Nissan LEAF 30kWh | Battery Degradation | 100,000km! | Is it dead yet?

[@williamhurst7766]

I have a 2019 Nissan Leaf SL Plus with 28,500 miles on it. As of this date 02/25/2023 my in-vehicle battery capacity indicator shows zero battery degradation. Leaf Spy shows 91.3 battery capacity. Only maintenance I have ever done is tire rotation and balancing. Vehicle has been garaged and normally charged at home via 240-volt L2 Nissan charge cable. This vehicle is fantastic as an urban vehicle and in my opinion highly under rated. I am in my mid 70's and expect this vehicle to outlive me.

[@evplatform]

Spot on William, the fuel cost and maintenance aspect is phenomenal! Yeah, you have to take the in-car read out with a pinch of salt. The LEAF Spy is likely to be more accurate I'd say. p.s. rubbish on the car out-living you...you're only a spring chicken! 👍Thanks for the comment and happy motoring!

[@edsmale]

Supposed to be doing annual brake fluid service

[@matthewaride2234]

12 bars doesn't mean full capacity. It's stays on 12bars until the capacity goes under 85% . 12bars range btw 86-100%

[@stevendavis7079]

Thermal battery management is not an issue in Ireland unless its a taxi being rapid charged over and over. The climate here is perfect for an EV. I have a 2019 leaf and a 2020 Zoe and wouldn't go back to ICE power. Ive saved around €8000 in fuel costs in 3 years and that was before the recent €2 per litre hike. . The Leaf battery SOH is at 95% after 75000 kms. Great car to drive and own.

[@evplatform]

Yeah, we have a pretty stable climate here alright! Rarely have I seen the battery temp gauge get high. Only on the very rare day I've had to DC charge twice. Thanks for the comment!

[@stevezodiac491]

Read my post.

[@musk-eteer9898]

i slow charged, level 1, my 2011 nissan leaf JDM to 80% in the summer when ambient temperature outside above 90 F. level 2 charging when temp below 90F and only charge up to 100% when temp is below 70F. so far after 11yrs and 120K+miles i still have 70% capacity left. still perfect for my daily commute and errands

[@evplatform]

Wow, that's incredible mileage for an original LEAF! Thanks for sharing that, great to get owner's experiences!

[@aaronsinspirationdaily4896]

This is helpful, I live in Australia and I’m weighing up a 2nd hand leaf for a second car. Regularly above 90F (32C) in summer with nights down to 26-27C. The rest of the year mostly 20-26C and nights under 21C (70F). I am concerned just sheer standard heat here could make the battery degrade very fast to the point of useless. Need it to do about 40km a day 80% of the time. Sounds like maybe your temperatures are similar to my climate? (SE Qld Australia)

[@Jintupian]

My Nissan leaf 2018 and 100,000 km. And battery is still in the 100% 250km range in summer. Amazing. Just replace led lamp will costs over 3000cad. All others thing is perfect for 5 years. Only replaced two rear brake rod and tires. Two front brakes are still 5mm.

[@DashDrones]

Haha, you're catching up with me Blake. My 7 year old 24kwh leaf's done 160,000kms. I still get 110kms range(used to get 140kms when new), so guessing mine has around 75-85% battery left.

[@evplatform]

You were racing ahead of me pre-covid! I'm guessing 110km range still does you for the vast majority of trips easily! Thanks for the comment!

[@DashDrones]

@@evplatform definitely, have done less than 10,000 kms in the past 2.5 years! Still love the old leaf, the perfect car! Well nearly... 🤣

[@ThomasMcGuire]

2016 30kWh, 163k km here 💪

[@evplatform]

Nice! That's some good mileage! And you've done a fair few in the M3 also! Thanks for the comment Thomas!

[@edvoon]

For all those people saying "Petrol prices are high, but EVs are too expensive". Well here is a super reliable EV that is cheaper than many ICE vehicles on the second hand market. Make FUD work in your favour because that's why the prices are so low. Yes it struggles to get out of town, but with the money you save you can rent another vehicle for those out of town trips and still come out on top. For day to day driving you've got enough range and don't even need to charge every day if your commute is short.

[@evplatform]

Thanks for that Edwin! We knew we'd save money and enjoy the car before we even bought...but couldn't imagine just how good it ended up. Sure, range isn't great, but it does more than we need 363 days a year. The other days were Dublin - Glasgow trips on the ferry and all it took was an easy 25 minute stop on the way, and same back again. We would have stopped anyway, even if we had a 1,000km range car!

