Got my Leaf back

After a painful week driving around in a loaned beat-down Ford Focus, I've returned to the glorious world of the Nissan Leaf. The new Focus is, by all accounts, a pretty good car, but very few cars work as they should once subjected to about 40,000 miles of rental abuse, and the silence and convenience of the Leaf only served to magnify its faults. I was quite happy to be rid of it, especially after filling it up in the midst of a winter maelstrom.

Hate is not a strong enough word for winter fill-ups.

The Leaf was out of commission, getting its heater replaced at the dealership. I'm not happy that such a large part failed so quickly, but the experience was about as positive as I could expect, given the circumstances. The repair took a total of one week, and most of that time was spent waiting on the parts to arrive.

Per the service writer, the repair involved replacing the HVAC blower assembly, which meant disassembling the dashboard and control panel. One of the premises of EV ownership is that the cars will be less prone to maintenance and breakdowns because they have fewer mechanical moving parts, but I'd hate to see what the bill would be for a repair like this out of warranty.

Not the warning light you want to see with a broken heater. 

Nissan has a dedicated consumer affairs hotline set up for Leaf owners, and I contacted them in the hopes it would speed the process along. I can't say whether the repair was done quicker, or parts arrived sooner than they would have otherwise, but I felt well-informed throughout the process, and have been called a few times already to follow up. Nissan even picked up the tab for gasoline while I was in the rental.