r/leaf • u/biersackarmy • Dec 18 '25
As some people may have heard of or unfortunately experienced, there have been quite a number of cases of 2nd generation Leaf batteries failing. I was planning and trying to make this into a video format, but as I’m still recovering from a cold my voice isn’t quite up for narrating an essay, so text format it is.
Hopefully this can raise some awareness and provide a central source of info as to what’s going on, why it’s happening, what to do about it, and things to consider. There are two separate issues currently causing outright failures of 2018+ Leaf battery packs, and so will be split up into two sections.
Under load in cold temperatures, especially below freezing and below 50% battery, the charge level and range estimate will suddenly begin to plummet and continue to drop rapidly until the load is removed, at which case the charge level starts to bounce back and quickly increase again.
The car may go into turtle mode, or in severe cases even cut off the high voltage battery completely, in which case the car will stall and may not be able to be restarted.
Here is a video example of what this sudden drop of charge level looks like.
This issue affects both the 40 kWh and 62 kWh packs. The 40 kWh packs seem to be much more susceptible, but as the 62 kWh packs use the same cells and chemistry, they are not immune. This also includes 40 packs that were installed as retrofits under warranty in 2016-17 Leafs.
This is occurring due to one or more weak cells within the battery pack sagging excessively in voltage under load, which is greatly exacerbated when the battery is cold, due to increased internal resistance.
How the battery works is that the shown and usable state of charge is defined by that of the lowest cell. This is to prevent over-discharge of any weaker cells at lower charge levels, as that would cause even further damage to them.
Often this can be witnessed in the LeafSpy cell chart as one or more cells that clearly drop lower than the rest of the pack under load, but not always. There have been a number of cases of SOC freefall with seemingly no weak cells, indicating that there’s other data/calculations within the BMS that the user cannot see.
Getting a weak cell is essentially luck of the draw. There have been packs with very low mileage and seemingly great numbers that still failed (such as in the video above), while there are other packs with lots of miles and abuse that are still working just fine. How the pack is treated/babied does not seem to affect your chances in the roulette.
If you are encountering this issue as an owner, and the car is still under warranty, document everything as much as possible. Record video(s) of the issue happening, noting the charge level and outside temperature the battery is at. Submit this proof to the dealer as a copy, and demand that it be used in their case to Nissan corporate.
Bring the car to the dealership for diagnosis with as cold of upcoming weather as possible. Some dealers may try poorly to replicate the issue, often in the interest of charging the customer the diagnostic fee. You want to make the issue as obvious and easily to replicate as you can.
If you have to drive the car around, ensure you either have LeafSpy Pro, or keep an adjustable or 10mm wrench with you in the car. If the cell voltages ever drop low enough for the car to shut down, it is likely to set a high voltage fault code and won’t be able to restart until the fault is cleared. Clearing the fault via the LeafSpy service menu, or disconnecting and reconnecting the 12V battery, will at least allow you to limp the car to a charger or safe location off the road.
UPDATE: For 2019-2022 Leafs, the "fast charging recall" software update now adds programming to the BMS to look for and flag SOC variations, setting a fault code (P33ED) if it does. This has the potential to "brick" the car in the same way as a high voltage isolation fault (read section below) would. Be cautious of this so that it does not potentially leave you stranded.
If you own a 2nd generation Leaf (especially 40 kWh) that is still under warranty, still on the original battery, and live in a climate that gets winter, check for signs of this issue BEFORE warranty ends!
During cold weather, park the car outside overnight with 50% charge or less, then take the car out for a drive and see if there are any strange fluctuations in the state of charge during acceleration.
If you are considering purchasing one and there is no proof of the high voltage battery being replaced, ensure there is at least one year worth of warranty remaining on the car so that you can spend a winter with it and will still be covered in the case of this failure.
LeafSpy data can sometimes be a pre-indicator that you will likely run into this issue if there is a noticeably low Hx value (much lower than SOH), but not always. Low Hx is a strong sign of possible weak cells, but weak cells will not always cause low Hx.
The car will one day show the message “Service EV System – Unable to restart after power off”, and indeed will not restart after it is powered off.
The vast majority of cars affected by this issue are 62 kWh Leaf Plus/e+ models. It is not unheard of on 40 kWh cars, but it is quite rare unless the pack was heavily used and abused.
