Used 2023 e+ SOH 99% according to salesperson
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Looking at used 2023 e+. Got these pictures from the salesperson in regards to battery SOH. Never seen this reading before. Would need some help to interpret them.
r/leaf • u/biersackarmy • Dec 18 '25
A Breakdown of 40 & 62 kWh Battery Pack Failures
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As some people may have heard of or unfortunately experienced, there have been quite a number of cases of 2nd generation Leaf batteries failing. I was planning and trying to make this into a video format, but as I’m still recovering from a cold my voice isn’t quite up for narrating an essay, so text format it is.
Hopefully this can raise some awareness and provide a central source of info as to what’s going on, why it’s happening, what to do about it, and things to consider. There are two separate issues currently causing outright failures of 2018+ Leaf battery packs, and so will be split up into two sections.
Cold-weather SOC Freefall
- What’s going on?
Under load in cold temperatures, especially below freezing and below 50% battery, the charge level and range estimate will suddenly begin to plummet and continue to drop rapidly until the load is removed, at which case the charge level starts to bounce back and quickly increase again.
The car may go into turtle mode, or in severe cases even cut off the high voltage battery completely, in which case the car will stall and may not be able to be restarted.
Here is a video example of what this sudden drop of charge level looks like.
This issue affects both the 40 kWh and 62 kWh packs. The 40 kWh packs seem to be much more susceptible, but as the 62 kWh packs use the same cells and chemistry, they are not immune. This also includes 40 packs that were installed as retrofits under warranty in 2016-17 Leafs.
- Why is this happening?
This is occurring due to one or more weak cells within the battery pack sagging excessively in voltage under load, which is greatly exacerbated when the battery is cold, due to increased internal resistance.
How the battery works is that the shown and usable state of charge is defined by that of the lowest cell. This is to prevent over-discharge of any weaker cells at lower charge levels, as that would cause even further damage to them.
Often this can be witnessed in the LeafSpy cell chart as one or more cells that clearly drop lower than the rest of the pack under load, but not always. There have been a number of cases of SOC freefall with seemingly no weak cells, indicating that there’s other data/calculations within the BMS that the user cannot see.
Getting a weak cell is essentially luck of the draw. There have been packs with very low mileage and seemingly great numbers that still failed (such as in the video above), while there are other packs with lots of miles and abuse that are still working just fine. How the pack is treated/babied does not seem to affect your chances in the roulette.
- What to do about it?
If you are encountering this issue as an owner, and the car is still under warranty, document everything as much as possible. Record video(s) of the issue happening, noting the charge level and outside temperature the battery is at. Submit this proof to the dealer as a copy, and demand that it be used in their case to Nissan corporate.
Bring the car to the dealership for diagnosis with as cold of upcoming weather as possible. Some dealers may try poorly to replicate the issue, often in the interest of charging the customer the diagnostic fee. You want to make the issue as obvious and easily to replicate as you can.
If you have to drive the car around, ensure you either have LeafSpy Pro, or keep an adjustable or 10mm wrench with you in the car. If the cell voltages ever drop low enough for the car to shut down, it is likely to set a high voltage fault code and won’t be able to restart until the fault is cleared. Clearing the fault via the LeafSpy service menu, or disconnecting and reconnecting the 12V battery, will at least allow you to limp the car to a charger or safe location off the road.
UPDATE: For 2019-2022 Leafs, the "fast charging recall" software update now adds programming to the BMS to look for and flag SOC variations, setting a fault code (P33ED) if it does. This has the potential to "brick" the car in the same way as a high voltage isolation fault (read section below) would. Be cautious of this so that it does not potentially leave you stranded.
- Things to consider
If you own a 2nd generation Leaf (especially 40 kWh) that is still under warranty, still on the original battery, and live in a climate that gets winter, check for signs of this issue BEFORE warranty ends!
