How to use Leaf Spy? Battery Check State of Health Nissan Leaf 2017 30 kWh SOH Leafspy

Checking the State of Health (SOH) of your Nissan Leaf is quite simple using a special app called Leaf Spy and connecting to your Leaf via an OBD dongle.
The OBD2 dongle I use is a LELink OBD2 purchased on Amazon.

[@KTPurdy]

I can't imagine owning a Leaf without LeafSpy

[@johnwang9914]

The Nissan Leaf battery pack is actually designed for modules to be replaced, they just don't offer a way to reset the lithium ion battery controller to rediscover the battery packs, you have to send them out to a third party to reset the module to rediscover the module voltages or it will just lock up when you change the modules (you can manually drain the new modules till the voltages match those of the failed unit). Each module has four cells two pairs wired in series with each pair wired in parallel. The cells themselves are glued to each other and to the casing with a thermal transfer compound and not only does the glue make it difficult to separate the pouches but the connectors need to be cut so replacing a cell within a module isn't really an option though possible.

[@Livey01]

Hi John, You say that the cells are glued together, is that for the 2017 Nissan Leaf battery packs only? I am currently trying to find cells for my Nissan Leaf 2013 to swap out. All the best.

[@johnwang9914]

There's a KZbin video where they disassembled a Leaf battery pack and another video where they reassembled it. It is the modules that you can replace and each module has four pouch cells glued together and to the metal module case with a thermal transfer glue, these pouch cells are two groups of two cells that are connected in parallel and then these two pairs connected in series. When you replace a module, you have to manually load the new module with a load till it's voltage matches that of the module you are replacing exactly or the battery management software will error code out and brick the battery pack. You really don't want to try replacing a module till you've researched how it's done.

[@grobbiesm]

Thanks for your reply. Sorry for being ignorant, really don't know much about EC's but really want to live more environmentally friendly. What would you say an acceptable battery health would be for a secondhand EC please?

[@evliving5495]

Great video, I have a 24kwh 2013 Nissan Leaf with 73.72% SOH and 106,000 miles. Max real world driving I can do is about 150km range on eco mode. I’m surprised to see how degraded the batteries from QC’s mine has 110QC and 4438 LV1/2

[@AlexChowStuart]

Really, really helpful. Thank you! So much information on the Leaf batteries.

[@Tron-Jockey]

68.12% SOH is not so good, even after 72k miles. Too many Quick Charges (159), probably done during hot summer days. My 2015 is at 85% SOH at 61k miles. Your battery pack does look well balanced though which makes me believe that your degradation is likely being misrepresented by your BMS due to a known bug in the software. Because of this your battery is almost certainly not as bad as it looks. The 30kWh batteries are not as bad as originally thought. You didn't mention whether or not you've had the BMS software fix. My guess is that after you get the software update you'll have closer to 80% SOH.

[@lessylvestre5901]

So in order to preserve the longevity of the battery, no quick charging especially on hot days.

[@richardhobbs7107]

@@lessylvestre5901 - Yup ! Also, try not to park over hot pavement on a hot sunny summer day ! ! ! Keep your battery pack cool . . . . let it listen to Angelina Jordan on KZbin to keep it cool ! ! ! !

[@lanceareadbhar]

My guess is that it is the climate along with charging it to 100% to often without driving it the next day. This car requires extra care to keep the battery as healthy as possible. The good news is that they should qualify for a new battery before 100,000 miles and they can work on keeping that battery in a better condition.

[@stanislavmelis1290]

u can calibrate it a bit ..like discharge baterry to 1 perc..with heater at the end or like that..then slow charge..u can get back 1 to 2 perc of SOH. 2-3 times

[@northcountryman]

Very helpful, thank you!

[@electricpower5183]

Glad it was helpful, do not hesitate to subscribe! Cheers

[@martijnijsendoorn6911]

my dec 2013 leaf 24KWH AHR=49,19 SOH=75,25 396V HX=62,52 ODO=148,868 KM 299 QCs 5610 L2 220V every day to 100% CHARGING AT HOME! 2,2KWH i drive 60km a day... own it for 4 years now every end of the week when the charge is full i pull the plug out and i put it in again for 2 times! rebalancing every week :)

[@Englishinstruction]

Great Video! Is there a difference between the Red and Blue bars. I didn't catch that in the video.

