Here's How Far My Cheap Nissan LEAF Goes On A Charge! Charging & 70-MPH Range Tests

[@OutofSpecReviews]

Your chance to win a Tesla Model S Plaid is just a click away! For just $150 a ticket you too can enter for a chance to win. Tickets are way undersold, so your odds of winning are HUGE: www.Freedomraffle.org

[@terryrodbourn2793]

A guy in the UK got a bigger battery for the Leaf that will get then 140 miles on highway! Maybe you can do in States!

[@Kimbrough87]

funny you have to use a android phone when useing obd scan sucks I have to do the same thing on my mine

[@christopherlane5238]

I appreciate the offer, but I would rather shit in my own mouth than own a tesla.

[@NAY2GAS]

@@terryrodbourn2793 He can definitely do it. There are 12 or so companies in the states that do this. He can find these places on the #NissanLEAFbatteryReplacement website.

[@nissanleafbattery]

@@christopherlane5238 I’d like to see that video.

[@christopherhamilton5557]

I recently sold my 2012 Leaf, it just didn’t meet my needs other than getting to work. Probably the best car I EVER owned. Other than range, of course. Smooth ride, zippy acceleration, zero maintenance. Even got to charge it for free at my local Nissan dealer a lot of the time. Had it 6 years.

[@jimpike7445]

Had our 2012 Leaf for 7 years also with zero maintenance. Moved to a small town far enough from the city that my wife insisted on more range even though she could drive my 2013 Tesla if she wanted. We ended up with a 2017 Volt. Now that gas is so expensive, she will drive the Tesla. I especially loved the steering wheel heat which the Tesla doesn't have. The Volt will be replaced as soon as the Aptera is available.

[@brock87___63]

How was the battery life when you sold it?

[@rolandthethompsongunner64]

What was your average range ?

[@danparish1344]

Zero maintenance, except for replacing the battery every few years.

[@rolandthethompsongunner64]

@@danparish1344 😂

[@pgsahlman]

I daily-drive a 2013 Leaf with about 60K miles. I love it. It's a city car really, since the range is down to about 60 miles w/o HVAC. Now, that 60 miles covers about 95% of my driving, with a Volvo S80 as a backup for longer trips. I've replaced one tire due to a puncture, and a set of wiper blades in 4 1/2 year of ownership. Great-driving car.

[@_cjmccullough]

Alyssa’s reaction after you said “50.2 miles” is hilarious 😂😂 that “Wowwwww” was so funny

[@anydaynow01]

For $5k total and super low fuel cost (or zero since I have workplace charging) 100km of range is more than enough to cover my and all my coworker's daily driving needs.

[@_cjmccullough]

@@anydaynow01 yeah for the average person it’s enough. But i drive 150 miles + per day so it’s not nearly enough for me

[@JoeC41]

@@anydaynow01 Once the AC charger is fixed and he can charge at home, then it would be a great inexpensive commuter car.

[@AsekiBekovy]

The Leaf can rapid charge, 50 miles are not really an issue. It's not a good long ditance car but the first few recharges are quite rapid on such a small battery. We have the env200 with the same charging speed and most recharges are less than 24 minutes

[@Aaronhouston33]

Needs a new battery

[@TheNebekenezer]

Not long after watching your video I was finally able to buy a Nissan Leaf for myself. My first EV. The trip home was 112 miles from the dealership. Best distance it was able to achieve between charges was 64 miles at highway speeds 65-70mph. So far I love my little go-cart. 😊

[@markburrows1025]

I have a 2019 model with 40 kw pack, it has a range around 120-140 miles. Each day my work commute is 100 /110 per day.

[@rolandthethompsongunner64]

So city miles would be more ?

[@Google_Does_Evil_Now]

​@@rolandthethompsongunner64over 50 mph and wind drag becomes significant. 70mph is much higher drag. But also if you're in a huge congested city then you might only be going 10mph. So.

[@petrkubena]

Was looking at 30 minute long video, testing leaf at 70mph ... sounds about right.

[@theairstig9164]

35 miles and then … nothing

[@rzu7120]

For me, this was more interesting than a Plaid video.

[@FuncleChuck]

I agree, because normal people can buy and drive a Leaf; but only very rich people will ever own a Plaid

[@Poteluz]

I bought a 2013 Nissan Leaf S for $3000 with 90,000 miles and 10 out of the 12 battery health bars. Full charge does 80-85 miles range depending on your driving. Car is really more of a city or around town commuter which is exactly what I needed it for. My wife's commute to work and back is 40 miles. This car really shines at the 30-45 mph driving speed, once you hit over 50 mph it's going to eat away at your range.

[@chyldstudios]

Next video: Drag race between Nissan Leaf vs Tesla Model S Plaid

[@xsterawesome]

I'd love to see the visual.

[@Miata822]

On a full charge, even an early LEAF can surprise most ICE cars away from the light.

[@2013AirForce]

Yes, but in reverse!

