Battery Concern After Collision?

I got rear-ended hard enough that I ended up hitting the car in front of me. I had the car towed since the bumper was rubbing one tire and the "skid" plate was dragging on the ground. The police report estimated the speed I was hit as 25 MPH. It was a 2009 Prius. It looked a heck of a lot better than mine did. The rear hatch will not close.

This is a 2015 Leaf S that still has 12 bars of charge and usually has about 108 miles on the clock after a good charge.

While I was waiting for a tow truck I noticed the battery temp at 6 bars. I don't look at it very often because it's never been an issue. But 6 bars seemed a bit high, higher than what I've noticed before.

Are there any concerns with the batteries after a collision?

Ouch.

HRTKD said:

While I was waiting for a tow truck I noticed the battery temp at 6 bars. I don't look at it very often because it's never been an issue. But 6 bars seemed a bit high, higher than what I've noticed before.

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6 temp bars is not that high vs. how high it can get: https://web.archive.org/web/20170717073322/http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=22134.

Without Leaf Spy, due to the huge overlapping temp ranges, who knows what the real temp was? https://web.archive.org/web/20150102232028/http://www.electricvehiclewiki.com/Battery#Battery_Temperature_Gauge says it could be between 50 F and 100 F at 6 temp bars.

The battery is made up of a bunch of cells completely encased in a steel shell. As long as that exterior shell is undamaged I wouldn't worry about any damage to the cells from the collision. The g-forces will be pretty small due to the mass of the car and the fact that it moved when hit. Based on the pictures I would think the battery will be fine if the body damage can be repaired. If it's totaled the battery would be a good candidate for a swap or solar backup use.

Thanks, folks.

I have yet to get the latest recall done. This is the one that supposedly keeps the techs from electrocuting themselves.

I don't think there was enough damage to justify it being totaled, but I'll wait to see what the adjuster comes up with.

From this process, I found out that the tow adapter that goes into the bumper was missing from my car. Apparently the prior owner must have put it to use and then not returned it back to the car. It should be in the same compartment as the little compressor?

I think the car's totaled. Leafs have pretty poor resale value (good for buyers) and yours is an S trim.

That was my thought too. If the body is damaged behind the hatch that will be the end of it. If it's just the hatch, it might make it but from the looks of it I wouldn't bet on it.

Looks like you're in S. Denver somewhere.....I wonder where it will end up at auction. I would be tempted to buy it for the battery (for solar) and wheels if the price was right.

PS, this is way off topic but seems sort of relevant. I was at a stop light here in Boulder and saw what I thought was one of the Kia EV's drive by. Still had the temp plates on it. Then I turned and went down the road behind him by about 6 cars and saw a line of cars at a light and a driver who never even slowed down until he slammed into the last car. That car hit the one in front, which hit the one in front, which hit the one in front (5 cars in total were damaged). One of the cars in the middle was the brand spanking new Kia. While the damage wasn't as bad as yours I felt so sorry for the guy since the car couldn't have been more a few months old.

Yes, I'm south of Denver. Highlands Ranch.

The hatch is dented, but so is the bottom of the hatch's frame. It's quite obvious that it's bent in at least an inch. The rug and the hard material under it were bent up from the frame pushing on them. I may need to get my WeatherTech stuff out ASAP. The wheels are about 5 months old, the tires are maybe 6 weeks old. I have a matching set of wheels with Blizzaks on them.

If it does get totaled and you want to get rid of a set of wheels, let me know. I'm going to try a few boneyards soon to see if some Altima rims will work but if that doesn't pan out I might be in the market.

I'm guessing just replacing and repainting the bumper covers are over $1300 each. Then, there's the damage to the rear hatch, whatever in the front that's (presumably) causing problems w/the hood. It's going to really add up.

If your S trim is w/o the charge package (and thus w/3.x kW OBC and NO CHAdeMO), the chance of it being totaled goes up.

I do have the charge package.

It is technically repairable, but I suspect the other driver's insurance company will call it a total loss and do everything they can to minimize payment. A hit like that should not damage the battery. If they do repair it, make sure the body shop does not bake the car in a paint drying oven unless the battery is removed first.

My 2011 had a lot more damage in the rear, but no damage in front. It was repairable, but the other driver's insurance company declared it a total loss. I strongly recommend that you take lots of photos of the interior and undamaged portions of the car to document its condition. My car suffered additional damage in the insurance company's storage yard (grease stains throughout the interior and damage to the front from being moved around with a large fork lift). Since I did not have photos of the condition when it left my possession, it was difficult to fight their low-ball appraisals. I had to fight hard and drag out the negotiations for a month or two to get a somewhat reasonable settlement.

Edited to add: Nissan quit providing the front towing eye some time during the 2015 model year. Early ones came with it while later ones did not.

HRTKD said:

I got rear-ended hard enough that I ended up hitting the car in front of me.

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Me too, in 2014. The damage was a little more in back, but the hatch would actually open and close, with a lot of force. Less in front. Estimated repair was ~16k, from memory. Used prices were much higher then, and they totaled the car.

I'd expect the insurance company totals the car.

HRTKD said:

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While I was waiting for a tow truck I noticed the battery temp at 6 bars. I don't look at it very often because it's never been an issue. But 6 bars seemed a bit high, higher than what I've noticed before.

Are there any concerns with the batteries after a collision?

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It appears that the air bags didn't go off, and the fact that you could turn it ON to read the battery temperature indicates that the Vehicle Control Module (VCM) is happy with the state of the car and the EV battery. So it looks like no pack or critical sensor damage, else it wouldn't turn ON or go to READY.

The VCM will turn on the DC-DC converter periodically to charge the 12V, and eventually run down the pack, so at least disconnect the 12V negative terminal to prolong the life of the pack.

I've been out of town all week, so I'm playing phone tag with the insurance company (hers, not mine). It sounds like it's going to be repaired, not totaled.

HRTKD said:

I've been out of town all week, so I'm playing phone tag with the insurance company (hers, not mine). It sounds like it's going to be repaired, not totaled.

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Wow, I'm surprised, but happy for you (hopefully they will get the car repaired right!).

Change of plans. The insurance company contacted me today and it's a total loss. They're going to give me $10,845 for it. It's a bittersweet result as I really liked the car and the battery was in good shape. Plus, that's more than I paid for it two years ago. I'm going to see if they'll up that number since I just put new tires on it two months ago.

I'm not sure what I'm going to get to replace it. I thought I had a line on another 2015 Leaf but it was already sold.

Ask what the buy back price is. You might be able to pay less than $1k for it, then sell it for $3k for the good battery.

I'd happily pay $3k for a 12-bar 2015 battery, and I'm in the Denver area.

Too late. The salvage company already has the title and towed it away from the body shop.

I contested what the insurance company wanted to give me for the vehicle being totaled. What they paid ended up at around $12,800, but that also included $1,000 for custom wheels and new tires that were installed this year.

I have a hold on a 2019 Leaf. Hopefully the deal gets done within the next 10 days.