I recently inherited a 30 kWh 2016 Leaf. As I got it, it had 8 out of 12 bars on the battery health. I asked at a Nissan dealer if it could be improved, and they said that it had one free battery service included which had never been used, so I said OK. I got it up to 11 bars. That was a year ago, and it's *still* 11 bars. I do make sure not to leave it fully charged for long, and for everyday use less than 80% even though my model does not have the option to stop at 80 automatically. Last summer I took the trip from Bergen to Oslo, and that is about 300 miles with a mountain in between. I needed to fast charge four times, and the battery temperature gauge was hovering on the red line near the end, but all in all, I'm not afraid of using it for the occasional long trip.
I now have a 2017 30kwh tekna, 11 out of 12 bars, so around 100/110 miles. Battery capacity is 24kwh left. What was your range before and after the update? I’ve heard the update is just a trick.
@Roverturbo Well, the overly optimistic estimate is now approximately 175-180km fully charged, which should be about 110 miles. I think it used to be about 130 or 140 km, but I don't remember exactly. It definitely improved.
I had one for 4 years and it was a 2015 tekna, I could get just over 100 miles driving like a granny. Get leafspy and use the displayed kwh remaining and multiply by your miles/kwh, it becomes second nature. Keep an eye out for a scrap battery and look at Dala EV channel for how to upgrade. They are great little town cars and nothing else goes wrong with them.
If you're looking at getting one of these, get one from 2014 onwards, and go for the Tekna spec which has all the cameras, heated seats, etc. Also, make sure the battery has at least 10/12 bars on the display. Price should be less than £4k now.
You need to drive these cars differently to fossils. My 2014 Leaf 24kwh still has 80 mile range and 11/12 bars SOH. 80k miles on the clock. Going strong. Just don't try to drive a 300 mile round trip every weekend 😂
If you bought it for 3k or less of course it’s worth it. That’s an EV. You get your money back by not having to buy gasoline, and doing oil change. This depends on your situation if your work is 20 miles away forget it lol, but it your work is like 5 miles or less you will never need gasoline again
I drive a very similar car… it is our family daily driver. it has been brilliant… 13 years old now… so battery is a bit depleted… but it is still great for around town. Lots of space, drives well, never a mechanical issue…
I thought you said initially it had 44 miles and 58 on eco mode after a full charge , and i have learned its better to only charge upto 80% in order to get longer life out of the battery.
I’m not sure what your asking? The battery is shot, so the charge varies, due to length of charge, temperature etc. yes it’s said that 80% charge is better for lithium, but this point it’s too late for this one.
If only we could just recycle the capacity of all the old laptops and cell phones, vape pens, power tools, etc etc and put them right into the leaf for a little extra range
Ohhh im looking at getting a cheap one - look at the leaf spy that will give you and app and check full state of battery - also just to let you know the program they use to monitor it is floored - it doenst actually properply work if you look at some other tinkers like us - They have said putting it on a 50kw charger once a week or 2 weeks can help with the state but yeah, new tech - super excitted to get them now they are cheaper
@@stealthline not sure that DC charging improves the battery state of health.. charging slowly is usually best. Occasional rapid charges are fine though. These early 24kWh Leafs are aging well. Just don't leave them on 0% or 100% charge and the battery should be fine for years.
@@travisschwartz3397 when garages finally learn how to fix on board chargers, batteries and motors these things will keep going forever until the bodywork rusts away..
I was watching a garage change cells in one the other day.think it cost about £1500 for 1 cell replacement.mind you 3/4 of the cost is dismantle & reinstall :/
@@decimal1815 it definitely won’t and you’ll find garages that do the upgrade stipulate you need to upgrade the suspension. It becomes a very expensive upgrade.
No good, the range wasn’t usable and I couldn’t sell it. So I’m breaking it. I bought a crashed damaged 2017 tekna 30kw. So I’m driving that now, has 100 miles range. I love it.
