I haven't started actively calling on cars yet, but I've been researching and am planning on starting to actively look early next month. I can tell you what I've learned from my research so far, but obviously, take it with a grain of salt because I haven't actually purchased one yet. Here are some of my raw notes (I started with zero knowledge so some of this may be a bit basic for most):
- Most public charging stations are level 2 and the 2013+ SV and SL models will charge almost twice as fast as 2011/2012 models or 2013 S models.
- If you get a Leaf with a quick charge port (CHADEMO), then you'll be able to charge even quicker (0 to 80% in about 1/2 an hour) using level 3 charging stations.
- 2013+ SV and SL models have a heat pump so they are more efficient (use less battery) during winter in most regions.
- "Biggest consideration is definitely the health of the battery. So, either shop at dealerships who will provide a Leafspy report or make a small investment and buy a OBD2 BT enabled dongle. Then, post back here with the SOH, Hx, and AHr values before you buy."
- Check the number of capacity bars displayed on the dash. They are the short bars to the right/outside of the longer State-of-charge bars. You can request that the seller send you a picture of the dash with the car on. For a 4-6 year-old car, one or two lost bars is normal. -
-There is a warranty against losing 4 bars within 5 years / 60k miles. At that point, Nissan would replace the battery with a new one.
- Charging options are defined by L1, L2, and L3
L1 - 120v, Nissan provides a EVSE (Electric Vehicle Service Equipment) cable that you plug into a dedicated 120 volt circuit (dedicated means a circuit that has no other load on it. Generally you can get roughly 4 miles of charge per hour. Not a good option unless you have a lot of time on your hands.
L2 - 240v, what most public charging stations provide.
2011's and 12's only had 3.8 KW chargers capable of receiving no more than 16 amps at 240 volts. 2013+ that had the charge package (generally identified with 2 charge ports instead of one) "generally" came with a 6.6 KW charger capable of up to 27 amps.
The slower charger would give 12-14 miles of range in good driving conditions. The faster 6.6 KW charger up to 25 miles of range but beware several public chargers will not provide this much power. Blinks are common for this with many turned down to prevent overheating. Most however will give 5.8 KW or higher. For general purposes, 20 miles per hour of charging is a good guideline.
L3 - DC based charging, 80% in 30 minutes
- Check build date, on inside plate on driver's door, look for May 2013 or newer.
- They will replace pack if your capacity gauge drops to 8 capacity bars in less than 60,000 miles or 5 years from the original in service date, sometimes if the price is right and the car has suffered a lot of degradation and still has a ways to go to hit 60,000 miles and its 5 year in service date, you might be better off to get the car, put up with the now pathetic range and work towards losing that 9th capacity bar.
- A new battery's AHr is 66, 1 bar is lost around 50, 2 bars lost around 46, 3 lost around 42, etc. One of the hallmarks of a Battery Management System reset (also known as BMS reset, i.e. tampering with the number of bars) is a low AHr reading on Leafspy (like 40-45) but 12 capacity bars on the dash display.
- SOH (State of Health) is on a percentage scale from 1 to 100% of original battery capacity.
- Battery warranty
For 2013 = 5 years or 60k miles.
Nissan will replace the battery during this period if the capacity drops below 9 bars, or loses more than 30% capacity.
Standard original warranty for defects and flaws covers for 8 years and 100k miles
