My 2013 Leaf SV is still going strong at 120,000 miles. No repairs in 90,000 miles. Wonderful joy to drive; saved me thousands over the years. Originally purchased in 2017 for $9000 (with the Leaf in pristine condition and only 30,000 miles). Best car I ever owned.
The same is true of my three-year-old Bolt. The money I save has made it easier for me to weather these high inflationary time. I hardly noticed it compared to my friends who all still drive large SUV which run on gas. Also helps me out healthwise because the smell from the fumes and a gas car no longer affect me saves me a lot of money going to the doctor and getting treated for those fumes. Anyone specially if you can, don’t buy an electric car and spend all that money on repairs, maintenance and gas on ICE vehicle is crazy.
@@Harry29591 from our experience: 2012 is the worst battery, where the leaf gets a bad reputation. In 2013 they improved the battery back. Our 2013 has been driven every single day since we bought it in 2015. 10 bars out of 12, which is normal degradation. 50-60 mile range. It’s the perfect second car for groceries, taking dogs to the park and short commutes
I just bought a 2013 Leaf S for $1780 out the door. I was pleasantly surprised to find out it has a chademo port. 10/12 bars left on the battery. $1780. That is crazy cheap. Washington State has some great instant rebates. The dealer probably paid $1000 for it, but got about $7000 selling it to me with rebates factored in.
We loved our 2013 Nissan Leaf. Put 110,873 miles on it. Cheapest to maintain (over 11+ years) car I have ever owned to date. It was my wife's daily drive and kid hauler. Even had a heat-pump which was awesome. Also owned a used 2012 for 10 years. That one was great too but only resistive heat and battery degradation was much worse than the 2013. It was my daily driver and later my daughter's car. Nissan Leaf is the perfect teenager car. Plenty of power, safety features (10 air bags) and they can't drive too far :).
I originally leased a 2012 Leaf and loved it. I bought a 2015 Leaf and put a good 60k miles on it before selling it to a friend after 7 years. It still had all 12 bars and full range when I sold that one, and was absolutely trouble-free. Today I drive a 2023 Ariya Platinum+ that I’ve had for a year now. Also a completely trouble-free car.
I bought a 2012 LEAF in May of 2022 and I love it! It has about 80kms of range and it costs less than $2 Cdn to charge overnight. Aside from the safety check and a subsequent front ball joint repair I have not spent any money on maintenance. I love not have to go for oil charges! Also, Consumer Reports rated the LEAF as the least expensive car to own over 10 years.
I’ve found our 2013 Leaf perfect for the high schooler. To school, work, friends’ houses. Since he pays the insurance, I don’t charge him for the energy. That would’ve been the perfect option for me as a 16 year old. No gas money needed.
This is what I’m thinking of for my HS student, with same plan for him to pay the insurance. Do you feel like your student has been able to manage keeping an eye on the range etc? (Of course I get every kid is different haha)
Yeah. He plugs in when he gets home from school if he has other things to do or places to be. It’s just become a habit for him like brushing his teeth, plugs the car in when he gets low.
Kyle is the reason I bought my 2012 Nissan Leaf 😂 bought it in Feb 2024 for 2.2k with 51k miles and 7 bars of health, I love the car! Already closing in on 54k on it! It's red too but no Chademo
Just picked up a clean title 2016 Leaf SL with a brand new, dealer installed 40kWh pack. It gets over 150 miles on a charge and was $7,100 OTD. So far so good, feels like a great deal.
Hyundai Ioniq 28kWh would be a great user buy as a step above the Leaf and eGolf. Hard to find in the US but even more of a reason to have one. It’s the efficiency king!
You are correct! We're driving a 2014 Leaf, which we bought used in 2017. We're at 10 bars, of 12, and 85 miles on the guess-o-meter. This year, 2024, the 10th year we needed brakes & shocks & tires. We are happy; glad we bought it.
I have a 2012 Leaf that we use an errands car especially when we know we’re going someplace that has really bad parking. It’s just nice to have a car you don’t have to worry about if someone dings it or anything like that. Car has been amazingly reliable and I’m about to cross 70,000 miles. Bought my leaf for $2000 over a year ago.
I like how the leaf looks. I don't understand why people say it doesn't look good... it is aerodynamic and efficient and that is its own kind of beauty like a lizard or frog. :) Also, an argument for keeping a leaf running and spending $5000-6000 on a new pack: The rest of the car is cheap to keep running and there are plenty of parts. If you replace it with a BMW, or something more exotic then all the other parts will be expensive. If you buy a new Leaf instead, then you could potentially inherit new problems whereas your current car may be well sorted other than the battery.
Regulations really need to change in Europe to allow battery upgrades. Here in Norway you can replace the battery with same model as original, but if you change the size or chemistry and such you have to do a lot more. This would then require a new type rating which has to come from the car manufacturer. They are obviously not going to do that if they can sell a new car instead.
Great video, Kyle! It didn't tale me long to see the first comment calling this car pointless or useless... NOT pointless to someone as a second car, charged at home, for errands and daily, shorter trips. I replaced my Jeep with a used, 2012 Leaf. I went from spending about 20 cents per mile on fuel to 3 cents per mile for electric... and that does NOT include the savings on oil changes and engine maintanence. My Leaf is an SV with only the Level 2 charging. It has been flawless and reliable in every way. BTW, I paid $4,000 for mine in March of 2023. It had 9800 original miles on it and had sat, unused, for 4 years. The battery health is at 73% and on an 80% charge, I get 57 miles of clean, quiet, trouble-fee trips around town. I also enjoy yelling "I'm driving your Pappy!" at every Tesla/Rivian/Lucid I see... but, that's just me... ;)
Bought a 2015 High spec Leaf for €6,600 here in Ireland and spent a further €1,500 on getting it into the best condition possible including Nissan health check. Now we plan to keep it for 5-10 years to do the work commute and groceries etc. Costs €0 to run due to solar and I’m hoping €0 in maintenance going forward after what I done at the beginning. Have an Ioniq 5 for road trips and comfort drives.
