Nissan Battery Replacement Program, Cost

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SageBrush said:
Skip the "nobody told me excuse." That is why you learned to read in school.

However, take heart: the caveats have to do with battery DEFECT not degradation; and moreover, Nissan has to prove that your lack of visits caused the defect or made it materially worse -- that is, that Nissan would have been on the hook for a cheaper repair if they had known sooner.
Read what? There was nothing to read until after I got the battery replaced, and precious little even then. As for the notion that Nissan has to prove anything, I'm pretty sure It would be up to me to prove that the battery failure wasn't my fault. After all, I'd be doing the suing.

But I don't think there will be any need to sue anyone. I think Nissan did the best they could by me. I think the battery they gave me is probably a 30 kWh one built with the latest technology cells. That's the most I could have asked for.
 
Flash said:
I think the battery they gave me is probably a 30 kWh one built with the latest technology cells. That's the most I could have asked for.

Latest technology yes. 30 kwh for a 2013? Nah, don't think its even possible for that upgrade. Easiest way verify is to get LEAFSpyPro app for Android along with an inexpensive OBDII adapter and look for the total Ah capacity. 24kWh battery will come with 66Ah of capacity.

I've put 11,000 miles on my new battery in 9 months. I'm down 3Ah or approaching 5% loss.
 
I just got my 2011 back from the dealer yesterday. Just over $6000 for the battery replacement. Took 2 days.
Charge last night started me at 108 miles on the GOM. Having lost 4 bars, I was used to 48.
Absolutely pleased. I feel it is better than new - and with only 18,000 on the vehicle, it nearly is.
 
LeafPowerIsIxE said:
I just got my 2011 back from the dealer yesterday. Just over $6000 for the battery replacement. Took 2 days.
Charge last night started me at 108 miles on the GOM. Having lost 4 bars, I was used to 48.
Absolutely pleased. I feel it is better than new - and with only 18,000 on the vehicle, it nearly is.

So you asked for a discount and the apparently denied you anything at all? Hmmm. So your mileage is definitely pretty low. What was your delivery date?
 
Flash said:
SageBrush said:
Skip the "nobody told me excuse." That is why you learned to read in school.

However, take heart: the caveats have to do with battery DEFECT not degradation; and moreover, Nissan has to prove that your lack of visits caused the defect or made it materially worse -- that is, that Nissan would have been on the hook for a cheaper repair if they had known sooner.
Read what? There was nothing to read until after I got the battery replaced, and precious little even then. As for the notion that Nissan has to prove anything, I'm pretty sure It would be up to me to prove that the battery failure wasn't my fault. After all, I'd be doing the suing.

But I don't think there will be any need to sue anyone. I think Nissan did the best they could by me. I think the battery they gave me is probably a 30 kWh one built with the latest technology cells. That's the most I could have asked for.

You did not get a 30 kwh pack.
 
So you asked for a discount and the apparently denied you anything at all? Hmmm. So your mileage is definitely pretty low. What was your delivery date?

My deal was 90/10 - covered all parts and labor. Service director was gracious enough to give me a rental. Out the door was $602.
 
I'm way late to this discussion, but I started at page 1 and read thru page 12 - and the result is a spinning head (that would be mine). If there's anything definitive about whether to get a new battery, it didn't sink in, but really I think it's because every situation is unique - by year, climate, use, maintenance, etc. My wife loves her 2012 SL, and we really can't afford a new one (though we'd think about it if Nissan ever matches what the Bolt and Model 3 can do). I'm no expert in figuring out this car - navigation confuses me, and my wife can't even find the driver's controls for windows and locks so she just reaches over to lower the passenger window. I think it's maybe because we're kinda old. But I do know we're down a bar in 5 years and 17,000 miles. The car spent all of its life in Los Angeles, always parked on the street in all kinds of weather (well really there's only two kinds of weather in LA, warm and hot - anything else is an anomaly). I've read all kinds of stuff about the effect of heat, even if the car isn't even being driven. Been using a 240v charger conversion for 4 years. Read all kinds of stuff about how/when to charge the battery - let it drop to 20 miles (we always looked at potential miles, not percentage charge), or charge it when you need to, or don't charge it when you still have half or more of the charge/miles left, or whatever. She would get range anxiety, mainly because she had to drive home late at night through The Street of L.A. with lights on and stop-and-go-and-stop-and-go block by block, a long gradual uphill until near the house when the climb became steep, and she did NOT want to run out of juice. So she'd get home with 40 miles or so remaining, and charge it up. She averaged 3.5kw/mile over all those years. About a year ago we noticed we'd lost a bar of charge, and instead of predicting a 90-100 mile range as when new, it was now 80 max and mostly mid-upper 70s. That seems like a greater proportionate loss of miles than it does of charge, which is confusing.

OK - a week ago we moved to Eugene Oregon (Subaru country). Still no garage but at least we've got a carport. It's been in the 40-60-degree range since we got here and it's only going to get colder (though the cold here can't compare to cold in the Midwest, for example). I don't know if 40-degree temps qualify as cold when it comes to battery power, but we do have to have the heat and defroster on a lot. It still shows one bar down, but suddenly the miles forecast is only 60 max. Well, Eugene is small, every place is close, it has timed lights on one-way streets - a traffic paradise. We're just concerned that we're going to lose more and miles per full charge, it worries my wife, and so we're looking into a new battery - more affordable than a new car, and really there is nothing wrong with this truly solid car (17k miles in 5 years) other than the loss of battery capacity.

