Nissan Leaf

ELM327 · 06-03-2019 12:02pm

It helps that you can monitor the 12v with leafspy and plug in a trickle charger if you need to.

06-03-2019 12:02pm

The "evidence" is the lack of reports of battery going flat on the >=350000 Gen1.5-2 LEAFs. But seems to be a problem with the first 20000 or so Gen 1 cars. Nissan has done "something" to fix the charging algorithms. I don't know what it is Nissan did but it seems to be working.

I noticed myself on the '15 LEAF that the leafspy reported battery voltage of less than 12 volts a few times when the car was plugged in at home and powered on (but not in the drive mode obviously as the cable was plugged in). As my battery was less than three years old when I changed the car and it was driven regularly I don't know if that could potentially be a problem.

Anybody here with 132 or newer car ever had a flat 12V battery? It's a small sample size but doesn't seem to be a common problem on the Sunderland LEAFs.

06-03-2019 12:09pm

Soarer wrote: »

Well my new battery charger is arriving tomorrow, so hopefully an overnight charge every so often will cure things.

Of course, Nissan updating the software would've been a great help!

Would be great if there was a socket in the engine bay where you could have such a charger plugged in all the time and it would then automatically topup the 12V batt when the car is plugged in. In the cold countries where ICE cars have engine block heaters such chargers are often installed in them.

OT: I have a Numax "Connect and Forget" charger in the camper van as Mr Benz tells in the manual that the starter battery should be disconnected if the van is not driven for more than 14 days. For me it's quicker to plug in the van when at home than to remove total of 7 screws and the necessary floor panels to disconnect the battery that is under the cab floor. Good design there, lol.

jasonb · 13-03-2019 12:11am

Quick question...

Am I right in thinking that the Climate/Radio controls (e.g. Temp, Volume, Fan etc.) in the Centre Dash of a 151 L24 SV should have a ‘soft back light’ when you have the main lights on, so you can locate the buttons when driving at night? This back light is separate to the brighter light that comes on when you press the buttons.

I’m asking ‘cos when I was driving tonight I noticed there were no backlights on those buttons, and it looked unusual to me, so I’m thinking the backlights have stopped working, but I want to make sure I hadn’t imagined having them in the first place! For what it’s worth, the headlight tilt control isn’t moving the headlights either.

A little bit of history, I recently got my Leaf serviced in the local Nissan garage. I mentioned to them that the driver seat heat switch was working, but didn’t have the backlight (and the passenger seat heat switch did have it, so I knew the driver one should have it too). They looked into it and said they reckoned the switch was dodgy, but when I drove off the USB socket wasn’t working anymore. Brought it back and they fixed the USB socket, but that night I noticed the passenger seat and back seat heat switch backlights now weren’t working either!

Was planning to bring it back to get those three heat switches sorted and now I’ve noticed the other buttons’ lack of back lights, and the Headlight controls as well.

So, basically, was I imagining that those buttons had backlights or not?

Thanks!

highdef · 13-03-2019 9:41am

Have had ongoing issues with the 152 Leaf sometimes not charging at night (on timer). Had the original ESB fitted charge point at home. Got the car checked out by Nissan and they said that whatever the problem was, it was not the car that was at fault. Got the charge point replaced a few weeks ago at a cost of €500 :mad:

All good until a few days ago. Heading to bed a few nights ago, I looked out the front door window (was snowing out so the view was pretty) and noticed that the car was not charging. It should have been at that stage as the battery was down to 4% when I got home earlier that evening. The charge point had a slowly flashing blue light which is expected behaviour and means that it is operating as normal and is not currently in charge mode. I had to switch off the timer to invoke charging. By commute time in the morning, the car had only got to 95% charge as there was not enough time for it to fully charge.

If I hadn't looked out the window, I would've had a dead car in the morning. As the new charge point is brand new and professionally installed, I think it's highly unlikely that I have another faulty home charge point. I suspect that the car is at fault. Anyone else have similar issues with a faulty Leaf? Can anyone advise what I should do next?

Soarer · 13-03-2019 10:04am

jasonb wrote: »

Quick question...