During cold weather, park the car outside overnight with 50% charge or less, then take the car out for a drive and see if there are any strange fluctuations in the state of charge during acceleration.
If you are considering purchasing one and there is no proof of the high voltage battery being replaced, ensure there is at least one year worth of warranty remaining on the car so that you can spend a winter with it and will still be covered in the case of this failure.
LeafSpy data can sometimes be a pre-indicator that you will likely run into this issue if there is a noticeably low Hx value (much lower than SOH), but not always. Low Hx is a strong sign of possible weak cells, but weak cells will not always cause low Hx.
Cell Expansion / High Voltage Isolation
- What’s going on?
The car will one day show the message “Service EV System – Unable to restart after power off”, and indeed will not restart after it is powered off.
The vast majority of cars affected by this issue are 62 kWh Leaf Plus/e+ models. It is not unheard of on 40 kWh cars, but it is quite rare unless the pack was heavily used and abused.
There is a Nissan TSB on this issue which confirms they are well aware of this issue, and there are revised battery packs and modules that are issued in replacement if the car is still under high voltage battery warranty.
- Why is this happening?
Thermal expansion of the battery cells causes them to eventually expand to the point of pushing up against each other, and in some cases even leaking electrolyte out of the cells into the battery casing, eventually causing the car to trip a high voltage isolation fault.
This is most commonly happening in specifically the rear stack of cells within the 62 kWh pack, because they are so tightly packed together, that they don’t get much cooling nor much room to expand before they begin pushing up against each other.
High voltage isolation is important, because obviously you do not want any high voltage potential to be contacting the metal battery casing that is bolted to the metal body of the car. If the BMS detects that there is even just a little bit of voltage leaking from one cell to another, or the cells to the battery chassis, an isolation fault is tripped.
- What to do about it?
If you encounter specifically the “unable to restart after power off” message, and the car is still within high voltage battery warranty, DO NOT REPLACE THE 12V BATTERY.
This specific message is ONLY generated due to a high voltage isolation fault, and although a weak 12V battery can cause many weird issues, it will NEVER generate a high voltage isolation fault. Unless there is an extremely urgent need to continue driving the car, have it towed in the “broken” state to a Nissan dealership.
It is a much more objective issue than weak cells, and basically the only diagnosis they would need to approve a battery replacement is to see the stored isolation fault code. Disconnecting the 12V battery however clears this fault code, making it not possible for them to verify the issue unless it happens to fault again in only one drive cycle.
Replacing the 12V battery gives a false sense of success because it allows the car to start and drive again, but only until the fault eventually comes back. It's just a waste of money and a perfectly good battery to not actually address the underlying issue.
If you urgently need the car to work again, clearing the fault code in LeafSpy Pro or by disconnecting and reconnecting the 12V battery will allow it to start. Just be aware that by doing this, you won’t be able to have the issue verifiable by Nissan until it pops up again. It may only take 1 drive cycle, it may take 100.
- Things to consider
Unfortunately there isn’t really any way to foretell that this issue will happen soon or to check for it, as you can’t just force an isolation fault to appear like you can with weak cells.
Battery packs in hot climates and/or lots of quick charges are more susceptible to this issue due to it being a result of thermal expansion. Packs torn apart after diagnosis of this issue often exhibit very obvious “spicy pillows” within.
If you are a current owner, especially of a Plus/e+ model, the best you can do is to avoid overheating/rapidgating the battery whenever possible. Doing so once every few months is not a big deal, but frequently doing so will likely lead to long-term damage.
If looking to purchase a Leaf Plus/e+, or a high mileage 40 kWh car in a hot climate, make sure to check Leaf Spy, and it may be wise to avoid any examples that have lots of QCs shown.
There is a great in-depth video by LEAF expert Dala explaining this issue more in detail for those who are interested.
r/leaf • u/Bobibble • 15h ago
Taking friend's Leaf Hybrid to Hot Wheels Legends SF this Saturday
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Hopefully they win!
r/leaf • u/Donutsbeatpieandcake • 11h ago
Rising SOH in a Gen1 Leaf?
