Thoughts On Battery Swap Gives Nissan Leaf New Lease On Life
thats one of the big problems with electrical cars, they just have that large cost built into them . His car was only a 2012 one, and it already needed replacing.I drive a 2010 car that Ive pretty much done nothing but put petrol and oil in it, and change the tires. Ive also got a 2002 car that is now up to 250K kms, and apart from things like brake pads, tires,etc the only semi major thing was changing the timing belt and that wasnt hard, just fiddly..
However, its these types of articles that hold out hope if a home user can wack in a new battery without to much work, and swap it over for 2.5K it does get a lot more doable. Lets hope manufactures support it by making it straight forward to do.Which then leaves the larger issue of electric cars being city only but given a lot of people only do city driving thats not too bad. For the rest we are going to have to stay with petrol, or have an electric for around town and petrol for out of town.
Hi Ian, the vehicle did not actually need a battery upgrade , but since my company requires me to do R& D on the 2011-2013 Nissan Leaf, I did the upgrade anyways.
I have serviced some high mileage Taxi vehicles, that use Nissan Leaf in their fleet. Batteries on this first gen lasts around 250-300k km before actually becoming unusable for a moving vehicle. After installing the newer gen batteries, these vehicles will probably last way longer than an ICE counterpart.
How Long Does The Nissan Leaf Battery Last
Besides pure range, its also important to know how long the battery will last. Electric cars are not cheap, and so drivers want to ensure that the critical components have a decently long life.
Nissan offers a standard 5-year or 60,000-mile warranty on the Nissan Leaf powertrain. The bumper-to-bumper warranty is 3 years or 36,000 miles. The battery, however, is given its own special limited warranty of 8 years of 100,000 miles, or at least they are for the 2020 model year. The warranty specifically covers defects in materials or workmanship for that period/distance.
Therefore, we can expect the battery of a Nissan Leaf to last at least for that limited warranty period, 8 years or 100,000 miles. The abcnissan.com blog reports that most owners predict the battery will last for about 10 years. Given that the car was only first released in late 2010, and its second and latest generation is just entering its 5th model year, its still too early to tell for sure how long overall the batteries will last.
In the next section of this article, well look at the common problems that Nissan Leaf batteries face.
How Does A Car Battery Work
The battery in your vehicle is there to provide a jolt of electrical energy to start the engine and to provide engine-off accessory power for a limited amount of time. Once the engine is running, the alternator takes over to power the accessories and charge the battery. Car batteries typically feature six connected cells in a lead-acid formulation, or up to 12 cells in a 24-volt system found in heavy trucks or other large vehicles.
Read Also: Electric Vehicle Battery Replacement Cost
How Do I Replace The Battery In My Nissan
A confident do-it-your-selfer can replace a vehicle battery. Start by checking your vehicle owners manual for the batterys proper size and location. Find the positive and negative posts. The positive post will have a red plastic cover over it. Look for a + sign stamped onto the battery or printed on a nearby label. Loosen the negative terminal bolt and remove the cable. Be sure not to touch the positive post. Once you loosen the bolt, use a terminal puller to remove the cable. Repeat the sequence with the positive post.
Now remove the clamp or retaining system that keeps the battery in place. Carefully lift out the old battery. Look for any corrosion on the cables and remove it with a wire brush or terminal cleaning tool.
Drop in the new battery so that the positive post lines up with the red cable. Secure it with the battery retaining clamp that you removed earlier. If the battery has anti-corrosion washers, put them in place now and use a thin layer of anti-corrosion grease to prevent buildup. Tighten the positive cable and then do it all over again with the negative black cable.
Make sure the battery is secure and congratulations: youve replaced your cars battery!
Battery Upgrades: Is There Truly No Hope For 24kwh Leafs
- Joined: Fri Feb 28, 2020 7:37 pm
- Delivery Date: 15 Apr 2017
- Leaf Number: 423008
Boxman wrote: âFri Apr 30, 2021 9:38 pmI own a 2013 Leaf SV w/70,000 miles and 10 battery bars. I bought the car with 30,000 miles on it in 2017 for a thrifty $9000. At that time, it had all 12 bars and was in absolutely pristine condition.
alozzy wrote:If the range no longer suffices, you need to take any emotion out of the equation and sell your 2013 SV for what you can get for it – likely $7 – $8k.
