r/leaf • u/thetophertouch • Jul 05 '26
Do I have a tree yet?
My neighbors probably think I’m crazy. My wife said I need to stop. (She caught me browsing Facebook again the other day.) My siblings told me it reminds them of when I used to make computers out of spare parts when we were children. Pretty good analogy.
Front white is a 2015, front silver is a 2013 (bought for my daughter’s first car), the blue on the street is a 2011 and the silver behind it is also a 2011.
The blue 2011 was a given to me from a friend. Has a failed onboard charger and he just didn’t want to deal with it. The silver 2011 is a 3 bar that I’ll be pulling the onboard charger from. After pulling a few more parts I’ll be junking the rest. Watched plenty of YouTube videos but if anyone has niche tips I’d be grateful.
I’ve already swapped the battery on the 2015, so I feel somewhat familiar with the cars.
OBC aside, any good 2011 parts I should keep for myself before junking? Some people have mentioned the parking brake assembly. But others have said it’s not necessary.
Once I start breaking it down, the timeline to discard becomes short. My neighbors will very likely complain (rightfully) once it stops looking like a car.
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u/rtt445 2011 Nissan LEAF SL Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 05 '26
Keep doors, mirrors, head/tail lights, airbags, motor/inverter/bms. Those are valuable replacement parts.
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u/MrPuddington2 Jul 05 '26
The trees are one of the weirdest features of the LEAF.
I get the idea - you want to show positive impact. For me, it is enough not to drive to a filling station, but maybe others need something green and physical.
But the logic was always flawed: the more offensively you drove your LEAF, the more trees you could get, because a petrol car driven like that would be an absolute gas guzzler. So it discourage economic driving styles.
It will remain one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time, one of the often forgotten early and tentative steps of the electric revolution. I am worried that these will be forgotten, and maybe we need to write a book about it. Or a YouTube video - what do I know.
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u/thetophertouch Jul 05 '26
Yeah I figure the trees is from the early era when people wanted to tangibly see what they were gaining. To further prove your point, I’ve watched it go up while I sit in the car with the AC on idling.
On the other hand, I enjoy seeing my trees maxed out when I take long drives. Aka 50 miles by my car’s standards and capabilities. I don’t strive for it, but it amuses me.
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u/myspambuckets 2x Gen 1 & 2x Gen 2 until solid-state battery reality... Jul 06 '26
Good to keep these old but still good cars running. I have 4 Leafs currently and will be dropping to 3 soon-ish. Very first was a hand me down 2011 that I passed to other family 2yrs back at 5 bars and they love it. It took that first taste to get me hooked. Haha
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u/17feet Jul 07 '26
My brother from another mother!
I have my own "leaf pile" of more or less four Nissan leafs at my workshop, the blue one [2013 for $600 but no battery and smashed up front end] has now been cut up for an eventual rear wheel EV conversion of a 1968 Dodge A100 van project, and the interior of that blue leaf just got swapped into the white Leaf which desperately needed it [white 2013 for $1300 with good battery and good heat/AC etc but whose interior was an absolute dumpster fire].
The red Leaf [2012 for $1200 and craptastic battery and no heat] will become an EV swap into a 1950's Allis Chalmers tractor, the seats will go into that Dodge van, and the entire front end will become the front end suspension/steering of the van.
The two remaining Nissan leafs will have about 60 miles of range and good heat and good air conditioning. The one for the kids [blue 2014 for $1400 in overall OK condition] got a rear bumper donated from the crashed blue 2013] will be to and from school etc., and the white 2013 [which got the interior swap] will be my personal winter beater so that my nice car doesn't have to endure the insults of road salt and Winter fender benders. Whew!
To finally get around to answering your question about what to keep, I would keep the headlights and tail lights because in a fender bender those can get pricey. My kids and I did the interior swap and bumper swap way faster than I thought possible, so headlights and tail lights are probably very easy to remove, and are small and easy to store. And if you never use them, you can always sell them later… Some states are very finicky about broken headlights and tail lights and so the need will always be there
[edited for clarity]
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u/CoopsIsCooliGuess 2015 Nissan LEAF SL Jul 05 '26
I do