The Battery Replacement Thread

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Thanks for being a purchase pioneer, 91040. $5640 seems like a positive bargain compared to the pain of a compromised car, and I will definitely consider this route myself should I fail to hit the magic mark before the capacity warranty expires. Now I know exactly how much it can be done for, I will push hard for a similar deal from my local dealer (or simply go to the same one you did).

Thankfully, my new commute is only 10-13 miles r/t (depending on which of 2 routes I take), but the car is getting to be pretty useless otherwise - just to get to Long Beach this weekend (32 miles r/t) I had to drive somewhat carefully to be certain of getting there and back without having to recharge (drove very carefully going and was able to drive "normally" coming back).

The only thing that might possibly stop me from getting a new battery pack on my own dime would be ample evidence that an affordable 200+ mile EV will become available in the fall of 2016 for the 2017 model year. That might well make me wait, especially if said vehicle turns out to be the Chevy Bolt.
 
fooljoe said:
Nobody knows exactly what causes the bar to drop, but the best guesses seem to be that after passing the threshold some amount of time or charge cycles or miles or something must pass before the bar drops. Would you happen to know when you crossed 44 Ah?
Click to expand...

If that's true (and I'm inclined to agree), then that means we don't need "heat" to accelerate capacity loss once we hit the 44 AHr mark. The good news is weather becomes less of a factor, but the bad news is we still don't know how many miles/cycles/whatever it actually takes (and with the large variation of readings I'm not certain we could figure it out). I'm heading towards 43 AHr, so I drive and wait (anxiously).
 
91040 said:
My experience buying a replacement traction battery for a 2011SL follows. Replacing now since I would soon not be able to make a one way commute of 60 miles, down hill (1400' loss), driving 50 mph on the freeway, without charging enroute.

Called 4 Nissan dealerships in the LA area:
1) One did not return my call;
2) Two took relevant information. Said they would call back after checking. Both called back, one quoting $10k, the other $5500 (Glendale Nissan).
3) One wanted to see the car to verify the proper battery number before giving a quote.

After determining from this forum and corporate reps that the 30kWh battery would not be compatible, I ordered a battery from Glendale Nissan. The Service Rep verified my car information, wanted to keep the car and give me a loaner. Told him I preferred to keep driving it until they get the battery. The next day, I was asked to sign this "Disclosure Form & Trade-In Agreement."

http://imageshack.com/i/idxVoANNj
http://imageshack.com/i/f0kXWGD9j
http://imageshack.com/i/f0qXdVrNj
http://imageshack.com/i/idGZjWc1j

The Agreement could be worded more clearly in Section II., regarding the Warranty of a replacement battery for the replacement battery...if you get my drift

Battery and adapter kit were at the Dealer eight days after signing the form. They said the adapter assembly took longer to arrive than the battery.

Dropped my car off in the evening. Three business days in the shop. Gave me a loaner. Picked my car up on the fourth day. Said that getting the new bottom cover delayed things as well. Total cost was $5640 (including tax).

Original HV Battery @ 104.2k miles:
Last 100% Charge- 155Gids (~11.5kWh to Turtle)
AHr 36.13
Hx 33.72
SOH 55

New HV Battery:
AHr 66.14
Hx 99.99
SOH 100

BTW: I won't be commenting or replying whether it makes sense to replace the battery or not. Other relevant information is in my signature below. The car has a Brusa charger, so up to 7kW L2 charging is available.
Click to expand...

The agreement does not show up for me, is the link dead?
 
Stanton said:
If that's true (and I'm inclined to agree), then that means we don't need "heat" to accelerate capacity loss once we hit the 44 AHr mark. The good news is weather becomes less of a factor, but the bad news is we still don't know how many miles/cycles/whatever it actually takes (and with the large variation of readings I'm not certain we could figure it out). I'm heading towards 43 AHr, so I drive and wait (anxiously).
Click to expand...

