Nissan Leaf Muxsan Battery Upgrade

Today James is with Matt, owner of Cleevely Electric Vehicles, and they're fitting the much sought after Muxsan battery upgrade to a 30kWh Nissan Leaf with a degraded battery pack. This particular vehicle is a taxi and has covered 94k miles. Naturally, the owner needs the maximum range to help with work, but doesn't want the expense of buying a newer vehicle, so hopefully this option will see them through another 100k miles.

[@eamonstack4139]

Hi James, for your Irish fans, we offer the same service in Kildare, Range Therapy. We were the first partner of Muxsan. We expect to work with Muxsan to offer range extenders for many more EVS, cars and vans. Eamon

[@Jamesandkate]

Hi Eamon, hope you're well. Great news, the more of us doing this type of work, the better.

[@davidpalen04]

Will these range extenders be available for other cars? Like an ioniq 28kwh?

[@eamonstack4139]

@@davidpalen04 yes other car battery extension kits are under R&D. Mitsubishi, Renault, Peugeot and Citroën are currently top of list. Hopefully Hyundai will follow. Eamon

[@francescoderosa9113]

is possible to upgrade a 2018 40kw Leaf to 60 or more kw?

[@eamonstack4139]

@@francescoderosa9113 yes, it is possible to do this in two ways - add an 18kw extension pack to your Leaf giving 58kw or purchase a 60kw Leaf pack from a crashed Lesf and swap the pack with your 40kw one.

[@no-damn-alias]

Actually a really good idea at the moment. Get a 62kwh Leaf and add the 33kwh trunk battery if you do a lot of long range driving. Which other car could you get for the price with a 95kwh battery?

[@steve10brink]

9999p9ol9l99o9😊 10

[@jtchivers]

Excellent work, James and Matt! Looks like it was quite a quest to do the first one, like you said, but the result speaks for itself. Cracking job!

[@Whereswally606]

Lovely job gents. The extra space in the gen2 from the flater pack is really nice. Great that there is a uk mainland muxsan outpost now. Congrats Matt and James

[@cheechU38K]

Great fit and hopefully you get lots of leaf owners excited 😛

[@cawfeedawg]

Great video James. I really would like to do more DIY Ev projects myself. Thanks for the inspiration.

[@batandball617]

Nice work! A very comprehensive kit from Muxsan and a very tidy job.👍

[@ronaldmillsopp3802]

I think it's great to see the extending of the leaf life cycle. Incredible work guys. I wish every success in this service.

[@GlynHudson]

Nice work guys! Top job. The CAN bridge is the small but very clever part of all this. I think Matt is going to be very busy!

[@Sanjayadon]

Brilliant work guys. Glad you can give a boost to ageing 1st gen battery powered Leafs!

[@anthonyforbes511]

What a neat finish. Great job James & Matt. Thanks for sharing a very informative and visual video. I am definitely interested in exploiting this option for my wife's 30 kWh Leaf. Looked like a challenging but rewarding project! I think this will generate a lot of interest and extend the life of many Nissan Leaf's - great for the EV community and the planet. Qudos :-)

[@nickschultz1244]

Very nice work! I made a similar mod to my 2014 Leaf, using the videos that Muxsan graciously provided here on KZbin. Your install is very clean and I know your customer will absolutely love this, my mod has made my car a totally different vehicle, its actually just about as useable as an ICE car at a fraction of the cost! Thanks for sharing your install :)

[@christopherhamilton5557]

Awesome! 168 miles with a partially degraded original battery! I know it’s the GOM being optimistic but still!

[@akf2000]

had no idea this was now available in the uk! what an amazing job and attention to detail, will definitely be looking at your website

[@electricavenuesl8038]

Another brilliant video. Down to the last bit. Hopefully this will adopted by the EV users all all around the world and end range anxiety issues! well done guys!

[@PowerElectronicsBlog]

Just realized I watched the end result of your hard work but didn't respond publically yet. Great effort, and great video guys! You've gone above and beyond with the installation quality, even going so far as to loom tape the cable ends and splice area. Immaculate installation. Also fun to see a fair number of MUXSAN customers have already found this video. And yeah, the first install takes ages - after a few tries you'll do the lot in 4-6 hours though!

