Considering buying a 2011 Leaf but, worried about battery.

[cash4solar]

Will the range or performance of the battery be hurt by sitting in a car lot for a long time? I live in an area where they don't sell a lot of Leafs so, if the battery has not been charged or has been fully charged for a long period of time, will it affect the performance? I am sure the car sat in that car lot for probably several months?

Is there a way I can check the battery for damage?

Thanks for any help.

 

[cwerdna]

Is it (somehow) a leftover 11 or used? If the latter, hope you're getting a good deal vs. the tax credit you can get for a new one...

 

[cash4solar]

It is New. I actually found a few. Mostly in Arizona but this one is in Texas.

 

[SanDust]

Biggest issue would be if it sat fully charged, especially in hot weather. It could matter but probably not. Leasing solves many issues.

 

[cwerdna]

Biggest issue would be if it sat fully charged, especially in hot weather. It could matter but probably not. Leasing solves many issues.

Yep, I'd be concerned about that above too. If it was in a MUCH cooler climate, then I wouldn't be too concerned.

 

[Herm]

You could test it with a GID meter before purchase, it should come close to 281 after an extended full charge. Its a shame a Nissan dealer cant tell you what that number is.

 

[RegGuheert]

Will the range or performance of the battery be hurt by sitting in a car lot for a long time?

Possibly, depending on temperature and the state of charge that was maintained (or not).

I live in an area where they don't sell a lot of Leafs so, if the battery has not been charged or has been fully charged for a long period of time, will it affect the performance?

Absolutely! In fact, the battery warranty specifically does NOT cover the battery under the following conditions:

Under "WHAT IS NOT COVERED" in the "2011 NEW ELECTRIC VEHICLE LIMITED WARRANTY" booklet for the Nissan LEAF (Except for the headings, bolding is mine):

LITHIUM-ION BATTERY
This warranty does not cover damage or failures resulting from or caused by:
- Exposing a vehicle to ambient temperatures above 120F (49C) for over 24 hours.
- Storing a vehicle in temperatures below -13F (-25C) for over seven days.
- Leaving your vehicle for over 14 days where the lithium-ion battery reaches zero or near zero state of charge.
- Physically damaging the lithium-ion battery or attempting to reduce the life of the lithium-ion battery.
- Exposing the lithium-ion battery to contact with a direct flame.
- Charging the lithium-ion battery full on a daily basis despite the lithium-ion battery keeping a high state of charge level (98-100%).
- Immersing any portion of the lithium-ion battery in water or liquids.
- Opening the lithium-ion battery enclosures or having it serviced by someone other than a Nissan LEAF certified technician.
- Neglecting to follow correct charging procedures.
- Use of incompatible charging devices.
- Consequential damage caused by the failure to repair an existing problem.

GRADUAL CAPACITY LOSS
The Lithium-ion battery (EV battery), like all lithium-ion batteries, will experience gradual capacity loss with time and use. Loss of battery capacity due to or caused by gradual capacity loss is NOT covered under this warranty. See your OWNER'S MANUAL for important tips on how to maximize the life and capacity of the "Lithium-ion battery."

Please note that the CAR can detect many of the noncompliances listed above, but it may not report them to the dealer, only Nissan. (This is conjecture on my part: I do not know what it actually does.)

I am sure the car sat in that car lot for probably several months? Is there a way I can check the battery for damage?

As Herm said, the GID meter can help you to find out. I would also look at the thin bars on the right side of the charge bars on the car's main dash display. Those bars tell you how much capacity the battery has left (not current state of charge). If there are any missing, then I ABSOLUTELY would NOT purchase the vehicle. That would mean the battery has already lost over 15% of its capacity! :shock: You should also ask that the annual battery check be run (at dealer expense) and the report be given to you. If the vehicle does not get five stars in every category, then there might be cause for concern.

I would also recommend that you read through the following thread to see thoughts on how you might figure out if there is an issue (it is not easy):
12% capacity loss in 9 months is "normal"

FYI, I bought a 6-month old 2011 demo LEAF and I have some similar concerns. Nothing seems to be amiss, but there is that factor of not knowing the history that bothers me. I have not yet purchased a GID meter since I am holding out for a LEAFscan tool.