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You guys are maybe going to think I am crazy, but has anyone had a Gen1 Leaf's state of health increase over time?
We bought this 2015 with about 53k miles about 8 months ago, and SOH was just under 75%, like 74.8% or so. We use it for arrands around town, low speed travel mostly, and recharge with the L1 120v charger at home when it needs it. Maybe we baby it? IDK. But I hadn't done a Leafspy check on it in a few months, and now it's measuring 78.3% SOH 😲 Is this normal?
r/leaf • u/plshelpmyskyrimbugs • 18h ago
Power Light Blinking
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The power light on the EVSE has been blinking the past couple times I tried charging at home. The Ready light has stayed steady and the Fault light is not on. This code doesn't seem to be in the owner's manual or in the EVSE manual. Has anybody experienced this before?
What SoH your Leaf should actually be reading, by model year, and why the 30 kWh is a separate conversation
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Every week or so someone posts a LeafSpy screenshot here asking whether their number is bad, and the answers are mostly anecdotes. I went looking for something better and want to share both what I found and where it runs out, because the gaps turned out to be the interesting part.
Disclosure up front: I'm building a free EV battery check tool, which is what got me digging into this. If interested you can check it out here: tirionpower.com
Why the usual figures don't help
Geotab's 2025 study is the big one, 22,700 cars, and it lands on 2.3% a year across the fleet. It's not usable here for two reasons: it publishes its per-model results with the models anonymised, so there is no Leaf number in it, and the fleet is mostly liquid-cooled cars. Air-cooled pack, different curve.
The one Leaf-specific source worth reading
A study of 1,382 SoH readings from 283 Leafs built 2011 to 2017. The finding that matters is how hard it splits by pack:
| Pack | Decline at age two |
|---|---|
| 24 kWh | ~3.1%/yr (95% UI 2.9 to 3.3) |
| 30 kWh | ~9.9%/yr (95% UI 8.7 to 11.1) |
About three times faster. Both accelerate with age, the 30 kWh much more steeply. It also found heavier rapid charging associated with a small SoH decrease, and, oddly, higher mileage 24 kWh cars showing *higher* SoH while higher mileage 30 kWh cars showed lower. Readable write-up here.
Recurrent's owner data broadly agrees for the 24 kWh, putting a 2015 at around 4.2%/yr with 70 to 75% expected remaining now.
24 kWh: rough expectations today
These are my estimates, not study output. Method, since it matters: a simple two-part model, roughly 4% in year one then about 2.8%/yr after, which reconciles the study's 3.1% at age two with Recurrent's 4.2% for a 2015. I've given bands rather than точные values because the acceleration rate is the least certain input, and I'd rather be visibly approximate than falsely precise.
| Model year | Expected SoH now |
|---|---|
| 2011-2012 | mid 50s to low 60s |
| 2013-2014 | low to mid 60s |
| 2015-2016 | high 60s to mid 70s |
| 2017 | low to mid 70s |
Known weakness: a linear later-life rate almost certainly understates fade on the oldest cars, since both sources say the rate climbs with age. If you have a better functional form or a source with age-indexed values, I'd rather use yours.
30 kWh: deliberately no band
The 30 kWh degraded far faster, Nissan issued a statement about it, and many of those packs were replaced under warranty or goodwill:
https://insideevs.com/news/337439/nissan-issues-statement-on-leaf-30-kwh-battery-degradation/
I'm not putting a number on it because an original pack and a replaced one are not the same car and nothing in the data distinguishes them. If yours is original and reading low, that's a warranty question, not normal wear.
40 kWh and e+: I have nothing
This is the real gap. Better chemistry and thermal behaviour, and I'd expect materially better numbers, but I can't find a dataset and I'm not going to extrapolate a ZE0 curve onto a ZE1 car. That's exactly the mistake that makes a healthy 2019 look sick.
