Newbie Owner of new 2011, but LEAF Hero to Zero in 6 months

[pianoman]

HOPEFULLY RESOLVED -- 12 volt battery dead as a doorstop. REPLACED 12v battery -- cleared all error codes -- charged LEAF battery pack -- All seems well now. Thanks to all the forum advice!

ADDED/CLARIFIED INFO: LEAF left in sunlight for 10 days NOT PLUGGED IN.

Any help or advice GREATLY APPRECIATED. LOVED this LEAF for 4 months, but now REALLY questioning what's going on.

2/22/13 bought dealer demo 2011 LEAF (828 miles) as NEW with all NEW warranties. Spent most of it's life on showroom floor.

For 4 months -- it met or exceeded expectations.

9/1/13 -- Planned a 65 mile Sunday trip to Pinehurst, NC. And then lunch and a round of golf, while the LEAF fully recharged. Didn't go down as planned. What should have been a great day, turned into an ordeal, involving approx. 7 hours cumulative charging at 3 different charging stations (level 2). This trip should have been easily DOABLE with ONLY one charge in Pinehurst, NC.

9/4/13 -- Nissan dealer service dept (LEAF @ 3,811 miles) found nothing and resolved nothing.

9/26/13 -- (LEAF @ 4,272 miles) -- we leave in driveway (roof solar panel getting sun) with 52 mile range on dash, while we take a week cruise. LEAF completely turned off and locked (confirmed red light blinking on dash before walking away from vehicle).

10/4/13 -- Return to find COMPLETELY DEAD LEAF. No red blinking light, no open doors with remote, no anything on dash readouts. Call service department and told to put charger on the 12 volt battery. When connecting, charger says 12v @ ZERO. CHarged 12v overnight and LEAF overnight (Level 2).

10/5/13 -- 12 volt at 100% and LEAF at 100% -- yet trip range 13 miles.

Both dealer AND Nissan customer service say it's my fault, and we left the vehicle ON in accessory mode while away.

NOT a happy LEAF owner at this time. Any help or advice GREATLY APPRECIATED. Thanks in advance!

 

[TomT]

Assuming that it was not, in fact, left on, you likely have a defective 12 volt battery.

Both dealer AND Nissan customer service say it's my fault, and we left the vehicle ON in accessory mode while away.

 

[smkettner]

9/26/13 -- (LEAF @ 4,272 miles) -- we leave in driveway (roof solar panel getting sun) with 52 mile range on dash, while we take a week cruise. LEAF completely turned off and locked (confirmed red light blinking on dash before walking away from vehicle).

Plugged in? Because plugged in seems to drain the 12v battery if you do not charge regularly.

 

[KillaWhat]

10/5/13 -- 12 volt at 100% and LEAF at 100% -- yet trip range 13 miles.

That's not trip range, that's the GOM, and you just did a "Hard Reset" (Really hard reset) on it.

Drive it, and that 13 will go away.

I have intentionally left mine "ON" for over 12 hours, and the 12VDC battery didn't die.
(If you leave it plugged in, that's another story)

Sounds like a weak 12 battery.

 

[Wennfred]

The leaf spent it's years in the show room, no active sun light to charge the battery, nor a battery tender to trickle charge it. Try replacing the battery with one from another vehicle there and take that battery to AutoZone for testing.

Also what was your average speeds that day and outdoor temp?

I read this Long Vacation thread and found 2 recommendations. 1. Remove the Neg post connector off the battery or 2. Connect a Battery Tender to it while gone.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=11209" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Fred

 

[planet4ever]

9/1/13 -- Planned a 65 mile Sunday trip to Pinehurst, NC. And then lunch and a round of golf, while the LEAF fully recharged. Didn't go down as planned. What should have been a great day, turned into an ordeal, involving approx. 7 hours cumulative charging at 3 different charging stations (level 2). This trip should have been easily DOABLE with ONLY one charge in Pinehurst, NC.

Did it charge to 100% at Pinehurst? I wouldn't expect it to come even close during lunch and a round of golf; not with a 2011 LEAF after a 65 mile drive. Depending on how fast you were driving I would think you would need 5-6 hours, perhaps as much as 7. That is because it is fairly likely that the L2 charger at Pinehurst is only running on 208v, not 240v.

