Considering purchasing 2012 with new battery, how does this look?

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

EvanG

New member
Joined
Jun 30, 2017
Messages
4
Location
Anaheim, CA, USA
Hi everyone,

I'm new to the Leaf and am considering purchase of a 2012 that had the battery replaced within the last month. Owner reports about 400 miles on the new battery. Car has 51k on it. I took some Leaf Spy screenshots, hopefully I captured everything I need to. I was surprised to see that the number of charges doesn't reset when the battery is replaced. Comments appreciated.

tPnrzf5.png
YRjP4uY.png
VYpo7p4.png
VqFu3SC.png
SFBq2Vl.png
 
Battery statistics look good. It is normal that the charge counts are not reset when the battery is replaced. I trust the owner has documentation that the battery was replaced (so you don't need to worry about capacity bar reset). If there is no documentation, I would do a range test to verify the actual battery capacity.
 
I sold my 2011 Leaf with 62,000 miles on it about 7 months after I got a new traction battery to a friend that wanted a used EV. She is retired and wanted one for limited driving around town. Then I moved up to a 2017 Leaf.

The AHr reading for the new battery in my 2011 Leaf was at 66.14 for several months before it started a slow change downward. I don't think you need to do a range test drive. It should give you decent range for a 24 kWh battery, and good regen.

My suggestions to the new owner were:
1). Do a break fluid flush replacement, after driving and getting familiar with the breaking. I had done one three years earlier.
2) keep an eye on the 12v battery. I had already replaced it about a year and a half earlier so it should be good for awhile, but take steps to make sure you don't accidentally drain it down. Occasionally give it an separate charge on a good battery charger.
3) you could also change the cabin air filter if desired.

Enjoy
 
Awesome, thank you both for your replies. There is documentation of the replacement, though I haven't looked at it closely. How likely is it to be a Lizard battery? If there's a chance of it being something else, is there a way to tell by the documentation or otherwise? I am planning to call 877-NOGASEV today to see what they have to say.

lkkms2 said:
keep an eye on the 12v battery. I had already replaced it about a year and a half earlier so it should be good for awhile, but take steps to make sure you don't accidentally drain it down. Occasionally give it a separate charge on a good battery charger.
What steps can I take to maintain the 12v battery aside from not leaving interior lights, headlights, or parking lights on? I've got a Battery Tender Junior that I can put on it if that would be beneficial.

From what little I've read, it sounds like accessories like the stereo and 12v accessory power plug are run off the 12v battery and the 12v battery is occassionally toppped up by the traction battery. Is that accurate?
 
As far as we know, all battery replacements after 2015 have been Lizard packs.

Use the Battery Tender. Check the 12 volt battery's resting voltage a few times a month, and that will tell you if you need to top it off regularly. Voltage below 12.5 indicates a low battery. 12.6 volts or better and you're fine.
 
jlv said:
The number of charges (466 QC and 314 L1/L2) seem to be very low given the number of miles.
You're right. 51,000 miles divided by (466+314) equals 65 miles between charges, on average, so I guess it was run down low a lot, or there is a discrepancy in the data. I'll have to hold on to this info so that I can subtract out the number of charges in the future to determine the number of charges on the replacement battery pack.
 
EvanG said:
jlv said:
The number of charges (466 QC and 314 L1/L2) seem to be very low given the number of miles.
You're right. 51,000 miles divided by (466+314) equals 65 miles between charges, on average, so I guess it was run down low a lot, or there is a discrepancy in the data. I'll have to hold on to this info so that I can subtract out the number of charges in the future to determine the number of charges on the replacement battery pack.

The average miles/charge is high, but not unreasonable. I have 43,672 miles with 81 QC and 718 L1/L2 charges on my 2015. My numbers include several short charge sessions when the car was new to verify it would charge at 120 volts from my small generator and 240 volts from my larger generator in case of emergency. The numbers also include some partial charges on days with extra driving as well as some remote climate control starts while plugged in. My average was over 57 miles/charge, but is now down to 54.7 due to frequent remote climate control starts during the recent heat waves. I have over 10k miles with sport performance tires (reduced efficiency by 15%) and my commute is mostly freeway with extensive A/C use so more efficient driving could easily yield an average of 65 miles/charge.

For future reference, the L1/L2 charge count will increment by 1 when the car is plugged in before the scheduled start time if a charge timer is active (onboard charger turns on briefly to check EVSE and then turns off to wait for scheduled charge start). The count then increments by 1 when charging starts at the scheduled time. If climate control starts (remote or timer) while plugged in after charge is complete, the L1/L2 charge count increments by 1. This means that one overnight charge cycle could increment the charge count by 1, 2, or 3 charge counts (depending upon timer and climate control use).
 
I am less concerned about QCs than I used to be because my Leaf Spy numbers (and ability of battery to absorb energy as determined by measuring power from the wall to charge from dead to full) increase when I QC.
 
Back
Top