Nissan Leaf Question

I am searching for my first EV and really like the price range of the used leafs. I drove my first leaf tonight and have some questions about the overall drive quality.

This leaf is a 2013 with two prior owners and overall in really good shape ans no prior accidents. Has 10 battery health bars remaining. The car drove straight as an arrow but I could feel a slight tire vibration. The tires look pretty new and the allignment seemed good since the car was not pulling in either direction.

Is the leaf ride quality like driving a go cart? The drive quality reminded me of an old nissan sentry from the 80's. I drove the car up to 60 mph and it felt normal other than this slight tire vibration. I checked the cv joints and the boots looked in good condition, no uneven wear on the tires, and the suspension also felt good. Made some tight circle u-turns and I know the cv joints are solid. Also, no odd wheel bearing sounds either.

I am just nervous to pull the trigger but overall impressed with the car. Its hard finding a leaf used under 10k with 10 health bars remaining.

Welcome. When I first drove my 2013 SV, my impression was that the ride was "firm but compliant." Different tires and tire pressures can make that better or worse. Have you read my used Leaf buying guide? I'll link it shortly. I strongly suggest that you read it if you haven't.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=538030

I have 2 2017 Leafs and I've driven my dad's 2013 Leaf a fair amount. They all drive well for their size, in my experience.

My first impulse on the vibration would be an unbalanced tire. I haven't heard of any Leafs developing worn out front suspensions and there are owners who have over 100k miles on their cars.

Do read Leftie's guide but in my experience, these are solid cars in general with very few long term problems, as long as the battery capacity fits your needs.

b8ascrub said:

Is the leaf ride quality like driving a go cart? The drive quality reminded me of an old nissan sentra from the 80's. I drove the car up to 60 mph and it felt normal other than this slight tire vibration.

Click to expand...

You do realize the original (Gen 1) Leaf was based on a Sentra design; it just had a completely new/redesigned power train (and of course battery pack). My Leaf still drives smoothly...and that's after a complete front-end replacement (accident: my fault). I suspect the tire vibration could be local to that tire.
Buying a used Leaf is all about the battery: if 10 capacity bars meets your range needs (verified with LeafSpy), then you should be fine.

This forum has been amazing for a non leaf person looking to get into a cheap EV! So I did purchase the leafspy app and obd2 adapter and was pleased to see a SOH at 77% on a car that is 10 years old with 78k miles with 10 bars. After pulling the vin report I now can see the car was never really driving till the last 4 years and shows no accidents reported. I am buying the car and will have my local mechanic have the wheel balanced and alignment done, maybe it's something simple or possibly just cheap tires were installed.

Thanks for the reply!

LeftieBiker said:

Welcome. When I first drove my 2013 SV, my impression was that the ride was "firm but compliant." Different tires and tire pressures can make that better or worse. Have you read my used Leaf buying guide? I'll link it shortly. I strongly suggest that you read it if you haven't.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=538030

Click to expand...

I did and it's a great resource! I have spent the last week and half studying these cars and I have been all over this site.

Thanks for a great write up!

Steve