[@waynelevett3632]

@@Miata822 I have a chipped 2015 leaf from Japan. It goes pretty hard. Nothing beat me yet from the lights 😂. 9 second to 100 kph. I'm loving it. What a fun car. I have Tesla badges on it hahaha. I chase and impress model 3s but I don't win 😂.

[@Sophia-vk5bq]

The leaf dies out of the gate. lol

[@epcalderhead]

In the end the GOM was correct at 50. In the right conditions you can hit about 6 miles/kWh if eco driving around town. I can see this car getting around 85 miles assuming there is 15 kWh available. Love your maniacal enthusiasm. You can also reset the mi/kWh meter before the trip.

[@uhjyuff2095]

he probably could have got a another mile or so but he decided to floor it at the end.

[@terrymattingly6843]

My wife, with a pretty solid battery, used to get about 85 and more like 70 in dead of winter. That was in the model II revised Leaf, a 2015.

[@toranderssrvold8084]

It will keep on running ut to 0.5 kwh left, I know from experience....

[@jamescabaniss5857]

I bought my Leaf about 3 years ago. I had been watching electric car prices for a while and I could not figure out why these were so cheap. I did not get answers so I decided to buy one to figure it out. My cost was about $4500 for 2013 in perfect shape. The battery had 10 out of 12 bars left. It was a high mileage one at 71,000 miles but being garaged stored it was in perfect shape and mileage means less with ecars, it is the battery condition that is important. The old technology golf cart I wanted was $8000 used (they all looked like they got dragged up from a lake). And they used lead acid batteries, could not go on streets above 36 mph, had no AC, and had no doors etc., basically they were no comparison to the Leaf. A new golf cart cost $25,000 and above, an absolutely crazy price? The Leaf I bought has grabby brakes, it does not handle well on curves, the doors are tinny, and when you shut them things rattle. If I go through a car wash water comes flooding in. And I had to compare this to my last car which was a Mazda Protégé 5 which is an absolutely amazing car, it handles so well, like driving a go cart. But I absolutely love my Leaf. So nice, no gas station to hassle with. And it was so good, I sold a great car, so no more Mazda. I absolutely love it. so simple to use, no gas stations, no oil change, no engine to worry about, no transmission to worry about, no cooling system to worry about, I could go on and on, but you get it. Not one problems in 3 years of ownership.

[@rolandthethompsongunner64]

How’s the A/C and defrost heat work ?

[@jamescabaniss5857]

@@rolandthethompsongunner64 I never had to use the defrost heat, I live in a moderate climate. The A/C works fine, but I never use it either. The actual heat is ok, but bad compared to a gas car. I like to crank the heat up and you can not do that in a Leaf.

[@BillyJay2679]

Enjoy your adventures with used Leaf. I'm the guy with the Sky Blue 2012 Leaf charging beside you at the Powerhouse about 4 weeks ago when you asked me what I would sell mine for. Sure was surprised the next week when you bought one and brought it home. Just to compare your bargain to mine.... last Nov I scored a 2012 for $4,000 34k miles perfect body and interior, working onboard charger! (off of Craigslist) So when you test it out I really enjoy your adventures because I'm right along beside you with my sister Leaf every mile. P.S You shared with me a secret of your future modification plans but I won't tell!

[@necessaryevo]

2011 LEAF owner here. Couple things: on mine, with 8/12 capacity bars remaining (4 bar loser as the kids say), fully charged I show SOC of 93.1% and 13.6 kWh remaining. And when DC charging below 50% SOC, it will stop at 90%. Above 50% it will go to 100%. Keep us updated as to the degradation, love the comparison.

[@normt430]

With MyGrrenVolt app(all GM PHEV including Volt, ELR, CT6 plug-in hybrids) will show cell balanced very accurate when all cells are at their lowest levels. Kyle probably shouldn't use partial SOC whe n reviewing cell balance.

[@TechnicalLee]

Hmm, so the stop at 90% is by-design then rather than a BMS issue? Probably to control overheating?

[@xboxice2005]

wow my 2012 9bar Leaf never see 100% change it always stop at 95% leaf spy reports.

[@AsekiBekovy]

@@xboxice2005 that's something else. Leaf spy shows the gross capacity which can not be fully used. Leaf should always charge to 100%, but only after it shuts off and charging session gets started a second time

[@widam]

that little car save me around 3K in gasoline this summer, yes has a small battery, and needs to recharge often, but for local runs is great. one tip for highways, use Drive mode to accelerate fast, get to the speed you need and then just slightly add power to maintain speed, you drain the battery less that way.

[@rolandthethompsongunner64]

Or just stay off the highway with it.

[@Boom38119]

@@rolandthethompsongunner64 Why do that when you can clearly charge in between road trips? I've seen plenty leafs at highway rest stops!

[@BillyJay2679]

Somebody else noticed Alyssa's lowkey reaction. She is great. She is a perfect straight guy to your high energy excitement about everything electric. You make a great team!

