BATTERY UPGRADE/REPLACEMENT

[Leafabout]

These threads can be so confusing. I spent I-don't-know-how-long trying to find out an answer to this question:
Can a 2013 24 kWh battery be upgraded or swapped to a 2017 30 kWh battery? I think I could live with a car that would give me 100 miles of range.
Thanks -- I appreciate any kind of feed back forum'ers can provide.

[davewill]

If you're wondering whether Nissan will do it, the answer is no. Some people are convinced they will in the future, but my opinion is that Nissan will never do it. If you're asking whether it's possible at all, some DIYer might succeed at some point, but nobody's done it yet.

[jlv]

but my opinion is that Nissan will never do it.

Back in 2014 the Nissan salesman at the dealership told me they would offer larger replacement batteries. Based upon that, my opinion is identical to davewill's.

[ElectricEddy]

but my opinion is that Nissan will never do it.

Back in 2014 the Nissan salesman at the dealership told me they would offer larger replacement batteries. Based upon that, my opinion is identical to davewill's.

That doesn't sound like what a dealer would tell you

[Leafabout]

Thanks for responding everybody. I guess the uptake from this is that Nissan makes more money selling cars than batteries.

[DaveinOlyWA]

These threads can be so confusing. I spent I-don't-know-how-long trying to find out an answer to this question:
Can a 2013 24 kWh battery be upgraded or swapped to a 2017 30 kWh battery? I think I could live with a car that would give me 100 miles of range.
Thanks -- I appreciate any kind of feed back forum'ers can provide.

probably but finding someone to do it ALONG with a battery pack would be the problem.

Before you start spending any money, realize that Nissan will not sell you a pack outright. It is exchange ONLY so to get a 30 kwh pack, you need to have a 30 kwh pack to exchange it with.

So your ONLY option is to find a salvage 30 kwh pack (hopefully not in a car with a build date from 10/15 to 02/16) before the Vultures swoop down and get the pack which they will then gladly sell to you for double what they paid for it.

Then you would have to find someone with enough knowledge to pull it off and they probably don't work for free

so the reality is if you want more range, I would look at what you can sell your current LEAF for and what kind of deals you can get on a 2017 LEAF. Keep in mind; all Summer long they were HEAVILY discounted but are no longer being built so the supply is getting tighter by the day which likely means the deals are shifting away from you and towards the dealers...

[DaveinOlyWA]

but my opinion is that Nissan will never do it.

Back in 2014 the Nissan salesman at the dealership told me they would offer larger replacement batteries. Based upon that, my opinion is identical to davewill's.

That doesn't sound like what a dealer would tell you

Hmmm, interesting comment. I have yet to accurately determine the outer boundaries of the "lesser" dealers...

[powersurge]

I have heard that you can put in a new one, BUT you must open the pack, and reinstall your old pack's computer box, buss bars, and some connectors. That way you fool the car to think that the new pack is really the original, which it recognizes...

[davewill]

I have heard that you can put in a new one, BUT you must open the pack, and reinstall your old pack's computer box, buss bars, and some connectors. That way you fool the car to think that the new pack is really the original, which it recognizes...

People are speculating that will work, but until someone does it successfully...

[pointlomadave]

A few comments...

Some would say Nissan made the 30kwh pack the same size because they intended to offer it as a replacement for the 24kwh pack someday; while is is ALSO REASONABLE to say that they did it so as not to have to re-engineer the car to fit a new pack.

Regardless, the hard part is designing the pack to fit into the same spot in the car...the easy part is recalibrating the electronics to accept the larger pack and read out proper GOM and other stats. I believe they will offer the 30KWH pack as a replacement but only AFTER the new 2018 car hits the market. Whether or not the battery pack is priced attractively to entice someone to buy a used Leaf with 5 bars missing for $5k and spend another $6k on a new battery pack...who knows. As there is no precedent for this (and until there is) on Kelly Blue Book/NADA, etc...it seems a tough sell to spend that much on a pack out of your own pocket. If battery pack age/condition isn't a metric that is used on an electric car for OFFICIAL valuation purposes, we're going to end up with a lot of low range Leafs in the coming few years that get passed around like a hot potato as the novelty of owning an electric car gets down into the price range of a golf cart! Lol.

Another thought I had is the Costco Auto program. They advertise 15% off OEM parts and labor. Would that apply to an OEM Nissan battery pack installed at the dealer??? If so, could be good for savings of $1k or so!