Just changed the reduction gear oil on a 140k mile leaf!

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wm2020

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2021
Messages
9
Hi All,

After reading several posts about changing the reduction gear oil, and considering my leaf has done 140k miles now I thought I'd go for it!

[youtube]https://youtu.be/V2uZtpTpy_U[/youtube]

I used Red Line D6 ATF Auto.

As you can see from the vid the old oil was quite dark, but still very viscose.

There weren’t many filings on the screws at all.

I’ve seen on average a 10-15% increase in my miles per kWh!

I only really use the vehicle for my 18 mile round trip commute and usually average 3.8 miles per kWh in the summer months

Since doing this it has increased to 4.5! :D
 
The more of these "reduction gear" threads I see, the more it makes me want to do it. Problem is, I can't/won't do it myself and I wonder what the dealer will charge; at least they have a competent Leaf tech (he changed my battery pack years ago).
 
Stanton said:
The more of these "reduction gear" threads I see, the more it makes me want to do it. Problem is, I can't/won't do it myself and I wonder what the dealer will charge; at least they have a competent Leaf tech (he changed my battery pack years ago).
Somebody on here once said the dealership might charge $60 for a change. I wonder if they would bother changing the aluminim crush washers like a DIY-er would be careful to do. And would they torque it down right to spec like us crazy-careful DIYers would? Still, it would probably go just fine if a dealership did it. It's the easiest job they will ever do there, seriously.

wm2020 said:
There weren’t many filings on the screws at all.
That is only a little more than my 2020 Nissan Leaf had at only 1,700 miles (2,700 km) ! Several have posted pictures of their magnets, and I'm beginning to think they max-out at a certain point and more iron won't stick to them after a long time.

wm2020 said:
I’ve seen on average a 10-15% increase in my miles per kWh!
Others have reported a boost too. Could be the original Nissan oil, after over 100k miles, starts to thicken up a bit, meaning a drop down to "normal" viscosity in new fluid gets you a small boost. That, and the extra internal friction from iron particles floating around in there maybe.

wm2020 said:
I used Red Line D6 ATF Auto.
With a Pour Point of -60C (-76F) proving it, D6 is made of some of the best GroupIV/V base oils available. Only my Amsoil SS ATF is lower at -65C (-85F), also indicating that it contains the good stuff. (If they had GroupIII only, then you would see those Pour Points go up to around -50C.)
 
Stanton said:
The more of these "reduction gear" threads I see, the more it makes me want to do it. Problem is, I can't/won't do it myself and I wonder what the dealer will charge; at least they have a competent Leaf tech (he changed my battery pack years ago).

As there is no isolation of the battery involved in this work any mechanic can do it. It’s no different to changing the gear oil in an ICE.

In my case I used a local mechanic who happened to be EV trained as they would let me supply the oil. They sourced the gasket kit from Nissan. Oil cost me £35 and mechanic £70.

Nissan wanted £230 to do it!
 
wm2020 said:
Nissan wanted £230 to do it!
Wow, that equates to $321 U.S. dollars. I think a dealership here would charge about $70 for the whole thing. 15 minutes labor, 2 quarts, 2 crush washers included. Easy job.
 
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