Boxman wrote: âFri Apr 30, 2021 9:38 pmdowngrading to a used Chevy Bolt or some other EV . I’ve test driven the Bolt, Volt, e-Golf, Fusion electric and even the BMW i3, and they felt like a downgrade from my nicely spec’d out SV trim Leaf. The Bolt had terrible seats and was too expensive even used,
Boxman wrote: âFri Apr 30, 2021 9:38 pmShould I just give up and move on?
jjeff wrote: âSat May 01, 2021 10:17 amTotally agree with your assessment of the other EVs you mentioned, I had the same complaints when I looked at them, almost like the makers wanted to give them all a poison pill to keep people from wanting them so they could say, “we tried to make an EV, no one wanted them”
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Lot Of 48 Gen1 Nissan Leaf Battery Modules 76v Tested 40ah Free Busbar
Gen1 Used Nissan Leaf battery replacement modules 7.6V in a good condition. Nothing broken or bent. May have scratches on the shielding. The package includes:
- 48 Nissan Leaf Battery Replacement G1 Modules 7.6v, 40Ah
- Original OEM busbar
- Compression Plates
FREE SHIPPING: Must be shipped to a business with forklift or loading dock or picked up from a local freight terminal. Available in 48 continental US states. HI and AK please call for pricing.
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How Long Does A 2011 Nissan Leaf Battery Last
approximately 10 to 15 years100,000 to 150,000 milestemperature control functions
- Avoid high temperatures. If you live in Florida, Texas, or another warm-weather state, this could be tricky, but heat contributes to battery degradation. Keep your Leaf cool during storage and use.
- Skip the fast charger. Sure, a DC fast charging station can get your Leaf to 80% state of charge in just 30 minutesâbut itâll wear your battery out faster. Stick to a Level 2 or Level 1 household adapter when you can.
- Donât shoot for 100%. It may seem counterintuitive, but you actually donât want your battery at 100% for long periods of time. Charging to 80% instead of 100% can extend the life of your battery.
MORE:
Read Also: Tesla Model 3 12v Battery Replacement
Choosing A Nissan Battery Replacement Expert
Your options for LEAF battery replacements typically come down to going to a Nissan dealership or working with a battery replacement specialist. Like buying an oil change in a combustion engine vehicle, the dealership service prices tend to be steeper.
More affordable options may exist, particularly if you live on the coasts. The LEAF community actually maintains a list of replacement shops.
Hv Battery Swaps And Upgrades
The high-voltage battery pack is the heart of any electric vehicle. An electric vehicles range and performance are both dictated by what can be delivered by the HV battery. Battery upgrades are therefore the key to allowing existing electric vehicles to become far better than they ever were, even when new. This is entirely achievable and is already being offered by some automotive manufacturers in some markets around the world . Nissan had previously claimed that earlier cars were not compatible with newer batteries, however several EV specialist companies including ourselves put in the effort to figure out how to correctly perform these upgrades and therefore demonstrate that these initial claims were false. Perhaps coincidentally, in late 2019 Nissan USA released a 40kWh pack pre-programmed to be compatible with 2016-2017 Leafs which were originally fitted with 30kWh packs. This clearly goes against their earlier claims. At this point their official upgrades do not extend to earlier 24kWh Leafs. You can learn more about this over on our news page.
In our home country of New Zealand, not only are official battery upgrades not an option, but even purchasing a replacement battery of the original capacity isnt an option through Nissan NZ.
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Nissan Leaf Batteries: Problems
Overall, the Nissan Leaf has proven itself to be a reliable car, ranking 6th in reliability among 30 Nissan models in the PainRank listed on carcomplaints.com. Among the most common problems reported by Leaf owners, battery problems dont seem to feature very prominently, or even at all.
The site nissanproblems.com lists 4 most common Leaf problems, which include a fault with the automatic emergency braking system, problems with the sunroof glass supposedly shattering and a fault in the occupant classification system. Equally, some Leaf owners complain about faults within the braking system.
The general consensus is that the second-generation models are much more problem-free than the first generation. When it comes to the batteries, the only real problem you have to face is the potential price for a replacement if the regular wear and tear leaves it in need of a switch out.
Review For 2011 2015 Nissan Leaf Hybrid Battery
SAM ARJANG November 12, 2019
Great customer see and great quality of service! They replaced my fan for free ! It came with the battery ! I did the job with them 5 years ago and today I needed an other onetrust me it worth it to go there!!! They only replaced my battery only once with in the past 5 years
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Autocheck Vehicle History Summary
Located in Whittier, CA/ 23 miles away from Ontario, CA
—————-See the full listing at shift.com/s/1414306 ————– Shift offers delivery and provides financing at competitive rates. All cars…
Dealer Review:
Horrible horrible. My son purchase a vehicle on June 24, 2022. He was leaving from college and the entire ABS system went out, luckily he was smart to through the emergency brake on . He could of hurt himself or someone else on the road. We took the car to Infiniti and they sat aged the entire ABS system was modified . My son purchased an extended warranty as well which is null and void because of the modifications. The dealership says its $12,000 to fix. We just purchased this vehicle for 26k and shift says oh well. No help out all. My son is paying a car that is sitting there and no help. Please dont go.
Cost Of Replacement Batteries: Official Channels
There has been a perception in place for a long time that Nissan Leaf owners had very limited options when it came to replacing defunct battery packs. The few choices that were perceived to exist were also incredibly expensive.