Appreciate it mate. Was just looking at one with 30k miles (dunno what that is in kilometers) for 4.5k American $. Think I’ll pass. Thanks for your time.
@@josephreynolds1220 mileage doesn't really matter as much with EVs. It's all about the battery health and checking the chargers and motor work ok. Don't pay a lot more for low mileage, in other words. $4.5k sounds about right though you can get them a lot cheaper
Older EVs had poor batteries but it all depends on who's owned it and how its been used, The newer ones 2019 onwards have a better battery and range, You payed way less than £2000 for a 2011 car that will do 40 miles before charging giving you 10-15 miles to find a charger, Result mate.
Oh boy. The Nissan Leaf. In a way it is a great EV to get to know what an EV really is and what its limitations are. I got a brand new 2016 Leaf and the first thing I learned is that the estimated range is like wishful thinking even under optimal circumstances. When winter comes, then you'll see some optimistic range estimations by the car. The battery is air-cooled, so it is in no way isolated, so cold weather really affects it. You may get 40-50% less actual range if the temperature falls below freezing. This also means it can't take DC fast-charging more often than once a day. So long-distance travelling is simply out of the question with the Leaf. The Nissan Leaf is designed for people living in a large city and stay within city limits at all times. Then it is actually pretty great. Any other situation and it will eventually frustrate you with its limitations, which are all battery-related. I look forward to see if you can in fact get battery replacements and install them. As for me, the Nissan Leaf made me fall out of love with EVs by showing how real and limited they actually are.
The first gen leaf was crap from new we have a 2013 one at my work that we have had since new and it only had a range of just under 90 miles from new but never did more than 60 ish anyway. Now you get about 40 to 45 at best and the car has only done about 13000 miles from new as no one dares to take it far as the range just drops suddenly and never does what it says to start with. The battery is showing full health as well . They are big waste of time and money these cars
Having only 24wh i will not ask how many volts and amps but if it is your 12 volt battery you do need a other battery because the electronica can not do a lot with 24 watt
Absolute nonsense, none of the Leaf battery packs have any active cooling at all, let alone liquid cooling. The 24kw is considered the best for thermal management, just because it has less thermal mass,
@@ziggarilloI’m looking at these now 2nd hand in Australia as a second household car for 80% of our trips of less than 50km a day. It gets pretty hot here in summer (32+C days / 27C nights), so I’m trying to figure out if the old 24kW are worth looking for or go for a newer Gen 2 at 40kW. I’m told the 30kW wasn’t released in Australia?
@@aaronsinspirationdaily4896 They can get too hot if you attempt long distances and multiple rapid charges. There's no issue if you only rapid charge once a day. Ideally 7kw home charging is gentler
I recently inherited a 30 kWh 2016 Leaf. As I got it, it had 8 out of 12 bars on the battery health. I asked at a Nissan dealer if it could be improved, and they said that it had one free battery service included which had never been used, so I said OK. I got it up to 11 bars. That was a year ago, and it's *still* 11 bars. I do make sure not to leave it fully charged for long, and for everyday use less than 80% even though my model does not have the option to stop at 80 automatically. Last summer I took the trip from Bergen to Oslo, and that is about 300 miles with a mountain in between. I needed to fast charge four times, and the battery temperature gauge was hovering on the red line near the end, but all in all, I'm not afraid of using it for the occasional long trip.
I now have a 2017 30kwh tekna, 11 out of 12 bars, so around 100/110 miles. Battery capacity is 24kwh left.
What was your range before and after the update?
I’ve heard the update is just a trick.
@Roverturbo Well, the overly optimistic estimate is now approximately 175-180km fully charged, which should be about 110 miles. I think it used to be about 130 or 140 km, but I don't remember exactly. It definitely improved.
I had one for 4 years and it was a 2015 tekna, I could get just over 100 miles driving like a granny. Get leafspy and use the displayed kwh remaining and multiply by your miles/kwh, it becomes second nature. Keep an eye out for a scrap battery and look at Dala EV channel for how to upgrade. They are great little town cars and nothing else goes wrong with them.