[@saeedmardani3900]

This application only works with some of the obd2 transmitters. I found a brand named "veepeak" with a small blue glassy cover working fine. But, similar ones from aliexpress does not work. You should note that it transfers data when the car is in "on" driving mode only. Otherwise, it just shows a screen with no data.

[@evuganda7647]

Thanks for the video, how do i get the software to improve my battery?

[@dademujohn]

Thanks

[@electricpower5183]

Cheers, do not hesitate to subscribe to my new channel!

[@yourmamaok]

Hopefully you can get a battery upgrade rather than a software update.

[@johnwang9914]

The typical approach with second hand Leaf's is to have a presumably gently used salvaged battery pack installed but this still requires the computers to be reprogrammed by a third party to accept the new pack. There is a company in the States that disassembles the salvaged battery pack for the modules, reprogram the controller to rediscover all the batteries which is something that Nissan did not provide so it's an actual hack. With them you can get a battery swap and they disassemble your battery pack for useful modules to build the next battery pack. The problem with second hand Leaf's that I see is that the Nissan Ariya won't use the Chademo DC fast charging connector, opting for the CCS connector everyone except Tesla is using and Electrify America has said they will no longer provide Chademo at their public charging stations so fast charging during a long trip will become increasingly difficult with a second hand Leaf. Of course as a commuter with level 1 or 2 charging overnight and or while parked at work (many parking lots and office buildings now offer a few free level 2 chargers), a second hand Leaf is just fine and a hell of a bargain given people's distrust of the lack of active battery cooling and the decline of Chademo charging stations. Of course, very soon, the Bolt will become a bargain second hand EV given the battery fires and how upset people are over how GM has been addressing the problem.

[@CIGGREENVAPOR]

Bonjour Adrien, merci pour la vidéo. Connaissez vous la courbe approximative de dégradation? Est ce que ça c'est fait progressivement ou d'un coup après 100000? J'envisage l'achat d'une leaf 30 2017 100k km. A ce jour SOH de 82% mais si ça dégringole vite, je préfère m'abstenir et trouver une 24. Merci 🙂

[@mk-jl3zd]

Thank you.

[@skepticalmechanic]

Roughly 25% of capacity was lost at 76,000 miles... WOW! A lot more than I would have thought. At 76,000 my Subaru Forester is just hitting its Prime!

[@lanceareadbhar]

This car should be eligible for a new battery soon under warranty. This is completely unacceptable, but also not surprising for older Leafs in a hot climate. This car needs some extra work done to keep it as cool as possible to slow down the battery degradation. The newer Leafs are better, but still don't have active cooling which would require a lot more planning for any potential road trip.

[@johnwang9914]

A consequence of no active cooling and of course a hot climate, fast charging and of course too frequent charging. The good thing is that the Leaf is old enough for there to be third parties that can swap out the battery packs with refurbished ones. The downside is the Chademo DC fast charging port will no longer be supported by Electrify America, even Nissan is abandoning it with their yet to be released Ariya. Long trips will become increasingly difficult to navigate.

[@rogerbrand6214]

Are there any worthwhile differences between the free and paid version of Leafspy?

[@decimal1815]

Hx also important

[@stighaaland5357]

Just drive it hard and charge alot until you get 8 bars, and you get a new battery on warranty.

[@gavstar69]

159 quick charges. Is that why your Leaf is down to 9 bars?

[@electricpower5183]

It is one of the reasons... this is due to the heat from the quick charges

[@15crap]

Fash charge on 2 stange or DC

[@SuperPartridge1]

Could it be the 2760 charges and not the 159 quick charges. I have been told not to keep topping up when nearly full, and to discharge down to 25% ish before recharging. 75000 miles divided by a total of 2900+ charges is only about 25 miles per charge

[@TimBorg]

i am unable to get this app to work with any dongles its a big scam waste of money

[@csukas40]

Oh man there is way more into it,the review is under basic

[@hana96able]

Hey great video, but I can’t find the free version. Do you have a link to download it? I want to buy a used Nissan Leaf and I don’t want to buy the app if I’m not getting the car

[@lanceareadbhar]

The free version is only available on Android. It's called Leaf Spy Lite.

[@TheLittleLondonGarden]

So you have to have a dongle to use the app?

[@electricpower5183]

Yes, the dongle communicates with the car through the OBD port.

[@TheLittleLondonGarden]

@@electricpower5183 thank you for clarifying

[@baronsilverbaron757]

Any idea if it's better for the battery to be topped up to 80% after each trip or to let it go down to say 30% before charging to 80%?