[@Stu_C]

Just hit 123000 miles in me leaf. Never rapid charged for years. I’ve always tried to plan ahead.

[@evplatform]

That's good going in your LEAF! Well done Stu and hopefully another 100,000+ miles!

[@myyoutubechannel3161]

What's the difference when you rapid charge?

[@joeaverager]

@@myyoutubechannel3161 Battery heats up when fast charged. Battery heat leads to battery degradation. If you want max durability, you minimize fast charging.

[@damianbannon2100]

Was nice to meet you yesterday at Raheen Woods (I was in the black Model Y with the 2 collies). First time subscribing to a KZbin channel and really enjoying your videos!

[@evplatform]

Hi Damian...great to meet you, pity I wasn't in such a rush to get back on the road. And we also had to avoid the paparazzi there! 🤣 Glad you're enjoying the videos! p.s. The finish on your Model Y is class...I was a bit jealous in my standard white!

[@immanuelkantholz9033]

Thermal battery management seems to be of varying importance depending on where you live. My 2016 30kWh Leaf ZE0 "lives" in the warmest region of Germany and although it only has around 35000km on the odometer the battery has already degraded to 77%SoH leaving me with about 23kWh capacity or up to 160km range, depending on my way of driving. Since I almost never have to use it for longer distances, it's still a perfectly capable daily driver. Last weekend it has to carry the family and some luggage 265km to visit relatives and traveling on the Autobahn at max 100km/h took it's toll. we had to rapid charge 3 times each way and by then the battery thermometer was in the red zone with 12°C outside temperature and light rain. according to the users manual ("don't charge if the battery temperature is in the red zone"), we could not have made the trip. On the other hand that's not what we bought the Leaf for, though. We'll have an MG5 for road trips soon.

[@weloveutd1]

16 plate 24kw 125000 used as a taxi still got 11 bars

[@evplatform]

Wow, that's going well for you then. Have heard that the 24kWh batteries hold up a bit better. Thanks for the comment!

[@kiae-nirodiariesencore4270]

Hello from France and thanks for an interesting review of the 100 K Km Leaf. We’ve been running a Kia e-Niro since March 2019, now on 73,000 km, so far so good..a great drive and no problems. The ‘dead in 5 years in a landfill’ merchants look more and more stupid with every year that goes by and every EV that is racking up big distances. Great video!

[@evplatform]

Thanks for that feedback, really appreciate it! I think we'll do another update on the LEAF again in a few months. Will be interesting to track it over time!

[@juki6377]

they used to say that about prius batteries 14ish years later my battery is still going pretty much like it used to (i think the spark plugs are my current issue XD ) - its annoying i would like to change car

[@kiae-nirodiariesencore4270]

@@juki6377 Sounds par for the course. I had a 2007 Gen 2 Prius until 2019. The battery was never a problem. Some taxi drivers have done half a million miles on the original battery...and when they do get a weak module you can swap them out for a few hundred $/€/£...There are some KZbin videos showing people doing that on high mileage old Prius. In an EV there is hardly any mechanical wear so as the years go by it will become conventional wisdom that EV’s stay in working condition for longer than ICE cars

[@juki6377]

@@kiae-nirodiariesencore4270 the Prius battery will ruin your back removing it. Yes taxis owning one is a good sign

[@larryelend8757]

Have a 2018 130000 km still have full capacity. Never been fast charged. That's the trick, don't over heat the battery

[@evplatform]

That's good to hear Larry! Would be interesting to get a detailed diagnostic on the battery. First bar doesn't go until well past 10% degradation. Thanks for the comment, and hope your LEAF continues to hold up well!

[@georgeoreilly969]

Hey Blake Derek really enjoyed the format again .Leaf is the best car I’ve had it’s a no brainer for people now looking to do local journeys slash 100km I’d highly recommend.My leaf is a 24kw (88000).only thing I had to maintain is tyre’s &filters

[@evplatform]

Thanks George, great getting feedback like that! Me and you both...we love our LEAFs! I'm taking it from Drogheda to Glasgow next week, that'll really stretch its legs! Thanks again George!

[@georgeoreilly969]

I’ll be interested to hear how that goes I believe Scotland are well advanced in the charger network roll out.

[@johnbrown7722]

I have a 82km leaf that came with less than 63% SOC, now around 54% SOC. Sad part is it has the 24 kwh, so not much value when we drive 30km+ every day.