So - what's your best guess for what we should do? We're past the 5-year warranty (if that's the one that matters in batteries). We'd spring for a new one even if we had to pay for the whole thing. It seems really hit-or-miss and who you talk to at Nissan as to whether they'll pay any of the cost. And it's only 1 bar - yet what's confounding for us is that we've lost almost 40% of our range. I've read that the early Leafs can't take the 30kwh battery, but a new 24 would be great. And we'd sure appreciate some sound advice on when/how to charge it to maintain its capacity as long as possible.

And thanks to everybody for maintaining this really great forum. One of the best things about the Internet - it widens your circle of acquaintances exponentially.
 
A new battery will bump up your GOM range into the low 70s miles presuming 60 miles now and all else staying the same.

Calc:
By bars you have lost 15-20% of capacity, so a new battery would bump the GOM range up to
as much as 60/0.8 to as little as 60/0.85

The problem you are facing, that is not much mitigated by a new battery, is the power draw from using heat and particularly defrost. Find solutions to these issues if you can, although the ease with which windshields fog in Eugene makes this a non-trivial task. I would probably start with hygroscopic glass treatments that reduce fogging. "RainX" is a well known brand but I think better formulations exist. Perhaps locals have some useful advice. Watch this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Vj9avZxuwI
It is amusing at leaset, although I cannot vouch for the results.

Here is a good primer on foggy windows
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/11/06/cars-foggy-windows/18608683/
I would not take the advice given since they are not trying to conserve battery energy, but an understanding of why condensation happens is helpful. Fog avoidance comes down to being a game of:
1. Reducing the cabin humidity
2. Heating up the glass

Specific conditions dictate how to use least energy, but remember that an ICE is different than an EV and it may well be true that it is less energy use to use the "AC" for water removal rather than heat up the glass.
 
@Wiegro

Does your LEAF have heated seats? It wasn't standard until the 2013 model. If not I suggest you look into electric heated seat covers, the type that plug into the Cigarette lighter adapter. They use miniscule amount of energy and keep you nice and toasty. With the older LEAF's you have to minimize the use of heat.

If it's too inconvenient to use less heat, switch to a 2013 or later with low miles maybe a better way of spending the battery upgrade money. The later LEAF's use a more efficient heater which impacts range much less. ("S" trim models use the same heater as the 2011-12 models, so don't upgrade to an S, it'll have the same issue).

Your range loss is due to colder temps and use of heat, not the battery. Down one bar isn't bad, not worth the upgrade cost IMHO.
 
The 2012 SL has the cold weather package standard so it has heated seats and steering wheel. Unfortunately, the cabin heater in the 2011 and 2012 models is a small electric hot water tank located under the hood. Also, the tank and coolant lines are not well (or not at all) insulated so the efficiency is not good. The HVAC controls turn on the resistance heater elements to heat the coolant if the temperature setting is above the present cabin temperature. Since the minimum cabin temperature set point is 60 degrees F, you cannot have the climate controls turned on for ventilation without the resistance heater wasting battery energy on a cool day.

I had to temporarily install a resistor to disable the heater on my 2011 and allow ventilation without a major loss of range during the winter in Phoenix. There is a plug-and-play aftermarket kit available that has a switch to control the operation of the water heater which I would have purchased if my car had not been declared a total loss by the other driver's insurance company.

One thing you can do to somewhat mitigate the range loss from heating the cabin is preheat while plugged in for L2 (240-volt) charging.
 
In 2016, when the battery warranty was about to expire (for my 2011 Leaf SL (original owner)), I asked the dealer if they could do anything about it, but they said we were one bar too high (I think we had 9 bars at the time). Within the next year, it fell below that level, but it was too late.

At 72K miles, I've currently got 7 bars and < 40 mile range. After seeing the posts here, I called the EV number today and asked if I could get some help on a battery replacement. They said they did have a program where they would do out of warranty support but that has since ended and there is nothing they can do. Any advice?

Thanks,

Andy
 
Posted in Canada LEAF forum on FB some replacing his out of warranty pack for $5000 CAD which is roughly $4300 American.

Wondering do Canadians always get these sweetheart deals or is his some sort of special case?
 
ajlevine said:
In 2016, when the battery warranty was about to expire (for my 2011 Leaf SL (original owner)), I asked the dealer if they could do anything about it, but they said we were one bar too high (I think we had 9 bars at the time). Within the next year, it fell below that level, but it was too late.

At 72K miles, I've currently got 7 bars and < 40 mile range. After seeing the posts here, I called the EV number today and asked if I could get some help on a battery replacement. They said they did have a program where they would do out of warranty support but that has since ended and there is nothing they can do. Any advice?

Thanks,

Andy

Nissan is nothing if not inconsistent, so keep inquiring every couple of months. They may change their minds again.
 
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