# 2018 Nissan Leaf - avoiding diagnostic fee **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** nissan, leaf\ **Created:** [May 20, 2022, 5:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2018-nissan-leaf-avoiding-diagnostic-fee/184241 "2022-05-20T17:42:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Joseph29](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@Joseph29](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Joseph29)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 5:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2018-nissan-leaf-avoiding-diagnostic-fee/184241/1 "2022-05-20T17:42:31Z")
Nissan Service, how do you avoid the extra diagnostic charge? They charged me 160.00 to dioagnose a loud muffler ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 7:16pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2018-nissan-leaf-avoiding-diagnostic-fee/184241/2 "2022-05-20T19:16:21Z")
Special skills are needed to find the muffler on a Nisan Leaf. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 8:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2018-nissan-leaf-avoiding-diagnostic-fee/184241/3 "2022-05-20T20:08:29Z")
> [@Joseph29](#): > > Nissan Service, how do you avoid the extra diagnostic charge? Shops experience a fixed cost for any service they do, just the time to move the car into the bay, back to the parking lot, paperwork, the shop has to pay their staff to do all that, and need to recoupe the cost from the car owner. BTW isn’t you Nissan Leaf an all electric car? ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2022, 12:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2018-nissan-leaf-avoiding-diagnostic-fee/184241/4 "2022-05-21T12:40:51Z")
How do **you** avoid the diagnostic fee when you have a medical problem? ---
**Author:** ![PvtPublic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pvtpublic/32/13089_2.png) [@PvtPublic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PvtPublic)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 9:51am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2018-nissan-leaf-avoiding-diagnostic-fee/184241/5 "2022-05-22T09:51:45Z")
> [@Joseph29](#): > > Nissan Service, how do you avoid the extra diagnostic charge? Diagnose it yourself. And why would you even take an exhaust problem to a Nissan dealer, unless it was warranty work. An exhaust shop would have been a free estimate. ---
**Author:** ![FoDaddy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/fodaddy/32/717_2.png) [@FoDaddy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/FoDaddy)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2022, 1:32am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2018-nissan-leaf-avoiding-diagnostic-fee/184241/6 "2022-05-23T01:32:55Z")
> [@Joseph29](#): > > Nissan Service, how do you avoid the extra diagnostic charge? Most dealerships and some independent shops do charge for a diagnosis for any problem you bring your car in for. Usually it’s an hour of labor or thereabouts. How do you avoid it? You do your own diagnosis and tell the shop what to do (or repair it yourself). Not all shops will agree to this and those that do will tell you that they will not guarantee that your prescribed fix will correct the problem; they’ll do what you ask, but if it doesn’t fix the issue, you’re not getting a refund. ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2022, 2:02am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2018-nissan-leaf-avoiding-diagnostic-fee/184241/7 "2022-05-23T02:02:25Z")
something doesn’t add up here A Nissan Leaf is an EV so what is this “loud muffler” . . . ?! ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2022, 3:52am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2018-nissan-leaf-avoiding-diagnostic-fee/184241/8 "2022-05-23T03:52:34Z")
The OP may have clicked the wrong model in the scroll down or the problem is with a type of component silencer. Many of our regular customers are not charged a diagnostic fee for common complaints to be checked during a scheduled maintenance visit. Billing the diagnostic fee can depend on how much time was spent looking for the problem. A “car makes noise while driving” can take more time than necessary when the owner can’t be more specific about the noise. If a customer asks for an estimate to replace a damaged muffler, I wouldn’t expect to get paid for this. Much depends on how the problem is approached. ---
**Author:** ![eddo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/eddo/32/2594_2.png) [@eddo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/eddo)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2022, 9:19pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2018-nissan-leaf-avoiding-diagnostic-fee/184241/9 "2022-05-23T21:19:01Z")
> [@Joseph29](#): > > Nissan Service, how do you avoid the extra diagnostic charge? 2018 Leaf with a loud muffler? I’d start by checking the blinker fluid, and if that was ok, then I’d verify the calibration on the flux capacitor… I have a feeling this is a troll post, but just in case: @Joseph29 can you elaborate on your loud muffler noise? ---
**Author:** ![weekend-warrior](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/weekend-warrior/32/26122_2.png) [@weekend-warrior](https://community.cartalk.com/u/weekend-warrior)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2022, 9:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2018-nissan-leaf-avoiding-diagnostic-fee/184241/10 "2022-05-23T21:27:54Z")
maybe he has one of those muffler speakers for EV’s. 😉 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2022, 9:37pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2018-nissan-leaf-avoiding-diagnostic-fee/184241/11 "2022-05-23T21:37:11Z")
Don’t tell me those things rust out, too!! ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2022, 11:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2018-nissan-leaf-avoiding-diagnostic-fee/184241/12 "2022-05-23T23:40:39Z")
> [@weekend-warrior](#): > > maybe he has one of those muffler speakers for EV’s. As I recall some Alfa Romeos had a plastic box – just an empty box with some holes in it is all it was – placed in the engine compartment that acted as an acoustic resonator, the function was to make the engine sound more like a race car. ---
**Author:** ![TheWonderful90s](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/thewonderful90s/32/29584_2.png) [@TheWonderful90s](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TheWonderful90s)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2022, 4:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2018-nissan-leaf-avoiding-diagnostic-fee/184241/13 "2022-05-24T16:44:16Z")
Is this a joke?