If you're looking at getting one of these, get one from 2014 onwards, and go for the Tekna spec which has all the cameras, heated seats, etc. Also, make sure the battery has at least 10/12 bars on the display. Price should be less than £4k now.
Agreed, bought 2015 Tekna fish with 11/12 bars for £3250 and love it
You need to drive these cars differently to fossils. My 2014 Leaf 24kwh still has 80 mile range and 11/12 bars SOH. 80k miles on the clock. Going strong. Just don't try to drive a 300 mile round trip every weekend 😂
If you bought it for 3k or less of course it’s worth it. That’s an EV. You get your money back by not having to buy gasoline, and doing oil change. This depends on your situation if your work is 20 miles away forget it lol, but it your work is like 5 miles or less you will never need gasoline again
I drive a very similar car… it is our family daily driver. it has been brilliant… 13 years old now… so battery is a bit depleted… but it is still great for around town. Lots of space, drives well, never a mechanical issue…
Awesome! I just bought the same car version! Have you done a DC fast charge yet?
No…. 😬
I agree do the full cycle fast charge but run battery to near 0 before recharge, I'll bet your range will go up
I thought you said initially it had 44 miles and 58 on eco mode after a full charge , and i have learned its better to only charge upto 80% in order to get longer life out of the battery.
I’m not sure what your asking? The battery is shot, so the charge varies, due to length of charge, temperature etc. yes it’s said that 80% charge is better for lithium, but this point it’s too late for this one.
If u replace the battery it should be good for like 5, years no@@Roverturbo
@tightlinesandfastbikes yes but expensive, cars not worth it.
@@Roverturbo only if you really love it eh
If for battery health charge . Up to 80% & down to 20% give you %60 of the charge or range. I would have to factor that into my commute.
If only we could just recycle the capacity of all the old laptops and cell phones, vape pens, power tools, etc etc and put them right into the leaf for a little extra range
So someone could reset the battery health just before selling it?
Yup
@@Roverturbo Does LeafSpy still give the true SoH?
@sie4431 leaf spy only shows what in the bms. So no, until it takes a while for the bms to work it out again.
@@Roverturbo Hmm. So how can a buyer know the true SoH?
@sie4431 someone resetting it and selling is highly unlikely and pointless… because the miles will plummet when driving.
Wonder if it take more energy to charge a battery with half its life left 6 bars. Compared to a new battery. ?
thats a bit like clocking the mileage
40 miles on 6 bars is usual.
The miles indicator is not accurate at all. Go by charge %. and KWs/mile
Ohhh im looking at getting a cheap one - look at the leaf spy that will give you and app and check full state of battery - also just to let you know the program they use to monitor it is floored - it doenst actually properply work if you look at some other tinkers like us - They have said putting it on a 50kw charger once a week or 2 weeks can help with the state but yeah, new tech - super excitted to get them now they are cheaper
Mines for sale.
@@stealthline not sure that DC charging improves the battery state of health.. charging slowly is usually best. Occasional rapid charges are fine though. These early 24kWh Leafs are aging well. Just don't leave them on 0% or 100% charge and the battery should be fine for years.
I would imagine the hardest thing to fix is a leaking cell . Or motor replacement. Other then that woukd seem easy to maintenance.
@@travisschwartz3397 when garages finally learn how to fix on board chargers, batteries and motors these things will keep going forever until the bodywork rusts away..
I was watching a garage change cells in one the other day.think it cost about £1500 for 1 cell replacement.mind you 3/4 of the cost is dismantle & reinstall :/
@@adidasmanuk that's expensive.. should be more like £1k
@@decimal1815 where can you get it done for 1k ?
Whats happening with the Sierra 4x4
Still got it…I’ve been recording loads of stuff, I just need to edit. Long process..it’s coming i promise.
