More Leaf owners with battery problems say Nissan has abandoned them
A story CBC published last week about a Juno-winning musician's "bricked" Nissan Leaf all-electric vehicle has generated a huge response.
People from across Canada and beyond shared similar stories about the breakdown of the popular EV model, and Nissan's inability or unwillingness to repair it.
That has prompted some to consider legal action.
Last week, Brian Sanderson described how his 2016 Leaf died five times last year. The dealer eventually towed the car back to his driveway in western Quebec, where it remains.
Sanderson spent nearly $10,000 on repairs last year, but the battery was never replaced because Nissan cannot provide a new one.
No re-Leaf in sight
By then, Sanderson regarded the car as too expensive to drive.
"It's $300 the minute this car does anything wrong," he told CBC.
Last December and again this month, a spokesperson for Nissan told CBC the company is "working diligently on a compatible replacement battery for the 30kW-h Lithium Ion Battery," which is no longer in production.
The story struck a familiar note with one family in Abbotsford, B.C., where Josh Loewen's son bought a used 2018 Leaf. Its battery is still under the manufacturer's warranty.
Brennan Loewen, right, poses for a picture on the day he picked up his first car, a 2018 Nissan Leaf. (Submitted)
When Brennan Loewen began complaining to his parents that his first-ever car would rapidly run out of juice, his dad decided to give it a test drive.
"Watching [the battery] go 65, 64, 63 — like, about that fast — and I'm like, are we going to make it home?"
A local Nissan dealer told Josh Loewen to document the battery's performance with notes and photos so that his case could be elevated to Nissan Canada.
Loewen, an IT specialist, drove a flat, circular loop, later graphing the battery's precipitous drop in power.
The car, advertised new with a range of 240 kilometres, died after just 99 kilometres.
Nissan Canada told him what was happening with his battery was normal wear and tear, and was not a warranty issue.
"If that's not under warranty, then there is no warranty," said Loewen, who shared his correspondence with the company with CBC.
He said it would be worth pursuing the matter in court.
Gone in 60,000 km
Ottawa IT worker Ryan Hyma had a similar experience, and said four different friends shared the link to the original CBC story with him, knowing he'd find it familiar.
Hyma said Nissan couldn't supply the component technicians judged to have failed in the battery for his Leaf.
"And I just said, 'It's surprising that a car with just over 60,000 kilometres on it — that it's not fixable?'"
But it wasn't, and Hyma ended up dumping the Leaf at an auto wrecker to be stripped for parts.
The story even reached County Wexford in Ireland.
"Nissan didn't even want to take the car on a trade-in, so I couldn't sell it, I couldn't use it," said James Owens about his 2016 Leaf from his home in Fern.
"Electric cars are supposed to be sustainable, they're supposed to be environmentally friendly, but they want you to squash your car after 10 years and buy a new one — if it lasts that long," he said.
James Owens wrote from Ireland to say he, too, has been unable to buy a replacement battery for his Leaf from the dealership. (CBC)
Potential legal claim
"I think there is potentially a legal claim here," said Linda Visser, a lawyer with Siskinds Law in London, Ont., that specializes in class actions.
She said while in some instances the warranty may have been breached by Nissan, in others it might be possible to successfully argue in court that consumers reasonably expect their vehicle to last "well beyond" the warranty period.
She said Leaf owners inconvenienced by an undrivable car should first seek compensation from the dealer servicing it.
But in the case where Nissan cannot supply a battery for an "inordinate amount of time," Visser said "it sounds like there is a good legal claim."