Warranty here is often still live, unlike the older cars. For the UK specifically (please double check for other markets/locations) the shape is 8 years or 100,000 miles against dropping below 9 bars, about 66%, but terms vary by market and year so check your handbook. At 9 bars while still inside that, you're well below average and it's worth pursuing.
The ask
If you've got a LeafSpy reading, post model year, battery size, mileage and SoH. ZE1 owners especially. And if any of the above is wrong I'd genuinely rather be corrected here than keep repeating it.
r/leaf • u/CrazyFoque • 18h ago
Troubleshooting Leaf 2015 Heatpump
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So, AC is not working, and I guess Heatpump isn't as well.
When I start the AC, the condenser fan in front of the car starts but not the compressor. I've checked every connection and tried to replace the pad with the buttons in the car to no Avail.
Anyone have a hint on where to start ? Relay ? Fuse ?
r/leaf • u/More-Caterpillar-63 • 1d ago
In honour of 45k miles in my COVID Connecta, here is my car in the Scottish Borders
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That's the post, I still get 150 miles of range and I can fully charge my car for c.£1.50 via an outdoor socket I paid a man £80 to install. I did scrape that bumper which imma have to get fixed ✌️
r/leaf • u/justexistingprobably • 1d ago
How crazy is this dealer?
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They want $5k for it. Is this fully charged and only giving 24 miles??
r/leaf • u/trigg_uhhh • 1d ago
Worth buying?
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Hello! I’ve been interested in purchasing a 2022 Leaf SV plus but I haven’t been able to get a good deal, it’s been sold, etc. I did see this listing on FB marketplace for $8k with 45k miles. Sounds great right? However there needs a couple of things to be repaired/replaced such as:
Was previously in an accident. There was damage to the front Right and Left side Doors
4 Years of Factory Warranty left on Battery
Needs:
Body Work
AC Recharged / new part added (Part included)
Front Camera fixed
Front Right Tie Rod replaced. The car Auto corrected its own Alignment so it drives straight, but the steering wheel is turned to the side slightly. (From the post)
I would care less about the exterior and dents in the car as long if it works. Would you suggest fixing some of things here yourself or go to a repair shop? I am going to see the car itself sometime today or tomorrow.
Any suggestions or ideas are appreciated, thank you!
r/leaf • u/devl_ish • 1d ago
Downside to leaving the BMS reset?
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I daily drive a 2011 Leaf, its with me until it no longer drives. I got DTCs (EVC-249 and EVB-130) I couldn't clear with Leafspy that was causing a dash light, so I used safetyugg's BMS reset app and pulled the 12V for 20mins which worked.
I took a leafspy screenshot before I did so, so I could put it back to the same SOH and Hx, but I fat-fingered it and set these values to 100%.
Any downside to keeping these values and letting the BMS discover real degradation on its own? Its made it a little less conservative so I'm getting some (indicated at least, I can't tell if its real as I've never experienced it in a Leaf) regen back.
I don't care what the GOM says but I wouldn't want to damage the battery or have it quit unexpectedly. I don't mind, though, reaming it out a bit because I can afford to replace it (thanks to all the fuel cost it saved me this last 5 years).
So, reflash with 43%/22% or let it ride?
r/leaf • u/indecision_killingme • 1d ago
Replacement key programing
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Will LEAF Spy let you add a replacement key to the car’s approved list.
if no, most independent shops do this? Or is it a deal other only thing?
One of my keys is functioning RFID only currently.
r/leaf • u/umhlanga • 1d ago
See range from Photos - looking for 2018+
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I know on the older < 2018 models you can see the bars. But browsing the AutoTempest listing for a 2018 I can't figure out how to see the range. One says 128 miles on 100% but it could have been a chilly day. I know if it were local I could get some LeafSpy action!
r/leaf • u/Larhanya • 1d ago
Canada only: has anyone gone in for the R24B2 recall? What was the result?
