The Battery Replacement Thread

Ok, I am still a little bit confused one the capacity warranty. I know its 5 years/60k. But what is the offical replacement threashold? "Below 3 bars" would mean the next day after you hit 3 bars you are technically below three bars...is it only when you hit 4 bars? or is it when the capacity drops below 70% (I am assuming they have to measure and test it to verify)?

Going off "its when you hit 4 bars" is easy because its a very visable indicator, but what is the "offical nissan threashold"?

Pipcecil said:

Ok, I am still a little bit confused one the capacity warranty. I know its 5 years/60k. But what is the offical replacement threashold? "Below 3 bars" would mean the next day after you hit 3 bars you are technically below three bars...is it only when you hit 4 bars? or is it when the capacity drops below 70% (I am assuming they have to measure and test it to verify)?

Going off "its when you hit 4 bars" is easy because its a very visable indicator, but what is the "offical nissan threashold"?

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I interpret it as the warranty kicks in when you lose bar 4. That also matches the roughly 70% mark. Here's the verbiage that was in the "Warranty Enhancement Letter" that I received from Nissan. (This is the same letter that announced the P3227 update).

Nissan said:

EXPANDED WARRANTY COVERAGE

In addition to the existing lithium-ion battery coverage provided under the Nissan Electric Vehicle Limited Warranty for defects in materials or workmanship, the lithium-ion battery for your 2011 or 2012 Nissan LEAF is now also warranted against capacity loss below nine (9) bars (or approximately below 70 percent) as shown on the vehicle’s battery capacity level gauge for a period of 60 months or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first.

This warranty covers any repairs needed to return battery capacity to a level of nine remaining bars on the vehicle’s battery capacity level gauge. If possible, the lithium-ion battery components will be repaired or replaced, and the original battery pack will be returned to the vehicle. If necessary, the lithium-ion battery will be replaced with either a new or remanufactured battery. Any repair or replacement made under this Lithium-Ion Battery Capacity Coverage may not return the battery to an “as new” condition with all 12 battery capacity bars, but it will provide the vehicle with a capacity level of nine bars or more on the battery capacity level gauge.

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I believe that the official process once you loose the fourth bar is for the dealer to hook up their Consult III+ and look at the capacity to see if it is 70% or below. That is the official trigger for the warranty. Technically, you would be a little below this mark by the time the fourth bar goes away (15% plus 3 X 6.25%)...

jhm614 said:

I interpret it as the warranty kicks in when you lose bar 4. That also matches the roughly 70% mark.

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RegGuheert said:

I'm wondering if you will get a second new battery under the warranty, assuming you don't swap for a "high-temperature" one soon.

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Based on my first battery's performance, I will hit the 60,000 mile limit way before I would come close to a 2nd battery. In fact, I might not lose my first bar on the new battery before I hit the limit. It will be close.

DaveinOlyWA said:

too bad it isnt June instead of Sept...

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As someone that has to live through that heat, I'm not sure I agree :lol:

jhm614 said:

RegGuheert said:

I'm wondering if you will get a second new battery under the warranty, assuming you don't swap for a "high-temperature" one soon.

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Based on my first battery's performance, I will hit the 60,000 mile limit way before I would come close to a 2nd battery. In fact, I might not lose my first bar on the new battery before I hit the limit. It will be close.

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In that case, I'd be inclined to hold onto that "hot battery" Get-Out-of-Jail-Free-Card (if/when you get it) for as long as possible before cashing it in.

jhm614 said:

DaveinOlyWA said:

too bad it isnt June instead of Sept...

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As someone that has to live through that heat, I'm not sure I agree :lol:

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That's exactly what I was thinking!

Dave, how insensitive of you!

Got the call today that my battery was in at the dealer - taking it in on Monday to get the battery replaced

Ironically, it was a day in which I had to do enough mid-day errands that I needed a QC. But if I had the new battery, I would have been fine.

It's awesome to see the 57.9 miles to go on your four bar loser at 4.0 miles/kWh.

When we tested the first four-bar-loser last September, it went 59.3 miles in the same conditions.

September 15, 2012 LEA Range Autonomy Demonstration, Phoenix, ArizonaF

The dash display of Battery Capacities per Nissan documents are as follows:

53.75% - 59.99% - 7 segments of 12 illuminated
60.00% - 66.24% - 8 segments of 12 illuminated
66.25% - 72.49% - 9 segments of 12 illuminated
72.50% - 78.74% - 10 segments of 12 illuminated
78.75% - 84.99% - 11 segments of 12 illuminated
85.00% - 100.0% - 12 segments of 12 illuminated


Following is the performance of each car from September 15, 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona, almost one year ago!!!

phxsmiley said:

Got the call today that my battery was in at the dealer - taking it in on Monday to get the battery replaced

Ironically, it was a day in which I had to do enough mid-day errands that I needed a QC. But if I had the new battery, I would have been fine.

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'Grats on getting the call!