[@rolandthethompsongunner64]

Straight guy ? 😂

[@briannugent1557]

Nice run, Kyle! That was pretty brave toward the end. I think that pulse to 40kW is what really made it panic. There is a precursor to Turtle-mode, and those are the "POWER" bubbles. Normally, they're all doubled up. At 27:46, two of the double-bubbles turned to single (unusable) ones - same as "dashes" on the high end of the power meter on the Tesla. At 28:15, four total were single. At 28:40, you got the turtle and 8 of 9 were single. Also at high SoC (like at 14:52), you don't have double-bubbles on the regen (left) side - same as Tesla dashes on the left. Interestingly, comparing the LeafSpy consumed number at the start (at 12:30, 4447Wh) to the end (at 29:40, 19740Wh), you actually got 15.3kWh out of the pack. Congrats! Edit: Also noticed the GOM was dead on from the start - how often does THAT happen?!

[@uhjyuff2095]

Thank you, I was wondering what the power limiting gauge was like on the leaf. I will have to rewatch and see what it looks like when the pack gets really low charge.

[@TechnicalLee]

The first time I read your comment I had no idea what you were talking about as a non-Leaf driver, but I think I figured it out. Wow, those double vs. single rings on the power meter are not very obvious at all. Very subtle and highly nuanced, but that's how the Japanese are. Personally I think that could have been done better.

[@busog97641]

*Yes, I would love to see you do a city driving range test!!!*

[@terrymattingly6843]

Amen. That's what Leaf owners care about. Stuff at 50 mph and under.

[@thegreenpickel]

Kum and Go, I guess that is the best the marketing department could kum up with?

[@Miata822]

The early LEAFs respond very well to hypermiling. 40+PSI in good tires, climate off, accelerator control, preserving momentum, slowing before a light to let it turn green... Trying to get max range from my high mileage used 2011 LEAF (1st EV, got it as a joke) replaced my "daily hundred". Doing the hypermile version of 10/10 driving may still irritate other drivers but if fed the competitive urge and was less likely to put me in a hospital or jail. That was over 7 years ago now. LEAF is long gone, but a young relative still drives it today. Nissan replaced the battery a couple years ago, out of warranty but there was a recall. Driving a Lucid today I may have returned to my prior evil ways I'm afraid.

[@uhjyuff2095]

For sure, if he drove 60mph he could have extended the range by 20 percent!!!

[@golfish8589]

You have returned to hypermiling? I just saw the lightyear roll about 3km after releasing accelerator

[@Miata822]

@@golfish8589 No, quite the opposite. The Lucid's big battery and incredible driving dynamics encourage me to drive inefficiently.

[@rolandthethompsongunner64]

I’ve seen the Lucids beautiful cars.

[@rolandthethompsongunner64]

@@Miata822😂

[@Chrisb8s]

Wow. That’s not bad for those speeds. A 55 mph test or just around town test would be cool

[@rolandthethompsongunner64]

Yeah I’m not gonna buy a 4,000 EV to get on the interstate or highway unless I absolutely have too😂

[@javidam]

THE highway range test of the year, LOL. But you have to give it to Kyle for how enthusiastic he is with this testing of the Leaf. Looking forward to the around town range test and then the comparison of efficiency.

[@jeffs9850]

I’m very familiar with that stretch from Wellington, CO northward. I guess the biggest concern about EV’s in the West is long empty distances.

[@fran6fran]

Nice! A brand new charging video to watch, just as I am waiting in my Kona EV to complete its own charge...

[@rye811]

Alyssa could not be less interested, her reactions make me laugh every video.

[@PD-we8vf]

Do you think anything this mommas boy does has ever interested her?

[@lubricatedgoat]

I'm glad he doesn't go out of his way to entertain a female. In general they only care about social interactions and feelings, not engineering. Props to those who do! Can you imagine how primitive the world would be if they didn't have us? No offense to any, it's just true (again, in general). So no, not a mommas boy -- he's doing his own thing.

[@tomreingold4024]

I noticed she’s not comfortable being on camera.

[@galesal1109]

I find it kinda annoying but that’s just me.

[@bdeithrick]

@@PD-we8vf only 5.5 things

[@raven4k998]

12:56 Proof right there kids on how badly out of balance his leaf's Battery is kids so if your seeing him run her completely dead like that seeing that screen after a full charge will level those bars out some what bringing that battery back into balance a bit atleast to really rebalanced the battery he would have to make this video doing what he's doing to the car multiple times to get those cells as close together as he can in charge levels to balance the battery if it's even still possible

[@edvoon]

A LEAF should be the second car in every 2+ car household. Cheap to get and aside from the battery, Nissan have done a wonderful job designing this very efficient city runabout. The LEAF's battery, unlike newer EVs, is relatively simple to change and there are already some companies designing aftermarket batteries for it.

[@timgurr1876]

Why anyone would be impressed at achieving 50 miles of range at 70 mph then having to recharge to literally go anywhere else is beyond me?? At my age I want comfort, low noise, and range. However, his enthusiasm keeps me watching. Still waiting for those new EV’s that fit my price range.

