Logistic of salvage battery swap

[leaftahns]

So I got an older leaf (2012 SL) that I am considering getting a "new" battery pack. But $5499 from Nissan is way too expensive. Seems like the most cost effective way is to get a battery pack from salvage leafs. I don't have the tools to DIY, so it has to be done by a shop/dealer for sure. But I am not sure how the logistic go. In my mind:

1. Buy the whole salvage leaf (or can I just get the pack?)
2. Ship the whole thing to...my place or the shop? (but I need to drop the salvage pack)
3. Drive my leaf to the shop
4. Let the shop do the swap
5. Then what do I do with the salvage leaf without the pack?

Anyone has any idea or experience with the process?

 

[cwerdna]

There are some logistical challenges and battery pack differences esp. if the pack comes from a Leaf that's newer than model year '11 or '12.

I can't enumerate them all, see posts by Cor at https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=21997. You can ignore most of the rest if you want to skip the chatter.

Take a look at NTB14-059d (https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10171223-0001.pdf) and maybe the earlier version NTB14-059c (https://testing-public.carmd.com/Tsb/Download/126060/NTB14-059c). Of the former, if you look at the 2nd to last page, there are numerous different part numbers. And, for an '11 or '12 w/the dealer ordering the correct pack (not grabbing one from another Leaf), some modifiations need to be made.

Also, even if the pack fit and could connect, you'll run into a pairing problem. The car will have a ! warning light on and I think won't go faster than 25 mph unless paired. That can be done by a dealer or someone w/Nissan Consult III+ or a 3rd-party tool like https://evsenhanced.com/products/hv-battery-pairing-tool/.

IIRC, a way around the pairing prob and some physical modifications needed is to swap all the modules from a pack in better shape into your current casing. That's a lot of labor and no dealer would ever do this (no reason to). Time lapse video at https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=508708#p508708.

The below are a flavor of differences between packs from newer Leafs vs. '11 and '12. This is not necessarily complete. I quickly found them.
https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=21997&p=570906&hilit=wires#p570906
https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=21997&p=488712&hilit=wires#p488712
https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=21997&p=473731&hilit=wires#p473731
https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=21997&p=465358&hilit=wires#p465358
https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=21997&p=465579&hilit=move#p465579