Love our Leaf

[Bobg]

We bought a 2018 SV in May of 2021, with only about 10k miles. I was driving it initially, about 30 mile commute each way for about a year. Great little car, although with the commute, the range was a little challenging. Now, my wife drives it, a 4 mile commute each way, and so our 6 year old Leaf has only 25K miles! I bought a Mach-EX, which I also love, story for a different forum

The Leaf seems to charge very well still - I believe we still get all "the bars" when we charge. My wife charges, probably about once every week or two on our L2 at home. I did replace the 12v battery (I think it was the OEM original battery) about a year ago. I have rotated the tires (once myself, once free by the dealership, with some warranty work they did). Only complaint I have about this car, is replacing the rear wiper is ridiculous! Per Nissan, they recommend having a dealership do it! Are you kidding me? I did figure it out, by removing the wiper arm from the car, replacing wiper blade and reinstalling arm, but really, Nissan?!?!

I am what I think they call a "shade tree" mechanic. Love wrenching on my old Mustang convertible and my motorcycle.

Question: What regular maintenance is required? I am aware that due to weight and regenerative braking, tires and brakes will wear differently than an ICE car. But otherwise, curious what folks focus on for regular maintenance. I have heard about replacing brake fluid, which I find strange, have driven cars from brand new to 15-20 years old NEVER having the brake fluid changed. Maybe different fluid? Maybe I was just lucky not to have a problem? Other than the occasional bleeding when changing break shoes, never changed out brake fluid. Please if I should do this, justify why and if this changed.

Any other maintenance items I should worry about?

Thanks,
BobG

 

[cornbinder89]

Most older cars also recommend replacing the brake fluid, most of us never did until there was a problem. Things have changed over the years, and there are no long $47 master cyl in these cars. The master/booster on a Leaf is very expensive if you need to replace it. Suddenly that "I'll take my chance" attitude isn't as thrifty.
That said I didn't follow the recommendations (nor any of the previous owners) on a '84 Saab and had to custom parts made for the caliper.
Do you HAVE too do a flush, no, of course not, but you may end up regretting pinching that penny.

 

[Drew21]

Not changing your brake fluid on a regular schedule is a lot like running that free set of 20-year-old tires the old codger down the road gave you, or jumping out of an airplane wearing a parachute that someone else packed, in that it's completely safe right up until it isn't.

Brake fluid is cheap. Brake failure or unexpected brake performance is expensive.

You mentioned that you occasionally bleed the brakes. Doing a full change and flush is only a couple more minutes work. Bleeding the brakes is the hard(er) part, changing out the fluid is easy.

 

[Bobg]

Thanks all for the advice! I will have the brake fluid changed the next time it is in for service. Given the fact that it is 6 years old with only 25k miles, I am hoping for many more years service from the Leaf!

Any other maintenance requirements I should pay attention to?

BobG

 

[Stanton]

Any other maintenance requirements I should pay attention to?

You are discovering the joys of low maintenance EVs! Very little to keep track of beyond brakes, (cabin) air filters and (of course) tires. At some point, you might want to consider changing the gear box fluid (plenty of threads about it on the forum), but with your "easy" driving habits, you may not have to worry for another 50k miles.

 

[Steve52]

HV battery check annually is supposedly needed to maintain the battery warranty. Check your manual for warranty requirements.

 

[Steve52]

The Leaf seems to charge very well still - I believe we still get all "the bars" when we charge.

The "bars" don't change with charging. The bars represent an estimate of HV battery SOH and are located in a sub-menu on the 2018 Leaf, (far left sub-menu). They start from 12 bars and drop off as the SOH degrades.