[@pinkiepie1656]

Because its a great car for around town. Not every trip is to another state.

[@sharonbraselton3135]

1980. Stuff Hass less range then 50 milees

[@planefan082]

Because that car is extraordinarily cheap

[@kubi0461]

I'd swear he seems more energetic during this video than when first doing the Rivian tests. It's subtle but noticeable.

[@kennyfordham6208]

It's from range anxiety. His adrenaline is kicking in from fear of being stranded. 😏

[@ichigo19870]

Haha Kyle, another Bjorn fan. Any collab planned for the winter? Would love to see two nerds nerding together. Maybe a nice camping trip in the ID Buzz? Or would Alyssa be too jealous?^^

[@SuperchargedJester]

Good call doing the leaf videos! Lots of us leaf owners in Colorado 🤠

[@gelisob]

9:55 balance at full batt is expected. The most information is seen when you look at those cell voltages at high speed low battery state. You can adjust the "scale" on the cell screen by tapping top or bottom side of the graph, to make it reasonable :) 0.01v difference making huge spikes is not useful info.

[@CtDDtC1919]

Great video! I appreciate your, clear and concise explanation of information. I purchased a 2015 Nissan Leaf SL for 9K in September of 2021. It had 67K miles on it and 11 out of 12 bars on battery health. My Credit Union sold me an extended warranty that covers everything (including the 24KW battery) for 8 years beyond my purchase date, for $1900. Originally it was advertised as having 84 miles of range on a charge. Depending on how aggressively I drive, and if I am using the A/C or Heater, I get a City Driving range of 68 miles to 85 miles. All charging is done at home with 120VAC. I charge once every 7 to 10 days... never letting the charge drop below 25%. I plug it in at night, and the next morning it is at 100%. Previously I drove a Full Size Ford Bronco with a V8. Home Budget software shows a savings of $4800 in gasoline at the 1 year mark. Our house has a 6.27Kw Solar system on it, and even with charging the car, we generate a surplus. I will admit I wasn't keen on getting an EV at first, but after driving it for a short while, I came to LOVE it. The instant torque is addictive, low decibels in the cab makes for pleasant conversation (I'm hard of hearing) , and not having to go to the gas station and throw money into the tank constantly have all made me change my mind. It is a local commuter. If there is highway traveling to be done, we take my wife's gas car. They are not a good fit for everyone, but for those whom they make practical sense, I highly recommend!

[@conrado800]

You should turn on the 80% long life battery mode

[@callmebigpapa]

The right tool for the job!

[@John-209]

Kyle does see the glass half full, one of the things I love about him

[@jisa39]

He's an upbeat guy

[@golfish8589]

Many times he actually is on both side of the argument. Then grinds and giggles I dont know

[@John-209]

@@golfish8589 ya To be young, passionate and idealistic, Sometimes you can see both sides

[@golfish8589]

@@John-209 add in wealthy and libertarian

[@John-209]

@@golfish8589 2 more great things

[@Robert-pm6bm]

Can you guys do a video on what went wrong with home charging and how you go about fixing it?

[@71johnf]

He said he would, and it’s not “home charging” it’s A/C charging and it’s a broken component in the car. Not a broken charger.

[@Robert-pm6bm]

@@71johnf his home charging systems are broken. Different topic bud

[@letmenot]

What's this home charger you people are going on about.? My 2012 leaf sl came with a L2 cord so for about $40 I bought a dryer outlet, a double 20amp breaker and a box and installed it myself in my garage.

[@troosimimimmi]

@@letmenot its called onboard charger on the car and his car accepts only dc charging common problem on leaf

[@TechnicalLee]

Yeah I haven't seen the promised video on it yet. I'm curious what the heck happened.

[@adamchoi8136]

That was a perfect scenario with the roll into the charging spot. Nice work!

[@CGR89]

That is crazy, this vehicle would get me to my current job 1 way with 5 miles to spare, and it would be 10 miles short of my previous job. Glad battery technology has improved in the past decade.

[@paulo123-]

Dude why do you live so far from your job?

[@thomassantiago4084]

Count me in for the hypermiling around town video. ALSO, definitely can't wait for the on-board charger upgrade. And if you do decide to change out the battery, I'm game for that one too!

[@wtmayhew]

Low beam is LED (there is an angle adjuster on the lower left dash). High beam is halogen.

[@TechnicalLee]

Angle adjuster? Like up/down beam angle? Is that legal on low beams?

[@wtmayhew]

@@TechnicalLee I can’t speak to the legality, but my 2011 LEAF which was native to the US market had a knob on the lower left dash which adjusted the beam angle slightly. The owner’s manual somewhat cryptically said the control was provided for correcting headlights based on the number of occupants. No suggestions on how to accomplish that task correctly were given. I left my control on 3 out of a scale 1 to 10 and it seemed like a good compromise no matter how many passengers were in the car. My guess is it was a sort of cheap-out for an auto leveling mechanism the car should have had. My parents had a Lexus RX300 wagon which you could see went through an headlight aiming procedure every time the key was turned on. The other unusual feature that apparently only existed on the 2011 LEAF is that a push button was provided to disable the pedestrian warning system noise maker which sounds like a cross between a tea kettle and dragging brake shoe. The PWS would stay off until the the car was switched off. The PWS automatically reenabled at the next power on. In later models you could (possibly illegally) just pull the fuse for the PWS module.