Am I right in thinking that the Climate/Radio controls (e.g. Temp, Volume, Fan etc.) in the Centre Dash of a 151 L24 SV should have a ‘soft back light’ when you have the main lights on, so you can locate the buttons when driving at night? This back light is separate to the brighter light that comes on when you press the buttons.

I’m asking ‘cos when I was driving tonight I noticed there were no backlights on those buttons, and it looked unusual to me, so I’m thinking the backlights have stopped working, but I want to make sure I hadn’t imagined having them in the first place! For what it’s worth, the headlight tilt control isn’t moving the headlights either.

A little bit of history, I recently got my Leaf serviced in the local Nissan garage. I mentioned to them that the driver seat heat switch was working, but didn’t have the backlight (and the passenger seat heat switch did have it, so I knew the driver one should have it too). They looked into it and said they reckoned the switch was dodgy, but when I drove off the USB socket wasn’t working anymore. Brought it back and they fixed the USB socket, but that night I noticed the passenger seat and back seat heat switch backlights now weren’t working either!

Was planning to bring it back to get those three heat switches sorted and now I’ve noticed the other buttons’ lack of back lights, and the Headlight controls as well.

So, basically, was I imagining that those buttons had backlights or not?

Thanks!

Check if your number plate lights are working.

Like you, a couple of weeks ago I noticed my centre console lights weren't working. At the same time, the number plates and drivers' side rear parking lights were also out. Turned out to be a blown 10A fuse in location 7 (I think) of the awkward fuse box (under the bonnet, passenger side, everything upside down).
simple fix in the end. Just awkward as flog.

Soarer · 13-03-2019 10:06am

highdef wrote: »

Have had ongoing issues with the 152 Leaf sometimes not charging at night (on timer). Had the original ESB fitted charge point at home. Got the car checked out by Nissan and they said that whatever the problem was, it was not the car that was at fault. Got the charge point replaced a few weeks ago at a cost of €500 :mad:

All good until a few days ago. Heading to bed a few nights ago, I looked out the front door window (was snowing out so the view was pretty) and noticed that the car was not charging. It should have been at that stage as the battery was down to 4% when I got home earlier that evening. The charge point had a slowly flashing blue light which is expected behaviour and means that it is operating as normal and is not currently in charge mode. I had to switch off the timer to invoke charging. By commute time in the morning, the car had only got to 95% charge as there was not enough time for it to fully charge.

If I hadn't looked out the window, I would've had a dead car in the morning. As the new charge point is brand new and professionally installed, I think it's highly unlikely that I have another faulty home charge point. I suspect that the car is at fault. Anyone else have similar issues with a faulty Leaf? Can anyone advise what I should do next?

Turn off the timer for a while and see if it works.

13-03-2019 10:11am

jasonb wrote: »

Quick question...

Am I right in thinking that the Climate/Radio controls (e.g. Temp, Volume, Fan etc.) in the Centre Dash of a 151 L24 SV should have a ‘soft back light’ when you have the main lights on, so you can locate the buttons when driving at night? This back light is separate to the brighter light that comes on when you press the buttons.

So, basically, was I imagining that those buttons had backlights or not?

Thanks!

This was my 152:

highdef · 13-03-2019 10:14am

Soarer wrote: »

Turn off the timer for a while and see if it works.

Have never had issues with the timer off. Having said that the timer is only ever switched off when parking on-street and when it had failed to initialised charging when it should do.

Will give it a go for a couple of weeks anyway, just to rule it out. It'll only cost a few euro extra in electricity.

jasonb · 13-03-2019 10:31am

samih wrote: »

This was my 152:

Perfect, that's what I thought, just didn't know if I'd imagined it! Thanks...

KCross · 13-03-2019 11:48am

highdef wrote: »

Have had ongoing issues with the 152 Leaf sometimes not charging at night (on timer). Had the original ESB fitted charge point at home. Got the car checked out by Nissan and they said that whatever the problem was, it was not the car that was at fault. Got the charge point replaced a few weeks ago at a cost of €500 :mad:

All good until a few days ago. Heading to bed a few nights ago, I looked out the front door window (was snowing out so the view was pretty) and noticed that the car was not charging. It should have been at that stage as the battery was down to 4% when I got home earlier that evening. The charge point had a slowly flashing blue light which is expected behaviour and means that it is operating as normal and is not currently in charge mode. I had to switch off the timer to invoke charging. By commute time in the morning, the car had only got to 95% charge as there was not enough time for it to fully charge.

