Nissan LEAF 24 kWh Battery Upgrade at Leo and Sons EV Experts in Massachusetts

[@plugandplayEV]

Thanks for watching! Couple of extra notes on this video: - The replacement battery was a recycled pack going into its second life. We don't know the story behind it, but presumably salvaged from a newer Leaf that couldn't stay on the road for other reasons. - Leo & Sons is the only independent auto shop we know of in the Northeast offering this service. There are a couple in northeastern Canada and several on the West Coast, as this enthusiast site maps out: nissanleafbatteryreplacement.com/ - Costs range significantly based on battery capacity, age, and availability of replacement packs.

[@JohnHudert1]

Could you give a ballpark for reference? Also ballpark a new battery and new estimated range... (I have a 2012 Leaf, so....;-)

[@plugandplayEV]

@@JohnHudert1 Range is heavily dependant on the health of the replacement pack, which isn't usually new but rather a less degraded option salvaged from a newer, healthier LEAF. Ballpark prices (from the Leo & Sons website) are as follows, though remember prices are rising and supply is limited: 24 kWh Battery $4,000-$6,500 30 kWh Battery $5,000-$8,000 40 kWh Battery $8,000-$10,000 62 kWh Battery $12,000+

[@rogercollingwood2798]

Thank you for the video. I am a diy'er and own a leaf . Excellent information, 50yrs with NAPA I appreciate the ASE badges Thanks NAPA Roger from Brookings Oregon

[@EVsEnhanced]

Hi Steve, Thanks for the great video! We are super happy to have Matt and the team at Leo & Sons as a partner. We appreciate their hard work keeping these fantastic EVs on the road.

[@plugandplayEV]

Love your work, thanks! The 10 years of Leaf batteries is really helpful and it's great to see companies working to give older EVs a new lease of life. Keep it up!

[@jkerr45]

When are you guys sending your 16 Blades to the States???? We need them!

[@EVsEnhanced]

@@jkerr45 Hi. Sorry we don't have a date for 16 Blade coming to the US yet but we're working hard to help make this happen. Many of our partners like the team at Leo & Sons are already doing a great job of upgrading battery packs in older LEAFs to extend the life of these cars, but the supply of good replacement battery packs is a clear bottleneck that needs to be addressed.

[@j.donaldson2758]

On the one hand, the air cooled battery makes for a pretty simple (not easy, but simple) replacement. On the other hand, if it were actively cooled it might not have 60% degradation after 10 years. Either way great video and thanks for showcasing a company that's ahead of the game in electric maintenance!

[@plugandplayEV]

Thanks! We talked a little about the flushing of coolant making things more difficult on modern packs. Still, the Bolt EV battery recall replacement process is only paid at 4.5 - 5.5 hours of labor by GM. I'm sure the reality means that's an all-day or overnight stay job, but it doesn't seem as far removed from the Leaf process as I initially thought.

[@douglasalanthompson]

I recently drove my Plus from Chicago to Lawrence Kansas and back. Great to see another shop keeping Leafs on the road.

[@plugandplayEV]

This really gave me an appreciation for the car and its place in EV development. Hope to see them around and maintained for a long time to come!

[@DerekReillyIrl]

Great to see more of these businesses popping up. A growing opportunity

[@plugandplayEV]

Thanks Derek. Lots of interesting shops and research companies around our way. Hope to bring more of them to the channel soon!

[@michaelrfx7]

Awesome job son!!

[@plugandplayEV]

⚡🔋✅

[@markfitzpatrick6692]

I have seen cleveley ev in uk do this on james and kates KZbin channel. Smart guys.

[@plugandplayEV]

Those guys are great. I also recall that Nikki at TE spoke to the fella at EV Works in Washington state about their Leaf Repack program. Just happy to have Leo & Sons here on the East Coast to give EV owners here a similar option.

[@Livshaka]

This is super cool. Thanks! Just sat in my friends 2012 Nissan and I actually love the interior and driver seat feel so this is a great option!

[@plugandplayEV]

Thanks for the feedback, Liv. Happy to hear that there's life in the old Leaf even a decade on!

[@Livshaka]

@@plugandplayEV it's pretty enduring!

[@jkerr45]

EVs Enhanced is also planning to manufacture their "16 BLADE - The Ultimate Nissan LEAF Battery" packs to replace the old packs from the factory. Their packs come with a thermal management system - something Nissan forgot. They are based in New Zealand. Would be nice if someone in the States did that. Lots of Leaf owners, including myself, would love to go from 24kwh to 62+kwh.

[@plugandplayEV]

Thanks for the heads up, I hadn't seen that. Would be intriguing to have thermal management in a LEAF after a decade without it! See they replied on the other thread as well, very cool.

[@jhonpaulino3571]

Maestro muchas gracias me ayudó mucho su video cambié las baterías y no corría a más de 25 mp le puse el chip que usted le pone casi al final del video lo compré por eBay y nuevo 😂😂😂👍👍😁

[@markfitzpatrick6692]

Steve cool you got to see a battery swap on a leaf same year as mine I have 8 bars it has stayed there for 4 years . I lost from 12-8 from 2015-2018.

[@plugandplayEV]

It's fun to learn more about the individual battery packs. I knew about the progression vaguely but it's great to see how relatively simple it is to switch out the packs... a 2012 with a 62kWh pack would be something to behold!

