Update on Nissan LEAF Battery Replacement

[Nubo]

to all the Non-Believers here you go.

https://www.wired.com/2014/06/tesla-just-gave-all-its-patents-away-to-competitors/

I'm not sure why you'd march into an EV forum with a well-publicized 3-year-old story and expect it to be a revelation. YES WE KNOW ABOUT THAT STORY. But what that has to do with your battery saga is unclear. How do you expect Tesla's 2014 patent decision to have influenced your 2012 LEAF?

 

[fotajoye]

KiloWatts is abbreviated Littke k, and big W, there is no H.

I may have typed fast and left typos, this doesnt' have spell check; kW not kWH

I thank you for the information. My hope is Nissan will do exactly what you described, i.e., replace all Leaf batteries with the latest available or at least the 30 kWh battery. Many of us are disappointed that Nissan has not offered this at least as an option. And, I'm encouraged that you had the moxie to stand your ground when confronted by one of their more aggressive dealers...good move. Also, you having to wait so long actually gives me additional hope that the dealer had to deal with replacing the upgraded battery in not only a first gen car but one of the first of the first gen cars...that is a 2011 or 2012.

As you know, there are a lot of used Leafs on the roads, close to 300,000, and most of the owners, I dare say, will replace the battery at least once. 300,000 batteries at $6-7,000 a pop represents a lot of business. Seems to me Nissan would gain even more by reducing build inventory to one product for all the first Gen cars and people would be more likely to pay the $7k battery replacement cost, especially if Nissan gives them just a little bit more for their money instead of playing hardball. And, they might even sell more cars in the long run.
Thank you for taking the time to let us know about this upgrade capability.

 

[SageBrush]

So now on a full charge the battery in "Drive" shows 110, and "Eco shows 118" miles of range.

Anyway I found out when they gave me a new battery, they also upgraded the battery to the 2016-2017 35 kW Battery good for 110 miles range (or so the display says, you won't get that range on the freeway at 65 mph).
To answer the other person, the 2016-2017 battery WILL FIT in the earlier models. Nissan only has to install a connector adapter which they made for this.

Interesting! If I remember correctly, someone on this forum indicated that after a discussion with a Nissan dealer tech about 10 months ago.
Subsequently, that someone's credibility became suspect to many. Hopefully, other sources for this will corroborate it.

Our 2013 LEAF still shows over 100 miles on the GOM after a full charge.

OP's real range from a full charge is in the 80s as clarified from his mention of (IIRC) 48 miles remaining after 35 miles of driving at 70 mph. Just what one would expect from a new 24 kWh battery.

Incidentally, OP's battery replacement was approved in June. Wasn't that during the period that Nissan was approving goodwill replacements, even without a "JD diploma" and drama ?

 

[davewill]

... Incidentally, OP's battery replacement was approved in June. Wasn't that during the period that Nissan was approving goodwill replacements, even without a "JD diploma" and drama ?

Yeah, but he apparently had 9 bars at the time. His beef was with taking it in to the dealer with 7 bars and after the software upgrade having 9 and being told, "Sorry".

 

[SageBrush]

... Incidentally, OP's battery replacement was approved in June. Wasn't that during the period that Nissan was approving goodwill replacements, even without a "JD diploma" and drama ?

Yeah, but he apparently had 9 bars at the time. His beef was with taking it in to the dealer with 7 bars and after the software upgrade having 9 and being told, "Sorry".

The ?7/?9 bar story was in January.
He returned in June and the battery replacement was approved. I'm not sure if he was still in the warranty period in June, but it probably didn't matter much since Nissan was feeling friendly at the time.

 

[JPWhite]

, but it probably didn't matter much since Nissan was feeling friendly at the time.

Are Nissan less generous now than they were?

 

[davewill]

, but it probably didn't matter much since Nissan was feeling friendly at the time.

Are Nissan less generous now than they were?

Yeah, near the end of Sept they killed the goodwill program for battery replacement.

 

[SageBrush]

, but it probably didn't matter much since Nissan was feeling friendly at the time.

Are Nissan less generous now than they were?

Their consistent behaviour has been that of lying pricks, but for a couple of months during the summer (probably not by random chance, related to the run-up to the 2018 LEAF debut,) they acted like an auto company that cared about its reputation

 

[lorenfb]

So now on a full charge the battery in "Drive" shows 110, and "Eco shows 118" miles of range.

Anyway I found out when they gave me a new battery, they also upgraded the battery to the 2016-2017 35 kW Battery good for 110 miles range (or so the display says, you won't get that range on the freeway at 65 mph).
To answer the other person, the 2016-2017 battery WILL FIT in the earlier models. Nissan only has to install a connector adapter which they made for this.