There is a Nissan TSB on this issue which confirms they are well aware of this issue, and there are revised battery packs and modules that are issued in replacement if the car is still under high voltage battery warranty.
Thermal expansion of the battery cells causes them to eventually expand to the point of pushing up against each other, and in some cases even leaking electrolyte out of the cells into the battery casing, eventually causing the car to trip a high voltage isolation fault.
This is most commonly happening in specifically the rear stack of cells within the 62 kWh pack, because they are so tightly packed together, that they don’t get much cooling nor much room to expand before they begin pushing up against each other.
High voltage isolation is important, because obviously you do not want any high voltage potential to be contacting the metal battery casing that is bolted to the metal body of the car. If the BMS detects that there is even just a little bit of voltage leaking from one cell to another, or the cells to the battery chassis, an isolation fault is tripped.
If you encounter specifically the “unable to restart after power off” message, and the car is still within high voltage battery warranty, DO NOT REPLACE THE 12V BATTERY.
This specific message is ONLY generated due to a high voltage isolation fault, and although a weak 12V battery can cause many weird issues, it will NEVER generate a high voltage isolation fault. Unless there is an extremely urgent need to continue driving the car, have it towed in the “broken” state to a Nissan dealership.
It is a much more objective issue than weak cells, and basically the only diagnosis they would need to approve a battery replacement is to see the stored isolation fault code. Disconnecting the 12V battery however clears this fault code, making it not possible for them to verify the issue unless it happens to fault again in only one drive cycle.
Replacing the 12V battery gives a false sense of success because it allows the car to start and drive again, but only until the fault eventually comes back. It's just a waste of money and a perfectly good battery to not actually address the underlying issue.
If you urgently need the car to work again, clearing the fault code in LeafSpy Pro or by disconnecting and reconnecting the 12V battery will allow it to start. Just be aware that by doing this, you won’t be able to have the issue verifiable by Nissan until it pops up again. It may only take 1 drive cycle, it may take 100.
Unfortunately there isn’t really any way to foretell that this issue will happen soon or to check for it, as you can’t just force an isolation fault to appear like you can with weak cells.
Battery packs in hot climates and/or lots of quick charges are more susceptible to this issue due to it being a result of thermal expansion. Packs torn apart after diagnosis of this issue often exhibit very obvious “spicy pillows” within.
If you are a current owner, especially of a Plus/e+ model, the best you can do is to avoid overheating/rapidgating the battery whenever possible. Doing so once every few months is not a big deal, but frequently doing so will likely lead to long-term damage.
If looking to purchase a Leaf Plus/e+, or a high mileage 40 kWh car in a hot climate, make sure to check Leaf Spy, and it may be wise to avoid any examples that have lots of QCs shown.
There is a great in-depth video by LEAF expert Dala explaining this issue more in detail for those who are interested.
r/leaf • u/Nimabeee_PlayzYT • 6h ago
Before anyone asks, someone cut a cable and i just happened to find the head on the ground and took it because it looked cool. Now im using it as a funny gag.
r/leaf • u/jaytech_cfl • 4h ago
Just a couple blocks from home, but this always makes me nervous.
r/leaf • u/MuffinNecessary8625 • 2h ago
Well this is incredibly annoying.
I think the car wash may have knocked the sensor back into the bodywork.
Had a quick look and there doesn't seem to be a quick way to get a hand in behind the bumper to fish out this sensor.
Pretty sure the sensor is still connected because every time I slow down it comes on and thinks I'm about to hit something on the front right!
Any tips on an easy way to get in behind that bumper with a hand to try and grab it?
r/leaf • u/biersackarmy • 10h ago
No LeafSpy required. So far the only non Chinese derived EV I have seen that just has the battery health as a numerical value openly visible to the user without any hidden menu.
r/leaf • u/Ok_Window_7635 • 4h ago
I live in Upstate New York where it goes down to -10 to -15 F (-23 to -26c?) sometimes in the winter.
My 24 kWh 2013 SL has a small battery heater that kicks on during extreme cold temperatures to prevent damage.
Vivne’s website says they can go down to -4 f (-20).
Does this mean I won’t be able to charge at night? Would I not be able to drive?
Does the Vivne battery not have a heater like my OEM one does? Will the chemistry freeze and become damaged?