I see these in the San Jaun Islands in Washington State. Perfect use case; do not need to drive long distance on an island, moderate temperature range, cheap electricity, expensive gas (they have to pay a tank truck driver to wait in ferry line, take the ferry there and back etc).
I got a 2017 certified pre-owned Leaf SL for around $16k in October 2020. It had a 30 kWh battery that was about 25% degraded, so my range was only about 70-80 miles on a full charge. Less than a year into ownership, the battery failed and was replaced under warranty with a 40 kWh one since the 30 kWh one was not being made anymore. My estimated range is now about 160-170 miles on a full charge. I’m hoping to upgrade to a nicer EV at some point, but I definitely like my Leaf since I can leave the car on and the HVAC running if I’m waiting for someone or something. The only issue now is that the HVAC blower occasionally acts up, but for now that’s livable.
Same color as my 2014 Leaf S with DC port. I don't feel so bad about the body damage on mine now. When it had all the battery bars I did a bit of long distance driving. Leaf spy said I got the battery up to 125° in California. Have 129,000 miles with 25% Degradation. I can get 50 plus miles on a charge on a good day. Most trips are 20 or 30 miles. I bought the Leaf as an older gentleman knowing I would be driving less as I got older. No problems except for some electrical issues that were rectified by removing the battery cables for a few minutes and reinstalling them. There is a company where I live that replaces the batterys in older Leafs and it is possible for an older Leaf to have a 200 mile range. When I can upgrade to the new adventure I can get rid of the old adventure for less than a a new vehicle. I discovered Car MAX will give me $700 for it, so I think I will keep it. In spite of the EV trolls it hasn't burned up.
To amplify Kyle's point: I can't see why everyone wouldn't consider having a cheap-ass low capacity EV as one of their vehicles. We don't even think of the LEAF as our "second car" since it's the one we drive most of the time. Bought the exact same car -- SV, same colour for 10k 8 years ago. The thing is still going strong, though we can't quite make it to a neightboring town we used to, it still gets us to 80% of the places we need to go including up to the ski hill in winter. We didn't even bother putting in 220v, we charge the thing on household current! We've saved a huge amount of $, not just in gas and initial investment, but maintenance costs; something people don't factor in. Any older ICE car you're gonna be in the shop for new plugs, air filters, oil changes, etc.. and even if nothing big goes wrong that all adds up. But one of the best parts of owning this car is that I do not have to give a shit about the thing. I have zero emotional attachment. Parking lot scratch? Random bits fall off? Just do not care. It's a remarkably liberating experience. Insurance aside, I calculated my total cost of ownership including "fuel" and maintenance to be about $150 / month over the time we've had it. One more thing, we put aftermarket 17" on it and some good summer tires and while it doesn't make the thing any more engaging, damn it can corner pretty hard and has remarkably little body sway considering how soft its sprung. With the factory 16s & blizzaks for winter, there have been very few days we've had to use our truck. 10-20cm of fresh snow, glare ice, all no problem. Cold is really the only limitation, battery is at the point now where a -15C day will make us think twice about a drive to the mountain, but the heat pump and seated heats and steering wheel really help in this regard.
Your red leaf has so much potential. OutOFSpec Podcasts: Do a series on the Leaf. Start from the beginning and tell the whole story through interviews. What was going on with Nissan when leaf was created. How Leaf was going to save Nissan. How Leaf’s invented is now in hiding to prevent being thrown in jail for life. How it became a blue collar ev and techies worked with engineers to create Leafspy. How Leafspy turned Leaf into a Swiss Army knife. How companies like EV rides became Trail Blazers in transforming these cars into cheap reliable transportation well past their life expectancy. I would listen to that Podcast series every day, while I am charging of course.
I have a 2015 Leaf with 90k on the clock. Paid 16k for it with just shy of 7k on the clock in 2016. Only maintenance/repairs I’ve had to do was cabin air filter, 12v battery (once), washer fluid, washer line (mouse chewed on it in a couple places), and a couple sets of tires.
We got our first Leaf in 2011 on a 3 year lease and continued getting them at the end of each lease until our most recent in 2020. At the end of that lease, we bought it out and eventually sold it to our teen age son. It has under 20k miles on it, and still holds a full charge, which for us, is good for 225 miles (we have the large battery pack and live in northern Oregon). It has only rarely been DC charged. They are exceptionally reasonable cars and we have loved owning them. They don't get anywhere near the credit they deserve as good, safe, inexpensive daily drivers. Assuming they put a CCS port on the upcoming model refresh, there's no reason Nissan should stop making them.
With the 30% federal rebate on used EVs, the Leaf is a no brainer. My 2015 still has a range of 84 miles. The dealership said to keep your ICE car, but the only use it sees now is a remote start once a week to keep the fluids flowing, otherwise it just sits. The leaf is an awesome main vehicle 🚜.
My 2013 Nissan Leaf has no fast charging and over 130k still running strong 60 mile range fully charged! Saved so much money I bought a used model 3 amazing car!
Just bought a 2020 SV plus for $12k out the door. 55k miles and the battery was 100% shot lmao. Full charge went 78 miles… it’s back at the dealership now about to get “2 new battery rows” which are on back order. So they lent me the Aryia for a couple weeks!
Still driving my 2014 Nissan Leaf, purchased used with 8,700 miles in 2017 for $9,800, a few months short of its warranty period. No DCFC on my car, but honestly never needed it. It was our experiment to try an EV. Today it's our 3rd car (we're all EV now) that's perfect for running around town. Today it's just over 42k miles and down to 10 of 12 bars. Plan to drive this car as long as possible. It's a great, fun little golf cart to drive. As Kyle mentoned, mine has also held up well.
