Damage from leaving a LEAF discharged weeks?

[RonDawg]

None of the airbags deployed - I was actually truly surprised at how bad the damage looked after the crash, given the low speed. The truck hit the car at what must have been the exact worst spot to cause so much crumpling.

The reason your car incurred so much damage is because when you hit the bumper of the truck, the frame of the truck (where the bumper attaches) absorbed some if not most of the impact. But the truck's bumper hit above the frame rails of your Leaf, so the hood, radiator core support, radiator, charging port, etc. took the full brunt of the impact.

It's also a common scenario between two passenger cars in a "panic stop" type accident. The car in front is hard on its brakes so the front end is down and the rear end up, and the car right behind it is doing the same. In some cases it's been known to cause the car in back to "submarine" under the car in front of it.

 

[Deleted member 9999]

I have an update on this topic, since I was in contact with the dealership service manager yesterday. The tech that they have was out on training before the holiday for a week, and then came back and estimated the parts and mechanical non-body work but couldn't find a labor cost for repair of a part, so he kicked it up to his service manager, who didn't do much with it until just now. The Leaf tech was out from before Christmas until yesterday.

The good news is that I talked to him about the traction battery and the situation, and he said indeed the 12V battery was dead when they got it in the shop, and they had to jump it to get anything going on. They checked out the traction battery and it was still fine, and then did the electrical disconnect.

Now it has to go back to the body shop today, where they'll take off the panels affected, and send it BACK to the dealership without any front body panels or hood, so they can do the mechanical and electrical repairs. Joy.

I'm calling the EV hotline today to talk to someone about this, I probably should have done that like a week ago. Will update again when I get the actual final estimate of damage cost. 1 month for an estimate, even with the holidays in there, is crazy.

 

[smkettner]

Thanks for the update. Seems like a lot of work to find out if it is totaled.
Hopefully you are back on the road soon.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

i would be surprised to find out it wasnt totaled. no airbag deployment might save it

 

[Deleted member 9999]

Today's update: they are still proceeding with the repair, although I still don't have a full estimate, which I was supposed to have emailed to me by the body shop.

I signed up and downloaded the service manuals, and apparently I did it all wrong, I should have taken the car to the dealership and had them handle all of the repair. According to the manuals, they should be the ones taking in the car and then contracting with the body shop. Of course, when I told the dealer about my body damage, and then asked them where I should take it, they said take it to the auto shop. So now the auto shop is the one who is handling the car, with Nissan just dealing with it when they deem it necessary.

If either the body shop or the Nissan dealership had even read the 30 page "Body and Paint" manual that was pretty damn easy for even me to find, they would have told me this junk. :evil: :evil: :evil: What the heck was the guy who is supposedly working on my car, who was apparently the only person who was qualified to look at my car, causing a week delay, actually off on training for?

Of course, because Nissan isn't the one who is handling the repair, they are not willing to give a loaner. I've asked three times now, explicitly telling them that it's starting to become onerous for me because I don't have rental coverage at all anymore, now to get to and from work, I have to spend 2 extra hours on the bus each day, and on some days, walk two miles in sub-zero temperatures. :? :x

At this point, I have to recommend noone buy any car from Kline Nissan in Maplewood, MN, because their service department is ****. They screwed this up from the start.

I called the EV help line hoping to expedite parts to get things done quicker - I got a ticket number and a promise to call back but nothing so far.

 

[jms]

I had a smaller accident. My wife hit a deer. Pretty much dead center right on the charging door. That was October. We are still waiting for a wiring harness. No ETA on the part.
The body shop we are using is owned by the dealership and they towed it back to the dealer to have the battery pack removed(? possibly just disconnected) and there is a tow in the future to have it put back in service after they are done. Though I don't know when that will be since the part is unavailable. I've been in contact with nissan support and they assure me every week that there is no news and it has been escalated to the highest level. I hope you don't fall into this pit too. My little accident was $9k

 

[davewill]

... Of course, because Nissan isn't the one who is handling the repair, they are not willing to give a loaner. I've asked three times now, explicitly telling them that it's starting to become onerous for me because I don't have rental coverage at all anymore, now to get to and from work, I have to spend 2 extra hours on the bus each day, and on some days, walk two miles in sub-zero temperatures. :? :x ...