If I hadn't looked out the window, I would've had a dead car in the morning. As the new charge point is brand new and professionally installed, I think it's highly unlikely that I have another faulty home charge point. I suspect that the car is at fault. Anyone else have similar issues with a faulty Leaf? Can anyone advise what I should do next?

Maybe post a few pics of your charge timer settings. Maybe something is clashing and causing an issue?

Do you have a priority switch in the house?

As Soarer said, try it without timers in the meantime and that will confirm it for you. At least you will have something to go back to Nissan with then. They probably just connected a charger, overrode the timer, and started a charge and said... "yea, thats working, all ok.

They probably didnt try the timers.

highdef · 13-03-2019 12:10pm

Cheers, will post a photo this evening, if I think of it, when the car is back home.

Only have a 16amp charge point so no priority switch. There's always power to the chargepoint.

The issue seems completely random with regards to when it occurs. The new charge point was installed nearly three weeks ago and the issue the other night was the first time it happened since installation.

The old ESB fitted charge point would usually show a red light when overnight charging did not occur. It would need a reset to erase the alarm light. The new charge point shows no such warnings.

KCross · 13-03-2019 12:44pm

highdef wrote: »

Cheers, will post a photo this evening, if I think of it, when the car is back home.

Only have a 16amp charge point so no priority switch. There's always power to the chargepoint.

The issue seems completely random with regards to when it occurs. The new charge point was installed nearly three weeks ago and the issue the other night was the first time it happened since installation.

The old ESB fitted charge point would usually show a red light when overnight charging did not occur. It would need a reset to erase the alarm light. The new charge point shows no such warnings.

Probably not the timers then if you are saying its completely random.

Only other thought I have is that you might have a faulty cable.... maybe a bad connection that only happens sometimes depending on how you have twisted the cable that day?

Without doing anything too extreme maybe put the car on charge and flex the cable all along its length and see does the charge session cut out.

Check for anything inside the pins of the cable also or any excessive wear or bending etc.

highdef · 13-03-2019 12:51pm

KCross wrote: »

Probably not the timers then if you are saying its completely random.

Only other thought I have is that you might have a faulty cable.... maybe a bad connection that only happens sometimes depending on how you have twisted the cable that day?

Without doing anything too extreme maybe put the car on charge and flex the cable all along its length and see does the charge session cut out.

Check for anything inside the pins of the cable also or any excessive wear or bending etc.

That sounds like an excellent suggestion. I'm not the main user so I will get himself to perform the checks as it makes more sense for the main user to check the cable and connections.

Pygmie · 13-03-2019 3:10pm

Hi all! I'm in the market for a used Leaf. My work round trip is less than 50km a day, with the odd short trip at lunch time thrown in and I plan to charge at home at night time. We're a two car family with the missus driving an ICE so planning on using the Leaf for my day to day and the ICE for longer journeys. I'd like a 30KW version for better re-sale in a few years time. Thinking of re-sale, would it be better to go for a newer Acenta Leaf with a higher mileage, or one (Tekna) that's a year or two older but has half the mileage? Let's say the battery condition is the same for both. Thoughts?

jasonb · 13-03-2019 3:15pm

samih wrote: »

This was my 152:

Actually, just wondering, do the buttons on the right side of the steering wheel have back lights as well? The ones that control the trip computer and brightness of the dash as well as the ones that unlock the charge port, heat the steering wheel etc.? Once again I assume they should, but want to make sure.

Thanks!

Ush1 · 13-03-2019 3:17pm

Pygmie wrote: »

Hi all! I'm in the market for a used Leaf. My work round trip is less than 50km a day, with the odd short trip at lunch time thrown in and I plan to charge at home at night time. We're a two car family with the missus driving an ICE so planning on using the Leaf for my day to day and the ICE for longer journeys. I'd like a 30KW version for better re-sale in a few years time. Thinking of re-sale, would it be better to go for a newer Acenta Leaf with a higher mileage, or one (Tekna) that's a year or two older but has half the mileage? Let's say the battery condition is the same for both. Thoughts?

