has anyone actually paid for an out of warranty battery replacement

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

DrR

Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2020
Messages
13
Hello all,

I tried to search the forum for this so apologize if this has been discussed.

I am ready to replace the battery on my leaf. It sucks that Nissan has jacked up the price to ~$8K.

I know there are a few third party options but they don't seem very palatable. Simon Andre is offering a software module for $1K , but I have to still find a salvage battery and a shop that will help me replace it. I have never bought anything from salvage so I am not too excited about this prospect.

Fenix power seems to be in the Carolina's . Anyone know of a third party option in California where there may be the largest number of Nissan leaf's

I may sucker up to giving Nissan $8K just because I love the car.

AR
2012 Nissan Leaf SL
42600 miles
7 bars
central coast, CA
 
You seem to be asking one question in the topic title, and a different one in the post. Yes, people have indeed paid Nissan for a new, out of warranty battery. No, no one has had a Fenix battery installed yet. Your current options are either a new or used Leaf battery, or a third party extended pack to swap cargo space for some more range.
 
Don't worry about fenix, they will probably do a few Nissan to Nissan swaps and file for bankruptcy.
Since Nissan already has a liquid cooled leaf pack, all they have to do is start putting them in cars.
 
LeftieBiker said:
You seem to be asking one question in the topic title, and a different one in the post. Yes, people have indeed paid Nissan for a new, out of warranty battery. No, no one has had a Fenix battery installed yet. Your current options are either a new or used Leaf battery, or a third party extended pack to swap cargo space for some more range.

Were there any reports about people replacing at the current price? I know some did buy at the pre-increase price but haven't been following the forum as much lately.
 
Were there any reports about people replacing at the current price? I know some did buy at the pre-increase price but haven't been following the forum as much lately.


I seem to remember one or two. I don't think anyone has yet posted that they've paid significantly more than $8k, which has been quoted by a few dealers.
 
In a private Leaf FB group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/nissan.leaf.owners.group/permalink/3344365628967588/), the poster (initials PC) paid in full to get his '12 Leaf battery pack replaced. It came out to $6996.52.

He posted a picture of his receipt. Interestingly, the pack is back down to $5499. The rest of it was other parts, labor ($650 of it) and sales tax ($486.39).

It has an "R.O. OPENED" date of 12/31/19 and his invoice date is 1/7/20.

Dealer was Larry H. Miller Nissan Mesa in Arizona.
 
cwerdna said:
... the poster (initials PC) paid in full to get his '12 Leaf battery pack replaced. It came out to $6996.52.

thanks for finding and posting the details.

i wonder if it has the same cells as the original, so you're just resetting the capacity and it starting the clock again.

This looks like an average of ~$1k per year additional cost just for the OEM battery pack, ($7k for 7 years use). Kinda negates any savings for energy costs of electric vs gasoline.

Lack of an active pack Thermal Management System relegates Laefs as limited-range city commuter cars only. They may have Chademo and nationwide GPS, but those are just gimmicks for marketing and are useless without a Real TMS.
 
nlspace said:
cwerdna said:
... the poster (initials PC) paid in full to get his '12 Leaf battery pack replaced. It came out to $6996.52.
i wonder if it has the same cells as the original, so you're just resetting the capacity and it starting the clock again.
That guy had a '12. No, it shouldn't be the same as the lousy original chemistry. Search https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=17168&p=374490 for lizard. Also see https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13192&p=320754&hilit=testing#p320754 from before the "lizard" pack became available.

Leftie at https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=26662 summarized what we know about the 24 kWh packs.

We've had reports from folks that the lizard packs hold up better. Example: https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=24209&p=499072&hilit=lizard+bars#p499072
 
nlspace said:
cwerdna said:
... the poster (initials PC) paid in full to get his '12 Leaf battery pack replaced. It came out to $6996.52.

thanks for finding and posting the details.

i wonder if it has the same cells as the original, so you're just resetting the capacity and it starting the clock again.

This looks like an average of ~$1k per year additional cost just for the OEM battery pack, ($7k for 7 years use). Kinda negates any savings for energy costs of electric vs gasoline.

Lack of an active pack Thermal Management System relegates Laefs as limited-range city commuter cars only. They may have Chademo and nationwide GPS, but those are just gimmicks for marketing and are useless without a Real TMS.

That conclusion of no savings is incorrect. You saved mucho buckos with the original battery. Now, the new battery will be giving you savings for the next decade.... Forward....

I keep all my cars for 20+ years and plan to change the battery when needed. The cost is very fair if it is to keep a no-maintenance vehicle going for a decade. About what people spend in cigarette per year.