[@mahhubbard]

Alyssa is like, do we have to? We have guest waiting to go to dinner! I wish I had a 2012 leaf. My commute is 6 miles daily I’d never use my gas cars, unless traveling away from home. Great video great enthusiasm. Big thumbs up. And subscribed!

[@MrDoodtoob]

I gave my Dad my old 2012 Nissan Leaf and he also uses it as a daily driver, dirt cheap to operate

[@sharonbraselton3135]

C h if dad has a poirshe 930 turbo top soeed 15 minte tank

[@soucyno1]

My wife had a 2015 Leaf and most she got was 91 miles and I had to pull her with my truck. We had it in 2016 second hand and it charged to 100% without issues and without fail at home.

[@sharonbraselton3135]

Buy new leads longer range

[@BenFyvie]

Very interesting, but you definitely should do a below freezing cold weather range test

[@sdcllc8727]

I'm looking forward to all of your Leaf videos.

[@shredmas]

Yes the 2013 and later Nissan leafs you could set the peak charge level at 80%. I'd like to see a video of of Kyle having this battery pack swapped out for a 40 KW hour pack they do do that I think it's about $6,000 to have it done aftermarket

[@MrKillerRC]

Last week I bought a 2013 Leaf SV with 41k miles, for $2,000. I love it.

[@smeraldatanelus6490]

How was the car?

[@kennethjessop6073]

Once you get the onboard charger, you’ll get to swipe left with the plug to open the orange hatch and insert in one move. Bliss.

[@patrickmaloy5262]

There must be a developing market for battery upgrades for the myriad of electric vehicles as battery technology improves. The possibilities are limitless, and the Leaf is a prime example of an "easy to swap" battery design.

[@DarrylTalks]

The Leaf is a well thought out car for the driver. I really love my one. I have done about 85,000km in 5 years. My one is good for a 130km round trip, I have an 80km round trip commute at the moment. On the older Leaf the charging speed and regen are good in the bottom half of the battery. The speed limit is 100km where I live, but you can drive 90 in the slow lane without holding people up, if you want to maximise range.

[@FredSEd-x9d]

We had 2015 leaf from 2017 to 2022. Great car, no problems. If you can live with the small range it makes a good daily driver. When we traded it for our Bolt I calculated our total cost of ownership. Purchased price -traded in value, electricity, maintainence (tires, wipers, and a 12 volt battery) the total cost was less than what we would have paid for gas for the ICE car it replaced to drive the same number of miles.

[@simonthebroken9691]

Thank you. Looking forward to the charger repair videos.

[@grazz7865]

I was watching a documentary about electric cars. The narrator said “if you’re going on a cross country trip and you have to stop in every state to recharge, you may as well go by horse and carriage”

[@dh-1399]

Love the LEAF videos.. keep them up please. I know in my 2018 with the 40kWh pack there can be some strange behavior during top charging and a lot of times it will stop around 98% regardless of AC or DC. I have always assumed this is because it has detected that it needs to do some cell balancing and cuts out early. I think the early models might have had a charge limit setting?? Check under Zero Emission button -> Settings -> Long Life (infotainment) mode or under the charge timers (gauge cluster menu). I think you can get 80 miles in your proposed city circuit test. These cars will obviously not win any interstate efficiency awards but under 50mph it's a whole different story. Would love to see a series of videos on the AC charger repair. It's good to see you blocking up a CPE-250 for the 2nd or 3rd time that day. This is what the community expects from all of us to maintain our image.

[@dr.OgataSerizawa]

What is a CPE-250?

[@dh-1399]

@@dr.OgataSerizawa - The model of DC charger he is standing in front of in the video. Chargepoint CPE-250.

[@Nalla328]

I played with the SETEC Power inverter. Amazing how plug and play it was.

[@wtmayhew]

Tires: factory Ecopia are the most efficient and probably best bet. They get very noisy as they wear down. If you replace tires, get the newer version Ecopia which has a much better tread wear rating.

[@fusion8484]

Maybe you should talk to the guy who owns Muxsan ev equipment. He has tons of experience in leafs and is basically the go to guy here. They are located in Rotterdam. I’ve visited him numerous times and he’s a really nice guy. Give me a shout out if you need help contacting him.

[@dreamrelaxation7239]

I live in an area where 70 mph is not really possible. Traffic is so jammed up that the real average is more like 28 mph average (that's average speed). Sometimes less if the train holds you up.

