Aug 7 2015
2011 Nissan LEAF Battery EV System Warranty Experience Warning Complaint @NissanSupport

Update 8-11-15: Received a follow-up call from Heather with the Executive Team at Nissan in TN.  She said she was the highest level person I would speak to and that the email addresses below go to her. Heather apparently is in charge of Nissan and you cannot speak to any executives, at least according to her, they are not public facing or available to speak to the public. This is just wrong, Nissan is a consumer manufacturer and their executives need to be accountable to consumers. this is just a wrong way to do business.  Heather, like a broken record would not listen to herself and when I told her the call was being record, like my call is be recording when I call Nissan, she asked me to stop recording that she was not made aware of the call being recording. It is amazing that someone in this position is allowed to get away with treating customers in such a fashion.

Update 8-7-15: After about 30 emails, the best response besides the bounced emails has been a call back from Heather who had called me a few days ago. The Nissan LEAF still sits in the garage not practical to use.

Some have suggested that I paint the Nissan LEAF yellow, to indicate that it is a lemon, some have urged that I take Nissan to court, for false claims about range, but there have already been two class. Others to put posters on it and bumper stickers with something wording
Want Range Anxiety – Get a LEAF
Batteries Droping Capacity
Don’t Buy Nissan
Never Again – Nissan
Nissan SUCKS

I will find out which email was forwarded to Heather, but at this point I have to call her back.

Update 8-6-15: Several of the Nissan executives I emailed are apparently no longer with Nissan, see updated list below. I have also attempted to contact some of the Nissan executives on the latest update. We will see how many emails bounce. Also, the number where Heather called me from yesterday, is located at 9009 Carothers Pkwy #101, Franklin, TN 37067-1704 USA +1-615-725-7000 (Phone), when I call back that number it is registered through Verizon Wireless and the number is not in service. Seems very odd.

Update 8-5-15: After being told that a member from the Executive Team at Nissan would be contacting me with 24-48 hours. I received a call several days later. A representative by the name of Heather at (615) 725-7198 with a caller ID of (615) 725-7000 called and rudely explained that our vehicle did not qualify for a replacement battery, that it needs to drop one more bar.  No matter how I tried to reason that the vehicle has become useless and that the range is less than 70% promised, it didn’t matter.  Heather who refused to provide her last name insisted that she represented the top executive team at Nissan.  I told her that I would write a letter to the CEO, and she explained that she received it and there was nothing more to discuss. What a sad state of affairs for a company that claims to care about customer.  The sad part is that our Nissan LEAF will at some point drop to 8 bars of battery capacity and chances are that Nissan will try to pull another maneuver to get out of replacing the battery. I hope there will be other class action lawsuits against Nissan because as a company they deserve it for the way they treat customers.

 

This is the follow-up letter I received after the call:

8/5/2015Case # 19309719
VIN # JN1AZ0CP8BT006023Dear Victor Caballero,Thank you for taking the time to contact Nissan North America.As requested, my direct contact number is 615-725-7198. My normal business hours are MondayFriday, 8am-5pm, CDT.Case # 19309719 has been created to document your concerns.Thank you again for taking the time to contact us.Sincerely,Heather
Executive Specialist
Nissan North America, Inc.

Update (2) 7-29-15: A supervisor with Nissan Customer Support called back around 12noon Pacific. Darren Kuzela x458163, told me that there would be notes added to the file, and that there was nothing from the dealer visit last week, which is a week ago today, 7/22/15. That Nissan would have to call and request the results of the test. That would take a day, and that I should hear back from someone at Nissan within a day later, so Friday July 31, 2015 I should hear back.  Mr. Kuzela reports to Laura Baughman who apparently does not have an extension.  If after the call on Friday there is no satisfactory resolution, I can request to have  a member of the Nissan Executive Team contact me, they are located at Nissan Headquarters, most likely in Nashville, TN.   My file is noted and that will allow any member of the Nissan Customer Support team to escalate the case.

