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Leviton charger warranty repair experiance?

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by AHetaFan, May 11, 2013.

  1. AHetaFan

    AHetaFan Member

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    Does anybody have experience with getting their Leviton charging station repaired under the 10 year warranty?

    I purchased my charging station through the official Toyota partner Leviton site and had them handle everything including the install. I was happy with that experience and went this route thinking I would get good support should something go wrong as well as preferring the design of their charging station over those I saw at home Depot. Very simple quick and easy to connect, disconnect and store the connector. At the distance from charging station to my car no need to fuss with the cable similar to using a gas pump. I purchased the EVB40-5PT unit because I prefer the design, and may need the higher current with a different car in the future.

    I was very happy until this week. My charging station is around 4 months old and failed this week. Red fault light and hum from the unit. No other lights lit. I have turned off the breaker and reset it several times but nothing changed. Red fault light and hum as soon as I turn the breaker on. I thought it would be easy to get this fixed under the 10 year warranty by calling the phone number provided. I'm not feeling very supported yet. Multiple calls, two emails, 2 business days and still no attempt by them to provide an appointment or other information about what to expect such as, if they need to ship a unit out to their local installer before making the appointment or if one is kept in stock locally. Last contact was from an engineer who screens to determine if it can be fixed over the phone. Thursday he recommended in an email to a number of people that they replace the unit and copied me on the email. I haven't heard anything since. I wonder how long this is going to take and how many follow up contacts I will have to make.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you might pm dianne if she doesn't see this. i believe they had a problem at the dealership and the same poor experience with leviton. all the best!(y)
     
  3. Electric Charge

    Electric Charge Active Member

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    I was told to stay away from Leviton as well, and this isn't the first bad experience I have heard/read about. Not impressed.
     
  4. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    What you bought was an EVSE, NOT a charger. Charger's in the car.
     
  5. Electric Charge

    Electric Charge Active Member

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    We all know what he meant, most of us switch between EVSE/charger all the time, even Home Depot refers to it as a Charging Station, it doesn't change what this topic is about.
     
  6. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    EVSE is the correct term. Charging station is a reasonable term.

    The reason why it's important to use the right term is that EVs and PHEVs can have different wattage on-board chargers which affect how much they can draw at max (coupled w/the EVSE's limits). Also, Leafers have had their on-board chargers fail (often a diode is blown).

    Re: charge rates, see Toyota Rav4 EV Forum • View topic - Fresno to Gilroy (CA) trip report for an example. The Rav4 EV has an 10 kW on-board charger but the voltage and max amperage of the EVSE dictates how quickly it can charge.

    The '13 Leaf has an optional 6 kW (or 6.6 kW, depending on who you ask, long story) on-board charger (13leafproduct5 - SF BayLEAFs) vs. the 3.3 kW OBC on the '11 and '12 Leaf. If you want faster charging w/the 6.x kW OBC, you'll need to use/have an EVSE that supports higher amperages at 208+ volts to take advantage.
     
  7. Electric Charge

    Electric Charge Active Member

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    But he clearly stated he is talking about the Leviton EVSE, why create the confusion? Let's stay on topic.
     
  8. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    It's to encourage people to use the proper terminology.
     
  9. AHetaFan

    AHetaFan Member

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    You are correct. I have corrected my terminology to Charging Station as is used on the Leviton site.
     
  10. AHetaFan

    AHetaFan Member

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    I think Leviton generally makes high quality electrical products. This seems to be an exception but as a new low volume product I expect I am on the bleeding edge. I was not aware others had problems but I thought I would check since 4 months is not even long enough for a low quality electrolytic capacitor to go bad. If they would respond with movement toward replacing or repairing my Charging station ASAP and it stays fixed I would be happy again.
     
  11. AHetaFan

    AHetaFan Member

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    Leviton contacted me this morning and they plan to replace my Charging Station tomorrow morning.
     
    p00kienrayray and jdcollins5 like this.
  12. Electric Charge

    Electric Charge Active Member

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    Cool, keep us posted. What area are you in? Wondering if they are sending a local electrician, or an actual Leviton rep, etc.
     
  13. AHetaFan

    AHetaFan Member

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    I think they are sending a local electrical contractor. I think it is the same one that installed it initially.
     
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    even though you seemed worried in your first post, it sounds like it turned out okay. all the best!(y)
     
  15. -1-

    -1- Don

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    :)As a Leviton "charging station" owner, this is good news. Sounds like fair backing of their product. ​
     
  16. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    They also use EVSE all over their site.
     
  17. AHetaFan

    AHetaFan Member

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    Good news. My Charging Station was replaced this morning. In the end all turned out well despite the initial contacts which didn't inspire confidence. I'm glad this thread didn't get filled with problem reports from other owners as well.
     
  18. Electric Charge

    Electric Charge Active Member

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    That's great news, thanks for the update. Did he even try to troubleshoot it, or did he just replace it right away?

    I'm wondering what they do if you installed this station yourself.
     
  19. AHetaFan

    AHetaFan Member

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    He plugged the Charge Station into a Leviton Charge Station test instrument which confirmed there was a problem. He thought the relay was pulled in to the charge position which caused the humming sound.

    I don't know for sure what they do if they did not install it but I imagine they troubleshoot over the phone first as they did with me then arrange replacement. To troubleshoot they wanted to know what the lights did when the breaker was turned on. There is a power on light sequence which is detailed on the side of the charge station. In my case it went directly to fault with no other lights.
     
  20. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    more likely that the unit have a welded relay contact