9/26/13 -- (LEAF @ 4,272 miles) -- we leave in driveway (roof solar panel getting sun) with 52 mile range on dash, while we take a week cruise.

The solar panel is mostly a gimmick. Even in the sun it won't generate nearly as much electricity as the car uses fully powered down. Don't forget that "powered down" still means several computers are running, it is checking for radio signals from your key fob, and it is communicating with CarWings.

10/4/13 -- Return to find COMPLETELY DEAD LEAF. No red blinking light, no open doors with remote, no anything on dash readouts. Call service department and told to put charger on the 12 volt battery. When connecting, charger says 12v @ ZERO. CHarged 12v overnight and LEAF overnight (Level 2).

OK, you can stop right there. I'd be willing to bet that you left the car plugged in. There are many, many, reports here of the 12v battery draining in that situation. And once you have drained the 12v battery to 0, it's basically toast. Nothing is going to work reliably after that until you replace that battery.

Ray

 

[pianoman]

LEAF left for 10 days NOT plugged in -- AND in sunlight -- AND absolutely turned completely off with the red dash light blinking AND doors locked.

Thanks for all the informative replies. Any more, since this clarrification?

 

[redLEAF]

LEAF left for 10 days NOT plugged in -- AND in sunlight -- AND absolutely turned completely off with the red dash light blinking AND doors locked.

Thanks for all the informative replies. Any more, since this clarrification?

Something is draining the 12V battery and/or it has a marginal cell(s) within it that makes drain so quickly; not a LEAF but I had bought a new '09 VW Routan that had set on the dealer lot for many, many months and within the first 6 months of ownership it had gone flat and would not hold a charge. VW finally agreed that they needed to replace it under warranty but this was after the second time it was towed (free of charge) to the dealership. There have been a few other threads on the 12V LEAF battery having something 'vampire' the life out of it but at least based on what you're sharing with us, a soon to be defective 12V battery is probably the culprit. The lead acid ones do not like to 'sit' for long lengths of time like this -- one reason the '99 Miata I owned for many years had a gel type with a battery tender attached during the off season months ... the first one lasted 7 years!

 

[Wennfred]

gel type with a battery tender attached during the off season months ... the first one lasted 7 years!

As far as the Gel type, what brand and what are they called so I can look it up?

 

[pianoman]

HOPEFULLY RESOLVED -- 12 volt battery dead as a doorstop. Dealer REPLACED 12v battery -- cleared all error codes -- charged LEAF battery pack -- All seems well now. Thanks to all the forum advice!

 

[kmp647]

If anyone is buying any car Leaf or otherwise and it has sat at the dealer for 6-8 months plus the 12v battery is likely damaged from sitting and being discharged.

Few dealerships has the time to maintain the battery charge in the 12v

Here in Va I always check the inspection sticker on the windshield and try to find a fresh car

at worst have the dealer replace the battery before selling you the car, ,maybe swap it out of a more recently built car

 

[redLEAF]

gel type with a battery tender attached during the off season months ... the first one lasted 7 years!

As far as the Gel type ...

Sorry I used that term; it's actually a AGM (Absorption Glass Mat) type but differs significantly from most 'normal' sealed 12V types

There have been whole threads on a 'better' 12V LEAF battery replacement but as to the question on the Miata; the OEM was made by Panasonic; the 'best' replacement cost wise is generally one made by WestCo which was in my car when I sold it this past August -- the OEM lasted actually 8 years for me but the WestCo was still going strong after 6+ years. I believe there may be other mfg. that make this type; it cost me about $98 including shipping back in '07.

Nice write up on the OEM Miata 12V battery:

http://www.miata.net/garage/battery.html

Link to WestCo Miata replacement 12V battery:

http://estorebc.mkbattery.com/productinfo/12v31m.aspx

As to all the research here -- do a MNL search on 'Optima' and you'll see tons of comments as they seem to be one of the best non-lead acid types out there. I'll stick with my OEM 12V in my LEAF for now (car is a few months shy of 2 years after all) and unlike this OP, it never sat for long as we ordered and took delivery once it showed up. Our LEAF is our main commuter car at any given time so gets driven almost every day. I do think that Nissan could have provided a better 12V but we'll take care of that ourselves when the time comes hopefully at least a few years out. Maybe WestCo or another mfg. will see 12V battery replacement for EV's as a niche market although our LEAF's may never be made in the numbers that Miata's were (more than 500K !)