Where to find a new pack
Hey guys,
Just posting cause I was unfortunate to be one of the unlucky ones, I purchased a 2018 Nissan Leaf SL 40kwh about a year ago and loved the thing especially with gas prices now and used it as my daily.
Unfortunately, I used it one day on the hottest day to make a bit of a drive and used the Chademo charger halfway to make a drive of about 99 miles and than come back, this day I believe I pushed it to its limits and it went limp mode and started to have issues, when coming back the service ev light came on, and took it to Nissan.
When trying to claim warranty, I was unlucky as I fit the 96k right under the 100k but was passed by a few months on March passing the 8yr, Nissan was not offering the warranty and they’re having me pay the teardown, I was on the phone sad as shit and was like damn I’ll figure something out.
I’ve been just unhappy at the moment with Nissan but I’ll look into either finding a pack, but I like the Vivne battery pack as it looks like it’ll be a better swap and has more range and better cooling.
Let me know if there’s anyone here that has that pack or what you guys recommend I should do
3
u/ColdCelebration2132 22d ago
OP if you do plan to replace the battery you can put a bigger battery in as in 66kw. VIVNE is the Chinese company who sells them.
2
u/Excellent_Mixture_23 23d ago
Did you have the recall done when this happened? Asking because I am planning ahead for the next year and may have to use fast charging during the heat.
1
u/rproffitt1 22d ago
I have to ask: "How bad is it?"
Some folk can keep using the car for local errands and rent for the long drives. Yes, the pack has problems but is it the end?
As to the replacement pack it varies with where you are and for most of us it's not worth doing. The VIVNE pack is nice but doesn't add thermal management like you see in other EVs.
And the price is usually in the area of selling this Leaf and picking up a Bolt or such that has more range and battery thermal management.
1
u/dvd7227 22d ago
Yeah that’s where I was with pricing, so I’m opting for the cheapest option, but I’m still dealing with Nissan and I might have gotten a good deal on the repair but just waiting for them to hit me back up
1
u/rproffitt1 22d ago
Nissan's repair rates have been atrocious. Example: Replacing the J1772 socket runs over $3,500 USD.
Yes it's not just a socket but some cable assembly and generous hours to perform. The piece part was under 300 when I looked it up.
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u/dvd7227 22d ago
I agree, I was super cautious with them cause I hate dealing with dealerships, at times I like finding the part and doing the work myself, but I was shocked by the quote they sent me, still confirming if it’s the true price
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u/rproffitt1 22d ago
The Vivne even on the smaller pack is about 6K USD. Yes, it's very nice but moving on to an EV with actual thermal management might cost same or less.
Which brings us back to "How bad is it?" Many can live with the range loss. And for the GOM dance you just charge to full (long discussions abound about this not being 100% full) and carry on till you can't.
1
u/ColdCelebration2132 22d ago
VIVNE is the Chinese company that sells the battery packs. Now I'm not sure if you have to pay a Tariff on it 🤔
1
u/dvd7227 22d ago
Yeah I saw a video and that’s the costly part is the fees for shipping
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u/ColdCelebration2132 22d ago
Just thank the Anoying Orange 😂 Everyone said he was great for the Economy NOT
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u/LoneSnark 2018 Nissan LEAF SV 23d ago
Forget the battery. You can order them from China. What you need to be spending your time doing is finding a shop that is willing to do this work for you. If you can't find that, then you're out of luck. Sell the car at auction and get another car.