2:16 That wasn’t Alyssa 😂 It’s a Leaf feature, you can close the charging door without closing the orange AC port dust cover! So whoever charged it last didn’t close it properly - and it is recommended that it all get closed up. Fun fact: this was done so you could park next to an in-use charger and have someone else plug your Leaf in when they are done.
2015 leaf here. Paid 5,000 all in. 10 bars of health, 78 mile range. 47,000 miles on the odometer. A great second and first car. Im waiting for the newer ones to come down in price. I'll give this one to my son. Great low maintenance car.
Also, on the matter of the LEAF's utter lack of battery cooling: I've always thought that the original designers intended that the car be strictly used as a commuter, and if daily charging wasn't good enough, then maybe AC charged mid-day (at work, for example). The long idle intervals between drives in those scenarios allow the battery to cool back down, and sheer thermal capacity keeps the temperature rise during one discharge down reasonably well. Therefore, no need for the expense and weight of a real thermal management system. It's best to just respect that design decision, and not try to go road-tripping in a LEAF.
Check out the EVNiculus CCS to Chademo adapter. It breathes life into the Leaf. You can charge them anywhere. I have an ICE car for longer distances but I filled that twice in the two years I owned my old Leaf. Bargain of the century for a daily commuter.
I just bought my first EV (2016 Nissan Leaf) & love it. I charge in my garage & use it only for a commuter car, it's also fun to drive. I also have an ICE car for long distance trips but I drive the EV most of the time. If you are concerned about the cost of buying an EV then get a used one, they tend to have lower miles than an ICE car & are much simpler in design & need very little maintenance. I have (Qty.22) 320 watt solar panels on my roof so charging is free.
I drove a 2015 leaf from 2019 to last month.... it was perfect for my needs till my oldest got into hockey, that stressed the range as the rinks dont have chargers and i had to rely on public charging once a week, after an hour and a half delay getting home after one game i decided id upgrade to a bolt now (between a model 3 and bolt) and delay my dream of a rivian for a few extra years. The leaf is an amazing third car or second if you share a single car, but if its your only car it can be really hard (or if your wife hates it and refuses to drive it except in very special circumstances). Now i just need to sell my leaf 😂
13:30 Have you heard of EVsEnhanced out of New Zealand? They created a pack for the Leaf with liquid cooling/heating somewhere around 60 kWh in size. I think it was called the 16Blade. I’d be really curious to hear what you think of it. Hope they’re still in business. 😅
I don't think this is the 'top spec' Leaf, at least here in UK/Europe we have the Tekna with full leather seats, heated seats all round, diamond cut alloys etc. This would be our mid spec Acenta.
I have been throwing around the idea of possibly upgrading my 2014 leaf to a 40kw battery at some point. The current battery is almost enough for my longer driving days still. I just have to charge a little while at work. im at almost 85k miles and still getting 55-70+ miles depending on the season which is pretty good for one at that milage. I occasionally check around at auctions for totaled leafs that have no battery damage and still able to start up. They regularly go for around 5k or so for a 40kw version. I figure If you part out the rest of the good parts on the car you could basically get back what you pay for it and have a free battery.
Hey Kyle ... nice to see an update on your Leaf. Inspired by you, I got myself a used 2017 Leaf and its doing just fine and i absolutely love it - all thanks to you. Now waiting for you to upgrade to a 40 / 60 KwHr pack and follow your trail :-) .. hopefully you will keep us all posted..
I think it would be a good public service to do a battery upgrade. So many amazing leafs that the only problem is a super low range. The public would love to have fear of upgrading and or very tiny range eased.
Speaking of solar and evs I would love to find a bidirectional ev and level 2 charger I could hook to the grid side of my off grid system. That way, when my house battery drips to low I can jump to grid which would be my car and when I am over producing from sun I can feed the grid which would charge the car. Nothing like house backup I can do errands in hehehehe
Bought a 2011 Leaf yesterday! 9 bars left, 68% state of health, about 90km range (56 miles). This fits perfectly for us and even if we lose half that range it still covers it well. We also have a beloved 2005 CR-V with manual trans that we love, as well, but in Victoria the commutes are short and it never gets too hot or cold so I expect this will server us for several years. The price was right, as well. Level 1 charging for us but if it proves too slow I'll install Level 2. My panel is at the back of the house and the parking at the front so cable would be a bit pricey but I would do at least 6 gauge so I could do good Level 2 for future vehicles...
Similar situation. You def do not need the level 2. We can charge to full capacity in about 18 hours on 120, but very rarely do we get battery down to that level. Usually we just plug in every few days, and over night if we are driving up the mountain. Do be aware that you don't want to run a long extension cord and if you go get the heaviest gauge you can find.
I would love for you to do an episode on the CATL replacement battery modules and CAN buss upgrade that are supposed to be plug and play for the Leaf to increase the range for older Leafs
I have a used 2019 Model 3 Standard Range (not plus) with 100k miles on it you can come check out anytime if you’re ever in the Tennessee/North Carolina area! I purchased it used in June of 2023 with 75k miles on it. Battery degradation tests, etc. would be very interesting to watch!
Using recycled batteries for an "upgrade" is a good idea. nobody is doing that because EVs are still relatively new. plus its good to find ways to keep these old EVs on the road.
In Europe there are actually some companies that already install refurbished traction batteries and Nissan even offered refurbished traction batteries for the first generation Nissan Leaf in Japan for less than $ 2.500.
Fix the damage. Otherwise, it looks brand new. I think the car looks good. I don't think it is ugly. The headlights are a bit long. But if that means they light the way well, that's great.
That's exactly what we have, but ours was 30k miles. Also 2013, $6k, 11bars. 75 miles at 100% charge. Year 1 repair bill: $8 for a new cabin air filter. Fantastic 2nd car.
I had a 2012 Nissan Leaf back in 2014 when I was going to college. I unfortunately only had it for it a year because the range was just too limiting. The Leaf sold me on EVs through and the second I could afford an EV with over 200 miles of range I got my Kona EV. Now I have an Ioniq 6 and it’s absolutely amazing. I could never go back to daily commuting in an ICE vehicle. Just feels way too archaic to me.