Why would you not go 24KW? You'd get it cheaper and your mileage is well within range.

slave1 · 13-03-2019 3:20pm

Pygmie wrote: »

Hi all! I'm in the market for a used Leaf. My work round trip is less than 50km a day, with the odd short trip at lunch time thrown in and I plan to charge at home at night time. We're a two car family with the missus driving an ICE so planning on using the Leaf for my day to day and the ICE for longer journeys. I'd like a 30KW version for better re-sale in a few years time. Thinking of re-sale, would it be better to go for a newer Acenta Leaf with a higher mileage, or one (Tekna) that's a year or two older but has half the mileage? Let's say the battery condition is the same for both. Thoughts?

My commute is 106kms and the odd short trip in the evening and I do it no bother any time of the year on 80/100km/h roads.
I would recommend the 30 if you could afford it, newer, greater range (think depths of Winter), less charging, better resale and an 8 year battery warranty.
Personally none of the Tekna features appeal to me and the speaker in the boot is actually a negative but that's just my opinion.

Pygmie · 13-03-2019 3:28pm

I guess my worry with the 24KW is that when I go to resell the car, that nobody would touch it - purely down to battery size, seeing at the trend seems to be towards bigger and bigger batteries in new cars. Would anyone want a second hand 24KW car in 3 years time?

Soarer · 13-03-2019 3:36pm

Pygmie wrote: »

I guess my worry with the 24KW is that when I go to resell the car, that nobody would touch it - purely down to battery size, seeing at the trend seems to be towards bigger and bigger batteries in new cars. Would anyone want a second hand 24KW car in 3 years time?

Yeah they will.

SteM · 13-03-2019 3:53pm

Pygmie wrote: »

I guess my worry with the 24KW is that when I go to resell the car, that nobody would touch it - purely down to battery size, seeing at the trend seems to be towards bigger and bigger batteries in new cars. Would anyone want a second hand 24KW car in 3 years time?

They'll be perfectly suited to anyone that runs a second car imo.

ELM327 · 13-03-2019 3:54pm

Buy at a good price now and you won't lose much.

I've seen them up at 7k. Gen 1 leaf you should get 70km range in all weathers (make sure it has 12 bars, or at worst 11)

Gumbo · 13-03-2019 6:45pm

Pygmie wrote: »

Hi all! I'm in the market for a used Leaf. My work round trip is less than 50km a day, with the odd short trip at lunch time thrown in and I plan to charge at home at night time. We're a two car family with the missus driving an ICE so planning on using the Leaf for my day to day and the ICE for longer journeys. I'd like a 30KW version for better re-sale in a few years time. Thinking of re-sale, would it be better to go for a newer Acenta Leaf with a higher mileage, or one (Tekna) that's a year or two older but has half the mileage? Let's say the battery condition is the same for both. Thoughts?

I'd buy the Tekna / SVE purely for the better spec and interior comforts. Its what you will see and use most.

jasonb · 14-03-2019 11:29am

jasonb wrote: »

Actually, just wondering, do the buttons on the right side of the steering wheel have back lights as well? The ones that control the trip computer and brightness of the dash as well as the ones that unlock the charge port, heat the steering wheel etc.? Once again I assume they should, but want to make sure.

Thanks!

Sorry to quote myself and drag this on, but if anyone can confirm that the buttons on the right side of the steering wheel (trip computer, brightness of dash, and charge port unlock etc.) should be backlit on a 151 L24 I'd appreciate it. Also, should the buttons on the steering wheel itself be back lit?

I just want to make sure I know exactly which backlights aren't working before I bring it back to the garage.

Thanks...

ELM327 · 14-03-2019 11:56am

In my SVE 14 leaf 24kWh I don't remember any of the buttons at the driver's knee being backlit.
I stress this is from memory and I've had 5 cars since then!

NIMAN · 14-03-2019 11:58am

Don't think they are backlit.
If they were, I'd think I'd remember.

highdef · 14-03-2019 1:29pm

NIMAN wrote: »

Don't think they are backlit.
If they were, I'd think I'd remember.