[@Jamesandkate]

Glad you enjoyed it and glad you're happy with the installation. Looking forward to doing a few more 👍🏻

[@StarLink85]

15:55 if it was hard Work... give it up... if you do everything hard ... then better dont do anything and go home... do it joyfuly loveingly 1000% Commitment... hows about that?!?! Never mind Guys good job and i see the Passion - love evs...

[@isaachunt5799]

wow amazing. 2020 leaf owner here from sweden. if we ever need work on our leaf i'll drive to you and let you sort it for us. fantastic job

[@ianburr1177]

Really interesting vid. I have a Tesla MX and have always fancied the Leaf as a second car, even more now i have seen it with a range extender.

[@jonmcd1084]

Just started looking at getting a leaf today, first for me. From r/c cars I already knew this would work and wanted to piece together a kit. Thanks for the tutorial and show. Liked and subscribed for hear on out. But after I get one I'm going to want more horse power or kilowatts for Europe. I'll be looking through videos for that and what I might need.

[@t.shonoiki563]

It not just good but also neatly done. well done.

[@PeaceChanel]

Thank You for All that you are doing for our Planet Earth.... Peace.. Shalom.. Salam.. Namaste.. 🙏🏻 😊 🌈 ✌ ☮ ❤

[@MCSMIK]

Must have been an amazing experience for you. My wife wouldn't tolerate the loss of boot space no matter how amazing it is to get more range. What's great about these upgrades is it breathes new life into an old car, and means it can stay on the road for longer. Would be cool to see an upgrade of the main battery to deal with the degradation, I know muxsan offer that but for the price better off selling the Leaf and getting a newer one? The muxsan warranty is 2 years, and promises 90% life after that. For the price I'd hope for a longer warranty really.

[@baronsilverbaron757]

I bet someone is now thinking of extending the 62 Kwh New Leaf for mega miles. LOL

[@sharptoothtrex4486]

That is a great idea having something like that for all the Nissan Leafs. If that comes here to Canada, this is something I should go for no matter what used Nissan Leaf I get. Even they are great for Toyota Priuses and Chevy Volts.

[@rud]

Laughed at the pictogram on the battery pack about not throwing it in the trash. But it is actually probably necessary. Cheers.

[@mrstans]

I enjoyed the video, thanks. I’m in the US and a proud owner of a 2015 Nissan Leaf with 11 bars remaining. The leaf is my daily driver and I commute 50 miles per day at speeds of 70-75 MPH. The only reason I purchased the car was to save fuel cost. For me that cost was 2880 per year for work commute only. My leaf has become my everything car. I wanted to hear some general prices just to gage if the extender is worth the cost .

[@roodick85]

This would be so amazing for an eGolf or a B250e lol hint hint 😆😆🙏🏿 great job!!

[@dama054]

Nice to see someone in the UK doing this now I have a 2013 leaf and will need the range increasing within a year now I know where to go

[@MichaelWilliams-mo1vv]

Wouldn't it be cheaper to buy an ev with greater range?

[@dama054]

@@MichaelWilliams-mo1vv depends on how much it costs and would be a shame to scrap a car if it only needs a battery

[@GlynHudson]

@@MichaelWilliams-mo1vv A 40kWh battery upgrade from Muxsan is 8790 EUR, much half the cost of a 2nd hand 40kWh LEAF

[@craigevans6156]

Very impressive and a tidy job all round.

[@Jamesandkate]

Thanks

[@mjp34]

It’s really good to see this being done in the UK now. Muxsan have worked hard to get this right and it’s great that they’re allowing others to install their kit. I’m aiming to get this done by next October half term (only one more winter with no heating on the daily commute). Do the additional cells appear in leaf spy? Are you installing the ‘tow bars’ as well (aka bike rack holders)?

[@markwellington1254]

I just love this! You Brits are so far ahead of us here in the USA. I would love to do this to my GEN 5 LEAF + to get my range above 300 miles on a charge.

[@michaelcastro5339]

But a real car like the Bolt and 300+miles is just about 20kw more in the trunk.

[@Ro55stw]

Great content keep up these brilliant videos

[@usedevvlogchargeheads798]

Have you done a range extender and a 40Kw battery pack conversion?

[@Epicookiez]

I’m very glad Matt was happy all-throughout.

[@keithb4158]

What could possibly go wrong? Electricity takes no prisoners.

[@gabechiplin8140]

Great content. Very interesting.

[@ElectraRC]

Great video, Thanks Guys.

