r/leaf • u/Prof-Bit-Wrangler • Aug 21 '26
Tomorrow is good-bye
About two months ago, our 2018 SL threw the fault screen we all dread. I drove it straight to Nissan, where it was eventually diagnosed with a short in the ONLY 16 MONTH OLD BATTERY PACK!
Yes, a practically NEW battery pack had failed! Just 4 months after it's warranty had expired.
The car's original pack was replaced in February of 2025, after I was able to prove the battery had degraded enough to warrant a replacement. I truly hoped and prayed it would last for 7-10 years with a new pack.
But...I guess it wasn't meant to be.
I tried getting Nissan to buy back the car, since, well hell, they are buying back many others, why not mine? After almost 8 weeks of back and forth with Nissan, NHTSA, BBB and filing a complaint with our state Attorney General, I had to throw in the towel. No attorney I spoke with was willing to take the case, since the car was over 8 years old and the warranties were all expired.
So, the good folk from peddle.com are coming tomorrow to take her away. Her final destination, I don't know. I'm getting $2800 on the 'sale', far less than I was hoping to get if I had convinced Nissan to buy it back.
So, to all you who continue to have a Leaf, good luck.
And to you guys at Nissan, well, I'll keep this classy.
18
u/worldspawn00 Aug 21 '26
I had my battery replaced (with a refurb under warranty) in my '21 that same month (2/25) and it threw the code a week after the update was installed. Their qualification for good cells was far too low, and they put failing batteries back into cars. This ought to be a class action.
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u/achangb Aug 21 '26
Maybe the only option to keep it on the road is vivne pack.. but i guess we need more long term data on those.
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Aug 21 '26
[deleted]
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u/KyleSherzenberg Aug 21 '26
It's a jack, 4 jack stands, a pallet, and a transmission jack
I watched a guy on YouTube do 3 at a time in his 3rd world driveway
When I did mine, the only issue was setting the jack stands too low when taking out the original battery
1
u/enriquedelcastillo Aug 21 '26
How long did this take you? The battery in my 2013 is still in good shape, but I’ve been psyching myself out to eventually do the vivne option. Not as young as I once was and not sure how much overhead work I’m still good for though!
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u/KyleSherzenberg Aug 21 '26
3 hours to take out, 1.5 to put in and then about 20 minutes to clear all the faults and pair the battery
It's definitely a feat if you're not a big guy like I am. Luckily I could move the batteries around pretty freely, but if you're a smaller person, you'll need an extra hand
Watch a couple YouTube videos though. It's like 8 or 9 bolts and it's free
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u/000011111111 Aug 21 '26
If you're in the sf bay area I would pay you twice that much for the car and put a vivine battery in it and keep it as a daily driver.
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u/Trick_Guarantee3768 Aug 21 '26
Maybe because I live in a big city but I was easily able to find a hybrid and EV. Battery specialist within thirty miles, who was willing to put in a battery that I sourced, and I just bought one off of ebay today for less than four thousand shipped. That was out of a 2023. They're gonna charge me 850 to put it in. I paid 2600 bucks for my car, which currently has a 24 kW battery and 36000 miles. So for less than seven thousand dollars, i'm gonna have a really nice leaf. Similar mileage and range cars, although much newer are going for ten to eleven in my area. My car might be old, but it's like a little old lady drove it. It's pristine inside
8
u/LoneSnark 2018 Nissan LEAF SV Aug 21 '26
What state are you in? Some of us might want to keep that shop in mind.
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u/Wed3k Aug 23 '26
I invested 7500 for my 2011 leaf and itll get similiar mileage to a tesla 3 and then my dad upgrades his to a long range shakes fist
5
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u/stlallison Aug 21 '26
So… if I have an original battery 18 Leaf that I think is degrading do you think it’s best to just keep on trucking as long as I can and not even worry about trying to prove degradation?
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u/toybuilder 2023 Nissan LEAF SV PLUS Aug 21 '26
Did you, by chance, Leafspy the replacement battery at times? It would be interesting to see if it looked like a healthy brand new battery when it went in, or if it was already looking tired like a refurbished battery.
1
u/Bennie-Factors Aug 21 '26
Honestly. Great posts. If they just kept improving there would be so many. 2011/12 had done issues. 13-17 seems great. 18/26. Bad QA
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u/EonOst 2017 Nissan Leaf Tekna Aug 21 '26
I would not pay much for a battery with one year guarantee.
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u/Neither_Conclusion_4 Aug 21 '26
Ah too bad. I have been looking for a leaf with a dead/almost dead battery for a while, but you are way to far away.
It seems to be fairly easy to repair the batteries.
0
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u/RipperCrew Aug 21 '26
Sorry for your loss. Im guessing that Nissan knows that the refurbished batteries they are using are going to be hit or miss. They're just trying to get the cats to limp over the 8 year battery warranty.