You can learn a lot about a product’s anticipated lifespan from its warranty. For instance, a powertrain warranty of five years or 60,000 miles is frequently offered with a Dodge Ram truck (with a combustion engine). Dodge has a very high level of confidence that it won’t have to shell out much to cover car repairs in the first five years even though the truck will survive considerably longer than that. A
For a Nissan LEAF, the battery guarantee is 8 years or 100,000 miles. When compared to the 5 years Dodge covers on their trucks, 8 years does not seem like a long period. 8 years suddenly sounds a little better. A
Also to be considered is the fact that an EV battery’s lifespan can vary somewhat from person to person. Every automobile will gradually lose available range due to battery deterioration, but the problem won’t surface until it limits you. Think of the LEAF in that regard. The useful life of a 2015 Nissan LEAF with an initial EPA range of 84 miles may be shorter than one with a range of more than 300 miles. A
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Are EV batteries covered by warranties?
The engine and transmission are two of the most pricey parts to replace in a combustion engine car. It is the battery pack in EVs. Many people who are thinking about getting an EV as their next car may ask if the battery pack is covered by the warranty. What is the lifespan of battery packs?
Battery packs for the 2011-model Nissan Leaf are covered by warranties for eight years or 100,000 miles. That seems pretty fantastic when you consider that the Ram truck engines only come with a five-year warranty.
Battery deterioration must also be taken into account. Over the course of ownership, any EV’s available range will decrease. The 84-mile range of a 2015 Nissan Leaf, according to Recurrent, would get shorter with time. With a range of more than 300 miles, it has a far shorter lifespan than a battery pack today.
Nissan will replace the Nissan Leaf’s battery pack if its capacity falls below 75%. An estimate of the battery’s price is $4,500. A 24kWh battery replacement, including labor expenses, costs roughly $5,500, according to Nissan user forums.
Why changing a Nissan LEAF battery is so difficult
The first Nissan Leaf was the only mass-market electric vehicle available when it was released over ten years ago. Virginia residents Mike and Karen Lawrence acquired one as soon as they could because they were concerned about the environment and wanted to back up their words with deeds.
It rarely needs service beyond a checkup, so it’s not a pain in the neck, she said. “Without a motor and the oil change, which we do not have to do since there ain’t none,” she added.
The battery is the only issue with the automobile. A completely charged battery could travel up to 100 miles at initially, but over time, that distance decreased. The car can only travel 45 kilometers at the moment on a single charge.
Old batteries require more frequent charging because they deteriorate and retain less energy. Nissan offered a replacement battery that the Lawrences could purchase, but it would cost $8,000, which is more than the car is currently worth. In search of replacement batteries, they joined a lively online community of Nissan Leaf aficionados.
This is a typical issue with Leaf owners and battery technology in general. The lithium-ion battery, which can cost up to one third of the price of the vehicle, is often the most expensive component of an electric automobile.
Lithium-ion batteries are the result of many years of research, and they helped three scientists win the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. They are essential to increasing the usage of renewable energy and power everything from computers to smartphones to automobiles. Investing in battery technologies is popular right now. But before batteries can power larger cars and last longer, there are still scientific issues that need to be resolved.
On a very basic level, lithium-ion batteries function as follows: Lithium ions go in and out of the positive and negative ends of a battery as well as back and forth in a liquid. When lithium ions move in one direction, the battery is charged and energy is stored; when they move in the opposite direction, the battery is discharged and the energy is used to power anything, like an automobile.
However, according to Gene Berdichevsky, who worked on a solar car project in the early 2000s as an undergraduate at Stanford, it took a lot of effort to make lithium-ion batteries function in a car. He claimed that most people weren’t as concerned about batteries then as they are now.
He claimed, “They were an afterthought.” People tend to overlook the fact that the battery played an equally significant influence when discussing how the present portable electronics sector was revolutionized by semiconductors.
Cost of a Nissan Leaf replacement battery
A new 24 kWh battery system will cost at least $7,000 without a warranty. You could also need to add labor costs of $1,000 to $2,000.