[@mustafayanaroglu8299]

Great video about the used EVs. Looking forward to seeing more of this kind of video.

[@evplatform]

Thanks Mustafa, appreciate that feedback! More like this coming your way over the coming months! Well done on that report/survey by the way!

[@michaellippmann4474]

Great video. We just purchased a used 2017 Leaf SV....drove it home 378 km from Toronto to Kingsville, Ontario in freezing, windy conditions...I can confirm it is not a road trip car! 😂😂😂😂 That being said...it is an impressive little car, comfy (well as comfy as no heat on can be when ekeing out the most km's possible😂), very efficient and cute as heck! It has 114,000km, still has HV battery warranty until May of 2025 but only has 8 bars...so shows 120km when 100% charged. Not unhappy with that at all, I have an appointment with local Nissan dealer to possibly start the warranty process. They say it could be 6 - 8 months before a replacement happens - and we are good with that. We bought the car to replace the last ICE car in our driveway - 2016 Toyota Rav4, our main car is a 2022 Ioniq5 - which we use for road trips. Just completed a 43 day 14,648 km road trip through the south western US and Canada...car was flawless! Keep up the great videos! Cheers Mike 🇨🇦

[@evplatform]

Wow, that was a long trip...but I'd say the LEAF one was the more brave. Best of luck with the warranty! Thanks for the comment!

[@michaellippmann4474]

@evplatform lol...yeah it was interesting trip for sure! Car went into dealer and they agreed car qualifies for new battery or repair so have now made application to Nissan Canada to proceed with warranty process! We will see! Cheers Mike 🇨🇦

[@Moosehung]

2016 30kwh Leaf with 110k km on the clock and 72% SOH here.

[@evplatform]

Sounds roughly in line with Blake's LEAF. He just lost a second bar...so might have to do another video! Thanks for the comment, Mike!

[@boyasaka]

My mate has got a 10 year old leaf with 80 k on clock , battery is still 80 percent People go on about range anxiety, yet the average miles a car in the uk does is 20 miles per day I like most people do about this , so charging once a week is more than enough

[@patcreedon4441]

Just watched the video now and would agree the L30 degradation is far worse than L24. My 2016 L30 has 180k km and only 62% soh and as low as 60km range in bad winter weather but rarely exceeds 80km so degradation seriously impacts on range

[@evplatform]

We've probably lost another 5-10% since making the video...but as long as it does 100km to get me to Dublin and back I'm happy! Thanks for commenting!

[@iangardner2311]

I believe Gen1 Leafs do not have option to automatically stop changing before 100%. Is high degradation partly from leaving car at 100% charge. For one or more days.

[@evplatform]

Interesting, that's one we need to look into. Thanks Ian!

[@salibaba]

Yes, on the built in charge timer screen, you can restrict to 80% charge. It won’t do it automatically for any non timed charges, unless you set up a blank schedule for 24hr 80%

[@chrishyde1216]

We have the original 2012 Japanese Leaf and we can set the charging to an 80% limit, which we do most of the time.

[@katherandefy]

My 2013 Leaf has the ability not only to limit charge to 80% but also to choose the timing altho just programming to 80% works fine.

[@otooleniall]

We bought a Leaf from Simon. Definitely a great way to go. Stands over what they sell.

[@otooleniall]

Has the 30kWh car had the BMS update that fixes the reported SOC?

[@evplatform]

Yeah, he's doing a great job. Pity the government have shown such little support for maintaining a used import market.

[@evplatform]

I'm not sure Niall. It's actually something I've never thought about as I've never noticed an issue with it. Thanks for the comments!

[@IrishEVOwnersAssociationIEVOA]

If anyone wants to know more about Aviloo and how to take care of your battery, we interviewed Nikolaus Mayerhofer recently: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2PdYoaOg5iWl7c. In an upcoming video we will be comparing two Teslas of similar age with 39,000 and 200,000 mileage.

[@IrishEVOwnersAssociationIEVOA]

Do you often charge to 100%? It would be interesting to know more about your driving and charging habits either here or in a separate video.

[@evplatform]

It's a great question, but unfortunately no simple answer to it in my case! Used to do a good bit of DC when they were free at our local supermarket. But over the years, the majority has been overnight charging on a granny cable. Good idea for a future video!