It looks really good in this shiny red paint. Since it is only DC charged it might be interesting to find out in range (battery capacity) have got better after AC charging now works. May cars charges to 100% where 100% is when the first cell group is at 100%, then the battery balance function kicks in and charge the rest of the cells to 100% at a lower charging speed. And 100% means when you hit the top buffer of course. My brother had a i3 only charging on Ionity for over a year and when he got himself a AC charger he increased the range considerably.
It's interesting to hear iit could take 2hrs to QC Charge - I've used my 2019 for road trips and such (it's the plus) but my average charge time is usually 45 minutes to go from the low 20% to 80%. Granted, going from 80% to higher is pointless on QC because it drops sharply off... but on my last road trip I accidentally left it plugged in for 1 hour and 10 minutes - got it from 40% to 96%.
That Mercedes B-Class is kryptonite. Like the second generation Toyota Rav4 EV, it uses Tesla mechanicals wrapped in a Mercedes structure. Tesla doesn't support it, and Mercedes has basically abandoned it as well. I almost purchased a B-Class four years ago, but the two local Mercedes dealers both strongly recommended not doing so because they had no ability to repair or services or even get parts for it. The independent shops said they wouldn't even consider looking at one due to the lack of Mercedes-support for the vehicle.
There’s a company offering a thermally managed battery retrofit for the Leaf called 16 Blade. It’s available as a longer range pack, a performance pack and even a standard range (40kwh) LFP pack.
@@SuperShermanTanker Bots leave comments which boost engagement. That increases views, which then increases ads which increases ad profits for YT. YT could easily get rid a lot of these bots of they wanted to.
I am wondering where to get the adapter for the Nissan Leaf to use it at more places to plug in at. Granted, Nissan dealerships is a very useful spot to go to. They're not always open though.
I have my 2012 Nissan Leaf that I drove from 2013 to 2024 and it runs great. No service except wear items. My issue with it is only 50 miles per charge with 53000 miles. It wasn't an issue for my 4 block drive to work but beyond that's it's almost unusable. I just bought a Tesla and found it was only worth less than $1000 so it will be a good donation.
I miss my 2012 LEAF. If I owned yours, I would definitely fix its rear fender and have the battery upgraded with 60 kWh and range. Isn't Liv going to keep driving it?
Loved and miss my 2013 LEAF now my 2019 LEAF Plus that I got 18 months ago the battery failed it was down to 10 bars 72.21% SOH & Hx 44.60% but due rapid percent loss at freeway speeds in Dec. took in to NIssan they found swelling of the pack I got a new battery after about 5 months but I'm not sure how to take care of it now to prevent it from happening again I'm in Phx. Arizona! 🔥I know lol. Kyle if this was your LEAF how exactly would you charge it if was your daily driver? I don't do any fast chargers, old pack only ever had 3 quick charges in LEAF spy, typically 20 to 25 miles a day sometimes on the weekend 50-60 miles. I definitely don't charge to 100% it only been charged to 100% when I got the new pack so far. Thanks 🚗
I hope Nissan put more effort into their upcoming third-gen Leaf. Leaf was the first mass-produced EV that you can purchase one new in all 50 states. Sadly Nissan did not follow through on the second gen Leaf but Tesla did exactly what Nissan should’ve done: make a good mass-market EV and continuously improving the technologies.
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My 2013 Leaf SV is still going strong at 120,000 miles. No repairs in 90,000 miles. Wonderful joy to drive; saved me thousands over the years. Originally purchased in 2017 for $9000 (with the Leaf in pristine condition and only 30,000 miles).
Best car I ever owned.
I did the exact same thing. Haven't driven it as much as you, but no issues. It's a great grocery grabber.
The same is true of my three-year-old Bolt. The money I save has made it easier for me to weather these high inflationary time. I hardly noticed it compared to my friends who all still drive large SUV which run on gas. Also helps me out healthwise because the smell from the fumes and a gas car no longer affect me saves me a lot of money going to the doctor and getting treated for those fumes. Anyone specially if you can, don’t buy an electric car and spend all that money on repairs, maintenance and gas on ICE vehicle is crazy.
genuinely curious, how’s the battery doing? Is the wear bad?
@@Harry29591 from our experience: 2012 is the worst battery, where the leaf gets a bad reputation. In 2013 they improved the battery back. Our 2013 has been driven every single day since we bought it in 2015. 10 bars out of 12, which is normal degradation. 50-60 mile range.
It’s the perfect second car for groceries, taking dogs to the park and short commutes
I just bought a 2013 Leaf S for $1780 out the door. I was pleasantly surprised to find out it has a chademo port. 10/12 bars left on the battery.
$1780. That is crazy cheap. Washington State has some great instant rebates. The dealer probably paid $1000 for it, but got about $7000 selling it to me with rebates factored in.
Love seeing stuff like this. The trajectory of aging electric cars is fascinating to follow
We loved our 2013 Nissan Leaf. Put 110,873 miles on it. Cheapest to maintain (over 11+ years) car I have ever owned to date. It was my wife's daily drive and kid hauler. Even had a heat-pump which was awesome. Also owned a used 2012 for 10 years. That one was great too but only resistive heat and battery degradation was much worse than the 2013. It was my daily driver and later my daughter's car.
Nissan Leaf is the perfect teenager car. Plenty of power, safety features (10 air bags) and they can't drive too far :).
I originally leased a 2012 Leaf and loved it. I bought a 2015 Leaf and put a good 60k miles on it before selling it to a friend after 7 years. It still had all 12 bars and full range when I sold that one, and was absolutely trouble-free. Today I drive a 2023 Ariya Platinum+ that I’ve had for a year now. Also a completely trouble-free car.
I bought a 2012 LEAF in May of 2022 and I love it! It has about 80kms of range and it costs less than $2 Cdn to charge overnight. Aside from the safety check and a subsequent front ball joint repair I have not spent any money on maintenance. I love not have to go for oil charges!
