Model Year Analysis Paralysis

[Rhyph]

Howdy folks! Looooooong time listener first time....? That's probably not accurate either, I've been a member here since 2012, we had a Leaf back then, I'm pretty sure we had posts but I don't see them anymore, we were deep into the early days of LeafSpy, etc. and it seems the forums have generationally changed a bunch too!

Anyway, my head is spinning as we're looking for a good clean car for my retired mother (living with us). She doesn't drive much (less than 100 miles a month in total), and seems like a Leaf is probably a good fit for her. I figured this was the best place on the internet to come ask questions!

Setting aside price, out of what I'm seeing I've narrowed our search down to three different cars: a 2015 SL w/67k miles on it, a 2016 SL w/32k miles and a 2017 SV w/33k miles on it.

What I'm having trouble with is deciding over some of the technical aspects of the year model differences between the three of them. I know at some point (seeing hints to 2015 and earlier?) the telematics system had changes/upgrades necessary for 2G to 3G for example, but I can't confirm what year it affects, and is it any of these 3 model year cars we are looking at. Is there anything we should be aware of regarding 3G and it's longevity and does Nissan have plans to deal with "the future"?

The rest of the features are pretty straight forward and it doesn't seem like much changed between the three years (2015-2017) on SL vs SV.

The other information I'd love to know is from those of you who have been with these cars over that period of time, if you had your choice, which model year would you go with out of the three and why would you make that choice?

Thanks in advance!

 

[LeftieBiker]

Have you read my buying guide?

https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=26662&p=538030

 

[Rhyph]

Have you read my buying guide?

https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=26662&p=538030

I did and it was very helpful, thank you! In fact, I learned a few more things in our absence from having a Leaf about what all has happened with the batteries from your post. So I think we're down to why to choose from any of these 3 cars and maybe the telematics upgrade information/questions.

 

[cwerdna]

https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1107682_nissan-offers-2g-leaf-owners-a-199-3g-upgrade-with-just-24-days-left
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2018/MC-10152513-9999.pdf

There's also the issue of https://www.att.com/support/article/wireless/KM1324171/ in 2022. The 3G TCUs use AT&T, IIRC.

https://www.nissanusa.com/connect/support-faqs.html after clicking on NissanConnect EV for 2011 to 2015 says in a question about whether it'll connect to a 4G network:
"No. The new TCU hardware will be designed to connect to the current AT&T 3G cellular network."

Obviously, the '16 SV and '16 SL and all '17 Leafs have more range (107 mile EPA range rating vs. 84 miles) due to their 30 kWh batteries. You won't have rear heated seats on '17 SV. See specs tab of https://usa.nissannews.com/en-US/releases/release-f6fcf40f78a54118a8a01526272638f0-us-2017-nissan-leaf-press-kit.

 

[LeftieBiker]

My current advice on the 30kwh battery Leaf is to get one if: A: The car still has at least 11 capacity bars WITHOUT the BMS update ever having been done, B: the car has at least 11 bars more than six months AFTER the BMS update, or C: the car has fewer than 10 bars AFTER the update has been done and the BMS has recovered from the reset involved. Option C holds the promise of a new, free 40kwh battery being installed by Nissan, but there is a LOT of inconvenience involved, and the possibility that no free battery will be forthcoming - or that it will be a leftover 30KWH pack from some parts department shelf.