[@BoatLoadsofDope]

​@blaumax1910Batteries fare best at between 30-80% Too low SoC and too high, can both cause degradation to happen faster. But i personally think it's more about the driving style. Quick discharge aka high speed or acceleration also causes significant wear in batteries.

[@IrishEVOwnersAssociationIEVOA]

I wonder who has the Leaf with the most mileage in Irelkand or the UK?

[@cazp2358]

My Dad recently sold his 2015 Leaf with 10 bars and 225k km on the clock.

[@extremetaz]

10 years, 353,000km, and counting

[@JoeWaylo]

I'm wondering if anyone still has their "original" battery without ever changing it. Gasoline people love sharing rumors about unrecyclable batteries. Unrelated, I owned with an iPhone 7 Plus all the way up to the iPhone 13 before replacing it.

[@MiguelDomingues-i8z]

My 2014 Tekna, so a 24kWh pack, with over 220.000km still has 73% SOh, and 9 bars.

[@evplatform]

That's very good going! Have heard the earlier 24kWh hold up better alright. Thanks for the comment!

[@edvoon]

Interesting colour on your LEAF, I have a red LEAF too but my colour is more of a darker Maroon red, while yours looks more like a brighter crimson red. I didn't know they come in that shade from the factory. Was it an aftermarket paint job?

[@evplatform]

Yeah, it's just a standard colour, Edwin. We bought it second hand and imported from the UK to Ireland. Wanted the higher spec also, which I much prefer. Thanks for the comment!

[@m0hammadjaved410]

2017 (30kw) please tell me. How many km do one full charge 72000 km done

[@martinostlund1879]

Living in Sundsvall in northen Sweden, 2014 24kWh Leaf, about 102.000 km, about 90% SOH, 112 QuickCharges and about 6100 L1 charges mostly on granny charger at 10A 2.4kW, usually charge at home to 80%. Nice channel, you got a new sub 😊

[@evplatform]

Thanks Martin, appreciate that! That's excellent longevity on your battery. Hopefully it keeps up! Thanks again!

[@ekutlu3169]

Nissan 2016 30kwh 58000km . It shows 161 km range when its charge 100% (winter)

[@evplatform]

Thats good! Low mileage and you must be treating it well! Thanks for the comment.

[@degenerite7196]

Would Nissan not replace the battery sub 150,000km ? or does it need to have 8 bars or less as well as sub 150K?

[@evplatform]

Hi! Thanks for the comment. The guarantee comes down to distance and time. I'll be way off having to call in the guarantee though. For example, if that battery had fallen to ~65% SOH at this stage then I could maybe claim...well off that though!

[@degenerite7196]

@@evplatform Ah right I see. I have just purchased a Leaf with 8 bar health and less than 150,000 km so I hope I will be able to replace under the guarantee, but if not oh well I will figure something else out. Thanks for your reply :)

[@danthedrivingman6415]

341,717 kilometers/212,333 USA miles now as of September 3, 2022; on my 2017 Nissan 🍃 Leaf SL, * 🔋 Original 30 kwh battery. Bought new 3/11/2017. #DANDANTHEDRIVINGMAN

[@evplatform]

Wow...that's some mileage! You're putting my LEAF to shame! Thanks for the comment!

[@danthedrivingman9294]

@@evplatform the highest i have been able to find in America has been 186,000 miles so far. I keeping looking 👀 😂 ha ha.

[@johnquinn1705]

Any recommendations on tyres for the leaf guys? Have a 30 kWh 2017 leaf too just passed the 100k recently, 11/12 bars, tyres have to be done soon!

[@evplatform]

Great question John! We're trying to organise making a full video on this actually. I don't think we're in a position to tell you definitively what to do. My personal choice for the the last set that I will carry over to the next set is to go for comfort and grip. Range isn't an issue about 363 days of the year so I prefer to have the comfort and grip then.

[@johnquinn1705]

@@evplatform Good advice. Looking on Oponeo, for example, you can get specified load/size, A for efficiency, A for grip, from about 70/80 euro, think that's all you need really

[@bdeithrick]

Shod taxi in Nexen Nblu. Deadly price vs noise. Efficiency is same as old green energy.

[@stevendavis7079]

I found the Dunlop Green energy tyres awful in the cold mornings. I now run all season tyres by Imperial. Cheap, grippy and comfortable. Perfect for Ireland

[@chrishyde1216]

In theory, the 24kWh battery (from 2013) might have better longevity than the 30kWh, as I think the latter is more densely packed and therefore more likely to overheat and degrade. I suppose that problem was even worse on the 40kWh batteries. What do you all think? Is there any evidence to support or refute that theory?

