The battery replacement/buyback thread.

[macgyver33]

Recently lost my 4th bar on my 2017 30kWh SV with only 37k miles. Bought brand new in May 2017 for $37k. We live in Colorado and I tried reading the lemon laws here to get a better idea how they would apply in our buyback deal but I'm not sure what it means for a 6.5yr old car under warranty. What am I looking for to tell if the lemon laws are in our favor to get a better offer deal or not? Would we have depreciation to knock the offer price down or is that more if you have higher mileage?

How are some of you getting them to include credits for money you put in to your Leaf like 12v battery, tires, and home chargers?

Is it best to start at the local dealer and have them do battery test for evidence to send to Nissan corporate? We've been doing annual battery tests at Nissan dealers every year except maybe one year during COVID lockdowns.

 

[SageBrush]

Is it best ...

Did you have the battery software update done ? That is required by NIssan and is the only thing I would do. Do not let them charge you for it.

 

[macgyver33]

Is it best ...

Did you have the battery software update done ? That is required by NIssan and is the only thing I would do. Do not let them charge you for it.

Pretty sure we are all up to date. We just were in at the dealer at the end of August for the annual battery check and they said we were up to date on all software patches. We were still at 9 bars at that visit so still within spec. Sometime in the last few weeks we lost the 4th bar.

 

[dean]

Is it best to start at the local dealer

Have you gone in to the dealer to open the case with Nissan? That at least starts the process and gets you a case number starting with J###. You may also want to follow up separately with Nissan customer service, they'll open a separate case presumably linked to the J#### and your VIN.

 

[macgyver33]

Is it best to start at the local dealer

Have you gone in to the dealer to open the case with Nissan? That at least starts the process and gets you a case number starting with J###. You may also want to follow up separately with Nissan customer service, they'll open a separate case presumably linked to the J#### and your VIN.

Went to the dealer yesterday and had them start the battery replacement process. They said wait 2 weeks before calling Nissan consumer affairs so they have time to get the case# in the system. They said they have heard from Nissan that there are a bunch of batteries being shipped over to the US to help with some of the backlog of replacements but they've had some people waiting over a year now.

They mentioned some cases where the degraded batteries start to trigger weird behavior with turtle mode engaging even with reasonable charge. They said if it starts acting like that to bring it in ASAP and they would hook us up with a rental car. They've had a few cases like that where they have had owners using rental vehicles for months and racking up thousands in rental fees that they bill back to Nissan. So I can see Nissan being pretty motivated to offer buybacks if the batteries are still in short supply.

 

[dean]

They said wait 2 weeks before calling Nissan consumer affairs so they have time to get the case# in the system.

No need to wait 2 weeks.
My dealer appointment was on 11/29, I called in the next day asking for "more information about battery ETA".
Had a few transfers and "someone from the battery expedite department will call you back on Tuesday".
Got the call from arbitration today, 12/7.

 

[macgyver33]

They said wait 2 weeks before calling Nissan consumer affairs so they have time to get the case# in the system.

No need to wait 2 weeks.
My dealer appointment was on 11/29, I called in the next day asking for "more information about battery ETA".
Had a few transfers and "someone from the battery expedite department will call you back on Tuesday".
Got the call from arbitration today, 12/7.

Did you call Nissan consumer affairs or a different department?

 

[dean]

Did you call Nissan consumer affairs or a different department?

Yes, NIssan Consumer Affairs, 800-NISSAN1.
To clarify, it wasn't so much as getting transferred around on the same call, but I got called back by a few different people who were referring my case on to get to the right place. The original agent taking my call didn't know anything about Leafs or batteries or anything. Second rep calling me back the next day was a little more informed that there was a department working on Leaf battery warranty issues, and referring the case on. Eventually that callback came with the initial discussion about buyback. Bottom line, if you want action, don't wait.

 

[macgyver33]

Did you call Nissan consumer affairs or a different department?

Yes, NIssan Consumer Affairs, 800-NISSAN1.
To clarify, it wasn't so much as getting transferred around on the same call, but I got called back by a few different people who were referring my case on to get to the right place. The original agent taking my call didn't know anything about Leafs or batteries or anything. Second rep calling me back the next day was a little more informed that there was a department working on Leaf battery warranty issues, and referring the case on. Eventually that callback came with the initial discussion about buyback. Bottom line, if you want action, don't wait.

Thanks! Called consumer affairs and started a case. I asked the agent about buyback and he said he could send either to parts specialist to check backorder timing on the battery and it would only be a few days or he could send directly to the buyback department which might take a little longer. I said let's just go straight to the buyback department. Hopefully that speeds things up and we get a call in a week or so.

Have they given you an offer?

 

[dean]

Have they given you an offer?

Not yet, just sent back all the requested docs yesterday.
My rep's email signature has a bunch of out-of-office dates and an indicator that the last day to process agreements before the holidays is 12/13, otherwise it'll be next year. Timing doesn't matter as much to me if the number is good.

 

[Nords]

Yesterday, 28 November, Nissan’s rep e-mailed:
“I just wanted to confirm that you are wanting to review an offer for repurchase of your vehicle. Do you have a copy of the bill of sale? If so, please provide at your earliest convenience.”

I wrote back that we really wanted to hear from someone at Nissan who can tell us if they’re going to replace the battery pack, and when will they do that?

Then I added that if Nissan wants to offer to buy back the Leaf, we’ll consider accepting the offer.

