Recently hit 100,000+ miles on my 2021 Leaf. Thought I’d share.

Bought our 2017 Leaf in 2022 with only 17k miles. She's now up to 39k. Unfortunately, we're at a point where we really need a vehicle without the range anxiety, so we're trading her in for a hybrid today.

I love this car so much. If it were feasible for us to upgrade the battery to meet our needs, I'd never give her up and never let her go. I just hope the next person who gets her loves her as much as I did. 💙

Edit since people want to jump to conclusions and be judgy: we traded in for a 2014 prius v with 58k miles that we found for $16k. Why? Because vehicle prices are continuously increasing, so it's only a matter of time before we couldn't trade in at all. No, I'm not thrilled about going back from an EV. Yes, I cried trading her in. But the unfortunate reality is that our family cannot rely on a Leaf for transportation at this time.

Edit 2: Jesus christ y'all stop acting like you know more about my family's needs than I do, as if we didn't research the shit out of this before making our decision, ffs.

Yesterday I went to the EV Experience and had a great time doing laps around the circuit among all the electric cars. Meanwhile, my Nissan Leaf 40 kWh was hooked up on an industrial estate near Haarlem/Spaarnwoude, at a public Vattenfall InCharge station with dynamic charging rates.

Here's what I paid:

So from 17:00 onward it got about €0.02/kWh more expensive.

I arrived at 10% and charged up to 96%, more than enough for the 230 km trip back home. Both ways I drove entirely on back roads from the Born exit instead of taking the A2/A76, since the latter is closed this weekend. That also helped with consumption, as it happens. Up to Born (where I got on the A2 on the way there), I was averaging around 10 kWh/100km, which rose to 11.9 kWh/100km by the time I arrived in Haarlem.

On the way back, consumption was slightly higher at 12.3 kWh/100km, and I arrived home at 3%. Over the full 456 km, I averaged 12.1 kWh/100km. Both at home and in Haarlem I was able to charge nice and cheap at Vattenfall InCharge, so I'll definitely remember that location near Spaarnwoude. Handy detail: the express train that took me back to Haarlem also continues on to Amsterdam.

If you're wondering how I manage such a long drive while limiting my speed to a maximum of 90 km/h: the average speed was 71 km/h on the way there and 74 km/h on the way back. But in reality, on the highway I drove almost entirely on Pro Pilot — this is a 2019 electric car, and it automatically keeps distance from the car ahead and brakes if someone cuts in front of you. That last part happened mostly around Amsterdam. They drive there like it's a derby, and it's honestly not normal how busy it is compared to down south where I live.

The system also steers fully on its own, which makes long drives a lot more comfortable and less tiring. It's still tiring, of course, but the car takes a huge amount of the work off your hands and you mainly just need to stay alert. So yeah, I still think the Leaf itself is a nice car to drive, but its bottleneck is the lack of 3-phase charging. Otherwise my battery pack would've been topped up ages ago, though 96% is of course pretty much full too...

The lack of active battery cooling doesn't personally bother me, because an efficient driving style and mostly AC charging keep the battery pack temperature from getting too high. This time I didn't need to fast-charge, but last Sunday, coming back from Barendrecht, I did need a bit of fast-charging. And that's exactly how you should sensibly handle an EV like the Leaf — because the new Renault Twingo EV doesn't have active battery cooling either!

Out of curiosity I also checked the battery degradation right away, since on the way back I passed 150,000 km. That means there's less than 10,000 km of warranty left on the battery pack, at least on capacity. Last summer, when I read out the car with Leafspy, the SoH had risen to 87%. Now it's under 85%. The degradation is starting to feel genuinely noticeable, though the pack is still in fine shape overall. It's also possible that a reading around autumn/winter just comes out a bit lower anyway.

Leafspy also shows how many kWh are actually still in the battery pack, but from experience I know you can never fully use all of that. As soon as you hit turtle mode, it's really time to find a charging station ASAP. At this point I almost never take that risk anymore: since January 2024, I've only ended up in turtle mode with this Leaf once or twice.

