24 kWh Battery replacement cost back down to $5500

SalisburySam said:

That, plus the $40k I paid originally, makes my 2012 a $46k cost item. For the 13,500 miles I’ve driven it in the last 8 years, that’s about $3.41/mi not including electricity, registration, annual taxes, maintenance, and insurance. Cab fare would have been much less. Worse, after the battery replacement I’d have a vehicle that is likely worth about $3k or less. Worse yet, my TCU failed earlier this year, a $1200 ticket to replace. So now, no connectivity, no pre-heating or pre-cooling, etc., etc.

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coleafrado said:

SalisburySam said:

That, plus the $40k I paid originally, makes my 2012 a $46k cost item. For the 13,500 miles I’ve driven it in the last 8 years, that’s about $3.41/mi not including electricity, registration, annual taxes, maintenance, and insurance. Cab fare would have been much less. Worse, after the battery replacement I’d have a vehicle that is likely worth about $3k or less. Worse yet, my TCU failed earlier this year, a $1200 ticket to replace. So now, no connectivity, no pre-heating or pre-cooling, etc., etc.

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Well, that's the (unfortunately high) price of being an early adopter. A few things in your case are really hard to believe - that you paid $40k, that you drove it <15k miles in the past decade (US average is 15k), and that your battery is in such bad shape after such little mileage.

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SalisburySam said:

coleafrado said:

SalisburySam said:

That, plus the $40k I paid originally, makes my 2012 a $46k cost item. For the 13,500 miles I’ve driven it in the last 8 years, that’s about $3.41/mi not including electricity, registration, annual taxes, maintenance, and insurance. Cab fare would have been much less. Worse, after the battery replacement I’d have a vehicle that is likely worth about $3k or less. Worse yet, my TCU failed earlier this year, a $1200 ticket to replace. So now, no connectivity, no pre-heating or pre-cooling, etc., etc.

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Well, that's the (unfortunately high) price of being an early adopter. A few things in your case are really hard to believe - that you paid $40k, that you drove it <15k miles in the past decade (US average is 15k), and that your battery is in such bad shape after such little mileage.

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Believe what you want, all is true. LEAF was never my commute vehicle, just an errand-mobile around town. After retirement, used even less. Battery loss was due to time, not mileage, as many other threads will attest to. As to the $40k, that's what an SL cost new in late 2011/early 2012. With the hype at the time, no dealer was giving any discounts and many added a dealer mark-up. My dealer charged sticker. And yes, I'm well aware of early adopter pricing and made that decision with eyes open. My point was to say that additional investments into this vehicle are not warranted in my opinion.

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SalisburySam said:

... If I were to opt for the battery replacement, I’d be adding, say, $6k to the capital cost of the vehicle. That, plus the $40k I paid originally, makes my 2012 a $46k cost item. For the 13,500 miles I’ve driven it in the last 8 years, that’s about $3.41/mi not including electricity, registration, annual taxes, maintenance, and insurance. Cab fare would have been much less. Worse, after the battery replacement I’d have a vehicle that is likely worth about $3k or less. Worse yet, my TCU failed earlier this year, a $1200 ticket to replace. So now, no connectivity, no pre-heating or pre-cooling, etc. ...

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coleafrado said:

Sam - it's not that I don't literally believe you. It's that the story is unbelievable! How could Nissan fail to make you whole given how obviously defective your Leaf is? Your car (and battery) should be in mint condition, especially since your original battery was replaced, but it fails to meet even 50% of the original range specifications after you drove it less in 8 years than the average American drives in one.

Given that you own a Tesla, I don't see any reason to keep the Leaf. Just sell it for what the market says it's worth and move on. But with a new 24 or 30 kWh replacement battery, its private sale value couldn't possibly be lower than $6-8k.

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coleafrado said:

The newer pack chemistry (post 2012) degrades about half as fast per year as the original chemistry, but it still degrades, and after 7-8 years you're likely to have <60% capacity once more.

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SalisburySam said:

I wonder if this price decrease is in any way designed to counter 3rd-party battery replacements. Fenix is proposing a $6K purchase option in addition to a couple of subscription options. A $5500 Nissan battery becomes a much more desirable option, especially if battery chemistry is improved over the original.