Also, Consumer Reports rated the LEAF as the least expensive car to own over 10 years.
I’ve found our 2013 Leaf perfect for the high schooler. To school, work, friends’ houses. Since he pays the insurance, I don’t charge him for the energy. That would’ve been the perfect option for me as a 16 year old. No gas money needed.
This is what I’m thinking of for my HS student, with same plan for him to pay the insurance. Do you feel like your student has been able to manage keeping an eye on the range etc? (Of course I get every kid is different haha)
Yeah. He plugs in when he gets home from school if he has other things to do or places to be. It’s just become a habit for him like brushing his teeth, plugs the car in when he gets low.
Out of Spec Reviews, Subscribed because your videos are so much fun!
Kyle is the reason I bought my 2012 Nissan Leaf 😂 bought it in Feb 2024 for 2.2k with 51k miles and 7 bars of health, I love the car! Already closing in on 54k on it! It's red too but no Chademo
My favorite OOS videos are these with the older, cheaper models. Great stuff!
Agree
I got rid of a 2011 when I bought my Tesla Model 3. I also got a Model Y and I still miss my Nissan Leaf
Just picked up a clean title 2016 Leaf SL with a brand new, dealer installed 40kWh pack. It gets over 150 miles on a charge and was $7,100 OTD. So far so good, feels like a great deal.
Very good deal
Hyundai Ioniq 28kWh would be a great user buy as a step above the Leaf and eGolf. Hard to find in the US but even more of a reason to have one. It’s the efficiency king!
I applaud Kyle for not only his teaching of EV’s but also allowing friends, family and employees to utilize the vehicles.
You are correct! We're driving a 2014 Leaf, which we bought used in 2017. We're at 10 bars, of 12, and 85 miles on the guess-o-meter. This year, 2024, the 10th year we needed brakes & shocks & tires. We are happy; glad we bought it.
I have a 2012 Leaf that we use an errands car especially when we know we’re going someplace that has really bad parking. It’s just nice to have a car you don’t have to worry about if someone dings it or anything like that. Car has been amazingly reliable and I’m about to cross 70,000 miles. Bought my leaf for $2000 over a year ago.
I like how the leaf looks. I don't understand why people say it doesn't look good... it is aerodynamic and efficient and that is its own kind of beauty like a lizard or frog. :) Also, an argument for keeping a leaf running and spending $5000-6000 on a new pack: The rest of the car is cheap to keep running and there are plenty of parts. If you replace it with a BMW, or something more exotic then all the other parts will be expensive. If you buy a new Leaf instead, then you could potentially inherit new problems whereas your current car may be well sorted other than the battery.
Regulations really need to change in Europe to allow battery upgrades. Here in Norway you can replace the battery with same model as original, but if you change the size or chemistry and such you have to do a lot more. This would then require a new type rating which has to come from the car manufacturer. They are obviously not going to do that if they can sell a new car instead.
Great video, Kyle! It didn't tale me long to see the first comment calling this car pointless or useless... NOT pointless to someone as a second car, charged at home, for errands and daily, shorter trips. I replaced my Jeep with a used, 2012 Leaf. I went from spending about 20 cents per mile on fuel to 3 cents per mile for electric... and that does NOT include the savings on oil changes and engine maintanence. My Leaf is an SV with only the Level 2 charging. It has been flawless and reliable in every way. BTW, I paid $4,000 for mine in March of 2023. It had 9800 original miles on it and had sat, unused, for 4 years. The battery health is at 73% and on an 80% charge, I get 57 miles of clean, quiet, trouble-fee trips around town. I also enjoy yelling "I'm driving your Pappy!" at every Tesla/Rivian/Lucid I see... but, that's just me... ;)
Bought a 2015 High spec Leaf for €6,600 here in Ireland and spent a further €1,500 on getting it into the best condition possible including Nissan health check. Now we plan to keep it for 5-10 years to do the work commute and groceries etc. Costs €0 to run due to solar and I’m hoping €0 in maintenance going forward after what I done at the beginning.
Have an Ioniq 5 for road trips and comfort drives.
I see these in the San Jaun Islands in Washington State. Perfect use case; do not need to drive long distance on an island, moderate temperature range, cheap electricity, expensive gas (they have to pay a tank truck driver to wait in ferry line, take the ferry there and back etc).
I got a 2017 certified pre-owned Leaf SL for around $16k in October 2020. It had a 30 kWh battery that was about 25% degraded, so my range was only about 70-80 miles on a full charge. Less than a year into ownership, the battery failed and was replaced under warranty with a 40 kWh one since the 30 kWh one was not being made anymore. My estimated range is now about 160-170 miles on a full charge. I’m hoping to upgrade to a nicer EV at some point, but I definitely like my Leaf since I can leave the car on and the HVAC running if I’m waiting for someone or something. The only issue now is that the HVAC blower occasionally acts up, but for now that’s livable.
LEAF owner checking in!
Leaf club rise up. 2013 here
Our 2013 is still going strong, 10 bars of capacity out of 12. It’s been driven every day since we bought it in 2015.
Same here...bought mine new in 2014 ...95k miles and still 10 bars ! And reliability is incredible.
Same color as my 2014 Leaf S with DC port.
I don't feel so bad about the body damage on mine now.
When it had all the battery bars I did a bit of long distance driving. Leaf spy said I got the battery up to 125° in California.
Have 129,000 miles with 25%
Degradation. I can get 50 plus miles on a charge on a good day. Most trips are 20 or 30 miles.
I bought the Leaf as an older gentleman knowing I would be driving less as I got older. No problems except for some electrical issues that were rectified by removing the battery cables for a few minutes and reinstalling them.
There is a company where I live that replaces the batterys in older Leafs and it is possible for an older Leaf to have a 200 mile range.
When I can upgrade to the new adventure I can get rid of the old adventure for less than a a new vehicle.
