Update on Nissan LEAF Battery Replacement

[TRONZ]

LOL! I'm pretty sure Carwings would flag that. It would seem I just need to keep doing our normal routine at this rate.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

LOL! I'm pretty sure Carwings would flag that. It would seem I just need to keep doing our normal routine at this rate.

sounds like you are well within the time to qualify for the warranty. you still have over a year and guessing at least 15,000 miles...

 

[1932highboy]

I lost my third bar today at 23,000 miles and 29 months to go for the free replacement.

 

[JPWhite]

I lost my third bar today at 23,000 miles and 29 months to go for the free replacement.

JP: I've lost two bars and I am at 56,000 miles.

Nissan N: "NO FREE BATTERY FOR YOU"!!

 

[KJD]

I really do think it is high time that Nissan matched the KIA battery warranty @ 100,000 miles instead of 60,000 miles.
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=13531&start=560#p395475" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[brettcgb]

Sorted by AHr (11/02/2014)

SOH    Hx      AHr     Mi     L1/2   QC
 66   45.43    43.63                       TomT (June 13, 2014 still at 3 bars)
 66   59.71    43.56   52600   44xx   35   jpvleaf (OC, CA), 4th bar lost, 8/7/14
     45.12    43.42                       myleaf (June 11, 2014 Chandler, AZ)
 66   44.95    43.32   58078   3535  109   Pipcecil (June 21, 2014 Midlothian, TX)
 65   58.45    42.75   39801   1919   17   sksingh (July 30, 2014 La Mirada, CA)
 64   43.60    42.48                       TickTock (Queen Creek, Arizona) - still at 3 bars
 63   42.39    41.77   34046   2632   94   Brett_cgb (Gilbert, AZ), 4th bar lost 10/5/2014

100 101.59    66.14   34778   2674   94   Brett_cgb (Gilbert, AZ) New Batt 10/24/2014
100 104.50    66.14   54400   45xx   36   jpvleaf, new batt +8 days, 9/20/14
100 101.43    65.92   58950   3580  110   Pipcecil (Midlothian, TX) new Batt

I can add myself to the list of owners with new batteries.

A new battery is going for $6100 these days (The service adviser let me peek over his shoulder as he wrote this up.) I still have 4 temperature sensors.

While my car was in the shop, I drove around a 2014 Leaf with 1100 miles on it - returned it 80 miles later. Apparently, the battery had never gotten a good 100% charge. After the first nights charge, it was showing 95 activated shunts. After the second night, 85 shunts were active for the first half of the day, then 0. Hx developed a rising trend from 86.2 to 86.7. AHr rose from 57.3 to 57.6. Three temperature sensors (1, 2, and 4). SOH rose from 87 to 88. Tire pressure when received was 30PSI (corrected that night).

 

[TimLee]

I can add myself to the list of owners with new batteries.

A new battery is going for $6100 these days (The service adviser let me peek over his shoulder as he wrote this up.) I still have 4 temperature sensors.
...

Is the replacement the new heat resistant chemistry?
Does the 4 temperature sensors mean you have the original 2011 / 2012 style assembled from modules, and not the 2013 forward single assembly style that uses adapter kit for use on 2011 or 2012?

With your lease ending in December will you buy it, either original payout or better price if NMAC offers you a lower price?

 

[JPWhite]

I really do think it is high time that Nissan matched the KIA battery warranty @ 100,000 miles instead of 60,000 miles.
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=13531&start=560#p395475" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The LEAF battery is covered by a 100,000 mile 'materials and workmanship' warranty over 8 years. I saw nothing on the SOUL EV specs about any battery capacity warranty, they may not have one at all which would make the LEAF 60,000 mile capacity warranty superior.

 

[Stoaty]

The LEAF battery is covered by a 100,000 mile 'materials and workmanship' warranty over 8 years. I saw nothing on the SOUL EV specs about any battery capacity warranty, they may not have one at all which would make the LEAF 60,000 mile capacity warranty superior.

There you go:

http://www.mykiasoulev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=139" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

The LEAF battery is covered by a 100,000 mile 'materials and workmanship' warranty over 8 years. I saw nothing on the SOUL EV specs about any battery capacity warranty, they may not have one at all which would make the LEAF 60,000 mile capacity warranty superior.

There you go:

http://www.mykiasoulev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=139" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

again this warranty is vague and only guarantees no more than 70% capacity when its clear in most cases, LEAF owners will get more than that in nearly every case since they are getting new batteries which should take them near or beyond 100,000 miles in all but a handful of cases.

Now will Kia warranty failed packs with new packs? time will tell. However, I think the bigger question is will Kia even have to replace the packs?

