Roo crash

[aleto]

Has enyone hit a kangaroo with a Nissan Leaf before?
Am I the first lucky one? 

The front of my Leaf is a bit damage, the charging port was destroyed which is the thing the worries me the most, 4 front panels smashed and the A/C also damaged. (theses are only the few things I could spot just after the hit)

Have any of you been through this before? Or something similar.

Any advice will be much appreciated...

Attachments:

[Phoebe]

And how's the roo???

[stewartm]

Looks repairable, concern would be how long it takes to get parts. Roos tend to do less major structural damage than say another car or solid structure hit.
Aircon would be a new condenser radiator and gas, new charge port panel, and new panels at front I guess.

[Feng]

Sorry to hear it happened aleto. I ran into a pickup truck a while back and did similar damage to my car. After scrutinising the repairs I can see they didn't straighten the metal frame where the charge ports are attached and that caused other parts of the car to be misaligned. The alignment of the charge port cover is adjustable so it helped cover some of the misalingment, but it's not 100% and is a bit harder to close now.

Stewartm is right about parts availability. It could take two weeks or more for replacement parts to arrive.

The manual mentions baking the car in a paint booth could potentially damage the battery. There's a limit to how much heat it can take and it's best to avoid baking if you can or minimise its time in the booth. Best to mention that to the panel beater, I haven't got the specifics handy.

Good luck and welcome to the forum!

[caskings]

The charge ports are semi decoupled from the rest of the system (cabled not fixed bar) so it in and of itself isn't an issue. Time to get parts will be an issue. It took about 2 months for my rear bumper bar to turn up.

[aleto]

Is there a set time for the insurance company to get the car fixed or I would just have to wait for ever? 😪

[aleto]

Aug 22, 2016 8:40:56 GMT 11 Phoebe said:

And how's the roo???

Sadly the Roo seen very hurt but managed to skip away into the bush. It was dark and I didn't feel like following him there, girlfriend was terrified and it took awhile to calm her down... 

[Phoebe]

Aug 22, 2016 16:53:05 GMT 11 aleto said:

Is there a set time for the insurance company to get the car fixed or I would just have to wait for ever? 😪

I'm afraid the insurance company has no control over how long Nissan takes to get the parts in.  I only  had to wait about 2 weeks for my panel when I ran into my front fence but that was back at the end of 2012, when they probably had a few spare panels in Australia.  If they have to get your from Japan, I'm afraid you could have a long wait like Caskings.

[aleto]

Another thing that worries me is that when the crash happened the car had 16% battery left, fingers crossed batteries don't suffer from it. I am pretty sure the car was off and in parking and carwings is saying that the car is still on.. 

[4wardthinking]

I wouldn't worry too much about the battery, more the 12v one will take a hit.
Disconnect the 12v, it keeps getting a maintenance charge from the HV Battery, just to minimize drain from the body systems, like locking, telemetry etc.
Liion batteries are notorious for their long storage times.
Plus, it'll do a gentle balance on itself over time, often better at lower percentage charges.
NiMH batteries could loose a big proportion of their charge if left un-cycled for 4 months, but Lion batteries will be good for many months. The only power, which is minimal, the pack uses is balancing itself, so a vast majority of energy is re-appropriated within itself.
I'd be concerned if the HV pack was subjected to sixty degrees to be honest, but they work well around the 30-40 mark. That's why the manual shows the Batt temp gauge and charging temperatures, and it 'working' better at the top of the scale.
I wouldn't worry. The car looks repairable without doubt. No structural damage can be seen in the pics, just superficial.

[aleto]

Thank you all for taking the time and commenting, appreciate it

[Feng]

Keep us posted!

[4wardthinking]

Looks like the condenser may still be good, just bent a little, maybe O/S/F wing is not too bad either.
Either way, you have to tell them to loose the great big Rego Plate mount. Damn ugly monstrosity. Two 10mm head bolts, a bit of sticky foam hold them on. Invariably the clown that mounted the first plate would have gone into the guard, so use the existing holes, and mount the plate back without it.
The impact absorption may well have saved a potential bad injury. It's a distressing sight, but it's mostly superficial panel damage. When it's painted over, take a diffused LED white lamp, and shine it at right angles to your line of sight to check colour match and skating rink fine scratches on the surface.
Another thing I'd do is check last data from the Carwings/App. I seldom trust anyone with my vehicle, and the App will show if it's been driven, at times with full throttle. It'll show full power as 280+ as used. By the way, the wife uses up to 160 on the throttle-o-meter.... I know, I monitor power use/distance travelled. Leaf spy is good for recent throttle(legacy word now in 21st century) use and load. Most people put their foot down to see just how good EV's are remember!. I always point out how easy it is to see how the car has been driven with a mobile phone!.

No consolation, but you know it'll come back nicer-er-er!.
Keep us posted on progress as it happens.

[4wardthinking]

Aug 22, 2016 10:38:59 GMT 11 Feng said:

Sorry to hear it happened aleto. I ran into a pickup truck a while back and did similar damage to my car. After scrutinising the repairs I can see they didn't straighten the metal frame where the charge ports are attached and that caused other parts of the car to be misaligned. The alignment of the charge port cover is adjustable so it helped cover some of the misalingment, but it's not 100% and is a bit harder to close now.


It's a budget thing. That cross member is an easy replace pressed bar assembly.
Personally I'd bounce it back and get it fixed on a safety point. Also if it is kinked anywhere, it reduces the chances of it absorbing impact equally along its length. The vehicles were tested and approved with this as one of the factors for the construction, use and impact resistance/absorption distribution.
It's easy to pull a few panels around to align them, but the structural integrity is always weakened or stressed.

[aleto]

Hi there everyone

R.A.C finally got back to me and yeah!! they are repairing it, the final quote is for $18k and as some of you said, it could take an average of 6 weeks for parts to get here. Oohh well... my Leaf is gonna make me wait for it to come back home!

The good; front panels including lights are gonna be brand new... 😄😉

The bad; 6 weeks average? For real!!! Poor me...

Thanks all 🤗✌

[aleto]

Hi there all

Just thought I will let you all know that I am still waiting for my Leaf. It has been almost 2 month and still waiting for parts. Lol

[4wardthinking]

You know you'll be at the back of the queue for certain.
Naughty for buying EV, there's little money in it.
Contact UK or NZ, and ask for parts availability and delivery ETA.
A good excersise if you want to call their bluff. At two months, I would. After all, it's the worlds most popular EV. I just wonder how long parts would take for any other.
I remember an imiev taking a kicking, and it was back on the road in three weeks. They apologised for the delay too.

Do some back-ground checks.