I agree.

jasonb · 14-03-2019 1:36pm

Thanks everyone, I appreciate it. So basically the right hand buttons aren't backlit and the middle console ones are. What about the buttons on the steering wheel? Thanks again...

14-03-2019 1:38pm

The steering wheel buttons should be lit.

jasonb · 14-03-2019 2:15pm

Perfect! Thanks everyone, I now have a list to give to the garage. Appreciate the help...

Soarer · 14-03-2019 3:24pm

Did you check the fuse?

jasonb · 14-03-2019 4:36pm

Soarer wrote: »

Did you check the fuse?

That had occurred to me, and I assume that all these different lights not working is caused by one issue and therefore should be fixed by fixing that one issue. But I'm deliberately not going near it, it stopped working after the Garage did a Service, so it's up to the garage to get it sorted again as far as I'm concerned.

Soarer · 14-03-2019 5:16pm

jasonb wrote: »

That had occurred to me, and I assume that all these different lights not working is caused by one issue and therefore should be fixed by fixing that one issue. But I'm deliberately not going near it, it stopped working after the Garage did a Service, so it's up to the garage to get it sorted again as far as I'm concerned.

Seems like you're going to an awful lot of hassle for a quick look under the bonnet and a €1 fuse.
But each to their own.

jasonb · 14-03-2019 5:55pm

Soarer wrote: »

Seems like you're going to an awful lot of hassle for a quick look under the bonnet and a €1 fuse.
But each to their own.

I get what you're saying, but they've already looked at this issue once and didn't get it sorted, so I'm assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that they checked the fuse. But I can check it myself this evening, just in case!

Soarer · 15-03-2019 10:17am

Anyone know why my display won't tilt/open? The button "clicks", but nothing happens.

This isn't a new thing. It's never worked in the 2 years I've owned the car. But not that we're talking about centre consoles....

jasonb · 15-03-2019 11:06am

Does the button beep at all, or just the physical click of pressing it? I presume you are both pressing it quickly and holding it for a few seconds?

Soarer · 15-03-2019 11:11am

No, no beep. Just the physical click.

I've tried everything bar put my foot through it.

jasonb · 15-03-2019 11:17am

Well that's the extent of my knowledge, sorry! Did a quick google and while there are a few issues there around the screen not opening fully or not closing fully, there's nothing I could see about it just not moving at all. Maybe get it looked at the next time it's being serviced?

Soarer · 15-03-2019 1:31pm

jasonb wrote: »

Well that's the extent of my knowledge, sorry! Did a quick google and while there are a few issues there around the screen not opening fully or not closing fully, there's nothing I could see about it just not moving at all. Maybe get it looked at the next time it's being serviced?

:D

My poor car doesn't visit the main dealer!
8 years old.
182k kms.
9 bars.

If there's a problem, I clear it with LeafSpy.

jasonb · 15-03-2019 3:09pm

Soarer wrote: »

:D

My poor car doesn't visit the main dealer!
8 years old.
182k kms.
9 bars.

If there's a problem, I clear it with LeafSpy.

Ah, I see! Great to see a Leaf doing so well for so long (stuck screen notwithstanding!).

You could always try pressing the button and trying to GENTLY lever the screen at the same time, in case the screen is stuck and needs encouragement? But as it's not beeping either I'd be thinking it might be that the button isn't working?

Gatica · 15-03-2019 3:54pm

Could anyone clarify for me if there are different body types available for the Nissan Leaf. We're looking at getting one as a second family car, so it would need to be big enough to take a double buggy, like an estate.

kennethsmyth · 15-03-2019 4:02pm

Gatica wrote: »

Could anyone clarify for me if there are different body types available for the Nissan Leaf. We're looking at getting one as a second family car, so it would need to be big enough to take a double buggy, like an estate.

Nope, but the 2018 L40 has a bigger boot and can take my uppababy vista which has very wide wheels. Bring your buggy to the showroom with you if buying new. If buying older, the leaf has a decent sized boot but again check with your buggy.

