12v Battery Recommendations

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.
Supersleeper said:
Well, bummer. Seems we’ve turned the thread into another debate.

I don't see contrary opinions as "bummers", as long as they don't get snarky and mean-spirited. This is a discussion forum after all, you idi.... oops :oops: :p

I decided to go optima yellow D51r since I found it on sale at Pep Boys for $143. I let the car sit for a weekend without driving it, and started up Monday without issues. On the old battery, it wouldn’t have made it barely a day.
A deep-cycle AGM is a good way to go. At the very least you don't have to worry about topping off electrolyte, or battery-area corrosion. I fell in love with AGM when I got my first Miata. When I first saw it I was flabbergasted by its small size. 9 years later it was still starting the car and zero corrosion. I've put an AGM battery in every vehicle since. Though maybe none have been the quality of that original Panasonic unit in the Miata. It was legendary.
 
I decided to go Optima yellow D51r since I found it on sale at Pep Boys for $143. I let the car sit for a weekend without driving it, and started up Monday without issues. On the old battery, it wouldn’t have made it barely a day.

Just don't assume that this means no more problems. Check the rest voltage every few days, and if it keeps dropping, you'll need to fully charge it at least once a week. At least an AGM won't mind that treatment as long as it stays over 30% charge or so and gets topped off regularly. If the rest voltage stays good, then you'll be helping to confirm that the Leaf does better at charging a higher capacity 12 volt battery.
 
Yeah, I've been checking the voltage here and there. I expect it to go down slowly considering the TCU needs to update every so often, and while I'm checking status/climate. Good news is, I've barely seen it drop .0x volts each check. It also only ramps down from 14v for a much shorter time frame than for the original dead battery, which tells me the car's happy with it's level.
 
I let the car sit for 30 hours after noticing that I did not get charge complete/plug in reminder notifications and returned to a dead 12-volt battery (3.10 volts). The updated cellular modem failing to sleep finally took its toll on the original Nissan battery so I purchased a yellow top Optima from Pep Boys yesterday during the 30% off sale. I debated in my mind between the Optima deep cycle and the Bosch premium AGM (both on sale at Pep Boys), but I have been saying I would get an Optima and I believe a deep cycle is the best choice. The new Optima is stamped "Made In Mexico" so I will see if it lives up to the quality of previous Optimas I have had. FWIW, the battery store I normally buy my batteries from quit stocking yellow top batteries and mentioned the quality decline. It is interesting that Pep Boys' fitment guide does not list the Bosch premium AGM, but does list some lower-priced Bosch batteries along with the Optima as suitable for the 2015 LEAF.

Battery resting voltage was 12.782 after driving the car this morning and then letting it sit for 15 minutes so the DC-DC converter is adequately charging the battery.
 
My 2013 LEAF was dead after a few days of sitting in the cold. Found that my original 12v had run down....I charged it, but given it’s age and the possible dire consequences of low voltage....brake failure for example...decided to buy a new one
After reading what I could find, and given good service from my standard oem battery, decided a larger standard battery was the way to go.
After removing my old battery and measuring the space available I found a Costco/interstate battery that dropped in...
Size/group 124R...700 cca. More bulk and a greater reserve.
Should last a good while....and COSTCO has a great warranty.
$88.99
I did have to replace the hold down bar....and the battery tray has a bolt-head impinging into the batter tray...I built up the tray floor to be slightly higher than the bolt-head.
W
 
Update, Found a Great new Source at a nice price for our 51R Batteries. AGM..

My 2011 LEAF 12 Volt Battery just got to its age limit at 8 years old it did great..
I will be replacing it with the
Edge 12 volts Lead Acid 6-Cell 51R Group Size 440 Cold Cranking Amps (BCI) Auto AGM Battery.

Found at Home Depot.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Exide-Edge-12-volts-Lead-Acid-6-Cell-51R-Group-Size-440-Cold-Cranking-Amps-BCI-Auto-AGM-Battery-FP-AGM51RDS/205342453



Priced today at 182.50 Best price on AGM I can find and its made in the USA. Enjoy.
 
thew said:
Update, Found a Great new Source at a nice price for our 51R Batteries. AGM..

My 2011 LEAF 12 Volt Battery just got to its age limit at 8 years old it did great..
I will be replacing it with the
Edge 12 volts Lead Acid 6-Cell 51R Group Size 440 Cold Cranking Amps (BCI) Auto AGM Battery.

Found at Home Depot.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Exide-Edge-12-volts-Lead-Acid-6-Cell-51R-Group-Size-440-Cold-Cranking-Amps-BCI-Auto-AGM-Battery-FP-AGM51RDS/205342453



Priced today at 182.50 Best price on AGM I can find and its made in the USA. Enjoy.

Visually this looks like it may be identical to the Bosch Platinum I got from Pep Boys. If any prospective buyer is near a Pep Boys, you can get this battery for $146 (25% off their "regular price") here: https://www.pepboys.com/bosch-platinum-series-agm-battery-group-size-51r/product/844473/2015/HYUNDAI/SANTA%20FE/V6-3342%203.3L%20DOHC?quantity=1
 
I recently purchased this one and replaced myself: "Super Start Extreme Group Size 51R Top Post Battery"
https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/b/extreme-4995/battery-accessories-16452/battery---automotive-16864/battery---best-fit-16245/ec27e4e51018/super-start-extreme-group-size-51r-top-post-battery/51rext/4742486/2016/nissan/leaf

Prior to that Leaf was powering up but getting errors sometimes. Similar to:
https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=18283&start=10#p438471
Plus LeafSpy Pro was reporting 9v on the battery prior to starting. Now with new 12v battery, LeafSpy Pro consistently shows 12v reading prior to startup and no errors upon startup.
 