TonyWilliams said:

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Interesting -- is 494 the Vin? If so, it popped out of the womb right after mine...

jhm614 said:

Interesting -- is 494 the Vin? If so, it popped out of the womb right after mine...

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That was Scott's LEAF. His pending lease return was one of the reason's why Tony selected September 15 for the range test.

surfingslovak said:

jhm614 said:

Interesting -- is 494 the Vin? If so, it popped out of the womb right after mine...

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That was Scott's LEAF. His pending lease return was one of the reason's why Tony selected September 15 for the range test.

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I don't have the data directly in front of me, but ya, all those 2011 cars were typically 3 or 4 digit VINs. I do know that Red500 was in fact VIN #500.

TonyWilliams said:

I don't have the data directly in front of me, but ya, all those 2011 cars were typically 3 or 4 digit VINs. I do know that Red500 was in fact VIN #500.

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I just noticed that it's on the Wiki. Scott's car was a May 2011 delivery with a higher VIN. In hindsight, the capacity loss he experienced was nothing short of breathtaking: 4 bars in 14 months and 28,000 miles. He literally smoked the pack in about a year. Incredible!



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Notes about tokenride's experiences:

Annoucing the replacement

Dates of Bar Loss & Worries about the Warranty

Possibility of being the first CA replacement

not getting a hot battery certificate, being one of the two parties in the class action suit

Also, I think tokenride is the first non-wiki 4BL that we know.

My new battery came in, and my Leaf has been at the dealer for 3 days now, trending to the fourth. The battery was replaced early on, but something happened and the dealer is telling me that the new battery doesn't appear to have much more capacity than the old battery. I asked them if they reset the BMS (felt a little like a know-it-all), and they said they followed the procedure for the swap-out, and they have done a few of these battery swaps and not seen this behavior before. They have a call in to Nissan to help them out.

I can tell from the Leaf app that it was charged to 100% once on day 2, then it has been sitting idle ever since then. I am now hoping that they don't give the car back to me with this battery, as it has been sitting with a 100% full battery for several days in the 100+ degree outdoors!

The Nissan rep has called me and said that he is in touch with the dealer and will give me daily reports. I have a nice Nissan Altima as a loaner car.

Picked up the car today. The battery had to be replaced again because of a procedural problem installing the battery, but this one appears to be worth the wait!

Original Pack Before: Ahr = 46.6 (71.0%); Hlth = 50.34%
New Pack After: Ahr = 64.92 (98.96%); Hlth = 97.73%

So, technically speaking, this is now my third battery, since I had a battery replaced on Tuesday but and they replaced it again 3 days later on Friday. They think the second battery was good, but the BMS (or another computer, they were a little fuzzy with details) may not have been properly reset before installation. However, just to be sure, they overnighted a battery and gave me a third one, then they'll test the second battery to see what happened.

The battery hasn't been charged to 100% yet - not sure if that matters for the above readings.

I was glad it wasn't charged to 100%, since it was about 105 out, and I didn't want it sitting out there at full if I could help it.

It's amazing to have the range back to like-new! Thanks Nissan! SOC was only 73% when I picked it up, but that was 211 GIDs - 15 more GIDs than than I used to have on a full battery at the start of the week.

The Nissan EV support tech was calling me with status each day. I definitely was impressed with their level of support and he seemed like he was an advocate.

I also asked about the coupon/voucher for the 'Hot Battery', and the Nissan EV support tech did research this, and says that this will be sent to us in Spring 2014. He requested that I contact him on a regular basis (monthly or bi-weekly) for an update on this status. He says that another Leaf owner (I believe that's jhm614) also requested information about this when he had his battery replaced.

Good to hear, thank you so much for sharing the experience. It would be great if you could catalog the health and capacity of the new battery. Even once a month would be plenty to spot any trends. This could be especially interesting if and when you qualify for the new more heat-resistant battery next year.

I believe the batteries are the same, its the latest software upgrade and me being a better hypermiler, that has help me increase M/KWH..

jhm614 said:

I know Mark1313 has already gone through the process but I've had trouble keeping up with his posts. Other replacements will start happening soon. So, I though we should have a Battery Replacement Thread.

Some of Mark's comments are here:

Getting the 4BL confirmed

Possible Pack Cost & Timing of the upgrade

I think the pack price was incorrect but I can't find that post.

Longer recharge time on refreshed battery

3 Day turn on replacement

Possible Range Improvement on New Pack (but probably not)

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I am wondering if any one who had their battery replaced under warranty got the voucher for a future "hot battery" replacement?

We were told in Phoenix that this was something that would happen sometime later - likely mid next year - when the release of the hot battery was more imminent... Remember that it is still undergoing testing and could, technically, be delayed or withdrawn if problems arise in the last 20% of testing...

myleaf said:

I am wondering if any one who had their battery replaced under warranty got the voucher for a future "hot battery" replacement?

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phxsmiley said Spring 2014

I also asked about the coupon/voucher for the 'Hot Battery', and the Nissan EV support tech did research this, and says that this will be sent to us in Spring 2014.

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