I discovered Car MAX will give me $700 for it, so I think I will keep it.
In spite of the EV trolls it hasn't burned up.
It would be a fun video if you drove an old Leaf from California to Colorado. No one else have done something like that.
To amplify Kyle's point: I can't see why everyone wouldn't consider having a cheap-ass low capacity EV as one of their vehicles. We don't even think of the LEAF as our "second car" since it's the one we drive most of the time.
Bought the exact same car -- SV, same colour for 10k 8 years ago. The thing is still going strong, though we can't quite make it to a neightboring town we used to, it still gets us to 80% of the places we need to go including up to the ski hill in winter. We didn't even bother putting in 220v, we charge the thing on household current!
We've saved a huge amount of $, not just in gas and initial investment, but maintenance costs; something people don't factor in. Any older ICE car you're gonna be in the shop for new plugs, air filters, oil changes, etc.. and even if nothing big goes wrong that all adds up. But one of the best parts of owning this car is that I do not have to give a shit about the thing. I have zero emotional attachment. Parking lot scratch? Random bits fall off? Just do not care. It's a remarkably liberating experience. Insurance aside, I calculated my total cost of ownership including "fuel" and maintenance to be about $150 / month over the time we've had it.
One more thing, we put aftermarket 17" on it and some good summer tires and while it doesn't make the thing any more engaging, damn it can corner pretty hard and has remarkably little body sway considering how soft its sprung. With the factory 16s & blizzaks for winter, there have been very few days we've had to use our truck. 10-20cm of fresh snow, glare ice, all no problem. Cold is really the only limitation, battery is at the point now where a -15C day will make us think twice about a drive to the mountain, but the heat pump and seated heats and steering wheel really help in this regard.
Your red leaf has so much potential.
OutOFSpec Podcasts:
Do a series on the Leaf. Start from the beginning and tell the whole story through interviews. What was going on with Nissan when leaf was created. How Leaf was going to save Nissan. How Leaf’s invented is now in hiding to prevent being thrown in jail for life. How it became a blue collar ev and techies worked with engineers to create Leafspy. How Leafspy turned Leaf into a Swiss Army knife. How companies like EV rides became Trail Blazers in transforming these cars into cheap reliable transportation well past their life expectancy. I would listen to that Podcast series every day, while I am charging of course.
It's also open source now so evolving it with future battery tech and drivetrains and solar body panels and charging mods IS possible!
I have a 2015 Leaf with 90k on the clock. Paid 16k for it with just shy of 7k on the clock in 2016. Only maintenance/repairs I’ve had to do was cabin air filter, 12v battery (once), washer fluid, washer line (mouse chewed on it in a couple places), and a couple sets of tires.
We got our first Leaf in 2011 on a 3 year lease and continued getting them at the end of each lease until our most recent in 2020. At the end of that lease, we bought it out and eventually sold it to our teen age son. It has under 20k miles on it, and still holds a full charge, which for us, is good for 225 miles (we have the large battery pack and live in northern Oregon). It has only rarely been DC charged. They are exceptionally reasonable cars and we have loved owning them. They don't get anywhere near the credit they deserve as good, safe, inexpensive daily drivers. Assuming they put a CCS port on the upcoming model refresh, there's no reason Nissan should stop making them.
Couldn't agree more.
Bought my first electric 2013 Nissan leaf the same time last year been enjoying it...
love my 2013
With the 30% federal rebate on used EVs, the Leaf is a no brainer. My 2015 still has a range of 84 miles. The dealership said to keep your ICE car, but the only use it sees now is a remote start once a week to keep the fluids flowing, otherwise it just sits. The leaf is an awesome main vehicle 🚜.
Its been a year since my oldest teen totaled mine. I replaced it with a Kia Niro EV but I miss the cuteness and affordability of that car
My 2013 Nissan Leaf has no fast charging and over 130k still running strong 60 mile range fully charged! Saved so much money I bought a used model 3 amazing car!
Nice. It pays for itself. Our 2013 is going strong 10 bars out of 12
Just got the same one yesterday, a 2016 with 20,000 miles . The same color and everything. It’s fantastic
I got one to, it drivers better than every car I’ve had! Like it’s sooo smooth ❤
Just bought a 2020 SV plus for $12k out the door. 55k miles and the battery was 100% shot lmao. Full charge went 78 miles… it’s back at the dealership now about to get “2 new battery rows” which are on back order. So they lent me the Aryia for a couple weeks!
in my country you could fix that giant ding in the back and front for maybe 100-150 bucks
Still driving my 2014 Nissan Leaf, purchased used with 8,700 miles in 2017 for $9,800, a few months short of its warranty period. No DCFC on my car, but honestly never needed it. It was our experiment to try an EV. Today it's our 3rd car (we're all EV now) that's perfect for running around town. Today it's just over 42k miles and down to 10 of 12 bars. Plan to drive this car as long as possible. It's a great, fun little golf cart to drive. As Kyle mentoned, mine has also held up well.
The energy inspires me to drive my leaf again. Now that it is summer I’ve seen real world 55 miles of range. In winter I would only see 20 or so. 😂
Love my old leaf, 50 miles does us just fine almost every day
I love my 2013. 88,000 and going strong. I could you more range so I'll have to see what I can do about that...
2:16 That wasn’t Alyssa 😂 It’s a Leaf feature, you can close the charging door without closing the orange AC port dust cover! So whoever charged it last didn’t close it properly - and it is recommended that it all get closed up. Fun fact: this was done so you could park next to an in-use charger and have someone else plug your Leaf in when they are done.
2015 leaf here. Paid 5,000 all in. 10 bars of health, 78 mile range. 47,000 miles on the odometer. A great second and first car. Im waiting for the newer ones to come down in price. I'll give this one to my son. Great low maintenance car.