15-03-2019 4:21pm

kennethsmyth wrote: »

Nope, but the 2018 L40 has a bigger boot and can take my uppababy vista which has very wide wheels. Bring your buggy to the showroom with you if buying new. If buying older, the leaf has a decent sized boot but again check with your buggy.

Both models have also a handy storage space for the parcel shelf when not in use and I reckon you might be able to fit the folded down buggy on standing up position if the space under the shelf turns out to be too small. And yes, the 2018 model does have a considerably bigger and better shaped boot than the previous car. The parcel shelf is almost twice the depth.

kennethsmyth · 15-03-2019 5:35pm

samih wrote: »

Both models have also a handy storage space for the parcel shelf when not in use and I reckon you might be able to fit the folded down buggy on standing up position if the space under the shelf turns out to be too small. And yes, the 2018 model does have a considerably bigger and better shaped boot than the previous car. The parcel shelf is almost twice the depth.

An old trick I always did when traveling in france with more in the boot than the parcel shelf could cover is to do away with it, get a cheap black sheet from TK Maxx and just throw it over anything in the boot. If you have an SVE or Tekna the back windows are all tinted and with the black sheet nothing is seen.

jasonb · 21-03-2019 1:12pm

Next question!

Any recommendation for Tyres for a 151 L24? Not the SVE, so 16" wheels. For the last few years I've used Michelin Energy Saver+ Tyres as I find they last a good while, but with the Leaf I'm wondering if anyone has any specific recommendations?

Thanks...

fael · 25-03-2019 4:12pm

jasonb wrote: »

Next question!

Any recommendation for Tyres for a 151 L24? Not the SVE, so 16" wheels. For the last few years I've used Michelin Energy Saver+ Tyres as I find they last a good while, but with the Leaf I'm wondering if anyone has any specific recommendations?

Thanks...

Bought 4x Continental EcoContact 6 205/55 R16 91V on tyreleader.ie for €296 delivered. Got garage to put them on for me and do alignment as well.

It was very hard to find a tyre with A rating for both fuel efficiency and grip in the wet, so was happy to find these. Only had them a few weeks, but find the grip very good and they are nice and quiet. I just bought the leaf and the previous owner had 3 different Chinese brands between the 4 tyres. Could only improve.

jasonb · 25-03-2019 5:05pm

Cool, thanks for your reply. I'll look into those...

creedp · 26-03-2019 2:00am

fael wrote: »

Bought 4x Continental EcoContact 6 205/55 R16 91V on tyreleader.ie for €296 delivered. Got garage to put them on for me and do alignment as well.

It was very hard to find a tyre with A rating for both fuel efficiency and grip in the wet, so was happy to find these. Only had them a few weeks, but find the grip very good and they are nice and quiet. I just bought the leaf and the previous owner had 3 different Chinese brands between the 4 tyres. Could only improve.

Interesting as I was just about to purchase 2 Michelin Energy Saver + tyres for Leaf and wasn't aware of these. Will have a look. I'm very interested in the A rating for fuel efficiency and wet grip as the Michelin Energy Saver are rated at B and A respectively.

Will replace Nexen Blue HD tyres which I found very poor in the wet and could light up the TC very easily. Currently have Nokian winters on which are far better that the Nexen.

My one concern with continental tyres is their mileage. Previously had premium contact 5 on an s-max and got 10k and 12k miles on the front from 2 different sets while managing 15k miles with Michelin Premacy tyres and 18k miles with Goodyear asymmetric 3.

Anyone else use Michelin energy savers and have any view on their performance on a Leaf?

jasonb · 26-03-2019 11:48am

Funny, I've used Michelin Energy Saver+ for years now, as they last for ages, but not on the Leaf as I only got it a few months ago. That said, both the Continental EcoContact 6 and the Nokian eLine2 are listed as A for both Fuel Efficiency & Wet Grip, and are cheaper too. So I might try either of them and see how many miles I get out of them.

Pygmie · 29-03-2019 11:58am

I'm currently looking at a used Nissan Leaf that's for sale 150km from where I live. As this would be my first EV, how would I go about charging the car when bringing it back home? I have to give evidence of ownership when registering for charge point access - but I won't have that before I buy it. Has anyone had this problem that could give advice?

Nissan Leaf

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