One has to wonder if this is P3227 trickery by Nissan to delay the 4th bar loss a.k.a. "more accurate capacity gauge", he-he.
 
kolmstead said:
Surely you don't think that a big, international automobile manufacturer would screw with the firmware to deceive its customers (or pass tests)!
Click to expand...

No, but I heard some rumors lately :) I wonder if reverse-engineered code can stand in court.
 
I just wanted to share my experience. I bought a used 2011 Leaf (in very good condition) this past March for $11,000 with 36,000 miles on it. I thought it was a good deal and think that even more now. Not knowing anything about the Leaf, though, I realized that I should have been looking at the battery health gauge before buying. In fact, I didn't know that the thin gauge was battery health until a month or so ago when I lost a bar on it (taking me to 8). Luckily one night my wife said something to me about electric cars and it prompted me to go online and look at new Leafs out of curiosity on a few things. I came across the warranty, did a little math, and realized my car should fall under that warranty. I took it in, got it evaluated quickly, then waited a week until the called me and said my battery was in and to bring it back. It took basically one day to replace, although it was two to me because I dropped it off the night before they would start it just out of convenience.

I am absolutely blown away by the performance of this battery, especially compared to the last. I was getting 45 or so miles to a charge and now I get around 90 (factoring in how and where I drive). When I turn it on I often see triple digits estimated. I just can't believe they gave me a new battery when all they had to do was give me one with at least nine bars. I feel like this is just about as good as getting a brand new car and now feel like I got a ridiculously good deal!
 
eric42bass said:
... I feel like this is just about as good as getting a brand new car and now feel like I got a ridiculously good deal!
Click to expand...
Congratulations :D
You were very lucky.
Would be interesting to know where you're located by addition to your profile and where the 2011 LEAF lost enough capacity for capacity warranty battery replacement.

Unfortunately Nissan didn't treat all LEAF purchasers that well.
Left 70% to 80% with only a Charge Card or $50 :eek: :|
 
Thanks! Yes, I do feel very lucky. Even more so after seeing that not all have been treated so well.

Would be interesting to know where you're located by addition to your profile and where the 2011 LEAF lost enough capacity for capacity warranty battery replacement.
Click to expand...

I'm in Orange County, CA and I added that to my profile just now. I don't know where the car came from, but I assume it was around here.
 
Anybody know what's the deal with http://www.nissanpartsconnection.com/OEMParts/nissan-142/2/295B03NF9E.html & similar? Do you need an old battery to trade in?
 
Kris1 said:
... Do you need an old battery to trade in?
Click to expand...
Yes.
Nissan will only sell you a battery to replace the battery in the LEAF.

And they will not let you have the coded device that is required to make it work with the vehicle.
That has to be sent back to Nissan by the dealer.
So even if you totaled the LEAF and battery was OK you would not be able to put it in another LEAF unless you swapped the Battery Controllers.
 
TimLee said:
That has to be sent back to Nissan by the dealer.So even if you totaled the LEAF and battery was OK you would not be able to put it in another LEAF unless you swapped the Battery Controllers.
Click to expand...


Could somebody remind me...the controller change was for the 2013 model year and continues to be the one used in the 2015s, correct?

So if you had a new 2015 Lizard pack put in your 2011 or 2012, you would need a 2013 or 2014 LEAF to swap the pack into if you totaled it out. This, of course, assumes that the packs in the 2015s are so much more robust that nobody has to consider swapping a pack into one before the car's EOL.
 
Kris1 said:
Anybody know what's the deal with http://www.nissanpartsconnection.com/OEMParts/nissan-142/2/295B03NF9E.html & similar? Do you need an old battery to trade in?
Click to expand...
That part has come up in a few discussions. Further digging has shown it to be the drive motor assembly, not actually the battery. Sadly.
 
But, has anyone actually called them to confirm?

Not sure if I can believe that prices are steadily dropping, but we can only remain hopeful...