[@rolandthethompsongunner64]

These definitely seem like fantastic city cars especially in warm climates. The price is definitely a great deal. 👍

[@evfusion4094]

My wife bought the same Nissan Leaf 1 year ago for around town. Interesting almost exactly the same range as you found.

[@scraig248]

I have a story that might be of interest. When my son started college 5 years ago he had a paid off used gas car that would probably need more maintenance in a short time, and he asked me what it would take to get him an EV -- the first EV in the family back then. He was commuting back and forth to college which was 19 miles away. He said he could charge it for free at school. I said if he could find one that the payments were less than what I gave him for gas money (which was much less back then). He did, he found a Fiat 500e with only 20k miles, under warranty, in absolute perfect condition. It had a short range but it was good enough at the time. It was primarily sold or leased new in CA and I think OR and we lived in a northern midwest state, but lucky enough that a specialty car dealer had picked up a truckload of Fiat 500e's at auction in CA and had them shipped to his dealership. We put snow tires on it and it did amazing. The moral of the story, it's very cost effective to have an EV with a short range for use cases such as a short work or school commute. With the loan we had, I think we paid $90/month for a few years. The auction price of the car was like $4k, and the dealer sold them for around $8k in our area and he put on new tires... but the car had a premium interior and nothing wrong with it. I heard it cost the manufacturer over $40K to build the car but they sold for less for compliance - leveling out whatever against their gas cars.

[@keithv3767]

Great video. I have a friend that had the 2012 Leaf with the small battery, and he could get almost 60 miles of range in the summer. In the winter it was less than 40. The Leaf is heavily effected by cold weather.

[@mjcmjc6428]

Thanks for another great video

[@etdweasel]

Yeah, I wanna see the hypermile run! You’ve turned me around on buying an old Leaf, I’m scouring the ads now…👍

[@ec7287]

I've gotta tell ya, Kyle, I'm with you all the way about this Leaf. For years, I saw them around while driving my Civic and thought, what an ugly little car. But this pas March, with gas prices rocketing, and the fact that we installed 26 PV panels along with a Tesla Powerwall, I decided to go electric. THere was a long wait for a Tesla (the prices are high anyway), and none of the dealers here had EVs in stock (I'm on an island in the middle of the Pacific. Figure it out.) So when the Nissan dealer called to say they got a 2019 Leaf in, I grabbed it. I'm so glad I did. Nissan must have put their "A" team on the design and development of this car. It's all the things you rave about and more. Quiet, smooth, comfortable, all the things you'd want in a daily driver. Mine is an SV Plus with the 62 kwh battery that's supposed to get 220 miles on a full charge. I haven't got that much, but that's mainly because I have to commute over a mountain. The 2.5 mile uphill to the top uses up 10-12 miles, depending on how big of a hurry I'm in. But absent that daily climb, I'm convinced I wouldn't have to charge more than once a week. All and all, I, too am ecstatic with this car. It's a shame that Nissan is apparently going to phase the line out over the next year or two.

[@mspringett]

I just bought a 2013 leaf for $3000 in montana. After driving it for a month doing a bunch of battery cycling I have managed to recover about 20% or so capacity.

[@marietiggelaar628]

Hi, I just had a camping family trip 102 miles away with fully loaded leaf 2022 62kwh. with 3 Young kids and a strengthened aluminium hitch basket with a 11ft3 bag. I averaged 3.1 mi/kWh on the highway at cruise set at 72-74 mph for 90 miles of the trip. Outside temp was 80 f. Without any load I do 3.5 mi/kWh on highway. And 4-4.4 mi/kWh in town. Winter performance was not too different ( In TN). Cheers.

[@MechayaAlta]

I like your standardized range test. I think you would have more views if they were shorter, about 10 minutes long. I love our 2022 Nissan Leaf SV plus.

[@williamwebberjr8045]

I'd definitely like to see the video of how to max the range around town.

[@danimper2517]

Oh Thats intresting make more videos with these kinda cars ;)

[@vanlifefpv6340]

Doesn't it only balance the cells on AC charging? Maybe that is why it stops at 90%

[@uhjyuff2095]

nah it does static balancing once over a certain battery charge level. which means you don't have to have the charger connected all the time

[@kathyfann]

Tell us where we can get Recycled batteries for these older Nissan leaf models could you please go into that because there’s lots of them that if we could get new recycle batteries those cars are in good shape otherwise and it would be ideal if somebody could extend their range with slightly more power in those recycled battery packs

[@jboomhauer]

50 miles at 70mph is very impressive!

[@skywatch4639]

No it's not, it's pathetic.

[@lostvlog6857]

@@skywatch4639 why buy this?

[@outdoorsnevada4138]

120 miles at 70 would be more impressive

[@rolandthethompsongunner64]

I’m impressed Nissan finally did something right. My mechanic told me avoid Nissans altogether. Although some are reliable they have issues especially transmissions.

[@frankypc]

I have a 7 bar 2012 leaf. I drive it 36 miles daily for work and its a solid curiser for sure

[@grantlouw3182]

Absolutely need to do a round town range please!

