It would require "invasive surgery", and also require being without the car for 4 to 7 days. It took the better part of one day just to get the three estimates.

But, I was (very thoughtfully, and kindly) referred to a very skilled young man that could probably "rub out" the dent from inside the door, using long, specialized tools. For $150 and 2 hours, in my own driveway, he successfully "re-virginized" my new Prius. A very, very good alternative indeed!

 

[SeattleBlueLeaf]

In case you didn't see - this was the injured Leaf at the Seattle Drive event.. had to share given the topic

 

[csriram45]

I think this is something that early adopters do need to know because it means

1) your costs to repairs are going to be high increasing your insurance premium
2) the car is in the shop longer requiring you to have a rental or loaner car for longer time
3) time and effort involved in making sure car is back to its original condition.

Please note that I am talking about a serious accident and not just a minor fender bender and dents.

 

[garygid]

Isn't Nissan saying that any minor scratches that require the paint booth and then the high temperatures of a "paint-bake" ... also requires "evicerating" the LEAF?

 

[DaveEV]

In case you didn't see - this was the injured Leaf at the Seattle Drive event.. had to share given the topic

Ouch, what happened?

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

In case you didn't see - this was the injured Leaf at the Seattle Drive event.. had to share given the topic

Ouch, what happened?

"Crazy washington driver"

 

[garygid]

Strange, a white LEAF was apparently damaged in the CA drive-event in Anaheim.

Is this just the same pre-damaged white LEAF?

 

[ttweed]

It might be that a slow-dry in a dust-free room will become an alternative that is less costly...

Gary-
Are you going to do the job yourself? No high-volume body shop is going to let your car sit in their booth very long. Time is money, and they want to move them through. Besides,with the low VOC, two-stage, water-based automotive paints in common use these days (especially in states like CA), it is not possible to get a quality paint job done without using a flash-curing step in the spray booth, usually done with infrared heaters installed right in the booth. Low VOC paints marketed by major firms are formulated with fewer solvents, so the paint can be prone to a skinning problem. Dye-back and solvent popping are the result, and the end-product is a loss of gloss or a milky-looking finish. Both problems can be avoided by using proper drying temperatures. Paint manufacturers like to see the temperature of the booth go from 80 to 180 degrees in about 90 seconds, as soon as the paint is sprayed, so that it flows out right and doesn't "skin over." When the temperature of the metal reaches 140 degrees, the heat is dialed back to just maintain that temp for about 20-40 minutes to complete the cure, depending on the paint manufacturer's recommendations.

The old days of oil-based, high VOC enamels and multi-layer, hand-rubbed custom lacquer paint jobs is pretty much over, or the province of hobbyists and small-volume custom shops these days, due to air pollution regs.

TT

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Strange, a white LEAF was apparently damaged in the CA drive-event in Anaheim.

Is this just the same pre-damaged white LEAF?

Lol!! Wow we must suck as drivers. The one in Wa was silver so not the same car

 

[garygid]

If 40 minutes at 140 degrees requires removing the battery and inverter, how could one park a black LEAF in the sun all-day in AZ?

Something does not compute!

 

[ttweed]

If 40 minutes at 140 degrees requires removing the battery and inverter, how could one park a black LEAF in the sun all-day in AZ? Something does not compute!

Since the battery pack is on the bottom of the car, it is shielded from the radiant heat of the sun, which would act primarily on the top (horizontal) surfaces. I think that's different than putting it in an oven where 190F air is circulated all around (and under) it. What would the worst day in AZ look like? 120F air temp? I know the record for N. America is 134F, recorded in Death Valley, CA.

Perhaps they are also afraid of frying the electronics from arc welding (especially TIG) on the chassis? I know some manufacturers recommend disconnecting the battery, ECU and even gauge panels on their cars before arc welding. An EV would have even more electronic components spread around further in the vehicle.

I'm just guessing about the reasons, but most of all, I think that Nissan is worried about safety risks to body shop personnel, who might not be trained like first responders in dealing with EVs. The liability of hurting/killing someone is higher than any risk to the mechanical/electrical systems. For sure, there's no way I am going to play games with my warranty if I ever have to put the car in a body shop. I just hope the extra repair steps do not drive up costs to the point that the big insurers decide that EVs deserve a higher rate class on their premiums. There have been claims that owning an EV would result in insurance savings, but given these kinds of special precautions when repairing them, I don't see how that would work out. In the insurance threads on this forum, I haven't seen anyone getting significant discounts for an EV. The companies don't even seem to be very aware of them yet. I know mine isn't, because I asked them. Quotes seem to be similar to ICE cars. What factors would offset these higher repair costs in their eyes and result in savings? Location, overall value of the vehicle, miles driven per year, age (and driving record) of the operators seem to be the major determining factors in premiums. Are EV'ers generally in the lower-risk demographic of the last two? There won't be much (if any) difference in the influence on premiums from the first two, it seems to me.

TT

 

[garygid]

Paint cure:
Less than 1 hour at 140 degrees skin (metal) temperature, one time.

AZ or CA summer parking:
In direct sun, 150 degree skin, 160 degree inside temperatures for hours each day.

So, do I need to remove the battery and inverter for parking?