Update (1) 7-29-15: After speak with a supervisor at Nissan Customer Support, I made an appointment at Universal Nissan, where the advisor told me that there is no special diagnostic they can run on the battery.  This is contradictory to what Eddy a representative at Nissan explained, that the dealer has tools to diagnose battery issues. I paid $125 to have this “special” test done.  At the very least the dealer now has a record, which apparently after speak again with Eddy this morning they do not have a record of, or at least he could not confirmed. Eddy needs to be retrained in how to handle incoming customer calls, I have had him answer at least three of my calls and they have not been handled very professionally. He botched by name, told be twice when I asked to speak to a manager/rep that they would call me back from between 24-48 hours, and that there was no supervisor manager available, that they are all in a meeting. REALLY! I insisted that Eddy get me a manager, and he put me on hold for another 5 minutes, coming back and telling me that they are in a meeting and that they would call me back in 4-6 hours.

The representative at Universal Nissan mentioned that there was another customer with a similar issue and that it took them a year to drop that additional bar from 9 to 8.   It is truly disappointing that Nissan would make a claim and then  manipulate the way they measure bars. Is there really any logic behind having bars weighted?  Perhaps there is, but the fact remains that we started off with over 100 mile estimated range and approx four years later we are at 60 miles estimated range.  If the dash is all we use, then this is well below the 70% capacity that should trigger a warranty event.

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Original post:

We have a 2011 Nissan LEAF, and the capacity on the batteries has been degrading over time.
Most owners probably don’t understand how the warranty works and I am still not sure I understand.
But the representative at Nissan Customer Relations explained it this way.
Our Nissan LEAF is charging to 100% every night and we get about 60 miles range, at least that is what the dash shows, this is significantly less than when we purchased it when it was over 100 miles range, and less than when we took it in for the software update that was done.
Apparently the battery capacity gauge on the right side of the dash shows 12 bars initially, ours is currently at 9 bars. It has to drop to 8 bars, in order to qualify for the warranty. But it has to be within 60 months and 60,000 miles. so if you hit the 8 bars and are over 60 months or 60,000 miles you would not qualify. Our LEAF is at about 43,000 miles and 60 months would be July 2016. So we have about a year and/or 18,000 miles to drop one bar in capacity to be able to take it in to a Nissan dealer.

Nissan further confuses owners with the batteries being covered under a 10 year 10,0000 mile warranty, which I thought would cover me for our situation, but it doesn’t.
According to some of the comments online:
“Actually this is a bit of a joke. Nissan does not warranty the performance of the battery at all. They state degradation is normal and the warranty only covers “workmanship”. GM however warrants the Volt battery to be 80% at end of warranty period.”
Nissan should pay attention to what GM is doing, it could cause potential buyers to sour on the LEAF and go to the Volt.
So at this time if say the range of the LEAF is advertised at 106 City and 92 Highway, at 100% charge, with 60 mile range, my range capacity has dropped to 60% of the original in about 4 years.
I am still trying to get clarification on this, but Nissan is not doing a good job of training and providing documentation on the details of the ev battery warranty.

Jonathan Stewart from Simi Valley:
70% capacity is warranted.
From 12 to 8 bars.
Nissan is in some cases
Lizard Battery is the 2015 version of the battery, life of battery is extended and cools more efficiently.
Simi Valley Nissan,
2 day repair
Here’s a video:

What I don’t understand from this letter is that if my Nissan was charging to the posted eMPG of 106, and is now charging to 60 eMPG, that is less than 60%. Also with about one year on my LEAF, say the capacity bars drop to 8, then Nissan is only obligated to bring the capacity to 9, and I am only covered for the remaining balance of the warranty. Why, so in a year the likely hood that the bars will drop to 8 is high, so capacity will be affected.
Some owners report that they have had the batteries replaced with the new Lizard batteries that are being used in the 2015 models. This should be offered to all owners.
There is really no explanation of what the capacity bars translate to, but if you have 12 to start and the eMPG is 106, then each bar is about 8.8 miles, so at 9 bars, our range should be 79 miles which it is not. 100% charge currently with 8 capacity bars we see 60 miles range.
So whatever the logic is, it surely doesn’t make sense. Each capacity bar must be valued differently.

This is the letter from Andy Palmer of Nissan regarding the battery capacity warranty. Mr. Palmer is no longer the CEO of Renault-Nissan, resigning at the end of 2012, taking a position at Aston-Martin, Philippe Klein is Mr. Palmers replacement as Chief Planning Officer.

