Things You REALLY Need to Know When Shopping for a Used Leaf

[cwerdna]

Bump. I'm just about done with this. The idea is to have a document that can be reposted (by others) to sites like Facebook so people have this information BEFORE they start looking to buy. Final comments, please.

I have other higher priority things going on my side right now (e.g. I cannot move when my taxes are due as I'd filed for an extension + day job + other items). I figure it can be a living document that's revised from time to time.

I may not be able to give it a thorough look until after Oct 15th.

Tony's range charts are at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=4295.

Heater mods I quickly found for '11 and '12s:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=6751 - the original one
https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=20446
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=11412

Insulating the heater mod for '11 and '12s: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=15392.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Thanks for the links, Cwerdna! And I wasn't picking on you in particular. I'm just hoping to have a good, useful first version done, so that if it gets posted elsewhere now it won't need immediate corrections or additions.

 

[GerryAZ]

Just to make sure there is no confusion: Neither an LBC (lithium battery controller--Nissan name, also called BMS for battery management system) nor an actual traction battery replacement done by a LEAF Certified dealer will reset the DCQC and L1/L2 charge counts displayed by LEAF Spy Pro.

Also, it should be noted that L1/L2 charge count will increment if a charge timer is set and the car is plugged in outside of the programmed charge time. Charge count will also increment if climate control is activated by climate control timer or remote access while the car is plugged in if it is not actively charging. Therefore, one L1 or L2 charge cycle could increase the charge counter by 1, 2, or 3 counts.

 

[LeftieBiker]

While "increment" is perfectly correct above, clarity would suggest using "increase" or "increase by one" at least once, to make it clearer.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Thanks. I had help.

 

[Electricdreams]

Thanks for that.
You have helped me decide.
I'm off to vew a nice 2018 Ford Mondeo diesel this afternoon.

 

[ncprius2]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong on following advice on how to tell if a leaf has a 30kwh or 24kwh battery.

A 2017 or newer has a 30kwh battery. The 2015 and earlier have 24kwh battery. When looking at 2016 look at first 4 characters of VIN: if 4th
item is "A" it has 24kwh, but if "B" it has 30kwh.

See also https://fenix.systems/leafbattery and http://leaf380.com for info on
replacement batteries with all new, not rebuilt, cells.

 

[LeftieBiker]

IIRC, all 2016 SV and SL Leafs have the 30kwh pack, with only the S switching from 24 to 30kwh during the Summer of 2016 (July...?).

 

[Astros]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong on following advice on how to tell if a leaf has a 30kwh or 24kwh battery.

A 2017 or newer has a 30kwh battery. The 2015 and earlier have 24kwh battery. When looking at 2016 look at first 4 characters of VIN: if 4th
item is "A" it has 24kwh, but if "B" it has 30kwh.

Yes, that's correct. And for the future, 40kWh Leafs also all have "A" as the fourth character of their VIN, while the 62kWh Leafs have "B".

 

[Yogi62]

Is there a way to physically/visually confirm which battery pack (pre 4/2013, canary, llizard) pack is in a car? Is there some labeling on the batteries themselves, or serial numbers in leaf spy that might help?

I ask for two reasons:

1. Someone might be looking at a 2011-2013 and the pack may have been replaced, or claimed to have been replaced. How can you verify it?

2. I have a "3/2013" SV (no QC) and with 44,587 miles it has 12 bars and 86.16% SOH. I'd like to verify what I got.

It could be doing well because it was always garaged and out of the sun (kept cool), charged to 80% slowly (often on 4.4KW adapter) and never driven below 20% except on rare occasions and never turtled.

It could also be I got lucky and the line pulled a good battery for the build. Did they stop using the old battery exactly when they started stamping 4/2013 on the label? Someone with "4/2013" may also want to figure out if they are unlucky.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I think you have to run the car's service history using the VIN and a cooperative Nissan dealer. The battery cases are different, but it can be hard to tell with the battery in the car.

 

[gschettl]

Hi, I'm shopping for a used LEAF but want to limit my search to only those with internally heated packs for this Minnesota climate.
Can anyone spell out the LEAF VIN naming convention?
Specifically is there a way to know if the car came with the cold weather battery heater option just by deciphering the Vehicle Identification Number?
If not, how do I tailor my search to only those cars with internally heated battery packs when often the seller doesn't know and I need confirmation before buying?

 

[LeftieBiker]

The only Leafs without battery heaters will be most 2011 Leafs - and maybe a few early 2012 cars. Since those will have terrible range in Winter anyway, just look for a Leaf built 4/2013* or later, and it will have both the battery heater and the better battery chemistry.





* There may be at least one April build with the old chemistry. To be really, really safe, look for a Leaf built 5/2013 or later. I'll have to put this new caveat in the guide.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Thanks for writing and posting this guide. I'm looking into getting a used Leaf to replace my aging 2010 Civic and this guide is a great starting point for those just learning about second hand EVs. I appreciate you taking the time.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Thanks for writing and posting this guide. I'm looking into getting a used Leaf to replace my aging 2010 Civic and this guide is a great starting point for those just learning about second hand EVs. I appreciate you taking the time.

I was seeing so many people posting here who had just bought a Leaf with 8 or even fewer bars for too much money that I really had little choice. I still see a few, and would like to see the guide distributed more widely than this site. Feel free to post it to Facebook and other places, unchanged.

 

[nlspace]

Just found this shopping guide after driving a 2012 with 8 bars for the past month, wish i had seen it sooner...

 

[erco]

Great guide, leftiebiker. Very helpful to have so much important material in a single thread. Thanks for doing this.

 

[LeftieBiker]

It's supposed to show up at the top of the forum list it's in automatically, but I think everyone uses the "new post" list option, so it's still hard to find.

 

[jlv]

Bump. The first post in this topic is the one you want.

Now that this is pinned again, I think you can stop posting bumps.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Bump. The first post in this topic is the one you want.

Now that this is pinned again, I think you can stop posting bumps.

I think that most people use the listing view that just shows new posts in all forums. I'll bump less often but that is the only way to make it appear in that listing.