Also, on the matter of the LEAF's utter lack of battery cooling: I've always thought that the original designers intended that the car be strictly used as a commuter, and if daily charging wasn't good enough, then maybe AC charged mid-day (at work, for example). The long idle intervals between drives in those scenarios allow the battery to cool back down, and sheer thermal capacity keeps the temperature rise during one discharge down reasonably well. Therefore, no need for the expense and weight of a real thermal management system. It's best to just respect that design decision, and not try to go road-tripping in a LEAF.
Check out the EVNiculus CCS to Chademo adapter. It breathes life into the Leaf. You can charge them anywhere.
I have an ICE car for longer distances but I filled that twice in the two years I owned my old Leaf. Bargain of the century for a daily commuter.
Could be huge for my Soul EV!
My neighbor bought one back in 2013 and he still drives that car every single day .
I just bought my first EV (2016 Nissan Leaf) & love it. I charge in my garage & use it only for a commuter car, it's also fun to drive. I also have an ICE car for long distance trips but I drive the EV most of the time. If you are concerned about the cost of buying an EV then get a used one, they tend to have lower miles than an ICE car & are much simpler in design & need very little maintenance. I have (Qty.22) 320 watt solar panels on my roof so charging is free.
Time flies can't believe that was two years ago already!
Looking forward to seeing the adapter videos. Expect it to be a challenge but hope you get it functional.
I drove a 2015 leaf from 2019 to last month.... it was perfect for my needs till my oldest got into hockey, that stressed the range as the rinks dont have chargers and i had to rely on public charging once a week, after an hour and a half delay getting home after one game i decided id upgrade to a bolt now (between a model 3 and bolt) and delay my dream of a rivian for a few extra years. The leaf is an amazing third car or second if you share a single car, but if its your only car it can be really hard (or if your wife hates it and refuses to drive it except in very special circumstances). Now i just need to sell my leaf 😂
13:30 Have you heard of EVsEnhanced out of New Zealand?
They created a pack for the Leaf with liquid cooling/heating somewhere around 60 kWh in size. I think it was called the 16Blade. I’d be really curious to hear what you think of it. Hope they’re still in business. 😅
can't wait for the ccs to chademo video
You would love the Spark EV
Time Stamp 06:20. Youmention "Selfishly use more of your solar" I would offer this. "A more efficient use of your solar"
I don't think this is the 'top spec' Leaf, at least here in UK/Europe we have the Tekna with full leather seats, heated seats all round, diamond cut alloys etc. This would be our mid spec Acenta.
I have been throwing around the idea of possibly upgrading my 2014 leaf to a 40kw battery at some point. The current battery is almost enough for my longer driving days still. I just have to charge a little while at work. im at almost 85k miles and still getting 55-70+ miles depending on the season which is pretty good for one at that milage. I occasionally check around at auctions for totaled leafs that have no battery damage and still able to start up. They regularly go for around 5k or so for a 40kw version. I figure If you part out the rest of the good parts on the car you could basically get back what you pay for it and have a free battery.
My Leaf is great for everyday driving. No need for gas except for road trips.
Hey Kyle ... nice to see an update on your Leaf. Inspired by you, I got myself a used 2017 Leaf and its doing just fine and i absolutely love it - all thanks to you. Now waiting for you to upgrade to a 40 / 60 KwHr pack and follow your trail :-) .. hopefully you will keep us all posted..
I think it would be a good public service to do a battery upgrade. So many amazing leafs that the only problem is a super low range. The public would love to have fear of upgrading and or very tiny range eased.
The J1772 was already open!
Speaking of solar and evs I would love to find a bidirectional ev and level 2 charger I could hook to the grid side of my off grid system. That way, when my house battery drips to low I can jump to grid which would be my car and when I am over producing from sun I can feed the grid which would charge the car. Nothing like house backup I can do errands in hehehehe
I saw a Nissan approved bidirectional charger that was targeted for businesses- it was $50k.
Bought a 2011 Leaf yesterday! 9 bars left, 68% state of health, about 90km range (56 miles). This fits perfectly for us and even if we lose half that range it still covers it well. We also have a beloved 2005 CR-V with manual trans that we love, as well, but in Victoria the commutes are short and it never gets too hot or cold so I expect this will server us for several years. The price was right, as well. Level 1 charging for us but if it proves too slow I'll install Level 2. My panel is at the back of the house and the parking at the front so cable would be a bit pricey but I would do at least 6 gauge so I could do good Level 2 for future vehicles...
Similar situation. You def do not need the level 2. We can charge to full capacity in about 18 hours on 120, but very rarely do we get battery down to that level. Usually we just plug in every few days, and over night if we are driving up the mountain. Do be aware that you don't want to run a long extension cord and if you go get the heaviest gauge you can find.
We have a 2014, great car but quite slow on multiple charge trips. Just bought another one, a 2022, huge difference, a much better car.
I would love for you to do an episode on the CATL replacement battery modules and CAN buss upgrade that are supposed to be plug and play for the Leaf to increase the range for older Leafs
We have loads of these replacement battery packs in Sri Lanka. Max range up to 500kms on a 62kWh packs.
My son owns one and it's a great car for him in SF.
I have a used 2019 Model 3 Standard Range (not plus) with 100k miles on it you can come check out anytime if you’re ever in the Tennessee/North Carolina area! I purchased it used in June of 2023 with 75k miles on it. Battery degradation tests, etc. would be very interesting to watch!
Using recycled batteries for an "upgrade" is a good idea. nobody is doing that because EVs are still relatively new. plus its good to find ways to keep these old EVs on the road.
In Europe there are actually some companies that already install refurbished traction batteries and Nissan even offered refurbished traction batteries for the first generation Nissan Leaf in Japan for less than $ 2.500.
Fix the damage. Otherwise, it looks brand new. I think the car looks good. I don't think it is ugly. The headlights are a bit long. But if that means they light the way well, that's great.
Perhaps a previous Hertz Tesla that qualify for the used EV credit.
It makes me happy to see the RUSH starman sticker is still gracing the back window.
It also means you don't have to worry about the batteries in these vehicles as much as people do.