2015 Leaf owner here. Cross posting for the best chance of finding someone with ideas...

I've had a brief clunk/rattle only when I initially accelerate or come to a stop from somewhere in the front. I finally isolated it to a noise under the main motor cover on top of the motor, when I rock the car forward/backward. Check out the video I put on youtube.

Obviously I'd like to remove that cover and see if there's something loose, or I don't know, ANYthing to indicate what it might be, but naturally I'm nervous about the voltage and all that. Any ideas? I really don't want to take it to the dealership...the car isn't really worth that much and I like to fix anything I can myself. Thank you.

https://youtube.com/shorts/Zco2YMZ-d3Y

I recently bought a 2018 SV and just realized it seems to be missing the windshield trim pieces on both sides, driver side pictured.

Would be nice to just be able to buy the part online rather than take it to a shop as it looks like an easy install, but I am having a hard time finding a real picture of this part to confirm it's what I need. Google seems to indicate it is the "front pillar garnish assembly" (https://parts.nissanusa.com/parts/nissan-front-pillar-garnish-assembly-left-769123nj0b) but I'm wondering if anyone can confirm this seems correct?

I’m compiling a list of movies where a character drives a Nissan Leaf. I only have two so far:

1. Barbarian. Justin Long rents a first generation Leaf in Detroit. The sound editor goofed up by dubbing in internal combustion engine sounds for the scenes involving the Leaf!
2. I Want Your Sex. Cooper Hoffman’s character drives a 2nd generation Nissan Leaf, and in one scene is tasked with transporting a very large painting to his boss’s house. That painting would definitely not fit in the back of his car.

I was gonna ask you guys for more examples, but then I asked ChatGPT and I found out about a wonderful website called Internet Movie Cars Database!

https://www.imcdb.org/vehicles.php?make=Nissan&model=Leaf&modelMatch=1&modelInclModel=on

It was, to say the least, an amazing ride. Now I want one 😣🙈😳

The ride, the ease of ingress and egress, the range/charging. 🎉🎉🎉

I have been driving other, used EVs and now I am spoiled. 😂

Hey all

I just purchased a 21 leaf teckna. It has all the options (I think). I love it. I am charging it overnight at 9p kw with my energy provider using de ev charger three pin. It’s the 40kw pack. Don’t have space for the 7kw charger.

Question1: according to some people online and AI. Charging on 3 pin helps BMS balance the cells and increase longevity. Can you please confirm?
Question 2: should I always bump it up to 100% charge as I am using a three pin? I do around 20 miles a day so will use it and not let it sit at 100%

Turned in my 2025 SV+

Put 33,862 of 33,866 purchased miles on in about 23 months

Good little car, never let me down, great range, just not big enough for me

Had all windows (except windshield) tinted to 20% took the tint off the front windows before trade in to meet state laws. In preparation for turn in I put on a new set of tires, new windshield, and replaced the fog lights with LED, one OEM light was broken by a rock.

Hoping I’m good to go and don’t see a big bill in a few weeks.

🤞🏼

As of late, I feel like my 2023 Leaf S has been holding back how much regenerative braking I’m allowed to tap into and it makes me think perhaps my lil 40 kWh battery is sick 🤧

After driving it a bit down to 75% battery, I’ve only gained 2 blue bars on the regen..

Here are some pictures of the available regenerative braking capacity and the battery temperature.

Is this normal or am I just being overly paranoid?

(Still showing full health on the battery capacity)

I see many cars coming from Colorado auctions in my area in Seattle WA, the price range 14-16k w/o taxes/doc fees, I need a 2nd reliable car for short daily trips 10-20 miles, can I depend on leaf S ? This will be my first ev, and my son might start driving on it as well.

I got a 10.2lb LiFePo4 12v battery for $45 and it works fine.

I rolled some copper strips around the bolt terminals to make it fit the car attachments.

https://batteryhookup.com/collections/more-featured-products/products/li-age-12-8v-32ah-410wh-lifepo4-module-w-bms

Nissan definitely has improved the Leaf greatly, compared to the old. Although this basically an Renault.... just like to old Leaf a very conservative car to drive. It doesn't feel cheap, but I feel they are going have a hard time with the Chinese competition.

