Battery replacement

[H.L Castillo]

Nissan recommendations are to replace my battery.
Has anyone used a 3rd party to do this vs the dealer?

 

[cornbinder89]

And the not enough information award goes to....
12 volt or traction battery?
why?
what are the symptoms?
which model and model year?
current battery capacity?
where in this blue globe are you located?
If in the US there are some options I could pass along
If over seas, I would have no idea.

 

[H.L Castillo]

2017
40watt
Battery changed in 2021, only 1 yr warranty.
Problem with freeway driving, loss range. Nissan diagnostic shows bad cells, recommend battery replacement. Car stills does well on surface roads.
Arizona

 

[cornbinder89]

Green tec has a shop in Phoenix
Leaf repair network has a guy in Tx.
Geen tec is used cells
Leaf Repair Network is new cells.
Both do 40Kwh batteries.
Likely going to need tow of some sort for either one, unless you live in Phoenix.
Green tec also has shops in Las Vegas, LA and SanDiago if that helps any.

 

[cwerdna]

2017
40watt
Battery changed in 2021, only 1 yr warranty.
Problem with freeway driving, loss range. Nissan diagnostic shows bad cells, recommend battery replacement. Car stills does well on surface roads.
Arizona

40 watt? Battery capacity is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). The - is a hyphen or a dash, not a minus.

'17? No US Leafs came with 40 kWh packs. All '17 came with 30 kWh, but I guess you got a 40 kWh pack due to https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10171230-0001.pdf (NTB20-001).

Are you past 8 years/100K miles from original in-service date? Getting replacement parts should NEVER shorten your existing warranty. There is still an 8 year/100K mile (whichever comes first) battery capacity and battery defects warranty where the clock began counting from original in-service date. They could add up to 1 year/12K miles, if you had it done on the last day of the warranty and less if near warranty end.

 

[H.L Castillo]

We're at 102000 mi, in Phoenix.
Thank you for the info.

 

[H.L Castillo]

Another bit of info. On the diagnosis by nissan it reported 4 cells bad and they recommended full replacement. I read where there are 192 cells for the 40kw battery.
Does anyone know if it's possible to just replace those cells? They are numbered in the report.
Thanks

 

[cornbinder89]

Yes, it is possible, that is one of the design features of the Leaf battery.
Not an easy job, as the battery has to come out and the case opened. PPE and HV tools are needed, and a replacement cell.
Then there is the question of the condition of the rest of the cells, don't want to do 4 and have 6 more go bad the next month.
Dis assembling the pack is not hard, but does take a lot of care, both because of the HV present and the number and location of all the connection inside.
If I were 30,40 or may be in 50 and had a good workspace I might do the job myself, today I would farm it out.
Only you can assess your abilities and shop space.

 

[jrbe]

Who changed the battery, a Nissan dealer? Its odd that a recent battery is bad unless it was a poorly rebuilt battery.

If its from Nissan you might be able to push them to replace it.

Any documented complaints to Nissan of battery struggles before the 100,000 mile mark?

 

[H.L Castillo]

Nissan replaced the battery under warranty in 2021, but it only had a 1 yr warranty.
Car now has 102000.
At full charge 12 bars. Says 140 mileage range . Of course on the freeway it drops fast. In town not so much.

 

[jrbe]

Something seems really off. Did Nissan say you have one or more bad cells?

How many miles & how many fast and normal charge cycles on the new battery?

Any chance you have dragging brakes / bad alignment / weak 12v battery that are hurting your range?

 

[H.L Castillo]

Nissan said 4 bad cells. Maintenance check performed. No brake issue.
12 v battery replaced 6 months ago.

 

[Stanton]

Who changed the battery, a Nissan dealer? Its odd that a recent battery is bad unless it was a poorly rebuilt battery.

If its from Nissan you might be able to push them to replace it.

Any documented complaints to Nissan of battery struggles before the 100,000 mile mark?

The 40kWh packs are notorious for bad cells/modules (I have one).
It's already been said, but if it's your own nickel, you can either replace the cells/modules (4 is a lot--I only had 1)...or replace the whole pack (again). All depends on who/where you're going to do the work and source the modules and/or pack. For example, I had to "find" my own module (Nissan doesn't want to sell you individual modules) and paid an EV shop (in Dallas, TX) to replace it; as was mentioned, the work to replace a module(s) is almost more than to replace the whole pack (but obviously cheaper overall).

 

[H.L Castillo]

I've already pushed Nissan but they wouldn't warranty it.
I called a company here called Green tec. Recommendations on another thread. Their quote is higher than the dealer. By about 2k.
They don't replace. They recondition the owners own battery.
Better warranty than Nissan .
I'm still undecided on what to do.

 

[jrbe]

Might be worth a call to your local DMV. With the current mileage and the ongoing issue they might be able to help convince Nissan to warranty it.

It would likely help a lot if you had some paperwork showing a complaint of range issues on this new pack before 100k miles.