[@jackpreacher4442]

Excellent video and end result. Towards the end of the video as you were wrapping up there was a fairly large Nag dialog [with a spanner..] on the SatNav unit and possibly a warning lamp on the dash. Were you able to clear these [if they existed in the first place]?

[@CaptainProton1]

Ditched the Leaf as soon as I figured out the longevity of passive cooled battery packs. 2nd hand Model S much better value, but good to see options available for people stuck with 30 mile range leafs

[@hybridsolutiondiagnostics]

Beautiful job guys... well done 👋😎👋😎👋😎

[@Jamesandkate]

Thank you 😁

[@Marginal391]

Thank you. Very helpful information indeed :-).

[@LambdaHalbe]

Good Job. Just sold my 2013 Leaf, which I drove the last 7 years. Went for the insane Honda e (don't need a higher range). The Leaf is/was the most reliable car ever. Just no nothing to complain about, didn't need any maintenace at all. After 7 years everything was still working like on the first day. Okay I lost one bar on the SOH-meter.

[@luluwilson7983]

You only lost one bar in 7 years 😮

[@LambdaHalbe]

@@luluwilson7983 Yes only one bar in 7 years. But I drove only about 45000km in that time.

[@johnmcd2922]

@@LambdaHalbe I lost the first bar at 111,000km...

[@hermanwooster8944]

Great job! That looks like a lot of work and I'm shocked that the original battery only lasted 100k miles. Hopefully battery longevity will improve in the near future.

[@gimmepowder]

The original battery is still in the car.

[@hermanwooster8944]

@@gimmepowder You are right, I misunderstood that this was a range extension pack, but my original point still stands. The original battery degraded in 7 years &

[@samusaran7317]

@@hermanwooster8944 The issue was no liquid battery cooling.

[@WTFaq]

Very impressive.

[@fastfreddy19641]

Great job lads

[@DJIDroneTravel]

Amazing Job guys what sort of price are we looking at? Including the kit and fitting?

[@rtfazeberdee3519]

What a coincidence. just finished watching Mr EV Andrew Till's John O'Groats trip and he visited Matts shop too as he's an old mate of his

[@mattcleevely8794]

We went to school together! Weird we have both ended-up in the EV world, he is a top guy.

[@marksecker1596]

Great video

[@neergh8886]

Most interesting video. Have you done a cost comparison between the Muxsan kit including installation vs trading in the Leaf for another car with more range?

[@CNCChazz]

Good thing they used the same colors for positive and negative when polarity is so important

[@ladislavnagy2665]

It's due to color marking of cables under high voltage. You can have red and black or marked with numbers but on the top it must be orange because they are always under voltage.

[@CNCChazz]

@@ladislavnagy2665 very interesting, thank you for explaining.

[@latitudeash]

Looks a great job. I can live with a 168mile leaf.

[@richardglover314]

What a great video. I still have a fondness for my 2011 Leaf which is now in the hands of my eldest son. Not sure I would do the same but all very interesting and will you be doing a follow up on this one to judge the handling etc?

[@NaughtyGoatFarm]

Nice job.

[@iKaGe01]

I thought it took up a lot of the boot but tbh you could still fit shopping and a buggy in there. Great job! Would you reset the 11 bars to 12 at this point?

[@carbonunit3191]

I’d be really interested to see what the mileage would be if you put a refurb 40kwh battery AND the muxsan kit in?? What do you think?

[@benpaynter]

How big was the extender? Assuming it was the 17kwh one?

[@richardsedorski1206]

Very interesting vid real stuff.

[@pcr8918]

Car body looks as new. V impressive should be good for years.

[@Mrsmith1314]

Vers nice! I like it! Good job

[@RWBHere]

That rear end weight must affect the handling somewhat, and it will increase tyre wear. But the additional 20-30kWh will be really useful.

[@Jamesandkate]

The customer feedback has said there is no real difference with the added weight.

[@danielvanced5526]

The leaf isn't exactly a sports car, but the weight will eat into your weight carrying capacity.

[@RWBHere]

@@Jamesandkate Great to hear! Thanks for the reply. That will give the 24kWh and 30kWh Leaf models a new lease of life.

[@jontallon73]

To be fair, for a Nissan / Renault product I'm always pleasantly surprised to see how clean these old LEAFs are underneath.