Special announcement regarding the Nissan LEAF
from Andy Palmer, executive vice president, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

Good morning and Happy Holidays to all our Nissan LEAF owners in the U.S. and abroad.

As we approach the close of 2012, I wanted to provide an update on a subject that has interested a number of Nissan LEAF drivers in the U.S. desert southwest and select other markets. I’m speaking, of course, about concerns regarding the rate of battery capacity loss in the Nissan LEAF’s Lithium-ion battery.

My comments today will be specific to Nissan LEAFs in the U.S., but the actions I will explain will apply and be specifically communicated to each owner worldwide in the coming months in accordance with applicable law.

Throughout the latter half of this year, our technical teams have worked diligently to ensure that the batteries installed in Nissan LEAFs were operating to specification. As we’ve gone through this process, we have listened to your concerns, and have communicated with you in various ways, including through the MyNissanLEAF owners’ forum and other third parties.

Nissan has been taking your concerns very seriously, yet we know that some of you have not been satisfied with the pace of our support activities. Since launch, the Nissan LEAF has garnered some of the highest customer advocacy of any vehicle in the Nissan lineup, so we understand the importance of maintaining and growing that advocacy. And the only way to do that is by earning a high level of customer trust in our product and our support of it.

Simply put, we want to take actions which will further improve our customers’ satisfaction with their Nissan LEAFs while demonstrating industry-leading confidence in the integrity of our battery system. Nissan is fully committed to the long-term viability of electric vehicles and we will continue to demonstrate that with action.

So today, we are announcing that we are enhancing the warranty coverage of the battery system that powers the Nissan LEAF electric vehicle. With this action, Nissan becomes the first and only manufacturer in the automotive industry to provide limited warranty coverage for battery capacity loss for electric vehicles.

Under an expanded New Electric Vehicle Limited Warranty, Nissan will protect against capacity loss in LEAF batteries that fall below nine bars, of the available 12 bars displayed on the vehicle’s battery capacity gauge, for the first five years or 60,000 miles in the United States, whichever comes first. For LEAF vehicles whose batteries have fallen below nine bars during this period, Nissan will repair or replace the battery under warranty with a new or remanufactured battery to restore capacity at or above a minimum of nine bars.

A vehicle whose battery has nine remaining bars indicated on the gauge is retaining approximately 70 percent of its original battery capacity. This new limited warranty coverage remains subject to the other terms, conditions and exclusions of the Nissan New Electric Vehicle Limited Warranty, which otherwise remain unchanged.

As previously mentioned, we are also looking at opportunities to improve the precision of the battery capacity gauge that displays remaining capacity in the LEAFs electric vehicle battery, and intend to have more to report on this topic in the New Year.

The specifics of this new limited warranty coverage will be communicated to each owner in a dedicated communication early next year. The expanded warranty coverage will apply in the United States to the upcoming Model Year 2013 Nissan LEAF upon its release. Importantly, Nissan will provide this expanded coverage to all model year 2011 and 2012 Nissan LEAFs sold and distributed by Nissan in the United States to date, effective upon a date to be announced but which is anticipated to be in the Spring of 2013.

Our actions today are intended to put customer minds at ease regarding the topic of battery capacity loss. Even though it is expected the great majority of owners will never have to use this enhanced warranty, we want each Nissan LEAF owner to have the security that should capacity loss exceed this defined threshold, Nissan will cover the repair or replacement of their battery under warranty.

I’m certain that there will be questions regarding the specifics of what we’ve announced here today. The attached ‘Q&A’ is intended to address some of those, although our dialogue on this subject will not end here. We intend to continue communicating with LEAF owners and we hope to add more information early in the New Year.

Also, many of you may have heard about or already read a recent LEAF customer survey that Plug-In America (PIA) administered. The survey, available here, is a valuable read for any LEAF owner concerned about the performance of their electric vehicle battery. I would encourage every LEAF owner to digest PIA’s data, which came from over 240 vehicles, with contributions from over 25 states, two Canadian provinces, and the UK, representing over 3 million miles driven.

Finally, in early January, we will also announce the details of the new, model year 2013 Nissan LEAF for the U.S. As many of you know, this vehicle – and the batteries that power it – will be built right here in the United States at our plant in Smyrna, Tennessee. There are exciting changes coming with the 2013 Nissan LEAF, and we can’t wait to tell you about them very soon.

