Hi all! New to me 2017 Nissan Leaf with only 26k miles. I take it to dealership to ask a few “new to Leaf” questions and have the brake fluid and rear windshield wiper blade replaced.
Some time later - run the rear windshield wiper and it gets stuck under the cowling in the upright flipping the bird position as the replacement blade was too long. I immediately turn it off.
Take back to the dealership - after SIX HOURS of troubleshooting the now non-operational rear windshield wiper, they send me home with a loaner vehicle and then take the better part of another day before calling me to say to come get it, they are ordering a computer part that goes in behind the dash. (I presume the BCM, but have no verification of that) They also tell me there is “no way the stuck wiper caused this breakage, it was probably just a simultaneous issue.” Right. But they are ordering the part and replacing it.
Here’s the fun part. As I’m driving home I discover my car’s auto-close driver’s side window doesn’t auto-close. Easy fix to find - did that. The interior trim of the rear hatch has been replaced with the handle upside down, so there is nothing to grab onto to close the hatch, your hand just slides right out. The windshield washer worked ONCE, squeezing out a bit of fluid, and then no more fluid, motor is running to make it go, I’d just filled it the day I took the car in to get repaired and have never had an issue with it. I am going to troubleshoot this when I find - TA-DA…the cable to open the hood is no longer attached, the lever does nothing and I can’t get under the hood.
At this point, it’s looking like complete incompetence with this particular mechanic, they gave the car back to the dude who did the original damage.
So, here’s my thinking - I feel like they are responsible for clearing all this up, but I don’t want that mechanic touching it again. Do you think I’ll be able to ask for a different one? Or should I just suck it up and take it somewhere else and write this experience up to “you took it to the dealer…”??
Take it back and explain all the problems you discovered. Ask to have them fixed at their cost. You might say you want a different tech working on the car.
Agree return to the dealer but ask to talk to the service manager and the dealer manager both. Have a list of your problems and stay calm. If not satifaction your manual should have contact info for Nissan corporation.
I posted about this a couple of years ago. Welcome the world of “professional technicians” replacing something as mundane as a windshield wiper…
I brought my car in for the state inspection on my 2019 Toyota Corolla. The windshield wipers failed, they had apparently tore ever so slightly after I had done a walk around the day before… But what to do, the wipers were torn, I could leave and buy them somewhere else and come back or I could just have them replace them and have done with it… So I told them to go ahead and replace them…
Well, below is a photo I took when I went outside to pick up my car. I do not know how this is even possible… it was the Licensed State Inspector who put those wipers on (not some car jockey hired to move cars…) and he just dropped the wiper blade onto the windshield and never noticed that it was hanging off the side of the car…
I had just paid $40 for those wipers and they put two of the same size on, both 28". The driver’s side takes a 28" and the passenger side takes a 14".
The General Manager and Service Manager were both very apologetic and made excises that since the pandemic, good help was hard to get… I reminded them that in Virginia, a Virginia state vehicle inspector isn’t just “help” they are required to take Specialized Training, be certified, and licensed… So unless they were letting their car jockeys do the state inspections, or they need a “new, qualified, inspector, who gives a grunt…”
The only consolation was they refunded the cost of the wipers and installed the correct wiper blade on the passenger side…
I agree that you need to take it back to the dealer, but ask to speak to the service manager. BTW, do this ask at the receptions desk in the show room, not in the service department. Explain the issue to the manager. As mentioned above, be calm, you are providing feedback. Feedback helps the manager make improvements to the department and helps them keep their customers instead of loosing them. You are doing them a favor.
If you go into the service area and ask to speak to the service manager, the service writer may feel threatened and try to do a cover up and convince you that they will take care of the problem and you don’t need to talk to the manager or the manager is out at the moment, or out for the day.
You are right, no one who is only licensed and certified to ensure the safe operation of vehicles on the highway with the inspection of the Brakes, the Steering and the Suspension, the Air Pollution Control System, the Fuel System, the Airbag and Airbag Deployment System, along with a sundry list of other components that affect the safe operations of a vehicle should be trusted with the installation of a windshield wiper…
And as you say, “being licensed in one discipline does not make you qualified in another discipline” especially the delicate and precise installation of a windshield wiper… L L . . .
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