[@mcroft1234]

Great video 👌 couple of questions 1. What size is the extender battery? 2. How much this the kit? 3. Was there any additional work associated with the BMU? Thanks

[@the8ofustogether]

Those are some good questions but nobody answered you that sucks. We just got a 2017 Kia soul ev and I would love to update the battery to go further.

[@williamarmstrong7199]

A taxi with little boot space.. humm a bit pointless. Great conversion by the way.

[@gino2465]

Brilliant sorry if someone asked before but with it fully charged what was the estimated miles now.

[@azeebster7436]

Interesting video

[@JonathanPorterfield]

This is brilliant to see James and Matt. One conversion id like to see is a chadamo fit to a MB 250e ?

[@LeeOades]

Not CCS, Jonathan?

[@bdeithrick]

Chademo for the win

[@cms1104]

There is a kit available in the US to add Chademo to the MB 250e (JDEMO FOR THE MERCEDES B-CLASS ED AND B250E by QuickChargePower)

[@JonathanPorterfield]

@@cms1104 yes i know , id just like to see a uk ev garage install one 😀

[@roodick85]

I trust you have a B250e as well? I absolutely love mine!

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

I hope Muxsan expand their kits to include other EVs such as my Kia Soul EV... (pre-2020)...

[@bendixon2898]

Top job boys

[@lalithkarunaratna6958]

Great effort! Well done.... Basically, you are switching the "Can bus" and "HV ports" via relays for each battery. Correct? In that case, don't you need to pair the batteries whenever you change the battery to battery? Otherwise, the new battery and the old are working together? In that case, the onboard charger is capable to charge both?

[@SilverShadow2LWB]

Nice work and great video. After viewing the entire video, I was wondering if the same time and money could have been put into placing the latest generation stock battery pack in from a wrecked car. I don't know what size and compatibility issues would exist, but at least the entire battery would be of approximately the same state of charge. I never mix old and new batteries on any electronics whether it be alkaline, NiMh, or lithium. Keep up the good work and we are still all interested in the approximate cost of the project.

[@Jamesandkate]

Next video is exactly that 👍🏻

[@smithers139]

Top job lads what's the price of that run at fitted ?

[@mikejf4377]

What batteries are you using? Great add and great video.

[@errcoche]

Big question is charging. Doubles the battery but has the same charging rate. For a taxi that is parked overnight this makes sense because you can see it being driven locally but over long total distances but with a very predictable charging schedule. For actually out of town journeys it makes less sense because it doesn't have rapid charging and the utility of the added range is questionable. I keep thinking about vehicles with modular battery/seating where passenger space and battery packs are interchangeable so if you are one up you can load three battery modules for added range. A lot of car design would need to change for that to happen of course. If batteries were to get lighter or more energy dense in terms of weight and volume it would help but then again, the whole question of range might become moot. You can pick up a 2017 Leaf with low mileage for about $10k here in the US and I see that as a real deal if its range fits your needs.

[@philiplmoore3995]

I have a 2020 MG zs ev, I wondered if anyone is doing the same thing for the MG, it would appear there is plenty of room in the boot for more batteries, and would be great to extend the range.

[@JIMWSMITH]

Great content james 🤙. Very interesting. Would be interested to see the real world figures, and also, off setting the costs compared to part exchange and buying a new model . But i would of thought , its the ideal conversion, for a work tool its paying for itself.

[@Jamesandkate]

Keep an eye out, there more to come with exactly this 👍🏻

[@pHD77]

Would something like this be possible to do on something like a Zoe? Around these parts there are plenty of Zoes for sale at QUITE reasonable prices (most likely do to some heavy degradation on the batteries). So if getting an upgrade like that done on a used, cheap Zoe in total is cheaper than buying a brand new 1st Gen Zoe... well, I'd be interested.

[@bdeithrick]

What do you do full time james ? I’ve heard it’s something in the motor ind but you won’t tell .? That true?

[@ronblack9092]

So, can you do level three charging and will the extender charge right along with the main battery? Also, do you know anyone in the western US who does this upgrade? Great video!

[@othoapproto9603]

the spinal tap of EV "eleven bars".

