Hi Guys... New (used) leaf owner and 1st time post here.

So, I bought a 2012 Leaf SL to use as a backup car from it's original owner who is awaiting a new Tesla. Car has 52,XXX miles shows all 12 bars and all seems good so far.
The original owner gave me the service records which include the battery being replaced after losing 4 bars. Car had 32,xxx miles on it and battery was replaced in May of 2017.

The next service record shows car was brought in Jan of 2018 with 38,xxx miles with complaint of heater not working. Receipt says "PTC has low resistance causing malfunction, Also damage to DC/DC converter. Removed and replaced PTC heater and DC/DC converter and retested OK". This repair was about $1900.00

The car has always lived in south Louisiana so I'm guessing the battery died of heat exposure?

My questions are:
Which battery would they have installed ?
What warranty will the replacement battery come with, if any?
How can I establish the in service date?
What are any "must-do's"?

Thank You ...

gsmcgsmc said:

Which battery would they have installed ?

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Your car has a lizard battery, as the latest chemistry is used during battery swaps. Congrats on getting a very nice Leaf.

gsmcgsmc said:

What warranty will the replacement battery come with, if any?

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By now, no capacity warranty. Since it was a warranty replacement, I believe it only had the original warranty or a 6-12 month warranty, whichever is later.

However, all Leaf batteries have a defects warranty of 8 years, 100k miles. This does not cover capacity loss--only complete failures or cell failures.

gsmcgsmc said:

How can I establish the in service date?

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When you have the car at the dealership (or schedule the appointment), ask them.

gsmcgsmc said:

What are any "must-do's"?

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I would take the car in for a Battery Usage Report (free). This is supposed to be done yearly to keep the warranty on the Battery Pack intact. If you have a cell failure, this may be necessary.

See:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/wiki/images/f/fe/2012-leaf-warranty-booklet.pdf

Other than that, enjoy the car. While you have the car in for a Battery Usage Report, I would also replace the gearbox oil, which should be done every 45k miles/3 years (whichever comes first).

See:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=25076

Some forum posters charge the 12V battery with an external battery charger (while the car is off) once a month to keep it topped off. I don't do this, but it's not a bad idea. When done charging, unplug the EVSE from the front of the car. <2014s have an issue where leaving the car plugged in for a long period of time will drain the 12V battery and destroy it. I charge my car overnight and unplug it when I leave in the morning--that's fine. But don't leave it plugged in, not charging, for a day or more.


By the way, you said you intended to use it as a backup car. I'd recommend driving it as much as possible, as the battery will degrade nearly at the same rate whether you drive the car daily or once a week. Since electric cars are much cheaper (and more fun!) to drive, you'll want to drive this as much as possible.

Lothsahn said:

gsmcgsmc said:

What are any "must-do's"?

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I would take the car in for a Battery Usage Report (free). This is supposed to be done yearly to keep the warranty on the Battery Pack intact. If you have a cell failure, this may be necessary.

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Unless Nissan changed its policy, only the first two battery checks are free. Since most Leafs were leased for 3 years then returned, most Leaf owners/lessees never paid for them. If the previous owner brought the car in for servicing, those two checks have likely been used up a while ago.

The In Service date can be determined from a vehicle history report like Carfax or (free) vehiclehistoryreport.com. Calendar aging is slower with the Lizard pack than it was with the original (aka Canary) pack. Heat resistance is also much better, but don't charge the car when the temp gauge is 7 bars or higher if possible, and don't let it sit for days at 100% charge, especially in Summer.

Thank you all for the sound advice....