I don't see why Nissan would give you a loaner anyway. It's not a warranty claim, it's an accident. Not their fault. That's why it's important to buy rental coverage if you don't have an extra vehicle you can rely on.

It really shouldn't matter very much which shop the car started with. Each shop will do the work they need to.

 

[Deleted member 9999]

I don't see why Nissan would give you a loaner anyway. It's not a warranty claim, it's an accident. Not their fault. That's why it's important to buy rental coverage if you don't have an extra vehicle you can rely on.

It really shouldn't matter very much which shop the car started with. Each shop will do the work they need to.

I would challenge you to find any car insurance that would cover rental cars for 2+ months of rentals, which is my best guess at the moment. Mine tops out at $1500 total payout, and that's the highest coverage available, and with me paying 20% (~$400) of the rental costs, plus gas on an ICE I wasn't expecting to drive (another $300 easy).

The accident wasn't their fault (I believe it was ruled "unavoidable" by the insurance due to extreme weather + road conditions), but at least three weeks of delays have been caused by (1) Nissan techs out on training, (2) Nissan techs out on vacation, and (3) Crazy long Nissan part order delays. All of those delays are not normal or expected. Meanwhile we still have to pay on a car lease because we replacement parts are unavailable.

 

[Deleted member 9999]

I had a smaller accident. My wife hit a deer. Pretty much dead center right on the charging door. That was October. We are still waiting for a wiring harness. No ETA on the part.
The body shop we are using is owned by the dealership and they towed it back to the dealer to have the battery pack removed(? possibly just disconnected) and there is a tow in the future to have it put back in service after they are done. Though I don't know when that will be since the part is unavailable. I've been in contact with nissan support and they assure me every week that there is no news and it has been escalated to the highest level. I hope you don't fall into this pit too. My little accident was $9k

Holy hell. I really hope that I don't have the same issues that you have had with parts. I can't imagine how furious I would be if I had to wait 5+ months for a part. Which harness / part are you waiting for, so I can look for it on the estimate that I have?

Finally got a full estimate for the insurance (yep, that's 33 days from Car towed to shop to estimate of damage) and itcame out just over $14k. It's getting fixed. Probably a correct assessment that if airbags would have deployed it would have been totaled. I'm glad that the car will be fixed, but right now pretty pissed that it's taking this long to get fixed and now there might be part delays on top of that.

 

[jms]

Read this thread http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=15432

The part I'm waiting for is:
2013 NISSAN LEAF WIRE HARNESS (24012-3NF7B)
Part #24012-3NF7B replaces: 24012-3NF3B
WIRE HARNESS FRONT COMPARTMENT, W/QUICK CHARGE, SL, W/PREMIUM PKG

Still no word as to when they can get the part.... So the waiting continues....

 

[Deleted member 9999]

Read this thread http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=15432

The part I'm waiting for is:
2013 NISSAN LEAF WIRE HARNESS (24012-3NF7B)
Part #24012-3NF7B replaces: 24012-3NF3B
WIRE HARNESS FRONT COMPARTMENT, W/QUICK CHARGE, SL, W/PREMIUM PKG

Still no word as to when they can get the part.... So the waiting continues....

Ah, the wire harness that is on my quote is the "A" version of that same part - 24012-3NF7A (no premium package). I don't know what the actual part is that was on backorder w/ETA of February, because I can't get a hold of the Nissan EV rep that I was talking to.

 

[jms]

I just got the reply today that the part should be available by the middle of next week. Finally.

 

[jms]

Got the car last night. The battery doesn't seem to have had any issue.

 

[Deleted member 9999]

Got the car last night. The battery doesn't seem to have had any issue.

Great news. Glad that you got back into your car. I got notice last week that the part I'm waiting on - the same harness but without the premium package - should have been shipped last week. Hoping that I can be back in a LEAF before we hit the 2 month mark.

Finally got the Nissan dealership to give me a loaner because of all of the delays, and the rental insurance running out. I gotta tell you that driving around a Versa has me appreciating my LEAF. Filling the tank at -10F isn't fun either. :?