Purchased a 2011 Nissan Leaf!

[Sedin26]

2011 Leaf - thanks for your service and....goodbye!

When I bought this I knew it had a passenger airbag issue so I had the contract worded such that it had to be fixed or else bought back. The dealer went to a lot of trouble to fix it but nothing that is actually economically reasonable worked so today they bought it back at the purchase price minus a couple hundred $.

They gave us loaners - we drove a 2017 Model 3 for a couple of months and then a 2015 Leaf, with all the options, for a couple more months. The Tesla was very nice but a horribly rough ride. The 2015 Leaf was much more pleasant to drive and despite having the 24KwH battery, like the 2011, the range was about triple the 2011. Here's my summary of ownership:

• The Leaf was nice to drive and very comfortable
• Charging at home nightly on L1 at 15 amps (I think it does max 12 amps) was more than sufficient
• Range was great around the city - a very nice city commuting car
• Range on the highway was not good. Once you got up to about 55Mph (90km/h) you could almost see the range estimator go down moment by moment
• Range in cold weather was at least 50% less than warm
• Even a Leaf a few years newer is much, much better with range and there is no economically sound method of upgrading the battery
• 2011 and 2012 Leafs commonly have passenger seat airbagsensor issues. You have to buy a whole seat and it's $3K CAD, with no warranty or returns

All in all it was a nice vehicle, was ridiculously cheap to operate, and we liked it. The range was mostly good for us, though I have to admit having the Tesla and then the 2015 Leaf just made things easier. We're going to stick with one vehicle for the summer and probably get another one before winter. The good old K24 in our 2005 CR-V keeps chugging along without complaint, at 322,800km and I see no reason why it can't get to 400,000km without issue.

 

[Rmay635703]

In my experience the 62KwH battery will not fit/work in the Gen 1 Leaf. Harness differences and physical size differences. In fact the Gen II battery is different too, but comes with adapter harnesses and different mounting brackets to adapt into the early car.

The battery is completely different than the Nissan version and I wouldn’t recommend chinesium batteries.

 

[jsean]

2011 Leaf - thanks for your service and....goodbye!

When I bought this I knew it had a passenger airbag issue so I had the contract worded such that it had to be fixed or else bought back. The dealer went to a lot of trouble to fix it but nothing that is actually economically reasonable worked so today they bought it back at the purchase price minus a couple hundred $.

They gave us loaners - we drove a 2017 Model 3 for a couple of months and then a 2015 Leaf, with all the options, for a couple more months. The Tesla was very nice but a horribly rough ride. The 2015 Leaf was much more pleasant to drive and despite having the 24KwH battery, like the 2011, the range was about triple the 2011. Here's my summary of ownership:

• The Leaf was nice to drive and very comfortable
• Charging at home nightly on L1 at 15 amps (I think it does max 12 amps) was more than sufficient
• Range was great around the city - a very nice city commuting car
• Range on the highway was not good. Once you got up to about 55Mph (90km/h) you could almost see the range estimator go down moment by moment
• Range in cold weather was at least 50% less than warm
• Even a Leaf a few years newer is much, much better with range and there is no economically sound method of upgrading the battery
• 2011 and 2012 Leafs commonly have passenger seat airbagsensor issues. You have to buy a whole seat and it's $3K CAD, with no warranty or returns

All in all it was a nice vehicle, was ridiculously cheap to operate, and we liked it. The range was mostly good for us, though I have to admit having the Tesla and then the 2015 Leaf just made things easier. We're going to stick with one vehicle for the summer and probably get another one before winter. The good old K24 in our 2005 CR-V keeps chugging along without complaint, at 322,800km and I see no reason why it can't get to 400,000km without issue.

Should you decide on buying another Leaf/Bolt - maybe get a hold of user @macarose on here. He seems to be getting great deals on both models - although, I’m not sure how importing vehicles into Canada would work.

 

[PandaBear]

The battery is completely different than the Nissan version and I wouldn’t recommend chinesium batteries.

CATL is probably the #2 battery manufacturer in the world if not #1 in size.