In the meantime, Happy New Year to each of you, and thank you again for your advocacy and support of the electric vehicle movement.

Best Regards,

Andy Palmer
Executive Vice President – Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

 

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After doing more research located some additional contacts:

Bradley D. Thacker
Vice President, Total Customer Satisfaction Nissan Americas
Email: brad.thacker@nissan-usa.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brad.thacker

Melissa Ortiz
Nissan Arbitration
melissa.ortiz@nissan-usa.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=8811388

Anna Naraeva
Nissan North America, Inc.
Escalation Team Supervisor, Consumer Affairs
Phone: 615-725-7376
Fax: 615-967-2559
anna.naraeva@nissan-usa.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Anna-Naraeva/1646221651

Additional contacts:

Additional Email contacts for Nissan Executives – @nissan-usa.com Emails only: Out of these emails note the ones that are no longer valid, bounced emails:

Catherine.Perez@nissan-usa.com – <Catherine.Perez@nissan-usa.com>: 550 5.1.1 User unknown
nathaniel.mason@nissan-usa.com – waiting

william.krueger@nissan-usa.com – This e-mail is no longer used Please send all correspondence to william_krueger@jatco.co.jp or wkrueger@jatco.co.jp


albert.castignetti@nissan-usa.com – <albert.castignetti@nissanusa.com>: 550 5.1.1 User unknown
mitch.davis@nissan-usa.com – <mitch.davis@nissan-usa.com>: 550 5.1.1 User unknown
andrew.tavi@nissan-usa.com – waiting
tammy.sheets@nissan-usa.com – waiting
sheetst@nmac.com – waiting
carla.bailo@nissan-usa.com – <carla.bailo@nissan-usa.com>: 550 5.1.1 User unknown
scott.becker@nissan-usa.com – waiting
brian.carolin@nissan-usa.com – <brian.carolin@nissan-usa.com>: 550 5.1.1 User unknown
jon.brancheau@nissan-usa.com – <jon.brancheau@nissan-usa.com>: 550 5.1.1 User unknown
vicki.sosa@nissan-usa.com – waiting
jett.johns@nissan-usa.com – waiting
pierre.loing@nissan-usa.com – waiting

kevin.martin@nissan-usa.com –  <kevin.martin@nissan-usa.com>: 550 5.1.1 User unknown


dave.mazur@nissan-usa.com – waiting
mark.swenson@nissan-usa.com – waiting
melissa.ortiz@nissan-usa.com – waiting
anna.naraeva@nissan-usa.com – waiting
mary.baumgartner@nissan-usa.com – waiting
melody.benedict@nissan-usa.com – waiting
Kisha.Benedict@nissan-usa.com – waiting

Additional Nissan Executives:
Anne.Corrao@nissan-usa.com
Toby.Perry@nissan-usa.com
Carlos.Ghosn@nissan-usa.com – <Carlos.Ghosn@nissan-usa.com>: 550 5.1.1 User unknown
Jose.Munoz@nissan-usa.com
Derrick.Hatami@nissan-usa.com
Dave.Mazur@nissan-usa.com
Dan.Mohnke@nissan-usa.com
Takehiro.Terai@nissan-usa.com

Anne Corrao
Regional Vice President, Nissan West Region, Nissan North America, Inc.
(bio coming soon)

Toby Perry, director, Electric Vehicle (EV) Chief Marketing Manager (CMM) and Overseas Program Director (OPD), is named director, Nissan Sales Operations, backfilling Corrao.  He will report to Derek Hatami, vice president, Sales, U.S.

Carlos Ghosn
President and Chief Executive Officer, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
José Muñoz
Executive Vice President, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
Chairman, Nissan North America, Inc.
Derrick Hatami
Vice President, Sales – U.S., Nissan North America, Inc.
Dave Mazur
Vice President, Customer Quality, Chief Customer Officer and Market Intelligence, Nissan North America, Inc.
Dan Mohnke
Vice President, Nissan Chief Marketing Manager (CMM) & Marketing
Operations, Nissan North America, Inc.
Takehiro Terai
Vice President, Total Customer Satisfaction (TCS), Nissan North America, Inc.
Jeremy Tucker
Vice President, Marketing Communications and Media, Nissan North America, Inc.
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