FYI; The thought of possibly having to deal with a pack 20% degraded for YEARS tells me I am not likely to get a Kia. But my options are closed until probably mid 2016. We shall see what is available then. My first choice if pressed would be the longer range LEAF. I am also guessing that the Kia will have not passed its one year anniversary on WA soil by then

 

[JPWhite]

The LEAF battery is covered by a 100,000 mile 'materials and workmanship' warranty over 8 years. I saw nothing on the SOUL EV specs about any battery capacity warranty, they may not have one at all which would make the LEAF 60,000 mile capacity warranty superior.

There you go:

http://www.mykiasoulev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=139" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thnaks. I missed that

I'm sure my local Kia dealer would like to sell me one. Except they aren't available outside CARBland. :-(

 

[brettcgb]

I can add myself to the list of owners with new batteries.

A new battery is going for $6100 these days (The service adviser let me peek over his shoulder as he wrote this up.) I still have 4 temperature sensors.
...

Is the replacement the new heat resistant chemistry?
Does the 4 temperature sensors mean you have the original 2011 / 2012 style assembled from modules, and not the 2013 forward single assembly style that uses adapter kit for use on 2011 or 2012?

With your lease ending in December will you buy it, either original payout or better price if NMAC offers you a lower price?

Heat resistant? I couldn't tell from the too-brief look at the write-up. I looked for, didn't see anything about adapters or cables. They were either buried in a kit, or I simply didn't see them. There were about half a dozen other parts that added another $300 or so to the bill (covered by Nissan.)

Four temperatures? I'm assuming an original 2012-style battery. Perhaps I'll have a better idea after I've had it for a month. But I think the "hot" battery uses three.

After the lease? Today, they would have to offer me a significant discount from my current payments for me to seriously consider the Leaf. Based on the terms in the lease, purchase payments would be significantly greater than lease payments for new 2014/2015 Leafs. (But I might be remembering this wrong.)

<soapbox>
The slowly dying battery was frustrating with almost no regen and decreasing range. Having to do plan trips with more stops around an unreliable network made me look hard at the charging network.

In the last couple months, there have been significant changes in the public charger landscape, and the turmoil is ongoing. Blink/CarCharging has just changed their billing structure (increasing rates by 2.4x, offset by billing in 30sec periods), and seems to not be paying hosts as they should have - hosts have been shutting down L3 chargers. Additional networks are starting to appear - gotta carry another card.

I'm tired of all the planning, the loss of spontaneous trips, and of trips out of town. The Leaf excels as a commuter car - that was never in question. But something else is necessary for most other travel.
</soapbox>

What's next? I spent a couple hours last weekend considering other BEV/BHEV. The Volt and Model S are in many ways the most capable long-trip cars (Volt more so), and my work commute would be fully electric in the Volt. Both are more expensive than I'd care to pay today. The Ford Focus Electric is a serious BEV contender. BMW i3 w/REX - not so much.

I still like the Leaf, but I'm probably going for another gasoline-powered car. But I might go for the Volt. (I already have a charger. )

I'm sure the landscape will change in a couple years. Ask me again near the end of my next lease. (I should probably cross-post this to another forum.)

 

[blimpy]

Moderator, Nissan has Always Said that they would be recycling Traction batteries into secondary markets. They said this when they were touring with the Prototype Leaf built in a Cube Body, which was before the Leaf went on Sale.

Clearly, when they take back a battery as a Warranty Replacement, and that battery has 90 out of it's 96 cells ( or whatever) still in decent shape,
they MAY want to use those used cells to repair a returned battery.

This is pretty well stated in the battery warranty. But what they do in practice is up to them.

Nissan had a game changing plan from the get go. It pays to remember that, and show a Little Respect !
Some of us who are NOT electrically challenged, would surely love to have our "dead" battery packs to cannibalize,
and use for other purposes.

Given the general Yahoo quotient of the general populace.. it might be providential that old battery packs aren't
allowed to explode, pollute, or otherwise do bad things, here at what is still the outset of the Modern Electric Car Age.
Yeah I know 1895 Worlds fair - predates the Otto cycle engine -- and all that.

Would I like to put my old pack to work at home in a Solar System..you bet your boots.
Could I buy it for $ 1000 ? Hardly. Nissan knows this.

Anyway... having a SET price on the battery pack is a Real Advance.

Now if they will just bring back the DATSUN name.. we can all all sorts of Fun ! :lol:

 

[brettcgb]

I can add myself to the list of owners with new batteries.

A new battery is going for $6100 these days (The service adviser let me peek over his shoulder as he wrote this up.) I still have 4 temperature sensors.
...

I thought I'd do an update at 3 weeks / 625 miles.

At 34600 miles (10/24/2014)
Hx jumped from 41.74 to 99.98.
Max GIDs jumped from 175 to 272 after first full charge. After that, it consistently charges to about 275-278, sometimes reaching 280.
SOH jumped from 68, and has pegged at 100. AHr jumped from 41.40, and has pegged at 66.14.
GOM range jumped from 65 miles to about 100 Miles.

At 35225 miles (+625 miles) (11/17/2014)
Hx is at 103.4 and is still rising. Hard driving (70MPH and faster) makes it rise faster. I haven't yet done a DCFC.