You can upgrade the battery on these to 62kWh (200 mile range) if you've got a spare £12k ;)
That's it though, invest twelve grand on an old car - very risky. You'd be better spending that on a 40kWh leaf
@@GavinScrimgeour I'm also not totally convinced the suspension will cope with 62kWh battery pack on an early Leaf!
@@decimal1815 it definitely won’t and you’ll find garages that do the upgrade stipulate you need to upgrade the suspension. It becomes a very expensive upgrade.
Hows the leaf going
No good, the range wasn’t usable and I couldn’t sell it. So I’m breaking it.
I bought a crashed damaged 2017 tekna 30kw. So I’m driving that now, has 100 miles range. I love it.
Appreciate it mate. Was just looking at one with 30k miles (dunno what that is in kilometers) for 4.5k American $. Think I’ll pass. Thanks for your time.
@@josephreynolds1220 mileage doesn't really matter as much with EVs. It's all about the battery health and checking the chargers and motor work ok. Don't pay a lot more for low mileage, in other words. $4.5k sounds about right though you can get them a lot cheaper
@@decimal1815 thanks decimal. Appreciate the advice.
If you can hack it you don't need any bricks region
I don’t understand?
Older EVs had poor batteries but it all depends on who's owned it and how its been used,
The newer ones 2019 onwards have a better battery and range,
You payed way less than £2000 for a 2011 car that will do 40 miles before charging giving you 10-15 miles to find a charger,
Result mate.
It’s only done 68,000 miles 😅
Time for a new 40kw battery
Oh boy. The Nissan Leaf. In a way it is a great EV to get to know what an EV really is and what its limitations are. I got a brand new 2016 Leaf and the first thing I learned is that the estimated range is like wishful thinking even under optimal circumstances. When winter comes, then you'll see some optimistic range estimations by the car. The battery is air-cooled, so it is in no way isolated, so cold weather really affects it. You may get 40-50% less actual range if the temperature falls below freezing. This also means it can't take DC fast-charging more often than once a day. So long-distance travelling is simply out of the question with the Leaf. The Nissan Leaf is designed for people living in a large city and stay within city limits at all times. Then it is actually pretty great. Any other situation and it will eventually frustrate you with its limitations, which are all battery-related. I look forward to see if you can in fact get battery replacements and install them. As for me, the Nissan Leaf made me fall out of love with EVs by showing how real and limited they actually are.
Thanks for the comments.
@@Roverturbo You're welcome, and enjoy your Leaf. Good to have you back!
The first gen leaf was crap from new we have a 2013 one at my work that we have had since new and it only had a range of just under 90 miles from new but never did more than 60 ish anyway. Now you get about 40 to 45 at best and the car has only done about 13000 miles from new as no one dares to take it far as the range just drops suddenly and never does what it says to start with. The battery is showing full health as well . They are big waste of time and money these cars
Get leaf spy, much more accurate range..10 miles seems to last for much longer than you think.
Yet many people swear by them.
Having only 24wh i will not ask how many volts and amps
but if it is your 12 volt battery you do need a other battery
because the electronica can not do a lot with 24 watt
Even a second car needs to get 15 miles away! Seems utterly useless. I am guessing you could buy 10,000 miles worth of diesel for what it cost!!
The first gen Japanise built air cooled batteries are rubbish. The UK built water cooled ones last longer for obvious reasons.
Absolute nonsense, none of the Leaf battery packs have any active cooling at all, let alone liquid cooling. The 24kw is considered the best for thermal management, just because it has less thermal mass,
@@ziggarilloI’m looking at these now 2nd hand in Australia as a second household car for 80% of our trips of less than 50km a day.
It gets pretty hot here in summer (32+C days / 27C nights), so I’m trying to figure out if the old 24kW are worth looking for or go for a newer Gen 2 at 40kW. I’m told the 30kW wasn’t released in Australia?
@@aaronsinspirationdaily4896 They can get too hot if you attempt long distances and multiple rapid charges. There's no issue if you only rapid charge once a day. Ideally 7kw home charging is gentler