Check this out: $145 per kWh according to GM. http://www.autoblog.com/2015/10/08/gm-li-ion-battery-cost-per-kwh-already-down-to-145/



Moof said:
Kris1 said:
Anybody know what's the deal with http://www.nissanpartsconnection.com/OEMParts/nissan-142/2/295B03NF9E.html & similar? Do you need an old battery to trade in?
Click to expand...
That part has come up in a few discussions. Further digging has shown it to be the drive motor assembly, not actually the battery. Sadly.
Click to expand...
 
Kris1 said:
Anybody know what's the deal with http://www.nissanpartsconnection.com/OEMParts/nissan-142/2/295B03NF9E.html & similar? Do you need an old battery to trade in?
Click to expand...
I can 1 up you - no need to buy the whole battery, just replace all the modules for a penny each! Before you rush out to buy, I already tried - it won't work (parts unavailable.) :(
 
fooljoe said:
devoneh said:
I'm at 42.21 AHr, with 9 bars still remaining.

We are now almost to October so my hot days are running out. Any advice on how to push it over the edge?

I always charge to 100% and park in the sun whenever possible. I just went to my first quick charger this morning, but it didn't appear to have any noticeable effect (42.22 to 42.21 after it was done). I'm to the point of not being able to make it to work in the winter without a new battery so I'm very hopeful the bar will drop sometime.
Click to expand...
Wow you're pretty far down there - I'm at 43.2 and expecting (hoping?) the bar to drop any day now. Nobody knows exactly what causes the bar to drop, but the best guesses seem to be that after passing the threshold some amount of time or charge cycles or miles or something must pass before the bar drops. Would you happen to know when you crossed 44 Ah?

If that theory is true, then there's really nothing you can do to hasten the bar loss - it's probably just a matter of time. Clearly your battery has degraded enough - others have lost the bar at up to about 43.5 Ah. I'd just continue to use the car as much as possible, and make sure you post the results when the bar does drop! Can you provide more details in the meantime (location, miles, manufacture date from door jamb, and purchase date?)
Click to expand...

So I made it down to 42.04 with 9 bars still. Then we had a little mini heatwave in sacramento and I let my wife drive it around for a few days. The next time I checked it was at 41.50 and it was finally down to 8 bars. The new battery is on order at the dealership now.

So in summary mine finally fell sometime between 42.04 and 41.50. I have ~54,000 on it and purchased it in October of 2011. Its a 2011 Leaf SL. I don't have the other details handy. I'll try and remember to post on the capacity loss list.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ovj0n1y5gaa9yhs/8bar screenshot.JPG?dl=0
 
devoneh said:
So I made it down to 42.04 with 9 bars still. Then we had a little mini heatwave in sacramento and I let my wife drive it around for a few days. The next time I checked it was at 41.50 and it was finally down to 8 bars. The new battery is on order at the dealership now.

So in summary mine finally fell sometime between 42.04 and 41.50. I have ~54,000 on it and purchased it in October of 2011. Its a 2011 Leaf SL. I don't have the other details handy. I'll try and remember to post on the capacity loss list.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ovj0n1y5gaa9yhs/8bar screenshot.JPG?dl=0
Click to expand...


Congratulations.

I'm not sure I can add you to my list - the reading at which you lost is too vague. And also too depressing, if you did indeed manage to lose your bar closer to 41.50AHr than to 42.04AHr. Actually, even 42.04AHr is pretty depressing to those of us struggling to get (and stay!) below 42.75AHr.
 
devoneh said:
I let my wife drive it around for a few days. The next time I checked it was at 41.50 and it was finally down to 8 bars.
Click to expand...
Maybe that's the secret! As I recall I lost my first bar not long after I had bought my Rav and had my wife driving the Leaf for a while. I'd add him to the list at 41.5, mwalsh - depressing as it is. He said it was only a few days of wife driving.
 

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