[@lelandhetrick205]

Please follow up with city driving with tire pressure @ 50 psi. A 2015 Leaf owner here. Unfortunately I do a lot of my 60-mile roundtrip commute by freeway, which motivated me to update the battery pack to 62 kWh from OEM 24 kWh (showing 83% SOH) last March.

[@sharonbraselton3135]

Gid fir you

[@Crayz919]

Why 50 psi in tires

[@lelandhetrick205]

@@Crayz919 Actually my tires are at 45 psi to reduce the rolling resistance on the road. Of course confirm on tire's sidewall the max amount. My tires are specifically designed for lower rolling resistance and they max out at 52 psi, so I feel safe with the seven psi margin. My car has a plate to indicate 36 psi for a softer ride, which I opt for the more economical performance from higher pressure.

[@Javaman92]

I picked up a 2012 LEAF for $4000 and I love it! Being retired and not driving far 99% of the time it is the perfect car for me. If I need to go far, I can take my Jeep. But I MUCH rather be driving my LEAF. 😀

[@michaelsmithers4900]

Absolutely love this series

[@Mladjasmilic]

At full, it is normal to have all cells balanced. That is why it takes so much time to charge fully, is because the car does bleeding off some cells to allow for others to fully charge. The real indicator is the voltage difference at low state of charge. Those which are drained more than others are with bad heath.

[@rolandthethompsongunner64]

Any vehicle that is reliable for around 4k is a fantastic deal.

[@anthonyku9008]

Take apart the interior plastic trunk panels, kick the dent out LOL

[@showme360]

We are in the UK and we have 2 Nissan Leaf cars, a 2011 like yours, and a 2015. They are 2 completely different cars the newer one is far better with the improved battery chemistry and improved regen. But want I wanted to say was that during the winter months we use our 2015 which has bidirectional charge to run our ASHP on cheap over night electricity all day long. (the 2011 does not have this option) To achieve this we purchased the Setec 6kw mobile power station, which sits inside the old housing of our oil burning boiler. The Setec will also come in handy if the other car runs out of duce, but for the last 5 years we've never run out or even come close. So it interesting for to see you put this to the test. We are looking to swap out the old batteries, as on the Leaf they are interchangeable. We aim to either find a 40kwh pack to replace the 2015 24kwh pack, and use the 2015 pack to swap out for the 2011. Both cars will double in range 2011 80 miles, 2015 160 miles per charge. Cost has been quoted at £12k to swap out both batteries, and dismantle the 2011 pack to sell on the cells at around £100 each and as there is 34 of them thats £3.4k back in the bank. So we get 2 cars with better range at £8.6k which is cheap than buying an newer 2019 40kwh Leaf currently advertised at £20k thats a saving of £11.4k which is cheap motoring, and house heating. I love my Leaf Nissan!

[@gelisob]

27:50 looking at cell voltage is useful when the percentages and stuff is confusing. Turtle mode comes when some amount of cells go under.. hmm, was it 3.3v? not sure. But using that display you can carefully drive by cell voltages and being gentle not to sag cells too low :D

[@greengrass89]

Yeah she’s due for some good slow charging and balancing for sure!

[@haqitman]

Would love to see what improvement in range flat wheel covers would make. The measurements are so precise it will be easily apparent if there is a difference. And get an a/c charger!

[@rp9674]

I've wondered about that flat wheel covers idea also

[@extragoode]

@@rp9674 I've 3d printed and used a couple sets of Dala's Leaf petals, inserts that fit in the openings of the Leaf's alloy rims to make the wheel almost completely flat. Over about 18 months and 18,000km I've averaged 1.1% higher efficiency, but that's with a 19% higher average speed as I've been doing more highway driving, so my efficiency SHOULD have decreased by as much as 41.6%. Other users have measured improvements around 10%. Using the 10% improvement number, they've saved me at least 400kw or $40. Since they cost me about $20 to print, they've saved me about $20 so far. They certainly make it FEEL more stable at higher speeds and during crosswinds, too.

[@rp9674]

@@extragoode nice, I thought it was weird that bolt doesn't seem to have arro wheels either

[@extragoode]

@@rp9674 manufacturers seem to be convinced that nobody wants aero wheels. Tesla has some that are better, but still not flat. Cars are still very vain objects and people are willing to pay way more for pretty, but less functional things. The only mostly smooth rims I've seen on a production vehicle were on the lightyear 0 but it's not exactly cutting any costs. The Aptera will probably have completely enclosed wheels whenever it finally makes it to production.

[@rp9674]

@@extragoode sucks, I think flat Wheels look good, seems like they could do break cooling from the inside of the wheel

[@slodose]

Hypermiling sounds fun, but don't use the horn. It kills the range😆

[@smileychess]

I want a video that shows how long it takes to run the battery down if you just sit still honking the horn. Now that's some real content.

[@howardmarkert8150]

Great job on the high speed test, I really want to see what you can do in town.

