6th Maintenance Checkup for my Nissan Leaf September 2, 2016 Mark D Larsen

Mind the Reminder (click to enlarge)

As shown in the above photo, yesterday the programmed reminder in my LEAF alerted me that it was time for another scheduled maintenance checkup. As you can see below on the left, the odometer this morning had, indeed, crossed the 45,000 mile threshold. I called the local dealer and the service center could immediately fit me in during the afternoon.

I opted to forego a couple of the procedures recommended in the service manual. There was no need for Nissan to charge me to rotate the tires, since Big O included that maintenance for free when it sold me the Michelins. I’ll have them make that switch-a-roo next week. As for replacing the in-cabin microfilter, for the 2nd and 4th checkups the dealership charged me nearly $100 for that service, and I figure I can purchase one and install it myself for much less.

As it is, they still charged me a pretty penny —$100 plus change— to replace the brake fluid and visually inspect the undercarriage joints. At least I don’t have to pay for oil changes, belts, spark plugs, air, fuel, and oil filters, etc. As usual, the battery report showed that I continue to treat my pack with utmost care, still earning 5 stars in all four categories, show below in the middle. That might change during the next 7,500 mile maintenance interval. As I reported with the loss of my 3rd capacity bar, Nissan actually lowered the bars’ original thresholds and deleted them from its service manual. I am therefore no longer going to play Mr. Nice Guy myself, and instead drive my LEAF harder, farther, and faster than ever before with the hope that the 4th bar will drop out before reaching 60 months of ownership next March. If so, I could qualify for a free replacement pack under warranty. We’ll see.

Ohm My Palindrome (click to enlarge)

Star Spangled (click to enlarge)

Lacking Pack (click to enlarge)

And a new battery is, indeed, warranted. As the latest LEAFstat readout shows above on the right, two days ago the pack retained only 68.06% (45.09 Ahr) of its original capacity. Consequently, I can only drive less than 60 miles with a 100% charge at this point. That is still sufficient to get to the opposite side of my community and back, since I do not live in a sprawling metropolis, but most day trips are now out of the question. Imagine what the range would look like if I had been chalking up less than 5 stars in the battery reports with every checkup!