Hi, I found this site after my 2019 Leaf SV began having issues with the charge dropping by 50% and warning that the car battery was low and had less than 5 miles of range. The car has 40,000 miles. I took it to the dealer. They have assured me that the battery is under warranty and are now waiting for Nissan to give them the okay to order a battery. Here is where my problem comes in: the dealer told me it may take 9 months for a replacement battery. They would like me to take my Leaf and drive it until the replacement battery comes in to the shop. While the thought of being stranded is enough to bother me while I wait for a replacement battery, I wonder about charging my battery at home. Will this be safe? I fear that something may happen to short out the battery and my home electrical system, including my solar system. Does anybody have any insight on the wait and the safety of charging a faulty battery.
2019 Nissan Leaf SV Battery Dead 40,000 miles
- Thread starter Paulo
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Paulo
I understand your frustration and concern. There are people that have cars that can’t drive at all and don’t get offered a loaner, some people do get offered a loaner. There are people that have bad batteries and no warranty coverage left. This means you’re in a better spot than some but you’re obviously not in as good a spot as someone without problems and it doesn’t mean your concerns are not valid. I just want to reassure you that these batteries are safe even if they have some problems like yours. This is the first mass production electric car and it has been around long enough for them to be confident sending you home with it. I would charge it to 100% and avoid the freeway when possible or drive easy and see what the car is able to do.
I understand your frustration and concern. There are people that have cars that can’t drive at all and don’t get offered a loaner, some people do get offered a loaner. There are people that have bad batteries and no warranty coverage left. This means you’re in a better spot than some but you’re obviously not in as good a spot as someone without problems and it doesn’t mean your concerns are not valid. I just want to reassure you that these batteries are safe even if they have some problems like yours. This is the first mass production electric car and it has been around long enough for them to be confident sending you home with it. I would charge it to 100% and avoid the freeway when possible or drive easy and see what the car is able to do.
Thanks, it is the charging at home that has me most worried. I would hate to have the car charging and it manage to short out my home electric or worse fry my solar panels. I appreciate the response and feel better. I do not have to drive a lot right now, and it sounds like this problem generally occurs under 50% charge. I am already a pretty easy driver. I will try to avoid the freeway, will just have to give myself 5 more minutes of time for work. The dealership has given me a loaner, was supposed to be for 2 days, going on 2 weeks. I don't mind putting miles on their vehicle. I did have to relearn how to pump gas!!
knightmb
Well-known member
Rest assured, all the annoying issues you are having with the battery is part of the protection that the BMS does to keep bad things from happening because of the battery. It is keeping cells from being too deeply discharged by limiting power, messing with the SOC dash readings and mileage readings. The BMS has an important job of keeping the battery in a safe, operating state.
Leaf fires have happened in the past +14 years but not much reporting is done to figure out why when you read about them. Every time an EV catches fire somewhere in the world there seems to be a big news cycle about it yet the thousands of ICE vehicles that catch fire every, single day don't even make the local news.
Learjet
Well-known member
I had cells replaced on my 2019 at 21,000 miles and at 37,000 miles still going strong. Hang in there.
martinwinlow
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The first mass produced EV was the Mitsubishi i-MiEV whose production started in 2009; the LEAF didn't start until the following year.
Tony 240
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I am a licensed Electrician who also has a solar system and as long as your electrical system for your charger has the proper fusing/ breaker(not oversized)there should be no problem. I would suggest charging with your level one charger that came with your leaf. the slower you charge the less heat that is built up. This takes longer to charge but could also get you more mileage from you battery.
Yes
I heard that it was the leaf, I guess I was wrong, I googled it just out of curiosity and it said the first mass production EV of the modern era is the EV1 by GM. My main point stands, the car has been around a long time and there are many safe guards as well as a long track record. You should be safe to keep using the car.
rogersleaf
Well-known member
Just curious if you happened to check battery temps while a rapid discharge event occurred? I had noticed the 40KWh battery in my ‘19 Leaf SL did not like cold battery temps (say cold-soaked to anything under @ 40F) combined with high electrical draw at lower States of Charge. Once rewarmed, the quirky fast discharge tendency went away and didn’t return. Not to say yours doesn’t have problems that will spawn a replacement, but try to maintain battery temps in the 70+F range during winter months. For myself in a cold midwest climate that meant parking inside the garage, nightly L2 charging, prewarming while plugged in, and sometimes a DCFC session was needed to elevate battery temps.
