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Accident in Leaf - Nissan Recovery

5K views 20 replies 13 participants last post by  Hilltop Dave 
#1 ·
I was unfortunately involved in a RTA this afternoon. Thankfully no one injured. Front end shunt (me into stopped car) *

Called Nissan recovery to get car recovered (unable to get in touch with my insurance company at the time). Whereas the guy I spoke to was very helpful and expedited the recovery team, I was surprised that they used a third party and not RAC (who I thought was what Nissan accident recovery was contracted to use)? Recovery arrived within 45 mins from call. Only issue, however, is that they were not aware that my car was fully electric!! Strange considering the Nissan team were fully aware of the make / model. Suffice to say the bloke had to call his boss and technical guru to clarify the recovery procedure. I also called my local Nissan service team as well who spoke to the recovery guy to confirm that the car was safe to move.

Car towed back home, now going through the insurance process. Appears initial thoughts are that it is a write off but waiting for car to be recovered to the dedicated insurance approved recovery company for investigation by EV specialist. Front all smashed in, both airbags deployed.

* Although I cannot recall exactly what happened, one thing I do recall is that slamming on the brakes didn't appear to have much affect. Pretty certain that despite what appears to be a potentially momentary lack of distraction on my part (?), I am sure I could have stopped in time. All hindsight of course and happened so fast.

Hope to have more info early next week... Hopefully as my car is only 10 months old (and 10 months into 24 month PCP), and I am the first owner, the new replacement car policy comes into affect (albeit, the Acenta + model is no longer being manufactured).
 
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#3 ·
Insurance contacted, waiting for car to be collected and taken to the accident repair centre. Initial thoughts based upon prelim photos sent are that it is a write off, but will await further confirmation.

One thing I did notice, but not sure if this was partially to blame - or driver error - was that although I did try and do an emergency brake, IMO the brakes were not that effective. Wonder if this can be be attributed because I generally coast to a stop (using B / regenerative braking) and only break towards the end. Would this affect the braking capability in the LEAF? As I said, all hindsight.

That said, am impressed that the LEAF did its job in protecting me.
 
#4 ·
Airbags deployed then it is normally a writeoff :(

Glad all OK.

Just a point for others... the Leaf shouldn't be towed unless it is a short distance. It normally requires a flat bed recovery.
 
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#5 ·
Glad you are ok @Kieren B . It is slightly concerning for our future insurance premiums that the stock response seems to be 'write off' for a lot of front end shunts I have seen on here...Be interested to know if it due to the depreciation on the vehicle or are EVs more fragile?

J
 
#6 ·
Pretty normal for all cars nowadays actually. Bumper skin is hundreds, bumper is hundreds, dashboard is hundreds, each airbag is hundreds, painting is hundreds, car is diminished in value by thousands, it's a write off.
 
#8 ·
It is wasteful, I wouldn't disagree, but most of a scrapped car nowdays is recycled so not as bad as it might first look :)
 
#10 ·
Sorry to hear about the accident.

Not sure about Kieron's Leaf but last week I had to make an emergency stop when the woman waiting on a road to the left decided that giving way to the right on roundabouts is optional. I managed to go from 20ish-0 in about ten yards. I think that's why the Brake pedal starts with friction brakes rather than starting with regen.
 
#11 ·
So sorry to hear of your accident, totally agree that EV's are supposed to be green, even the thought of upgrading something simple like the onboard charger and there saying you need a new car etc Hope its all straight forward with the insurance and replacement you have gone through enough with the accident.

Paul
 
#12 ·
Thanks all for your concerns. Indeed the first indications is that it is a write off but will wait for a formal report.

@Paul_Churchley - indeed, the car was lifted onto a flat bed, however the recovery bloke was rather confused on how to handle the Leaf, hence the call to Nissan to double check everything. That said, I am surprised that the fact that I had a Leaf was not passed across from Nissan Assist to the recovery team.