Interesting! If I remember correctly, someone on this forum indicated that after a discussion with a Nissan dealer tech about 10 months ago.
Subsequently, that someone's credibility became suspect to many. Hopefully, other sources for this will corroborate it.

Our 2013 LEAF still shows over 100 miles on the GOM after a full charge.

OP's real range from a full charge is in the 80s as clarified from his mention of (IIRC) 48 miles remaining after 35 miles of driving at 70 mph. Just what one would expect from a new 24 kWh battery.

Incidentally, OP's battery replacement was approved in June. Wasn't that during the period that Nissan was approving goodwill replacements, even without a "JD diploma" and drama ?

Since he's in SoCal, someone needs to meet with him using LeafSpy and check SOC & Ahrs. That'll provide useful data to help resolve the issue.
Without data, time to move on. He's welcome to email me, since I'm in the LA area.

 

[Oils4AsphaultOnly]

No let me get the receipt from the Dealer I'll scan it in and upload it for you Non-Believers. They (Nissan Attorney Counsel) even told me. and it's also part of the Class Action Lawsuit out-of-court settlement terms.

If Nissan Counsel told you that you got a 30kwh battery for your 2012 leaf, then they've lied to you and you should sue them for that.

The range you see on the dash is what we call the GOM (Guess-O-Meter - it's an estimated range based on your driving behavior over the last few minutes). If you've driven at 75mph all day, and then drive local roads for the last 10mins before charging, your range estimate would be very optimistic. Whereas if you had driven locally all day and then jumped on freeway for 10 mins before immediately charging, your range estimate would be much lower.

Get leafSpy and an OBDII dongle and capture the battery capacity from the car itself.

And just as a point of reference, on my 30kwh leaf, some days I get a range estimate of 140 MILES! Just don't believe it.

And per SageBrush's suggestion, I can take the reading for you if you'd like. I work in the Burbank area.

 

[cwerdna]

No let me get the receipt from the Dealer I'll scan it in and upload it for you Non-Believers. They (Nissan Attorney Counsel) even told me. and it's also part of the Class Action Lawsuit out-of-court settlement terms.

If Nissan Counsel told you that you got a 30kwh battery for your 2012 leaf, then they've lied to you and you should sue them for that...

And per SageBrush's suggestion, I can take the reading for you if you'd like. I work in the Burbank area.

Yeah. Would be critical to know the # of AHr reported and even better, the # of gids on a full charge coupled w/a VIN, which a VIN starting with a J, since 2011 and 2012 US Leafs were MIJ.

KiloWatts is abbreviated Littke k, and big W, there is no H.

I may have typed fast and left typos, this doesnt' have spell check; kW not kWH

You are not understanding.
Cwerdna is pointing out your confusion between a rate (kW) and an amount (kWh)

I'm glad you have a replacement battery but your attempt to appear informed is going *really* badly.

Agreed. It nothing to do with typos or spell check but using the WRONG units. Battery capacity is NOT measured in "kW" or "KW". trangen1, if you ignored the post I linked to, please see https://www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/what-is-a-kwh-kw-and-kwh-explained.html, for example.

You will also notice the proper units at http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/channels/Leaf-Press-Kits/presskits/US-2012-nissan-leaf-press-kit and in the specs tab: 24 kWh battery and 80 kW motor.

 

[trangen1]

but your attempt to appear informed is going *really* badly. Are you trolling for customers ?

Trolling for customers???? Customers of what???? I'm not selling anything.

Tell you what, I thought I was sharing. I'll just delete my post.

Some people are just Non-Believers and Morons, I can't change that.

I'm just saying that was "my experience". And that was because in a previous thread 6 months ago other people also wrote they brought their car (this was also in California) to the Dealer, they uploaded "new software code" then said "you no longer qualify"; because your battery LED Bars now show stronger health. WTF is that?????

I guess Nissan's "Goodwill Program" doesn't apply to California Residents is what I'm saying.

I will upload my (3) pics that I promised I would, the one from my Dash that shows with the "New" and "upgraded stronger 2016-2017 year battery". I will upload the Drive Mode Range which should show 106-1107-108-109; and in Eco Mode Range of 117-118-119. Like I said it's not consistent. And with cold weather now I noticed the range is lower. Even in California it's been getting chilly. On the warm summer days my Leaf's range would show higher but in Cold weather the range shows less. And the 3rd pic will be the Receipt from the Dealer showing they installed a newer / stronger battery out of the 2016-2017; instead of the original battery out of the 2011-2015 year model Leafts.

After that I'll delete my post for Persons Non-Grata who don't appreciate sharing information.