 

[evblues]

Question
Hi, I'm a 2011 Leaf owner and I have a battery replacement in a box ready for installation
number 295B0-3NF9E, Nissan cannot tell me if the battery is new or what year. I've tried to find the answer on the internet and can't find it. Can someone who got this replacement battery please help me.
Is it new? Is it 12 bars? No one at Nissan knows. Thanks.

:?

 

[derkraut]

Before I respond: Where did you obtain this battery? Didn't you have it tested before you purchased it????? :?

 

[mwalsh]

Question
Hi, I'm a 2011 Leaf owner and I have a battery replacement in a box ready for installation
number 295B0-3NF9E, Nissan cannot tell me if the battery is new or what year. I've tried to find the answer on the internet and can't find it. Can someone who got this replacement battery please help me.
Is it new? Is it 12 bars? No one at Nissan knows. Thanks.

:?

295B0-3NF9E is the Lizard pack part number. It will be a new pack.

Is this a warranty replacement? If so, does your dealer have the rest of the parts for retrofit installation in a 2011? Latest word is that it's on the dealer to make sure they're ordered rather than Nissan reminding the dealer to order them.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I can add myself to the list of owners with new batteries.

A new battery is going for $6100 these days (The service adviser let me peek over his shoulder as he wrote this up.) I still have 4 temperature sensors.
...

I thought I'd do an update at 3 weeks / 625 miles.

At 34600 miles (10/24/2014)
Hx jumped from 41.74 to 99.98.
Max GIDs jumped from 175 to 272 after first full charge. After that, it consistently charges to about 275-278, sometimes reaching 280.
SOH jumped from 68, and has pegged at 100. AHr jumped from 41.40, and has pegged at 66.14.
GOM range jumped from 65 miles to about 100 Miles.

At 35225 miles (+625 miles) (11/17/2014)
Hx is at 103.4 and is still rising. Hard driving (70MPH and faster) makes it rise faster. I haven't yet done a DCFC.

its been a month. how's that pack holding up?

 

[evblues]

Thanks so much for your reply. I'm glad to know that battery is new and so I can anticipate 12 bars!!
Got this under the warranty 5yr. 60k, so I'm at 37k miles and this will be my last battery under warranty and it will probably last me 3 years. So, this car will be dust in 2 yrs. bec. anything under 11 bars just doesn't work. I paid 34K for a car that will last under 6 years, expensive lesson. but I wanted to be a pioneer......

Of course, I really wish I had leased it, but in 6/2011 I was told that you had to buy the Leaf to get the $7,500 federal credit. Now you can get the federal credit on a lease. I didn't even get the Federal Credit bec. I was laid off when I bought it and it was an 'earned' tax credit. So, only got $2,500 credit. Expensive, expensive lesson......

I won't lease a battery because I need at least 11 bars, or the range is too low. I missed too many of my kids sporting events, doctors appts, or work meetings. And don't want to get pulled over again by another cop for coasting on the fwy. praying to make it to a charging station..... :roll:

Thanks Again & Happy Holidays

 

[brettcgb]

I can add myself to the list of owners with new batteries.

A new battery is going for $6100 these days (The service adviser let me peek over his shoulder as he wrote this up.) I still have 4 temperature sensors.
...

I thought I'd do an update at 3 weeks / 625 miles.

At 34600 miles (10/24/2014)
Hx jumped from 41.74 to 99.98.
Max GIDs jumped from 175 to 272 after first full charge. After that, it consistently charges to about 275-278, sometimes reaching 280.
SOH jumped from 68, and has pegged at 100. AHr jumped from 41.40, and has pegged at 66.14.
GOM range jumped from 65 miles to about 100 Miles.

At 35225 miles (+625 miles) (11/17/2014)
Hx is at 103.4 and is still rising. Hard driving (70MPH and faster) makes it rise faster. I haven't yet done a DCFC.

it's been a month. how's that pack holding up?

It's been a nice ride.

I'm now at 36.3k miles. Hx eventually peaked over 104. It has since dropped to 100. Freeway driving tends to keep Hx from falling, sometimes even pushing it back up. 100% charges restore the battery to about 275 GIDs. It's pleasantly strange to see the GOM read >100miles. Last winter, I had NO regeneration, now I always have good regen whenever the battery is <95%. AHr is still 66.14.

For the first couple weeks, every charge was 100%. I've since backed that to 80% most days of the week.

No DCFC yet, but no need either. Sidebar - Most Blink DCFC's here in Phoenix have gone off-line. Most of the rest are now closed (no longer free) - I suspect many are now operating under Green-lots but none are marked as such. Even the reliability/availability of Blinks L2 chargers leaves much to be desired.

The lease actually expired yesterday, but I extended it. Between the overload at work, holiday chaos, and not having any idea what car I wanted next, I decided I'd rather continue the lease than pay the same to rent a car for a couple months.