[@stevezodiac491]

You are right, my 30k miles, nearly 7 year old 30 kwhr leaf has 25% battery degredation and 3 battery bars. Age seems to matter as much as miles and cycles done.

[@evplatform]

Hi Chris, interesting theory. And you may well be right! There have been a few chemistry changes over the years also we believe, apart from the changes from 24 to 30 to 40kWh packs. We'll be quick to shout about it if we get some dependable statistics! Thanks for the comment!

[@ljb9983]

How many bars had you lost?

[@evplatform]

Hi! I think the car had lost 1 bar at that stage, and then lost another a few months after filming.

[@ljb9983]

@@evplatform Thanks I have the same model. 2017. Still has all the bars but only done about 40k miles. Age can make it lose bars too though. Found that no Nissan Leafs have burst into flames ever apparently which is a plus!

[@extremetaz]

10 years, 353,000km, and counting - sure you're only getting warmed up yet. ;)

[@evplatform]

Ha! I concede! Wow, that's some mileage Sean! The LEAF is an absolute trooper!

[@TL-xw6fh]

There's way too much rubbish on YT rubbishing the Nissan Leaf battery. I have a 2016 24 kWh Leaf that has done nearly 60,000 km and still showing 12 bars SOH and I regularly get 130 - 140 km on a full charge.

[@mikedrabek9733]

My 2016 Leaf lost 4 bars at 93,000 miles. Nissan replaced the battery no questions asked with a new one.

[@evplatform]

That's brilliant! Brand new battery...many more miles!

[@Cynth72]

My mums is a 24 kWh battery and it’s done 160000 kms💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

[@katherandefy]

Mine is a 2013 24kwh Leaf. Original battery with 9of 12 battery life. Apparently it’s amazing if not driven by insane drivers.

[@evplatform]

Nice!...one of the earlier LEAFs! Glad to hear it's still running strong for you!

[@stevezodiac491]

I have a 2016 Nissan Leaf Teckna 6.6 charger in arctic white. I have had it for nearly 7 years from new, made in Sunderland and bought in Gateshead. My leaf has done just 30 k miles and has lost 3 battery bars out of 12 and has 25 % range and battery degradation loss. The batteries are suspect, contrary to what people want to tell you. My battery has been looked after and hasn't been rapid charged regularly and has had all the recalls on the battery management system. Beware !

[@rhiantaylor3446]

Thanks for the input. Losing 3 bars but 75% of range sounds like a fault and all cars can suffer faults of course. Does Leafspy point to one or more individual cells dragging the range down ?

[@evplatform]

Sounds like you've been a little unlucky, and like the other commenter, we'd urge you to get someone to have a closer look for a faulty cell. But also, let's not scaremonger and keep an eye on the bigger picture of how they are performing, which is quite well. Thanks for the comment Steve, great to get different experiences from around the world!

[@oliverskinner8962]

Don't know if you'll read this but had the same experience as you 2016 30kwh Tekna 79,000 miles on the clock but we had about 81% SOH according to leafspy but we also had 11 bars and that was only just dropped from 12 ! Summer 2022 range was 80 miles tops and when we got rid of it in October 2022 it was down to 70 miles range. I think the BMS updates they did broke the car as it's range was nothing like it used to be even with 10 bars (it went back up to full 12 after BMS update) anyway leafspy only registered 21.5 kwh usable. We had it from almost new, (6 months old) and it used to give us 115 miles in summer so we know just how bad the battery on these cars are ! Efficiency is bad too at 3.2m/kWh going by 21.5kwh and 70 miles ! I personally think Nissan removed some safety protocols within the battery management to gain some range by unlocking some buffer zones at the cost of increased degradation as in 2021 just after the update we got 2 bars back and about 20 miles of genuine range but we lost that 20 miles in 12 months 12,000 miles. The Nissan Leaf is a shocking car and is only good for the city doing short commutes or picking the kids up from school and a trip to the supermarket !!!

[@kipperdog7950]

Nissan Leaf is the worst car for battery degradation as it has no thermal management for the battery. I have a 2016 30kwh leaf, it has 69,000 miles on the clock and the battery health is 75%. By comparison cars with active thermal management such as Tesla will lose around 10% in 100,000 miles. The leaf is a cheap car though. You pay your money and make your choice.