- 30 kWh: The batteries come with an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty.
- Nissan offers the same eight-year, 100,000-mile guarantee for the 40 kWh model as previously.
These safeguard your vehicle from the battery’s capacity degrading below 75% of its initial level. Specifically, it occurs when your vehicle’s display shows fewer than 9 out of 12 bars (that is, 8 or fewer).
The battery is actually just 67% full at this point, so Nissan is being a little sneaky with this claim. Although they don’t say it’s a warranty for up to 75%, the phrase “9 out of 12 bars” certainly gives the impression that it is.
Nissan’s warranties don’t last as long as some EVs made by rival companies. Nissan stores will swap out battery packs with new or reconditioned ones as part of this guarantee.
Affordable up front, but there is a catch
When compared to the competitors, the Nissan Leaf has a comparatively low starting price for a completely electric car, but it still makes use of the same battery pack. This indicates that, in comparison to EVs with higher starting pricing, the cost of replacing the battery pack will be higher as a percentage of the initial new price. While the Leaf costs less than $20,000, a replacement 40 kWh battery costs between $6,500 and $7,500. (via Recurrent Auto). That equals about 37.5% of the cost of a brand-new vehicle.
However, over the past ten years, the cost of Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) packs, as they are often known, has decreased by 89% in real terms (via Bloomberg NEF). Bloomberg NEF estimates that the cost of BEVs was roughly $1,100/kWh in 2010 and would be just $137/kWh in 2020. This has also been reflected in the new EVs’ beginning prices, which are likewise continuing to drop in price. By 2023, the cost of BEVs per kilowatt-hour is expected to fall to as little as $100/kWh, making them not only more economical overall but also making them more cost-effective to replace when one runs out of power.
Should I buy a new or used Nissan Leaf battery?
Another excellent query is this one. Which battery should you choose—new or used? It depends, is the answer. It largely depends on how long the battery pack you wish to buy will last. Consider purchasing a used battery pack if it is a nice battery pack with few kilometers on it and is still relatively new for its age.
You should stay away from a battery pack if it is old and still has a low mileage. As we previously stated, automobile batteries degrade with time, and if the battery pack is older than ten years, then it has likely lost half of its original capacity. Your Leaf’s range will be incredibly low as a result. However, you will continue to pay for the battery pack and receive nothing in return.
It would be wiser to get a battery from the dealership for this reason. Spending additional money on the battery pack is possible. However, it comes with a warranty, and the battery will last for at least 10 years before another repair is necessary.
Additionally, if you’re looking to buy a Nissan Leaf that costs more than average and has an outdated battery If you don’t want to find yourself in a money pit, it’s wise to think about lowering the price. Buying the automobile for less money will provide you negotiating power if you ever need to replace the battery.
When should my Nissan Leaf battery be changed?
How frequently should a Nissan Leaf battery be changed? Every three to five years, but to ensure that it’s performing at a high level, you should have your battery tested naturally for voltage drops.
How long is the battery life of a Nissan Leaf?
Depending on where you are and what you do, you’ll receive a specific timeline for your car. Extreme heat, frequent recharging (such as twice or three times a day), and city driving all hasten the battery’s depletion. The Nissan LEAF was designed to endure as much of these typical battery killers as possible, so you would have to be very rough on your car before you saw a significant change.
The Nissan LEAF was designed to travel up to 107 miles a day on a highway without recharging (depending on the model you choose.) You may travel up to 90 miles in even the busiest metropolitan traffic without having to worry about running out of juice. The battery will eventually lose power, but the amount of mileage you obtain will steadily decrease. The erosion will probably only have a minimal impact on you because the ordinary American will travel significantly less than the daily maximums. When you take care of your car, the Nissan LEAF battery should last between 8 and 10 years.
How long will a battery on a 2015 Nissan Leaf last?
The average battery life of a 2015 Nissan Leaf is three to five years, however actual battery life might vary greatly based on driving patterns, battery type, weather conditions, and battery size.