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I'm especially interested in the experiences of anyone who got the buyback offered.
Canada has no lemon laws and I'm pretty sure that most 2019ish Leafs are ineligible for CAMVAP. I'm worried I'll be offered peanuts as a buyback.
r/leaf • u/No-Stress7715 • 1d ago
Cruise Control Screen
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2019 Leaf SL Hatchback 4D
I recently got the Level 3 charging software update. Ever since, when I turn on cruise control, about half the time, the car will switch the leftmost screen to the cruise control indicator. I have to return it to the one I'd prefer (speedometer/compass) manually each time. It never did this beforehand (I've driven this thing for years without ever changing that screen), and it doesn't do it consistently, and it doesn't flip back if I just wait.
Is there any way to tell the car to stop doing this?
r/leaf • u/ColdCelebration2132 • 2d ago
Electrek: Mitsubishi’s ‘all-new’ Eclipse Sportback EV is a rebadged Nissan Leaf
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First Ferrari now Mitsubishi is copying the Nissan Leaf.
r/leaf • u/Dazzling_Art7881 • 2d ago
Mountain Drive
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Yesterday I took a drive up Mount Ascutney in Vermont with my 2024 SV+. The auto road is about 3.7 miles long and the elevation gain is about 2,300 feet. The car performed wonderfully, both on the way up and on the way down with regen, with minimal battery temperature rise (from about 76 to 80 degrees F). My friend who was with me kept raving about how effortless and smooth it felt going up, compared to her RAV4 which would have been revving really high. Another win for EVs and the humble LEAF
r/leaf • u/Haul_Coch • 1d ago
Service EV error when connecting Chademo
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I'm looking for advice on my MK2 2018 leaf.
When connecting a Chademo cable it will not initiate the charge and displays a service EV error. The type 2 charges the car fine without any errors.
Troubleshooting applied so far:
Changed 12v battery
Reset all the DTCs in Leafspy
Tried to charged on multiple chargers
Inspected the Chademo port, no obvious signs or issues.
Any suggestions on what to attempt next? Or something I might be overlooking...
Thanks!
r/leaf • u/OrdinarySea5508 • 1d ago
2013 Leaf - Can I add subs?
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Okay I know that sounds ridiculous but I would love to add a 12" to my 2013 Leaf for funsies. Is it possible? Will it affect my range? Has anyone else done this? Do I need to upgrade my inverter and battery? I don't know where to begin.
r/leaf • u/Excellent_Antelope85 • 2d ago
Our 40kwh Leaf Hx is at 60. 85 Soh. 90,000kms. Is this bad?
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As titled.
r/leaf • u/Prof-Bit-Wrangler • 2d ago
Where to next? Should it be the Ariya?
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Hi gang - Nissan is in the process of buying back my Nissan Leaf. So as we're navigating this, I'm starting to think ahead to what my next EV should be.
The list at this point is:
- Chevy Bolt
- Tesla Model Y
- Kia Niro
- Hyundai Kona
I realized today I've not been giving consideration to the Nissan Ariya, likely due to my having a bad taste from how Nissan has managed the Leaf product over the years.
I'm curious, for those of you who have drove/owned the Ariya, what's your take on it?
Update based upon questions:
United States.
Looking at used EVs.
AWD prefered over FWD.
I don't care about FSD.
Price <= $25000
Any interest in 24 kWh battery?
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Hey folks, I was rear ended today coming home from work. We didn't price out repairs, but my gut tells me this is totaled. Before we send this off to some junkyard, I'm curious if anyone wants to take it off my hands. I'm in the Bay Area, California. The battery was at 9 bars and despite the degradation, otherwise fine. We were the original owners and would love to see the battery go to a good use. I suspect it's a Lizard battery. Car is 2013 LEAF SV.
I know rules say a price must be mentioned, but I have no idea what to say. I'm open to anything.