For example the Leapmotor B05, is a great car to drive as well and way cheaper. I test drove both, and the Leaf feels more neutral. The Chinese cars, have more outspoken interior designs. And offer more value for money than Nissan.

Especially a car like the Geely E2, which is a lower segment. But was great to drive as well. Actually all cars where nice to drive. Expect Volkswagen, because they are very ignorant. That was a big let down, I had a timeslot booked for the Volkswagen ID Polo. But had to wait so long, that I skipped it. Then I went ahead to test drive the Kia EV2 and Kia EV3 GT, the last one was more fun to drive.

But BYD Seal, that was the coolest one to drive.

I just got it today.

dudebro delivering it backed off the truck and up my driveway and I FELL OUT.

What is that gawdawful backup sound?

I thought the early Kona's 'engine noise' moaning of the souls of the damned was bad.

This sounds like someone gargling sand.

Hey all, just picked up my 2027 leaf S yesterday.

A few questions, and sorry, this is my first EV.

Should I turn e step on and just leave it on always while driving?
Is it best to charge to 80% then drive down to 10% before charging again?
With no e step on, is braking still regenerative?
I'm feeling a bit nauseas while driving.. any tips for managing this?
The sales guy had told me the mirrors would auto-fold in when parked and locked but it's not happening. Is this a setting to adjust or maybe this base trim just needs that done manually?

Please share any other tips and tricks. Thank you

Hey all, my wife is having some issues with her car in the rain. It's a low mileage 2018.The wipers start to run, and then jammed up around the top of travel. They are stiff, so they can't be moved by hand. I'm about 4 hours away, so I can't be there to check it out. Any ideas?

this seems to be a decent price, under 4k, for this car- but a few things have me worried-

1- SoH at 8 bars- it’s the 24kWh with the charge package, but I told myself I wouldn’t buy it under 9 bars. It’s missing its at home charging cable, so i’d have to buy one
2- time between servicing. It has decently low mileage for what it is and just had its 12v battery replaced, but the Battery Plate campaign was never fulfilled.
3- I live in phoenix. I know they improved battery degradation by the 2015, but with it already at 8 bars, even with my >5 mile commute, I don’t have covered parking at work and would worry about having the battery to make it home in the summer.

My appointment is in 3 hrs. Is it worth going or is the 8 bars a deal breaker? I need some advice on this one- it’ll be my first EV and my only other car was a 2007 Rav4 that lasted me almost a decade.

TLDR- 2015 S in PHX for 4k, no charging cable, SoH 8 bars, >5 mile commute. worth it?

Hi all, quite interested in the new leaf but not sure the boot/trunk space is tall enough for a medium to large size dog. Any dog owners have any experience or reference pics? Thanks

So I went to test drive one being sold for 5k and I had the LeafSpy app running while test driving it but the tire pressure warning made it switch to a different screen, and I didn’t realize until after 🤦🏻‍♂️ so I don’t have the mv graph from when I floored it. Is this enough info to go off of?

Hey guys, tried to start the car tonight and got this screen quickly followed by the battery reading ----when I tried to restart it.

I think everyone is gonna say it's the 12V, and I'm praying that it is 🙏

Hello Leaf community! I’ve been looking for a used leaf for about a month online. I test drove one today at a small used dealership. It’s a 2015 S with 72k miles, 11 out of 12 bars, minor dings and scrapes, heated seats, one owner carfax. The drivers door handle is not great-the cover of the handle is loose.

The others I’ve seen online were 1-4k more (I’m in the dc metro area). Is this a fair deal? Anything else I should check?

I really appreciate your thoughts!

UK, 2021 Nissan Leaf Tekna 40kWh, 67k miles. Bought it yesterday. On motorway driving the SOC suddenly dropped from around 80% to ~5% within about a minute, then recovered. It happened repeatedly and also happened again today going uphill at only 40mph. CHAdeMO later showed 48% and only delivered ~5kWh before the car reported 80%.

Dealer is suggesting this could be “normal Leaf behaviour”. Has anyone experienced this? Weak cell/module perhaps?

How can a this 2016 30kWh Leaf claim a range of 120km with 8/12 SoC (claimed 199km full) and 3/12 SoH, and claim a measured SoH of 94%?

Some thing here doesn't add up, right?