PS - DON'T SAY, "WHAT IF IS IS TOTALED". I considered that already.
 
My 2011 battery was replaced by Nissan just outside of the warranty period a little less than 3 years ago. Back when they were more "cooperative", they offered to pay 80% if I paid 20%. I took them up on the deal...

Fast forward, if I were going to pay for a pack replacement now, I would try to use this Costco program that offers 15% off on dealer service. You go to the link below, put in your Costco credentials, and then you are referred to a dealer (Nissan in this case) that is a participant in the program. The dealer then offers a 15% discount for parts and service, up to $500 maximum, and it's good for most brands of cars that use the dealership model of service...

https://www.costcoauto.com/parts_and_service/
 
Randy said:
My 2011 battery was replaced by Nissan just outside of the warranty period a little less than 3 years ago. Back when they were more "cooperative", they offered to pay 80% if I paid 20%. I took them up on the deal...

Fast forward, if I were going to pay for a pack replacement now, I would try to use this Costco program that offers 15% off on dealer service. You go to the link below, put in your Costco credentials, and then you are referred to a dealer (Nissan in this case) that is a participant in the program. The dealer then offers a 15% discount for parts and service, up to $500 maximum, and it's good for most brands of cars that use the dealership model of service...

https://www.costcoauto.com/parts_and_service/
So if I did my math correct, 15% of the $7k posted above would be $1050, capped at a $500 maximum you'd save a cool $500, not bad if the dealer wasn't $500 higher than other nonparticipating dealers in your area. Too bad they had to have the cap, $1k would be even nicer.
 
Thank you all for the replies and thanks for the Costco link.

I may go for the dealer replacement since it’s the last hassle and let’s me keep the car.

Hopefully, the new ‘lizard’ chemistry adds another 80k miles or so.
 
It will be interesting to see if you get an old stock Lizard pack, a 30kwh pack (also old, now) or a down-rated 40kwh pack. I suggest you ask for that info up front, as even a Lizard pack could be down 10% before installation.
 
LeftieBiker said:
It will be interesting to see if you get an old stock Lizard pack, a 30kwh pack (also old, now) or a down-rated 40kwh pack. I suggest you ask for that info up front, as even a Lizard pack could be down 10% before installation.

I wonder if they (Nissan) decided to give a 40 kwh replacement battery, but only give you access to the original 24 kwh.

Even if they did that, would that mean that the new battery will deteriorate at a MUCH SLOWER RATE than a true 24 kwh because of the extra cells in the 40 kwh battery? I'm thinking that there will be more cells (in parallel), so the battery will not be working so hard???
 
Calendar losses prevail so the overall degradation will be about the same, however given the large inaccessible buffer the usable 24kwh will be unaffected for long time as the losses will affect the buffer until there's none, or should do so anyway.
 
Valdemar said:
Calendar losses prevail so the overall degradation will be about the same, however given the large inaccessible buffer the usable 24kwh will be unaffected for long time as the losses will affect the buffer until there's none, or should do so anyway.
Also, if the buffer was on both top and bottom, the loss would be rather slower.
 
I have been thinking we are well over a year or so overdue for a third party replacement. I don't think it will be Fenix. They have been fishy from the start. They seem to be on "Fundable" https://www.fundable.com/fenix-power. I guess the deposits haven't been enough. It really is a tragedy. Besides, I don't want another monthly bill, I want a new battery. I don't think these guys have enough sense to understand the risk involved with a rented battery. Who (and how) is the repo going to work when needed? It isn't as simple as they think. Stick with the battery business if that is your business, leave the credit up to the customer.

I figure as soon as I donate the car (or trade it) the solution will show up. I hate the "not-knowing" part.

I was quoted $8025.59 after a $150 diagnostic nonsense charge.
LeafBattQuote.png
(they cant even spell *Declined* correctly. These quotes are real. I flipped out since I was expecting the 5k promise price. I also went to the sales folks and asked for a trade on a new leaf. They would not budge and actually wouldn't give me squat for the car on trade. The dealer blamed the mess on Nissan. They said don't take it out on the dealer, --right.

The other thing is that it will have to be a third party that comes to the table. There is a zero percent chance Nissan will reduce the "Part/repair" price. Aftermarket sales with OEMs is doing nothing but have parts and service go up. It is a secondary revenue that OEMs are milking hard these days and the dealer makes the money there. The OEM wants to sell cars.

I do love the car. I have 2. A 2012 in SoCal and a 2013 in Atlanta with 11 bars.