Right now, Nissan does offer an official replacement on the older 24kWh battery packs, which are priced at $5499 plus the cost of labor estimated by Toyota to be about 3 hours altogether. If you drive a Leaf from 2011 or 2012, then you will also need to shell out another $225 for an adapter kit to help retrofit the newer battery into your older model.
When you consider that a brand-new Nissan Leaf is around $31,000, a new 24kWh battery for potentially $6,000 or more is a pretty expensive proposition. Furthermore, you spend all that money to restore a pretty low driving range, too. It would likely be more worthwhile to just take the $6,000 and use it as a downpayment on a brand-new car!
Related Reading:Future Battery Tech Roundup Is Range Anxiety Dead?
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Cost Of A Donor Cars Battery Pack
Some choose to go down this route. It might be an attractive option on paper, but it usually isnt worth it.
Using a donor cars battery pack involves going to the salvage yard and looking to buy a scrapped Leaf of the same age and trim as yours.
Youll need to pay the scrapper. You might be able to buy the battery outright, separate from the car. After the purchase, youll need to pay an EV specialist mechanic to remove the old batteries and replace them with your new ones.
Before buying anything, you should find out how much charge the battery has. If its any less than 90%, its not worth it. At this point, these are still likely to cost $5,000 to $7,000 even if theyre in mediocre condition.
Since this approach is common, youll struggle to find any Nissan Leafs or their batteries in a salvage yard.
Can You Replace Gen1 Leaf Batteries With Gen2 Leaf Batteries
A common question among Nissan LEAF owners looking to replace their batteries is whether it is possible to upgrade their original 24 kWh battery packs to either the 40 kWh or 62 kWh battery packs found in the second-generation Leaf . In theory, this sounds like a better solution, as they are more common and offer increased range and performance over early LEAF models.
While the Gen2 40 kWh pack is an exact mechanical match to the early 24 kWh LEAF battery packs , the 62 kWh pack is not. There are also ground clearance and weight issues with the 62 kWh pack that would require additional modifications to your LEAF, making the swap even more daunting and unlikely worth the costs.
Both sized packs require electrical modifications in the form of a CAN-bridge converter and adapter cable, which will need to be sourced from an independent EV specialist, as they are not offered from Nissan. Almost every production EV links the battery pack to the car or more specifically, the Battery Management System with a unique code. This makes it difficult for third party mechanics to remove/install battery packs outside of an authorized repair network. Therefore, something like a CAN-bridge is required to translate messages between the old BMS and new battery pack. Even more importantly, one needs a way to program the new battery packs unique code, or spoof it, such that the two can talk to each other unimpeded.
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Battery Replacement Process & Timeline
Replacing an EV battery is more like replacing an engine than swapping the 9 volt battery in your smoke alarm. Replacements can be dangerous without the proper equipment. First of all, batteries are heavy, and secondly, they store a lot of electrical energy. Improper handling could result in electrical shock.
Youâll first schedule an appointment with your local dealership or mechanic. Theyâll hoist the vehicle into the air to get access to its battery. After removing the old battery, theyâll insert the new one and reattach it safely with the proper cables. Oftentimes special equipment is required to update the vehicle’s software and let it know it has a new battery.
The replacement can be done within a day by an experienced professional. However, if parts need to be ordered, youâll be at the mercy of the supply chain.
It is important to note that not all battery replacement procedures involve replacing the whole battery unit. Sometimes mechanics can identify defective modules, which are components of the whole battery unit, or defective individual cells, which make up modules. They will then simply replace the defective modules or cells, saving the vehicle owner plenty of money.
For a walk through on a Leaf Battery replacement, check out this video produced by an independent mechanic.
How To Reduce Nissan Leaf Battery Ownership Costs
Your battery will need replacing at some point. Its an inevitable part of electric car ownership. The only steps you can take to reduce costs focus on making the battery last as long as possible.
Follow these basic steps.
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Horror Stories: Clayton Brander
Resident of British Columbia, Canada, Clayton Brander, went public in 2020 with the story of his own struggle to get a replacement battery for his 2013 Nissan Leaf. CBC News reported his story. In 2017, Mr. Brander bought his car knowing that sooner or later he would face the issue of battery replacement. It was an older-model car, after all. Upon buying in 2017, the Leaf could still manage about 75 miles on a single charge, but degradation has continued and currently it can only handle about 50 miles.
Hes been all over the place looking for help, multiple mechanic shops and Nissan dealerships, but so far all he has received is:
- A quote for CA$15,000 to replace the battery more than he paid for the entire car in 2017.
- Advice to buy a brand-new Leaf and be done with it.
Its not the greatest endorsement for Nissan, especially when the whole thing seems so counterintuitive. Even if you base a business model on the premise that you want to encourage buyers to get a new car instead of a replacement battery, its still hard to accept that a car so relatively young is so apparently impossible to fix up on such a critical component. This is especially true when you consider how owners of some classic cars find it easier than Clayton Brander has had things to get replacement or retooled parts for their cars of 40+ years of age.