Finally I emphasized that there is no bill of sale.

Nissan's "Arbitration Specialist, Dispute Resolution – Customer Quality & Dealer Network Development" responded on 4 December:

Nissan is no longer producing the batteries, and we are now voluntarily repurchasing these vehicles. I will get back with you within a few days on your offer for a voluntary repurchase.

This is the first time in my entire series of conversations with Nissan's warranty resolution staff and their arbitration team where anyone has explicitly stated that we're not getting a replacement battery.

 

[coulomb]

Nissan's "Arbitration Specialist...:

Nissan is no longer producing the batteries, and we are now voluntarily repurchasing these vehicles.

This is the first time in my entire series of conversations with Nissan's warranty resolution staff and their arbitration team where anyone has explicitly stated that we're not getting a replacement battery.

Wow. So they are making no effort at all to make the vehicles that they manufactured usable if they fail the warranty condition. That seems environmentally reckless to me. Surely as a manufacturer, they have some sort of responsibility to produce spare parts, at least for some years. And the battery is a part, a very important part of an EV.

Selling the vehicles on the second hand market, knowing that they can't be made fit for purpose, seems even more cynical and cold.

"No longer producing the batteries" is also a stretch. They make batteries for new vehicles; after market companies can adapt various batteries to older vehicles. And they still sell 40 kWh packs in new vehicles, do they not?

Capitalism at its finest.

 

[coulomb]

Then again, there is this inconsistency:

They said they have heard from Nissan that there are a bunch of batteries being shipped over to the US to help with some of the backlog of replacements but they've had some people waiting over a year now.

Maybe they are replacing batteries, but large parts of the organisation don't know about it yet? Or the above quote comes from a Nissan official or dealer that is clueless or lying.

 

[macgyver33]

Maybe they are replacing batteries, but large parts of the organisation don't know about it yet? Or the above quote comes from a Nissan official or dealer that is clueless or lying.

It could be that these batteries being shipped over are the last batch and they have stopped making them. Could be supply issues and they feel they need to use those materials for the new vehicles.

My guess is they have had more warranty issues than they expected combined with supply issues and now they are just jumping to offers to help customer satisfaction and PR. There's also a good chance the buyback vehicles are going to get their batteries refurbished before they try to resell them but they probably don't have the resources to refurbish the batteries in a timely manner so owners aren't in loaner cars for weeks or months so the buyback is less of a loss for them.

 

[Nords]

Selling the vehicles on the second hand market, knowing that they can't be made fit for purpose, seems even more cynical and cold.

What if the buyback Leafs end up in eastern Europe, where various entrepreneurs are tackling a relatively straightforward repair on their own?

https://www.wired.com/story/why-teslas-totaled-in-the-us-are-mysteriously-reincarnated-in-ukraine/

 

[Nords]

Exactly a year after we first visited the dealer about eight bars on the main battery of our 2017 Leaf, we finally have Nissan’s buyback offer.

It’s contingent on Morley’s inspection, so there may be some adjustments for cosmetic fender damage. We bought it in mid-2019 yet their deduction for our four years of depreciation was very small. Yay?

We’ve accepted their offer, contingent on them driving (or towing) the Leaf from our house. We no longer feel safe driving it without our OBD-II reader and an iPad with LeafSpy Pro to clear any fatal DTCs that leave us shut down on the side of the road.

Nissan is quite specific on their distinctions between normal wear & use versus excess wear.

Potential showstoppers: Has anyone had this discussion with Morley?
- The letter claims that Nissan expects five serviceable, recommended tires... yet 2017 Leaf S models don't have a spare tire.
- Nissan expects the Leaf to have a spare tire and jack, but that's not included with 2017 Leaf S models either.

 

[macgyver33]

Potential showstoppers: Has anyone had this discussion with Morley?
- The letter claims that Nissan expects five serviceable, recommended tires... yet 2017 Leaf S models don't have a spare tire.
- Nissan expects the Leaf to have a spare tire and jack, but that's not included with 2017 Leaf S models either.

I'm pretty sure most of the gen 1&2 Leafs do not have spares. Our 2017 SL does not. Just the tire repair kit. I would assume that's a generic requirement someone copy and pasted.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Yes, it is. And if you turn the car in in Winter, you can do so with snow tires, as long as it's a full set that isn't worn out.

 

[ebeighe]

I got my letter of intent to offer a buyback --

I got my buyback offer. It took them about 2 weeks from letter of intent to buyback offer.
Buyback amount is the out-the-door price I paid the dealer back in 2017, less ~ $3,000 for usage.

I was pleasantly surprised at the usage, as I thought I heard some horrendously higher usage offers (meaning lower buyback offers). The car had about 40,000 miles when the warranty was validated. The offer does not break down how they arrived at $3K... but it seems way less than the 120,000 mile benchmark mentioned in , e.g. the CA lemon law.

I'm in Arizona.
I bought car new, and outright (no loan), so it's presumably the most straightforward type of deal.

 

[coulomb]

My guess is they have had more warranty issues than they expected combined with supply issues and now they are just jumping to offers to help customer satisfaction and PR. There's also a good chance the buyback vehicles are going to get their batteries refurbished before they try to resell them but they probably don't have the resources to refurbish the batteries in a timely manner so owners aren't in loaner cars for weeks or months so the buyback is less of a loss for them.

Wow, thanks. I somehow didn't see those far more benign possibilities. Nissan may not be the monster I thought that they had turned into.