Does main traction battery have any type of protection/skid plate underneath it?

[danelo]

What type or protection, if any, does the main traction battery have underneath it?

I hit a huge piece of broken tire on the freeway. More or less the whole lower few inches of the front of the car went underneath. The only big piece was the half of plastic bumper trim. Even though that plastic is not very stiff or hard, I am a bit concern that maybe some damage occurred to the traction battery when it went underneath the car. Other than some scuff marks, everything looks fine underneath the car.

 

[Drew21]

The panels you see when you look under your Leaf are there for aerodynamic purposes and offer minimal protection.

The battery is inside a relatively heavy-duty case above the aero panels and located roughly from the front of the front doors to the lower back edge of the rear doors.

If the aero panels are still intact, you're *probably* okay. If you're at all nervous, it's not that difficult to remove the aero panels (and infinitely easier in the desert than salty New England) to take a look for yourself. Or, pretty much any mechanic can easily remove the panels and do an inspection for you.

I would definitely check the front suspension for damage as well.

 

[Araknai]

yeahhhh the force it would take to do significant damage to the under side of the steel battery pack chassis would have launched you off the ground a bit.

 

[danelo]

Thanks for the help.

 

[MikeinPA]

Sorry to hear about this mishap.

The shell is fairly stiff, and there are rails inside between the modules and the lower shell. But still, check the shell for any distortion. You may want to think about having someone put it on a lift and look for any impact damage. If present, I think that would tell you the battery took a pretty hard impact.