The less starting amps battery has (per capacity) the more it will last (in years) on EV.
The higher is the cranking current, the thinner are the plates (will degrade faster).

Bosch offers batteries with less "stars" - those are actually better for EV's.
Deep Cycle marine batteries (or UPS emergency power etc) are even better, as those have
extremely thick plates. This is why those can easily be in service 20 years later.
 
Hi there,

Would this be ok for my 2016 Nissan Leaf Tekna?
https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/optima/8073-176/

D51R is correct for a Leaf right?

Looking to upgrade to an AGM style battery as I'm trying to resolve the dangerous braking problem that occurs at low voltages.

Many Thanks,
Mark
 
markrshort said:
Hi there,

Would this be ok for my 2016 Nissan Leaf Tekna?
https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/optima/8073-176/

D51R is correct for a Leaf right?

Looking to upgrade to an AGM style battery as I'm trying to resolve the dangerous braking problem that occurs at low voltages.

Many Thanks,
Mark

Yellow Top Optima D51R is correct size and good choice for USA Leafs, but I don't know if European Leaf Tekna uses the same size. I replaced OEM Nissan batteries in 2011 and 2015 with D51R Yellow Top Optimas and will purchase one for the 2019 as soon as the OEM battery starts getting weak.
 
GerryAZ said:
markrshort said:
Hi there,

Would this be ok for my 2016 Nissan Leaf Tekna?
https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/optima/8073-176/

D51R is correct for a Leaf right?

Looking to upgrade to an AGM style battery as I'm trying to resolve the dangerous braking problem that occurs at low voltages.

Many Thanks,
Mark

Yellow Top Optima D51R is correct size and good choice for USA Leafs, but I don't know if European Leaf Tekna uses the same size. I replaced OEM Nissan batteries in 2011 and 2015 with D51R Yellow Top Optimas and will purchase one for the 2019 as soon as the OEM battery starts getting weak.

Finally (per Leftie), I replaced my '13 Leaf's original (6.5 yrs) 12V battery. Initially considered the Optima, but bought a Pb acid Exide.
After reading these, glad I didn't get the Optima;

https://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/B0013ZGZ9Q/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_viewopt_srt?ie=UTF8&filterByStar=one_star&reviewerType=all_reviews&sortBy=recent&pageNumber=1#reviews-filter-bar
 
lorenfb said:
GerryAZ said:
markrshort said:
Hi there,

Would this be ok for my 2016 Nissan Leaf Tekna?
https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/optima/8073-176/

D51R is correct for a Leaf right?

Looking to upgrade to an AGM style battery as I'm trying to resolve the dangerous braking problem that occurs at low voltages.

Many Thanks,
Mark

Yellow Top Optima D51R is correct size and good choice for USA Leafs, but I don't know if European Leaf Tekna uses the same size. I replaced OEM Nissan batteries in 2011 and 2015 with D51R Yellow Top Optimas and will purchase one for the 2019 as soon as the OEM battery starts getting weak.

Finally (per Leftie), I replaced my '13 Leaf's original (6.5 yrs) 12V battery. Initially considered the Optima, but bought a Pb acid Exide.
After reading these, glad I didn't get the Optima;

https://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/B0013ZGZ9Q/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_viewopt_srt?ie=UTF8&filterByStar=one_star&reviewerType=all_reviews&sortBy=recent&pageNumber=1#reviews-filter-bar

I have read negative reviews regarding these batteries, but those reviews don't match my personal experience. I had excellent service from the yellow tops in both 2011 and 2015 LEAFs (battery was fine when 2011 was totaled and battery in 2015 was fine when I traded it in) and I continue to have excellent service from red top starting batteries in other vehicles. I will continue to purchase and use Optima batteries unless I have a premature failure. Every one I have owned lasted far longer than any flooded cell car batteries I have used since moving to Phoenix in 1982. Personally, I have not had good experiences with Exide car batteries although their flooded cell stationary batteries for backup power needs are OK. I also recommend Odyssey AGM batteries which I use in motorcycles, personal watercraft, and one SUV which needs a larger, higher ampere-hour battery than Optima offers.
 
Some of those reviews are laughable. One reviewer complained of rotten egg gas and hissing, what a crap battery. Now he's having the same problem with its replacement. Well duh, maybe the charge voltage is way too high?
 
coulomb said:
Some of those reviews are laughable. One reviewer complained of rotten egg gas and hissing, what a crap battery. Now he's having the same problem with its replacement. Well duh, maybe the charge voltage is way too high?

That happened to me...no problems with voltage.
 
The original Japanese battery on my 2012 SL lasted 7 years and died relatively quickly after that. Replaced with Costco’s Interstate 51R battery for $80. Fit perfectly, works perfectly, very good warranty, expect it to work until I scrap the LEAF. For a vehicle that only goes 35 or so miles, no need to spend bigger bucks on a new 12V.
 
Technical recommendation:
Get a battery with smallest CCA - less plates (or thicker plates) means it lasts longer (won't short too soon).
There is no cranking on EV-s.
 
arnis said:
Technical recommendation:
Get a battery with smallest CCA - less plates (or thicker plates) means it lasts longer (won't short too soon).
There is no cranking on EV-s.

You can also go by listed capacity in AH, as this will add higher capacity to longer life. Usually only Marine, AGM and "hybrid" batteries list AH, though, AFAIK.
 
Between 60% and 80% SOC lead acid battery literally has endless shelf life and almost endless cycle count.
So if EV is used daily extra capacity has zero effect on battery longetivity.

My second EV has 33Ah lead acid battery that is 9 years old. It was ruined (left discharged for months).
It has 7Ah capacity left. It works perfectly. Therefore I can replace it with 10Ah AGM or similar.
 
Back
Top