[@decimal1815]

Keep battery around 50% when not in use. Charge as much as you need for the day otherwise. An occasional balancing charge to 100% is good for the battery management system. If you can manage with 80% charge for regular daily use, limit charging to that. Otherwise just charge and don't worry about it. Don't leave the battery on a low state of charge (under 30%) or maximum charge for more than a few hours if possible.

[@baronsilverbaron757]

@@decimal1815 I've now got a Tesla Y.

[@Roverturbo]

Only pro available now @ £19.99

[@skeedadyl]

Will the software update improve the SOH on this car?

[@electricpower5183]

Yes, on the 30kwh versions a software update usually improves the SOH and the bars on the panel!

[@johnwang9914]

Remember the software estimates the state of health. New software might manage the battery better but the state of health isn't really improved though it might be displayed as being improved. Regardless, the video isn't really about the car's software but a software app on your phone that can read a Bluetooth connected OBD-II diagnostic port reader and report the numbers directly to you rather than depend on the car's instrumentation panel.

[@grobbiesm]

@@johnwang9914 What's the name of the software please?

[@johnwang9914]

@@grobbiesm Uhh, the battery management software is proprietary to the various auto manufacturers. Even if you're officially trained, you can't replace it, you might be able to upgrade it but basically doing anything it isn't expecting will brick your battery pack. There are third parties who hack the battery management software so you can install battery packs salvaged from the scrap yard but that's it and you have to send in both your old battery management unit and the salvaged one in for them to hack and it is a custom hack each time. Messing with the battery management computer will most likely brick your car. I wasn't talking about some app you can download onto your phone but the actual battery management computer in your EV's battery pack which isn't customer accessible.

[@ahah1785]

Unbelievable...this is what i was afraid would happen when a friend tried to convince me to get an new electric car...Yeah im keeping my mercedes 300D for another 10 years...Hopefully car makers will start to use lithium titanate soon (LTO) chemistry....this is a joke.

[@johnwang9914]

The Nissan Leaf's battery pack is actually designed to be serviced and they have a documented module replacement process. They just won't do it preferring to sell you a new battery pack instead but there are third parties that purchase salvaged battery packs from wrecked Leafs. The more basic third party battery swappers just have the computers reset by a third party and install the salvaged battery pack which would likely be less used but the more sophisticated battery swap third parties will disassemble the packs, test each module and reassemble a battery pack with tested modules and of course the reset controller. Despite offering a module replacement documentation, Nissan did not offer a way to reset the computers so it takes a third party to reflash them and of course different third parties have developed different ways of hacking them. I wouldn't consider the batteries as an obstacle to purchasing a second hand Leaf but the abandonment of the Chademo DC quick charge port in both North America and Europe. It will become increasingly difficult to DC fast charge a Leaf during a long trip though the Leaf should be just fine with daily commutes and overnight charging at home which should be most if not all of your use.

[@janvanderlinde3039]

take a good video camera who states focust pls

[@richardwallinger1683]

i am trying to sell my 2011 LEAF 110km autonomy 32,000 km from new . wife s car she has illness and no longer drives .

[@arnold_2523]

This is bad for such a young car, can you fall back on guaranty?

[@electricpower5183]

Yes, the battery has warranty of 8 years or 160 000 km but the car needs to loose at least 4 bars on the dash.

[@arnold_2523]

@@electricpower5183 wow that's inacceptabel, how much degradation equals 4 bars ? If it's not to much you can help the batterij degrade a bit 😉

[@electricpower5183]

@@arnold_2523 the 4th bar dissapears at a State of Health of 65%. What is good to know that most 30kwh batterypacks are rzplaced by 40kwh packs (which is not the case of the 24kwh versions).

[@Tron-Jockey]

The BMS software on 2016 and 2017 models is known to have a serious bug. It reports the SOH incorrectly and makes the degradation appear to be much worse than it really is. The battery SOH is actually a lot better than what you're seeing. Nissan issued an update in 2018 for this. 159 QTs is not that many for a car with this many miles and shouldn't be responsible for such degradation unless you performed them when the ambient temperature was very high (>100F). I strongly suspect your battery is actually much healthier than what your BMS is reporting.

[@ElektromobilTV]

yes. definitely. Is not possible SOH 68 at 130 QC. I have on my old 24kWh Leaf 1200 QC and 1500 AC and I have 78 SOH. The owner this 30kWh must ask nissan for an sw update.