7 bar blues in SoCal
 
chazd1 said:
I was quoted $8025.59 after a $150 diagnostic nonsense charge. I have the written quote if someone wants to see it. These quotes are real. I flipped out since I was expecting the 5k promise price. I also went to the sales folks and asked for a trade on a new leaf. They would not budge and actually wouldn't give me squat for the car on trade. The dealer blamed the mess on Nissan. They said don't take it out on the dealer, --right.
...
I do love the car. I have 2. A 2012 in SoCal and a 2013 in Atlanta with 11 bars.

7 bar blues in SoCal
Yeah, not giving you squat on the trade doesn't surprise me. I wasn't going to get squat/dealer didn't want the car when I tried selling my 11 bar '13 Leaf SV w/premium (but no CHAdeMO) to 3 Nissan dealers (https://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=557892#p557892) almost a year ago. I think the dealers themselves will have a tough time selling it for much and they end up taking a risk if they try to do so. So, they might just send it to auction and give you auction value. That's what happens when they don't want the car.

A 7 bar '12 on the open market is probably worth like $3K to $3.5K.

As for don't take it out on the dealer, do realize that in many (most?) parts of the US, automakers can't own dealers. Google for tesla franchise laws if you want to read more about it.

I've not seen that Fundable page before and didn't know about the domain until now. Their 400K Leafs figure in the US is totally wrong. It's on the order of 142K (https://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=576697#p576697). Leaf is past 400K sales worldwide though.

Will reply more about Fenix later. I had thought more last night about even greater skepticism that they'll have a working product that's safe to use (e.g. from catching fire, short circuit, overcharge conditions besides sudden power loss and car going into limp mode) for real customers by end of 2020. And, whether they can stay afloat given the pricing model and lack of demand. I mean, GM has an elaborate battery lab (https://www.wired.com/2009/06/general-motors-3/) and must have a boatload of engineers just working on that. Fenix not long ago figured who out their cell supplier would be.
 
chazd1 said:
I have been thinking we are well over a year or so overdue for a third party replacement. I don't think it will be Fenix. They have been fishy from the start. They seem to be on "Fundable" https://www.fundable.com/fenix-powerI guess the deposits haven't been enough. It really is a tragedy. Besides, I don't want another monthly bill, I want a new battery. I don't think these guys have enough sense to understand the risk involved with a rented battery. Who (and how) is the repo going to work when needed? It isn't as simple as they think. Stick with the battery business if that is your business, leave the credit up to the customer.

I figure as soon as I donate the car or trade it the solution will show up. I hate the not knowing part.

I was quoted $8025.59 after a $150 diagnostic nonsense charge. I have the written quote if someone wants to see it. These quotes are real. I flipped out since I was expecting the 5k promise price. I also went to the sales folks and asked for a trade on a new leaf. They would not budge and actually wouldn't give me squat for the car on trade. The dealer blamed the mess on Nissan. They said don't take it out on the dealer, --right.

The other thing is that it will have to be a third party that comes to the table. There is a zero percent chance Nissan will reduce the "Part/repair" price. Aftermarket sales with OEMs is doing nothing but have parts and service go up. It is a secondary revenue that OEMs are milking hard these days and the dealer makes the money there. The OEM wants to sell cars.

I do love the car. I have 2. A 2012 in SoCal and a 2013 in Atlanta with 11 bars.

7 bar blues in SoCal

I too had a 7-bar 2011 and decided to replace my battery, but not through Nissan. Nissan was simply too expensive. The new battery will not degrade nearly as fast as your 2012. The chemistry in 2011/2012/pre-april 2013 was quite poor.

You have some options:
You can sell your car for $3500 on the open market (might be a tough ask in CA, but I sold a 7-bar with cosmetic damage for $3500 in Missouri).
You can pay Nissan $8k for a new battery with a new warranty.
You could replace the battery yourself with a battery pairing tool. You will need a warranty replaced battery from a 2012 to do this.
You could upgrade the battery yourself from a wrecked Leaf. You will need a muxsan CAN interpreter unit (or evsenhanced/simon andre). You could get a 40 kWh battery easily in your 2012.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h47rnjsD0Ys
You could get any 24kWh pack off a wrecked Leaf, open up both batteries, and swap the cells. This is the most dangerous path.
You can wait (at least) a year for Fenix, but it's unlikely they'll deliver on time.

Except for the Nissan path, all of these involve significant effort on your part. However, you can expect the cost to be around $3500-4000 instead of the $8k from Nissan.

Good luck.
 
Back
Top