They are in a lot of Chinese Tesla and other EV brands in the lower range models. If Nissan come out of an EV using CATL I would trust the quality of CATL more than Nissan (I do have a very low opinion of the post 2000 Nissan).

 

[Rmay635703]

CATL is probably the #2 battery manufacturer in the world if not #1 in size.

They are in a lot of Chinese Tesla and other EV brands in the lower range models. If Nissan come out of an EV using CATL I would trust the quality of CATL more than Nissan (I do have a very low opinion of the post 2000 Nissan).

I have early Catl lifepo4 cells in my basement sitting flat from my diyelectric car days.

My experience was that they went out of balance quickly and lost capacity. After 4 years one cell dropped out.

Obviously a lot has changed since the hobbiest days but those still using them definitely don’t get the same lifespan from them over the counter that you get from an OEM Nissan pack.

Unless something massive changes I wouldn’t touch one again.

 

[PandaBear]

I have early Catl lifepo4 cells in my basement sitting flat from my diyelectric car days.

My experience was that they went out of balance quickly and lost capacity. After 4 years one cell dropped out.

Obviously a lot has changed since the hobbiest days but those still using them definitely don’t get the same lifespan from them over the counter that you get from an OEM Nissan pack.

Unless something massive changes I wouldn’t touch one again.

Very true. You need a good integrator or all the parts would fall apart if not done right.

 

[Rmay635703]

Very true. You need a good integrator or all the parts would fall apart if not done right.

The main difference between a good Chinese battery and a bad one is liability.

The hobbiest ones lack any real form of warranty you can collect on.

Through a 1st party automaker there is immense liability which forces the hand of the Chinese battery maker to meet extremely tight specifications which they otherwise ignore when the product is going to aftermarket or a small company that won’t hold them accountable.

 

[Brons2]

2011 Leaf - thanks for your service and....goodbye!

When I bought this I knew it had a passenger airbag issue so I had the contract worded such that it had to be fixed or else bought back. The dealer went to a lot of trouble to fix it but nothing that is actually economically reasonable worked so today they bought it back at the purchase price minus a couple hundred $.

They gave us loaners - we drove a 2017 Model 3 for a couple of months and then a 2015 Leaf, with all the options, for a couple more months. The Tesla was very nice but a horribly rough ride. The 2015 Leaf was much more pleasant to drive and despite having the 24KwH battery, like the 2011, the range was about triple the 2011. Here's my summary of ownership:

• The Leaf was nice to drive and very comfortable
• Charging at home nightly on L1 at 15 amps (I think it does max 12 amps) was more than sufficient
• Range was great around the city - a very nice city commuting car
• Range on the highway was not good. Once you got up to about 55Mph (90km/h) you could almost see the range estimator go down moment by moment
• Range in cold weather was at least 50% less than warm
• Even a Leaf a few years newer is much, much better with range and there is no economically sound method of upgrading the battery
• 2011 and 2012 Leafs commonly have passenger seat airbagsensor issues. You have to buy a whole seat and it's $3K CAD, with no warranty or returns

All in all it was a nice vehicle, was ridiculously cheap to operate, and we liked it. The range was mostly good for us, though I have to admit having the Tesla and then the 2015 Leaf just made things easier. We're going to stick with one vehicle for the summer and probably get another one before winter. The good old K24 in our 2005 CR-V keeps chugging along without complaint, at 322,800km and I see no reason why it can't get to 400,000km without issue.

Wow wasn't expecting that! Heck of a deal you worked to buy the vehicle back if they could not fix the airbag issue.

If you want to try another EV, I've seen Bolts below 10,000 USD in my area.

 

[Sedin26]

Wow wasn't expecting that! Heck of a deal you worked to buy the vehicle back if they could not fix the airbag issue.

If you want to try another EV, I've seen Bolts below 10,000 USD in my area.

We’ll consider a Bolt. A Kia Soul EV would be a contender as well, though a 2020 or later to get CCS.

If the world goes entirely to hell and people hate Musk even more maybe I could get a cheap Tesla!