BTW - interestingly, I am still able to switch the car on and move a short distance, despite the fact that the front of the car is all smashed in. I thought that there would be a auto shut off to prevent any further damage.
 
#13 ·
Good to hear you are ok.

If you get any problems with insurance valuations or offers let me know. We have now purchased several crash damaged cars from members here. Advantage being you get paid a better value for the car than the insurance offers.

We use them as donors for conversions.

All the best.

Mike

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
 
#15 ·
@Simon Forrest hmm.. that does appear to have what happened to me, but to be honest I am not sure how I can check if this really was the ultimate cause of my accident? I do recall trying to brake hard (i.e. try to do an emergency stop), but nothing happening - hence me smashing into the rear of the car in front. Thinking back, I believe that I still had enough space to come to a stop safely. Again, this is all hindsight.

Does anyone know if the on-board computers keep a log of anything (i.e. speed I was travelling, braking etc.)? Or can the accident repair engineer check this out?

If the cause of my accident was a result of a brake failure as outlined in the attached, then I think I may have grounds to follow up with Nissan GB directly? Maybe I will alert my insurance team of the above thread? One way of the other, I am not trying to attribute blame but 99% of the time it is the driver who drives into the back of someone is usually at fault.
 
#17 ·
Oh dear...

Heard back from the insurance approved accident repair centre who have now advised that the cost of repairing everything is ca. GBP10K. They quoted ca. GBP 4-5K to replace the airbag units and associated internal safety systems (dashboard, steering wheel, seat belts etc etc.). Ouch! Said that this is about average, and typical for any incident where a safety bag(s) was deployed (and the price isn't LEAF specific). Also, as one of the HV cables apparently was damaged, they would need a specialist to come and look into this.

Asked about the "lack of braking action" and was advised that this could be attributed due to the ABS working and that many people are not aware of how the ABS system fully works. Hmm.

Suffice to say, he has advised that it will probably be a Cat C write off.

Still not convinenced about the brakes and reviewing the previously mentioned threads on this, I may still ask my insurance company for further investigation. Think I will also contact Nissan as well just in case. The worst case is that they say everything is fine.

Either way, I know that all this was due to a momentary second of distraction, these things happen (it is an accident) and thank goodness no one was injured. Just hope the "new car replacement policy", as per my insurance policy, comes into play!!

Just waiting for a final verdict from my insurance as to what they deem is the market value of a 10 month old Acenta+ with 5.2K on the clock...
 
#18 ·
Just waiting for a final verdict from my insurance as to what they deem is the market value of a 10 month old Acenta+ with 5.2K on the clock...
We could debate to the n-th degree but my neighbour bought a 15 plate with owned battery for £9k last month.

If yours is a flex then ensure the offer is very clear on whether you are expected to settle RCI or if insurers will.
 
#19 ·
Hi Guys!

I am in the similar situation, where My 2015 LEAF 24Kwh got damaged (Mainly front with Both Drivers and Passenger Airbags deployed) due to collision with car in front.

Now car is gone for specialist repairer in Slough to be assessed. Based on the past comments and confirmation from my experienced friend, Looks like it will be written off.

What are my options Please?

I only have one car in the household (Family of 4 with 2 kids) and looking to get onto the Road quicker.

I have option of Courtsey car provided by the Insurance company (Churchill), however this is dependent on that car is not considered write off.

I am awaiting insurance company and repairer to confirm this.

Please let me know if the car is write off, what is the best way to negotiate the good price. It was 1 owner myself and was in immaculate condition (only 24K mileage) and all new tyres replaced only few months back.

Thanks all in advanced for advice.
 
#20 ·
Look at comparable cars, e.g. on autotrader that are the same as you had, what do they cost? If you know that figure then when the insurance make you an offer you can straight away say yes or no!

If they are slow then may be worth hiring a car for a week or 2, i've always found it surprisingly cheap to do so.

Best of luck.

Thanks.
 
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