Tony 240
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In the cold it is wise to keep the Leaf plugged in all the time because when the charger is plugged in t also charges the 12 volt battery
Steve52
Well-known member
If you drive the vehicle regularly, you should have no issues with the 12 v battery, the vehicle will charge the 12 v battery during your regular drives. However, if you store it for long periods, do so at approximately 50 % charge on the traction battery and put a battery maintainer on the 12 v battery. Leaving the vehicle unused at 100 % traction battery for extended periods is not good for the battery.
Tony 240
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My 2012 Leaf manual says that the 12 volt battery is charged by the traction battery charger only when it is plugged into the charger or when driving. But does not charge the 12 volt battery when in the accessory mode
This is not true; when the charge has completed the EVSE is turned OFF
I did not check the battery temperature when this happened. It is winter in Wisconsin, so, definitely colder temperatures. The problem happened two times before taking the vehicle to the dealer. Both times the car was being driven on the highway and when the decrease showed up the car had been in use for at least 30 minutes. Both times that this happened the battery indicated between 42% and 48% battery left. The battery warning came up indicating less than 5 miles of range at which time the charge indicator dropped to 5%. The percentage did increase back to 20-22% before I reached my home destination. The dealer has indicated that the battery has gone bad, just waiting on Nissan to approve ordering a new battery.
Tony 240
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I normally have the charger Timer go off then back on about 1 hour before I leave. Then just in case I go out and unplug the charger cord from the car and back in which resets it.
I can add my experience of a few days ago, with my 22' SV+ 12V battery. Not long ago I had posted leaf spy data showing the main pack in fine shape. A couple of days later however, out of the blue, I went to start the leaf and was greeted by a dashboard full of very colorful lights and some fast relay clicks. After composing myself, and having a suspicion, I got my trusty Fluke DMM out and checked the 12V.... It read a very insufficient 6.8vdc. Next step was to use a portable 12V lithium pack with the OEM battery out of circuit. Using that the leaf woke up normally, and after taking about a minute to sort itself out, everything was back to normal, including what I know are nominal charging voltages. If I happen to live next-door to a Nissan dealer (but I don't because my local dealer services only "Coal Burners" and my servicing dealer is 50 miles away. Luckily, I did have a close neighbor who drove me into the local advance auto parts and there I picked up an Optima yellow top, which I knew would fit from previous discussions here. Everything is fine since. Been watching it on a DIY digital volt meter which I built up a year ago to plug into the lighter plug just in case. Also put on temporarily a voltage data logger, which I have and will be replacing tomorrow with a Bluetooth battery monitor, a BM2 for permanent use.
...Conclusion here is that the OEM battery suddenly developed a couple of shorted cells after only two years of use and a bit less than 9000 miles. Hopefully the Optima will go farther than a mere two years, and I'll be keeping a close eye on it...
...Conclusion here is that the OEM battery suddenly developed a couple of shorted cells after only two years of use and a bit less than 9000 miles. Hopefully the Optima will go farther than a mere two years, and I'll be keeping a close eye on it...
The OEM one in my car went 7 years, and was replaced by the P/O. The same battery in my diesel tractor has 6 years on it and going strong. We had one here say he got 12 years out of his battery. 2 years and something isn't right.
The traction battery charges the 12 volt for 4 min every 24 hours the car is not used, unless it detects that the 12 volt doesn't need the full 4 min. It does the same when plugged into the evse.
Group 51R's are not hard to come by, Any place that deals in batteries should either have one on hand or can get one in short order. The are a common Asian car battery.
The traction battery charges the 12 volt for 4 min every 24 hours the car is not used, unless it detects that the 12 volt doesn't need the full 4 min. It does the same when plugged into the evse.
Group 51R's are not hard to come by, Any place that deals in batteries should either have one on hand or can get one in short order. The are a common Asian car battery.
Steve52
Well-known member
Hi, I've had trouble leaving my Leaf unused for long periods which seems to contradict what you've said here. I left my Leaf in my garage for about a month with ~50% SOC on the traction battery, 12 V battery was a few years old. When I returned, the traction battery was still about 50% SOC but the 12 V battery was completely drained, couldn't open the door with the FOB and had to use the hidden key to get into the vehicle.
Have you seen other examples of the Leaf failing to maintain the 12 V's SOC during extended absence?
Thanks,
Steve