[@andrewgage6942]

What is the cost of the kit and fitting charge? Does it take up much boot space? How much extra range does this provide? Does the charging generate any heat in the boot area as this would seem harder to keep cool? I'm thinking of buying an electric vehicle as my next vehicle in a couple of years, a Nissan Leaf would probably be my choice, mainly due to price, most of my journey to and from work is motorway driving, would I benefit from having a range extender installed? One of my major issues at present is that I share a driveway with four other properties so don't always get to park in the same spot so I'm looking for a vehicle that won't require charging every day, I drive around fifty to fifty five miles daily for work

[@Second0ne]

could you do a video on why you stopped and the problems you encountered and whether you will start doing them again ?

[@81limerick]

Question: The wires under the car seem not waterproof connections, if you go into rain floods will that not short circuit the boards and batteries?

[@ndudman8]

The comedy of forgetting the voltage level of the two battery really made me laugh, and gave a great deal of confidence... There was no talk of any BMS on the extender pack... which I think is going to be a problem ? So I'm still not sure just adding an extender in parrellel with no BMS is a very good idea ? OK looking at the muxsan website they do seem to have thermal managment and bms, but I love to know how the connect and disconnect and the auto management of this in the future is done if for somereason the V's get out of sync ?

[@javiTests]

Have you taken into account the safety if the car is read-ended? I think that battery is not as well protected as the original one in the case of an accident and it could create a fire easier, right? Or have you taken some measures to avoid that? Good job in any case!

[@Jamesandkate]

Every cell is fused, so in an impact it would isolate to cell level.

[@petermc7098]

Hello There, a great Video and I presume you get around 70 extra miles on top with the range extender and which range extender did you use? Cheers Peter McCleery

[@jezthomas4402]

Thanks for doing this video; so many people are talking about muxsan conversions and wanted to see some evidence, so this is perfect. Is Cleevely doing ENV200 extended batteries, and/or 24 to 40 kWh conversions for the van; I want my van done and don't want to drive to Holland?! Thanks.

[@Jamesandkate]

Certainly are

[@doubledutch13]

Very good 👍👍

[@marshallhammond1099]

Is there a shop here in the US that does the kind of work you do? I've looked and not come up with anyone, anywhere.

[@bobbye8071]

Brilliant

[@jamesknightreading]

Very interesting to see James. Does it charge any faster on a rapid charger now?

[@PlanetCypher_]

It should charge at higher speeds for longer

[@hamfish225]

@@PlanetCypher_ given it's a 30kwh leaf, those charge at full speed all the way up to 80% anyway.

[@buckegit]

Do you think someone will ever hack an e-Golf for something like this or maybe have extender packs installed in the massive gap under the Boot on the underside of the car. I bet a good 5-10kwh would fit under there without interfering with the boot space

[@rajbadwal85]

Awesome, how much would something like this cost?

[@billbollins]

Great vid guys, what is the charging speed now?

[@emailellis2965]

How much cost the battery with the labour to be fit in and how much A battery weight buy kg .

[@ewmegoolies]

Ok, but what was the max range before the upgrade?

[@isoconfused8744]

Great Video, I cant help but wonder thinking that this all seems very time intensive, mechanic charges from £60 -£80 per hour how much is a bespoke EV mechanic going to charge? £100? plus VAT? add the cost of the pack. What is the all in cost? I fail to see how it is a viable option.

[@Jamesandkate]

It wasn't cheap, admittedly. However, for a Taxi, it means it's on the road with better range and charging with not having to buy a decent sub 5 year old car.

[@BartoszDebski]

On the video you guys disconnected the main fuse without property rated gloves. How safe is this to do so?

[@Jamesandkate]

It's completely safe. We had the 12v disconnected and the MSD is heavily insulated. There's no risk unless the contactors are closed and there's amperage flowing.

[@MakingBusinessesBetterAgain]

@James and Kate - great video, can you disclose your Nissan Leaf batter supplier's website, Manufacturer Part Number, any wholesale warehouse options to make a purchase for the battery upgrade, and any possible discounts for doing the battery update beside personal benefits as the owner with getting more drive time per charge....? THANK YOU for the great video and information as well, keep up the good work and videos.

[@kurtjensen7264]

I’m concerned about the zip ties holding up the wires. Zip ties are great for short term. But they do eventually break down. Would have preferred using a rust resistant U bracket. With rust resistant screws. Just a thought.🤷🏼‍♂️

[@cvicracer]

Awesome

[@kevinmccarthy6091]

How many more miles range did they achieve?

[@mikeoniones667]

A very convincing video. Can this be done in the states I live in Indiana?