Resident Mechanics - Would me doing this offend you?

[lovelyhead]

Edit2: there shouldn’t be anything fundamentally different with the brakes compared to an ICE, particularly on an older leaf!

There isn't. Regenerative braking doesn't actually have anything to do with the brakes. It uses the cars momentum to reverse the electric motor, which slows the car down and charges the battery. If you brake a bit harder the computer then tells the brake system to activate the calipers on the discs just like any other car. I seemingly know more than many "mechanics" about the mechanical workings of a modern car and I don't even really like cars than much.

 

[bloodiedathame]

Have you tried taking it to Nissan? Lots of mechanics really hate electric cars because they can't extort you for non-existent problems.

 

[azazl187]

I think he's just trying to help

 

[lovelyhead]

Have you tried taking it to Nissan? Lots of mechanics really hate electric cars because they can't extort you for non-existent problems.

Nissan have found ways to extort EV drivers! Look up how much a service for a Leaf costs and what you actually get done.

 

[lovelyhead]

I think he's just trying to help

Who?

 

[bloodiedathame]

Nissan have found ways to extort EV drivers! Look up how much a service for a Leaf costs and what you actually get done.

As a Leaf owner, I know. I didn't bother servicing with them once I'd had my 3 freebies.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

There isn't. Regenerative braking doesn't actually have anything to do with the brakes. It uses the cars momentum to reverse the electric motor, which slows the car down and charges the battery. If you brake a bit harder the computer then tells the brake system to activate the calipers on the discs just like any other car. I seemingly know more than many "mechanics" about the mechanical workings of a modern car and I don't even really like cars than much.

What I was trying to say is that the brake set up on an older leaf is very basic. It being an EV doesn’t change how the rear brakes work.

Any competent mechanic should be able to work on them and they are not really any different to what you’d find on any other car.

 

[lovelyhead]

As a Leaf owner, I know. I didn't bother servicing with them once I'd had my 3 freebies.

Have you ever had trouble with your parking brake? I think most people with pre 2018 leafs get squeeks when reversing.

 

[lovelyhead]

What I was trying to say is that the brake set up on an older leaf is very basic. It being an EV doesn’t change how the rear brakes work.

Any competent mechanic should be able to work on them and they are not really any different to what you’d find on any other car.

Sorry if my post seemed argumentative. That wasn't my intention. I totally agree with you. There is nothing fancy about a Leaf's brakes apart from the combined drum and disc. But functionally they are no different to a separate disc or separate drum brake.

Early leafs used an electronic parking brake which could be expensive to fix if it broke but that would be an electronic failure rather than mechanical. But even an electronic parking brake is standard in many cars and not unusual.

 

[Chris Wilson]

I'm a mechanic and often get detailed lists of what a customer would like me to do. So long as they are made aware that their list may not include the most likely issue (hint, hint...) and as such issues may not be resolved due to the limitations of the instructions, I would have no issues. On a related note, I occasionally get customers wanting to supply their own parts. I am reservedly OK with that, but totally ruthless if they are wrong and make it clear any delay freeing a ramp for example will be charged for, and no warranty on the job if a supplied part causes issues. If they supply a part and it's wrong, they eat it, if I supply it, I eat it.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

You could ask for the brakes to be disassembled, cleaned, lubed and reassembled with any worn/broken parts replaced as they are found.

 

[lovelyhead]

You could ask for the brakes to be disassembled, cleaned, lubed and reassembled with any worn/broken parts replaced as they are found.

If I trusted the garage in question that's what I would ask for. That is basically what my list in the original post asked for. However the garage could simply tell me that they have done the work when they might not have. If I have in my possession at the end of the repair some worn brake shoes then I will know they have done it.

 

[bloodiedathame]

Have you ever had trouble with your parking brake? I think most people with pre 2018 leafs get squeeks when reversing.

Thankfully not, it's embarrassingly loud squeaking when reversing though (2015 model with physical e-brake). Usually, a few brake tests on a quiet road sorts it out for a while.

 

[lovelyhead]

Thankfully not, it's embarrassingly loud squeaking when reversing though (2015 model with physical e-brake). Usually, a few brake tests on a quiet road sorts it out for a while.

I too have a 2015 model with the embarrassing squeaking. You might want to feel the discs on your brakes to see how hot they get after a drive. My rear passenger side is too hot to touch after less than a mile whilst the other side is cold.

 

[Resident]

It's actually quite hard finding a decent garage, they tend to be either cheap and rough, or skilled and pricey. (That's ignoring the borderline criminal conmen that exist).
Skilled and pricey would seem the obvious choice here but I was quoted £500 for a crank case breather for my Z4, the only option is to reach for the spanners yourself.

The garage I use is both cheap (family rates ) and with 30+ years of experience he's very skilled. Although he's knocking on now and I fear he's ready to retire

 

[Rroff]

In my experience garages hate dealing with drum brakes for some reason, cost me a bit to have mine rebuilt as there seemed to be some slight binding.

 

[lovelyhead]

In my experience garages hate dealing with drum brakes for some reason, cost me a bit to have mine rebuilt as there seemed to be some slight binding.

I think that's strange though because it doesn't look that difficult. Here is the exact process to sort out the (supposedly non existent) drum brakes on a 2015 Nissan Leaf which is the same year as mine.

 

[adam cool dude]

Why would the disc be hot if the shoe was sticking? Makes no sense, no?

Proper cars have the hand brake and caliper separate. Handbrake is done by shoes inside the disc whereas the caliper just does normal breaking by itself.

Has it had third party shoes put on before? I have found before that these can be too thick and even in the lowest adjustment setting can scrape. A solution is to grind the shoes back a bit where they meet the adjuster giving a little more adjustment. You only need to shave a couple of mm off each one.

 

[SkodaMart]

I think that's strange though because it doesn't look that difficult. Here is the exact process to sort out the (supposedly non existent) drum brakes on a 2015 Nissan Leaf which is the same year as mine.

Exactly that. It isn’t that difficult, which is why i try to do some jobs myself.
I’m not a master mechanic by any means but I take my time and try to do a good job.

 

[lovelyhead]

Proper cars have the hand brake and caliper separate. Handbrake is done by shoes inside the disc whereas the caliper just does normal breaking by itself.

Has it had third party shoes put on before? I have found before that these can be too thick and even in the lowest adjustment setting can scrape. A solution is to grind the shoes back a bit where they meet the adjuster giving a little more adjustment. You only need to shave a couple of mm off each one.

If you watch the above video you can see how the brakes work on the Leaf. I am not sure what has been done to the brakes on the car as we only got it in September.