[@sharonbraselton3135]

Long rang regen braking

[@jimparr01Utube]

Very Cool test for an 'elderly?' Nissan Leaf. I am impressed. 3700 bucks. Great buy. If I were you I would be reticent about replacing the battery module just yet. But when the time comes, I hope you ensure the old one will be recycled in the most practical way. Cannot remember who that TELSA guy was who started the leading-edge recycling company, but that would be my choice for disposal. So great to see that some early EV vehicles can still make a good impression on the thrust towards a focused energy supply - electrical - whatever the original energy source. This makes the much needed refurbishment of energy delivery SO MUCH MORE SIMPLE.

[@chuckv8838]

Former Loveland resident. Looks like you’re in north Fort Collins to Wellington. Beautiful location. Curious- looks like cost was about $6 to charge for the 50 mile range. Is that typical efficiency? Would the Etron cost the same to charge for that 50 mile distance. Thanks

[@AsekiBekovy]

There is no typical efficiency in EVs. The Leaf is maybe average, at least it's a compact car. The Etron is at the top end, its consumption will be at least 50% higher at these speeds. And don't take the electricity rate for granted. It's not usual to pay 60 cents per kWh and it's also not usual to go 70 mph in a Leaf because it just doesn't make sense range wise. We have an env200 in Germany and the most we pay for 60 miles is $5.5.. that is by going 55 mph at max

[@chuckv8838]

@@AsekiBekovy So typical is a sloppy way of asking for average. Just like you’d ask if the gas mileage of an ICE car was ‘typical’….i.e., there are ‘typical’ efficiencies. I had not taken electricity rates for granted. And where I live, 70 is a ‘typical’ highway speed (unfortunately). There was at least one other comment asking about cost to charge to attain a 50 mile range. I’m in favor of EVs, but we must depend on facts, and not hide behind boosterism. BTW - I drive a plug-in hybrid…since you’re wondering…

[@adamr-4343]

Damn my leaf was a steal for $1500 with 6 bars and only 40K miles... clean and no dents like his.. too bad it only gets about 30miles at least in the sub freezing temps

[@roodick85]

That's pretty good honestly! You could get a golf kart with no AC less range and a 1/10 of the power

[@gelisob]

6:14 DC charger goes directly to battery and only very little is lost to heat, if charger measures and reports energy that leaves the cable. AC charging has inverter in between with losses.

[@ladonnalewis4296]

That was a fun video! That little Leaf is in pretty good shape battery-wise. Loved it. I bet it has not been charged to 100 percent and discharged down to zero very often, the BMS was probably totally confused. I wonder how it will be now that you have discharged it and charged it to 100 a couple of times. Also, I wonder how it would be if it were AC charged to 100 and had a chance to balance the battery a bit better.

[@Yonder27]

Watch one blow up if you want something fun to watch🔥💥🔥🗣Nothing but a HUGE HOLE IN THE GROUND LEFT😱‼️

[@markcornwall8132]

Wait for it. Kyle does a road trip in the Leaf. Maybe how far you can get round trip in the Leaf in a day would be fun to watch.

[@williamegler8771]

I bought a Saturn Astra for $3500.00 from a estate sale. It had 54k miles at the time and in near showroom condition. I have put 40k virtually trouble free miles on it , only required a alternator, and I can easily sell it for what I paid for it.

[@rzu7120]

You're triggering my OCD with that dent!

[@fitybux4664]

Are you running the latest ECM/etc software? Get a dealership to update it for you.

[@EVAddicted]

At 12:36 when you were showing LeafSpy it wasn’t reading actual updated data. As the car was off and the yellow rectangle on bottom right of LeafSpy was toggling between orange and yellow showing that is attempting to read data but doesn’t receive any. When it turns green it means it reads data from the car.

[@willpatton9529]

As a 24kw Nissan Leaf owner crimson red just like this one. It's not the size of the battery it's how you use it I regularly get what guess o meter says, normal 88 miles at full but rarely ever go over 65 lol the faster you go the less range. 😉

[@chrisw443]

The wow at the end from alyssa is my partner when I start going on a hypermile adventure. LOL

[@Rod-bp8ow]

The vehicle/brand has plenty of plus...considering that it has evolved from a don't want....into a want to. It is definitely remarkable to have this brands in the streets...vhrroom

[@jisa39]

How much would it cost to replace the battery?

[@wmalden]

My Nissan dealer quoted me $13,500 to replace the battery in my 2011 Leaf with the same 24KWh battery it came with.

[@jisa39]

@@wmalden That's quite expensive considering that it wont extend the range.

[@STho205]

Remember when we bought automobiles to go places, to enjoy the drive, to take carefree trips. I do. Almost all these EV videos are about the joys and struggles of charging. I just can't wait to get to the next charge....I'm just a titter with anticipation. Imagine 20 years ago driving videos with a similar type Toyota Corolla except instead of scenery, side adventures, fun it was just quick cuts of bland miles and then a tour of the grungy gas stations of the continent. That's almost every EV video, despite energy range.