This my 1st EV and there are lots lots of people who would probably glean good information from this just not you in Colorado and not and the other two non-believers. :evil: :evil: :evil: :twisted:

 

[cwerdna]

^^^
We don't care about GOM readings. It proves nothing. You can easily get them up to be very high: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=16253.

Here's what we would care about:
- receipt showing a part # that corresponds to a 30 kWh battery
- Leaf Spy screenshots showing the VIN starting with a J and also the AHr reading
- would be nice to also have screenshot w/# of gids on a full charge

extra credit: What would even be more interesting is a Leaf Spy screenshots like http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=488787#p488787 after LBW and and another w/the about the charge level as "30 kWh, at a little below half battery, 3.73 V average cell voltage".

 

[Oils4AsphaultOnly]

but your attempt to appear informed is going *really* badly. Are you trolling for customers ?

Trolling for customers???? Customers of what???? I'm not selling anything.

Tell you what, I thought I was sharing. I'll just delete my post.

Some people are just Non-Believers and Morons, I can't change that.

I'm just saying that was "my experience". And that was because in a previous thread 6 months ago other people also wrote they brought their car (this was also in California) to the Dealer, they uploaded "new software code" then said "you no longer qualify"; because your battery LED Bars now show stronger health. WTF is that?????

I guess Nissan's "Goodwill Program" doesn't apply to California Residents is what I'm saying.

I will upload my (3) pics that I promised I would, the one from my Dash that shows with the "New" and "upgraded stronger 2016-2017 year battery". I will upload the Drive Mode Range which should show 106-1107-108-109; and in Eco Mode Range of 117-118-119. Like I said it's not consistent. And with cold weather now I noticed the range is lower. Even in California it's been getting chilly. On the warm summer days my Leaf's range would show higher but in Cold weather the range shows less. And the 3rd pic will be the Receipt from the Dealer showing they installed a newer / stronger battery out of the 2016-2017; instead of the original battery out of the 2011-2015 year model Leafts.

After that I'll delete my post for Persons Non-Grata who don't appreciate sharing information.

This my 1st EV and there are lots lots of people who would probably glean good information from this just not you in Colorado and not and the other two non-believers. :evil: :evil: :evil: :twisted:

Speaking for myself, I appreciate your sharing, but if you're sharing bad info, then that hurts the community.

Many of us here are cynics, so your bad experience with the dealership is almost par for the course. There are some good dealers, and people have pointed them out. We just don't expect much from the rest of the dealership flock.

The remaining sticking point for me is whether or not you REALLY did get a 30kwh battery. Nothing you've pointed out proves that you did, but we would all LOVE to be proven wrong about this, as many are hoping to upgrade the batteries on their pre-2016 leaf's.

So, can I leafspy your car?

 

[cwerdna]

Speaking for myself, I appreciate your sharing, but if you're sharing bad info, then that hurts the community.
...
The remaining sticking point for me is whether or not you REALLY did get a 30kwh battery. Nothing you've pointed out proves that you did, but we would all LOVE to be proven wrong about this, as many are hoping to upgrade the batteries on their pre-2016 leaf's.

So, can I leafspy your car?

+100. And yes, I too would love to be proven wrong.

 

[trangen1]

I'm currently at work. I just topped off my battery charge yesterday. Give me couple of days to recharge to FULL and take some Dash Pics and get the Receipt form Dealer and THEN I'll upload everything as an Img.

Seeing is believing for you Cynics.

 

[trangen1]

How do you Leafspy my car??? what is that???

 

[Valdemar]

My most definitely 24kWh replacement pack would show 125 miles range on the GOM for a couple of days after replacement. And I observed over- 100 mile estimates for quite some time after that. Believing what you seeing can be ignorance.

 

[finman100]

Give it time. that "30 kWh" battery will soon show itself to not be 30 kWh. GOM be damned. Soon, that "30 kWh" battery will only take you 75-80 miles consistently. NOT 107.

Brand new, my '14 SV would routinely show 107 miles (with Eco mode on), after a full charge. Balanced cells, good temps (PNW is pretty ideal for EVs!). Oh how i miss those days of yesterday. 'Course, I could never actually drive 107 miles an that one charge...

So, soon this too shall pass for the mythical bigger battery in an older Leaf. Still, it's a great feeling to rejuvenate an oldie!

Enjoy it while it lasts.

 

[trangen1]

No, I found out before, even before the battery upgrade. the rating or reading is not consistent.

If I charged my LEAF using the Quick Charge 400+ volts, the reading would always be lower. I've never charged my leaf at home using either 110/120V or my home 220/240V.

When I charged using 400+ quick charge the Battery would only go up to 98%, like 59 miles range.

And when I charged slower using 240V the reading would show 69 miles range.

anyway let me load up the PICS, and you'll see. Seeing is believing.