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Hybrid Battery Test

Not a recall

Nissan Leaf

No recall. The Leaf's battery story is a design decision, and a capacity gauge that hides the first sixth of the loss.

At a glance

  • The Leaf has no liquid loop and no chiller through its first two generations. Heat leaves through the case. That produced the clea
  • The gauge is not linear. The first bar does not drop until roughly 15 percent of capacity is gone. So a car showing a full twelve
  • 24 kWh from 2011 to 2016, 30 kWh in 2016 and 2017, 40 kWh from 2018, and a 62 kWh Plus from 2019. 2016 was a split year.
  • The heat tolerant electrolyte reformulation arrived for the 2015 model year. Same 24 kWh and same cathode chemistry. A lot of buyi

No active cooling

The Leaf has no liquid loop and no chiller through its first two generations. Heat leaves through the case. That produced the clearest natural experiment in the industry, because Arizona cars lost capacity markedly faster than temperate climate cars.

The twelve bar gauge lies to you by design

The gauge is not linear. The first bar does not drop until roughly 15 percent of capacity is gone. So a car showing a full twelve bars may have lost up to a sixth of its pack and be telling you nothing is wrong. After that each bar is worth roughly 6.25 percent.

Pack sizes

24 kWh from 2011 to 2016, 30 kWh in 2016 and 2017, 40 kWh from 2018, and a 62 kWh Plus from 2019. 2016 was a split year.

The lizard battery is 2015, not 2013

The heat tolerant electrolyte reformulation arrived for the 2015 model year. Same 24 kWh and same cathode chemistry. A lot of buying guides say 2013 and they are wrong, which sends people shopping the wrong years.

How to read the real number

LeafSpy over an OBD-II adapter gives the real number, as state of health and amp hours, plus cell voltages and the quick charge count. It is the best consumer battery tool for any electric car, and it only works on a Leaf.

Not confirmed. The 15 percent first bar threshold is confirmed in the trade press. The 6.25 percent per bar figure traces to the Nissan service manual as quoted on owner forums rather than to a document we could open.

Buying a Used EV or Hybrid?

Get the battery measured before you pay for it. A PPI Auto inspector tests the pack on the car you are looking at and sends you the numbers. Starting at $225.

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