My 2012 SL now shows 9 capacity bars but will only get about 30 miles total to VLBW on a 100% charge. If I were to opt for the battery replacement, I’d be adding, say, $6k to the capital cost of the vehicle. That, plus the $40k I paid originally, makes my 2012 a $46k cost item. For the 13,500 miles I’ve driven it in the last 8 years, that’s about $3.41/mi not including electricity, registration, annual taxes, maintenance, and insurance. Cab fare would have been much less. Worse, after the battery replacement I’d have a vehicle that is likely worth about $3k or less. Worse yet, my TCU failed earlier this year, a $1200 ticket to replace. So now, no connectivity, no pre-heating or pre-cooling, etc., etc.

The net of all the above is that I think my 2012 has reached the point of throwing good money after bad. I very much like the car but perhaps the major cash injections it would require to be new again are just not worth it for me.

So good on Nissan for the price reduction, but I believe I’ll pass at this point.

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There's no way your leaf is worth $3k after battery replacement. I sold a 7-bar leaf for $3750 a couple months ago. I also bought a 12-bar 2011 which had cosmetic damage from multiple accidents for $5k. A more realistic price for a mint, low mileage 2012 with a brand new battery is in the realm of $7-8k.

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coleafrado said:

theblueleaf said:

I drive a 2011 Leaf and my battery is at 8 bars. In the winter, I can barely get 20-25 miles on a charge (with the heater off!). This is extremely welcome news.

I called my local Nissan dealer. They don't have an EV technician, but hope to train someone on it within the next year. I could wait, but I've waited long enough.

I then called my next closest Nissan dealer. They don't service EV vehicles and have no plans to do so.

My next call was to one that is far enough away that it would take 2-3 charges to get there. A long trip, but okay if it's just once. They said that they can quote me $650 for the labor, but they have no idea what the cost of the battery would be and they don't know how to even find out. The man I spoke with told me not to believe what I read on the Internet and that even he, a Nissan employee, wouldn't be able to get a price for a battery out of corporate.

There are now multiple reports of this new price (thanks, OP, for this thread!), so I was confident that this guy was wrong about corporate not giving out prices. Nevertheless, there is no substitute for first-hand experience, so I called and can confirm that they are telling people it is $5,499 minus a $1,000 credit for trading in your original battery, plus labor, taxes, etc. Didn't even have to coax that info out like I expected; they were happy to share it and did so right away. The national hotline rep was extremely nice and knowledgeable. He noted that the first step for getting a new battery is to take your car in for a battery test, which I plan to do asap (hoping the local dealer can do the test even if they can't do EV repairs). It takes a minimum of 4-6 weeks for a new battery to be delivered to a dealer after that.

I know that $5,500 is more than the value of my car at this point, but I am willing to pay it. I'll walk away with a car that I know is in good condition and with a brand new battery. No matter what the blue book value is, I know that's worth the investment. I expect to get 8-10 years out of this battery (it better last at least as long as the previous one considering it will be a lizard battery), and that's a reasonable cost for that length of time. At the $8,500 price it was a no, but this price seems much more reasonable. Not great, but reasonable.

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blueleaf,

I'd caution against spending $5,500 on a "new" 24 kWh pack (for a cost of $230/kWh, while other manufacturers' packs are being sold today for barely $100/kWh). The newer pack chemistry (post 2012) degrades about half as fast per year as the original chemistry, but it still degrades, and after 7-8 years you're likely to have <60% capacity once more. By that time, batteries are likely have become substantially cheaper and more durable, and more advanced charging technology may be ported to older vehicles. Don't rush into giving Nissan the full price unless you're sure it's worth it.

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solartim said:

I was on the fence, but the morning after making an appointment for a quote we received a P33D4 Internal Resistance error code, six months out of warranty on our 2011 with 72 K miles. Mossy came back with $6300 out the door (taxes and labor) so we're going to roll the dice and hope no big expensive repairs come up. Had to argue about the core charge rebate, but they finally agreed. Warranty says 8 years / 100 K for defects, 5 years / 60 K for degradation under 9 bars.

Kicking myself for not getting more Leafspy data before bringing it to the shop. Battery on the invoice listed as 003N/295B0-9RB9D

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alozzy said:

Very interesting! The trick then is to find a 2016 SV/SL with a 30 kWh pack, that's about to drop to 8 bars, and get a 40 kWh replacement under warranty.

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coleafrado said:

I can think of a few ways to "undetectably" "degrade" a 30 kWh pack down below 8 bars in a matter of months or weeks.

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goldbrick said:

My understanding is the it is the 30kWh packs that have been discontinued. 24kWh are still replaced with same but 30kWh warranty replacements are getting 40kWh packs.

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