[@flolou8496]

Please try and get to the top of the line of the new 16 Blade technology that is being released first in Australia now in June of 2023, but the manufacturer has plans to ship they're kits to North America maybe next year? The blue package technology will allow for rapid fast charging without any degradation,

[@plugandplayEV]

Intrigued... will do some research on this, thanks for the heads up!

[@tommckinney1489]

Good to see shops like this springing up. I'm not aware of one in my area but it's only a matter of time. I didn't watch the whole video but I assume this was not a warranty repair? Any idea of cost?

[@plugandplayEV]

Right, someone on the Leaf forums maintained a global map of shops like this and sadly I think Leo & Sons would be the closest to you as well, Tom! There are several in California and up in the Pacific Northwest, as well as one in Texas, but it's not a common offering here. The cost seems to vary greatly because the supply of packs is limited. A 24 kWh pack like this is usually the cheapest and might start at a few thousand bucks, depending on where it comes from and transportation costs. 30 kWh is probably the sweet spot for upgrade value vs. price, as the newer 40 kWh and 62 kWh options are still in very short supply. At that point, it's probably cheaper to lease a new gen. 2 Leaf, at least with the deals they've been offering recently.

[@wmalden]

I live in Silicon Valley - tech central - and, as far as I know, there are no shops in the area that do Leaf battery replacements other than dealers who want $13,500 for a 24Kw battery. I have owned my 2011 Leaf SL for 12 years and it’s down to 5 capacity bars. I am on the verge of selling it to Carmax as the range is sufficient for only the shortest of trips. The car has 43k miles on it. Sad to see it go but it doesn’t make sense to me to invest big money in a 12 year-old car when newer EV’s are so much better.

[@plugandplayEV]

Yeah, that's a really solid amount of work from the LEAF though, and hopefully it will go to someone who only needs local range and can run it for a few more years to come. It's an expensive process to source and replace the packs at the moment, which sort of speaks to the longevity of the platform itself, but supply of new packs is very thin and the economics of replacement don't always work out, as your situation highlights.

[@digilab2009]

Very interesting!

[@plugandplayEV]

Thanks for watching!

[@eamo234]

Interesting video. I found it a bit odd that they didn't raise the pack more when reinstalling it. Would have made the process a lot easier!

[@plugandplayEV]

It's a relatively small work space... can't speak to the height of the lift, though, as I'm mechanically-challenged myself! Fun process to watch though, thanks for doing so.

[@ps7549]

It probably has to do with the fact that the pack is so heavy

[@rzu7120]

Why does the new battery only have a SOH of 94%? Does that improve after a few charge/discharge cycles?

[@plugandplayEV]

The replacement pack is only new in the sense that it's new to this Leaf. It has been used in a more recent model year Leaf that most likely gave it up due to some other reason taking the car off the road, but leaving the battery in good shape.

[@rzu7120]

@@plugandplayEV I didn't realize it was a recycled pack.

[@plugandplayEV]

Yep, the "new" pack looked pretty worn but I should probably state it more clearly. Thanks for pointing that out, I'll edit the video description accordingly.

[@raybevins8081]

Do they do upgrades to a larger battery? I didn’t see it on their web site.

[@plugandplayEV]

Yes, anything from a 2013 model onwards can have up to the 62kWh pack installed. Some minor modifications are required but the upgrade is possible.

[@angelchristinem]

How much is to replace a battery? I have a 2012 Nissan leaf and a full charge only gives me 55 miles.

[@plugandplayEV]

Prices can vary quite significantly depending on battery quality and supply/demand, so it can be hard to peg the cost. At the time of making the video, the mid-point was $6,000-$8,000. That was a year ago though and supply has become more constrained, so the best bet would be to check in with Matt at this facility to see what their waitlist looks like and confirm current numbers: leosons.com/nissan-leaf-battery-upgrade-frequently-ask-questions/

[@jamescorrigan7999]

What is the approximate cost of this upgrade ? I assume a lot depends on whether the replacement battery pack is new, or recycled .

[@plugandplayEV]

Their approximate price range is $4,000-$6,500, including labor and degraded pack retention. And you're correct, it goes up in the thousands as you look at packs with better capacity, as they're more expensive and often harder to source.

[@jamescorrigan7999]

@@plugandplayEV I wonder what the price of a new 30Kw upgrade battery is ?

[@johnfitbyfaithnet]

Do you have to trade in the old battery?

[@eamo234]

@@jamescorrigan7999 More than you probably paid for the car. Used packs are the only viable solution here.

[@mariomanuelocirrac8447]

muito bom video.parabens. thanks

[@plugandplayEV]

Muito apreciado, obrigado!

[@dttomsen971]

Why don't you have a trolly that can raise/lower the battery up to the car instead of raise/lowering the car on to the battery? - and I think the biggest question here is what did this cost? There is a saying of throwing good money after bad. After all this is a 10+ year old car.

[@usaverageguy]

It's not a do it yourself project. For sure.

[@plugandplayEV]

Right. Only a handful of shops across the US seem to offer the service, but it's good to see a few leading the way for others now that the Leaf is into its second decade.

[@markclayton2900]

Why the fuck would any sane person spend ridiculous money to replace a battery in one of these?

[@eddkrub]

Nissan is easy ev

[@plugandplayEV]

The original affordable EV ⚡👍