The old charger can maybe be refurbished? Great video btw 👍😊
We found a 36k mile 2013 for $6k for my son. It's doing great. Still gets around 70 miles range. Just living off the naysayers at this point.
That's exactly what we have, but ours was 30k miles. Also 2013, $6k, 11bars. 75 miles at 100% charge. Year 1 repair bill: $8 for a new cabin air filter. Fantastic 2nd car.
Awesome video! All you EV haters are you listening?
I had a 2012 Nissan Leaf back in 2014 when I was going to college. I unfortunately only had it for it a year because the range was just too limiting. The Leaf sold me on EVs through and the second I could afford an EV with over 200 miles of range I got my Kona EV. Now I have an Ioniq 6 and it’s absolutely amazing. I could never go back to daily commuting in an ICE vehicle. Just feels way too archaic to me.
This would be a cool car to use in a Paintless Dent Repair demo.
Great idea for a collab. I've seen some amazing paintless repairs on YT
Yeah, but the only problem with that theory is ... why would you even bother?
I just recieved the A2z chademo adapter. It works flawlessly 🎉❤
Looks good! But I would fix that dent.
It looks really good in this shiny red paint. Since it is only DC charged it might be interesting to find out in range (battery capacity) have got better after AC charging now works. May cars charges to 100% where 100% is when the first cell group is at 100%, then the battery balance function kicks in and charge the rest of the cells to 100% at a lower charging speed. And 100% means when you hit the top buffer of course. My brother had a i3 only charging on Ionity for over a year and when he got himself a AC charger he increased the range considerably.
Nice that Patrick and Liv could use the Leaf. That was nice, Kyle.
It has been SOOO wonderful! Kyle rocks!
@@Livshaka Hi Liv. Kyle does rock.
It's interesting to hear iit could take 2hrs to QC Charge - I've used my 2019 for road trips and such (it's the plus) but my average charge time is usually 45 minutes to go from the low 20% to 80%.
Granted, going from 80% to higher is pointless on QC because it drops sharply off... but on my last road trip I accidentally left it plugged in for 1 hour and 10 minutes - got it from 40% to 96%.
That Mercedes B-Class is kryptonite. Like the second generation Toyota Rav4 EV, it uses Tesla mechanicals wrapped in a Mercedes structure. Tesla doesn't support it, and Mercedes has basically abandoned it as well. I almost purchased a B-Class four years ago, but the two local Mercedes dealers both strongly recommended not doing so because they had no ability to repair or services or even get parts for it. The independent shops said they wouldn't even consider looking at one due to the lack of Mercedes-support for the vehicle.
Interested to c the B class up and running
There’s a company offering a thermally managed battery retrofit for the Leaf called 16 Blade. It’s available as a longer range pack, a performance pack and even a standard range (40kwh) LFP pack.
Still vaporware as of June 2024. With Nissan now moving on with updated designs, it's questionable if 16 blade is even necessary.
Do a video on PDR repairing the ding.
How do you wear a sweater in So Cal heat?
1st gen Kia Niro, Hyundai Kona. used sitting around the 20-25k range.
Older Bolt EV's are even cheaper than that as well
Love the update frame rate of the map as you drive. 😃
One min in and 3 bots in comments already. Impressive.
gg
Those pornbots are instant, surprised google doesn't have an AI thing that can just detect the profile pictures and ban them
@@SuperShermanTanker Bots leave comments which boost engagement. That increases views, which then increases ads which increases ad profits for YT. YT could easily get rid a lot of these bots of they wanted to.
Teslas don’t go for even 15k at this point, but maybe in a couple of years they will approach that price
I am wondering where to get the adapter for the Nissan Leaf to use it at more places to plug in at. Granted, Nissan dealerships is a very useful spot to go to. They're not always open though.
How much did it cost to change the onboard AC charger?
Good idea this new video concept about cheap EVs 🙂
That "ding" wouldn't pass an MOT inspection in the U.K.
If you upgrade the leafs battery, you should also add CCS
If I recall that car could hit 55mph in reverse.
Love my 2018 sv
I have my 2012 Nissan Leaf that I drove from 2013 to 2024 and it runs great. No service except wear items. My issue with it is only 50 miles per charge with 53000 miles. It wasn't an issue for my 4 block drive to work but beyond that's it's almost unusable. I just bought a Tesla and found it was only worth less than $1000 so it will be a good donation.
What would be a good donation?
@ Donate the car to charity for the tax deduction.
I miss my 2012 LEAF. If I owned yours, I would definitely fix its rear fender and have the battery upgraded with 60 kWh and range. Isn't Liv going to keep driving it?
❤I wish! I will miss it so much! But hey btw, I'm finally spending some time in the Ioniq 5 next week!
Loved and miss my 2013 LEAF now my 2019 LEAF Plus that I got 18 months ago the battery failed it was down to 10 bars 72.21% SOH & Hx 44.60% but due rapid percent loss at freeway speeds in Dec. took in to NIssan they found swelling of the pack I got a new battery after about 5 months but I'm not sure how to take care of it now to prevent it from happening again I'm in Phx. Arizona! 🔥I know lol. Kyle if this was your LEAF how exactly would you charge it if was your daily driver? I don't do any fast chargers, old pack only ever had 3 quick charges in LEAF spy, typically 20 to 25 miles a day sometimes on the weekend 50-60 miles. I definitely don't charge to 100% it only been charged to 100% when I got the new pack so far. Thanks 🚗
I hope Nissan put more effort into their upcoming third-gen Leaf. Leaf was the first mass-produced EV that you can purchase one new in all 50 states. Sadly Nissan did not follow through on the second gen Leaf but Tesla did exactly what Nissan should’ve done: make a good mass-market EV and continuously improving the technologies.
You can currently get a new one (Top spec 39kW h) in the U.K. for £16k!
I've been to QC Charge and seen you B-class in the parking lot. Don't know why they haven't gotten to it 🤷