Finally, I will point out that you should be aware that even though the car is still new, the months the car has sat after being put into service will be subtracted from the warranty you get. Since the service date for our car was five months before we purchased it, we only got a 91-month warranty on our car instead of the normal 96. As such, I recommend that you ask for the service date for the vehicle. It is printed on any service report made for the vehicle.

Good luck with your purchase!

 

[baronvonshush]

Finally, I will point out that you should be aware that even though the car is still new, the months the car has sat after being put into service will be subtracted from the warranty you get. Since the service date for our car was five months before we purchased it, we only got a 91-month warranty on our car instead of the normal 96. As such, I recommend that you ask for the service date for the vehicle. It is printed on any service report made for the vehicle.

Interesting. Is this standard in the industry? Ours was also a 2011 demo purchased in March with low miles (23) and no evidence of having sat at 100% charge. The dealer never disclosed anything about the warranty clock starting BEFORE the date of purchase.

We did get some warranty documentation in the mail recently that showed an expiration about 5 months earlier than expected, which pissed me off. I'd been meaning to contact Nissan to straighten it out, although our mileage in the first month and a half has been such that we'll almost certainly hit the warranty's mileage limit before that 5-month-early expiration. So it may be a moot point. But still rubs me the wrong way.

May also explain why the XM trial cut out in less than 2 weeks. I've also been meaning to call XM to reinstate that, but have been putting off dealing with their call center lackeys as well...

 

[EdmondLeaf]

You could test it with a GID meter before purchase, it should come close to 281 after an extended full charge. Its a shame a Nissan dealer cant tell you what that number is.

Wonder if anyone here is willing to lend GID meter to first official Leaf buyer to test capacity (scheduled May 18)

 

[jeremyz]

I just bought a 7 month old 2011 demo Leaf SL . When I was shopping around over the phone for demo models, I asked several salespeople about when the warranty clock starts. All of them said it started when the car is sold. I wouldn't be surprised if the salespeople were lying about that though.

 

[RegGuheert]

I just bought a 7 month old 2011 demo Leaf SL . When I was shopping around over the phone for demo models, I asked several salespeople about when the warranty clock starts. All of them said it started when the car is sold. I wouldn't be surprised if the salespeople were lying about that though.

From the "2011 NEW ELECTRIC VEHICLE LIMITED WARRANTY" booklet page 7:

THE WARRANTY BEGINS
The warranty period begins on the date the vehicle is delivered to the first retail buyer or put into use, whichever is earlier.

 

[jeremyz]

That's good to know. I can't say that I'm surprised that the salespeople gave me the wrong information. It's always a joy dealing with car salespeople. I made a deal with one dealership for a different demo. When the demo period ended, the guy didn't want to talk to me for some reason. I think he was just estimating the write-down that Nissan was going to give them for the demo service and he was wrong. It didn't matter that he gave me "his word" on the deal.

There was a guy at another dealership who said they had a lot of interest on an orphan they had and that they just got it and that he couldn't work on the price. I asked him why the Texas safety inspection sticker in the cars.com ad showed that they got the car 10 months before. After I caught him in his lie, he seemed more interested to work on the price, but I wasn't interested in talking to him anymore.

 

[baronvonshush]

From the "2011 NEW ELECTRIC VEHICLE LIMITED WARRANTY" booklet page 7:

THE WARRANTY BEGINS
The warranty period begins on the date the vehicle is delivered to the first retail buyer or put into use, whichever is earlier.

Ah, so it all hinges on the meaning of those three very vague words, "put into use." I suppose Nissan considers a demo to be "put into use" already, even though you could make the same argument for any vehicle on the dealer lot that's available for test drive before it's purchased.

 

[RegGuheert]

Ah, so it all hinges on the meaning of those three very vague words, "put into use." I suppose Nissan considers a demo to be "put into use" already, even though you could make the same argument for any vehicle on the dealer lot that's available for test drive before it's purchased.

As previously mentioned, that date is printed on any service record for the car. The field is called "Del. Date" and that date for my car is about five months before I purchased it.