Their website does not mention anything about a heater and when searching for information about cold weather performance I’m not coming up with anything.
r/leaf • u/BasilFomeen • 2h ago
Here's the reason I ask:
Bought a 2019 SV Plus on oct 3, but we noticed the A/C wasn't working properly, even though the inspection report showed that it was. Figured it'd be an easy fix. Well, here we sit, 25 days later, and after a new compressor, new associated wiring, and even stealing parts from ANOTHER Leaf on the lot, the Nissan techs are pretty much telling me that they "don't know what the problem is". They've contacted Nissan, Nissan had a recommendation, that didn't work, and now they're waiting on another call back from Nissan.
We owned the car for 11 miles. Sales manager tells me the car is "one part away from being done", even though Service has told me directly that they have no idea what's wrong. We're thinking of trying to get our money back and move on.
Anyone else having A/C problems that can't be repaired?
r/leaf • u/Icy-Attitude1733 • 13h ago
Hi all,
I currently have a 2023 SV plus and it treats me well enough. I bought it two years ago when I had access to free level 2 charging at work. Unfortunately I was laid off and with my new job I have no place to charge either there or at my apartment. I drive 50 miles a day so I end up needing to stop by the DCFC from evgo (with subscription) every two or three days. It is quite frequent that I’ll have to wait for one of the chademo stations to open.
I see that the A2Z chargers are pretty popular, and that they have both a NCAS and a CCS adapter for the leaf. I understand that NCAS will be the standard in the future, but currently there’s a lot of CCS stations without chademo too. I was wondering if anyone had a recommendation for which would be the better buy? These are nearly 1000 dollars which is a bit outside of my budget as I recover from unemployment. Im worried that in a few years i wont have anywhere to charge at all.
r/leaf • u/AltAccount467344 • 1d ago
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I got it scanned by an EV specialist and there's no battery problems. This only happens below 50%. I gave them the car at 50% and tested that the problem was happening before I gave it to them. Test results in comments. Is this normal behaviour? The charge goes back up when I get to the top of the hill
r/leaf • u/pdxgreengrrl • 1d ago
I drove my 2016 Leaf 58 miles today. Started fully charged, with 76 miles of range and ended with 19 miles of range. It was 50F and raining, and I knew that it would be tight, so I only used the defrost as needed, and no heat. I guess I did good? I usually only drive 10-20 miles at a time. This was mostly highway.
I do love working the ERB to increase range. It's a fun game.
The warning light is on because I had taken my seatbelt off. I fast charged about 10 miles from my destination so that I could get home.
r/leaf • u/Jokebearfan • 1d ago
Title is from the video.
In short she puts in a 40 kWh battery into a 1st gen Leaf. A lot of it will be familiar to long-time Leaf owners, but it's cool that a relatively "mainstream" (yes, the quotes are doing some heavy lifting) channel is demonstrating that this is possible.
r/leaf • u/LetsTryAnal_ogy • 1d ago
I bought a used 2023 Leaf S in September or October of 2025. I joined this community and hung out. I participated in conversations. I posted "Zippy the Shuttlecraft" once or twice. I put my veteran, ally, and scuba diver stickers on it. It's been fun.
Then I saw the battery issues and talked with you guys about how the buybacks were going. I crossed my fingers for you guys and for myself. I worried a little if I was going to have problems, too.
I did.
My battery life dropped about 6 months ago, but it was manageable. I had to charge it almost every night, and my range dropped to about 75 miles. Then I took my kids to a concert about an hour and 20 minutes away. We quick charged once on the way up. But on the way back, the battery tanked. I had to stop three times - about every 20-25 miles or so. We limped back by 3am and about 2.5 hours of driving. :(
I took Zippy to my local Nissan dealer and they had her for about a week before finally telling me that Morley would be getting involved. Nissan even put me in a new Nissan Kicks loaner for the month or so while they had my car.
Morley was good about it. They made an offer and I accepted. They offered me more than I bought the car for, so I even made money!
I loved Zippy, so I bought another one. It's the same model, year, and even the same color. It cost me about $10,000 less than my other one and had fewer miles on it.
I'm worried about the battery, and still have anxiety of this happening again. I'm going to try to limit charging to about 80% and I'm trying to limit L3 charging. I love this car, and the price just can't be beat compared to other electric cars.
So I have another Leaf: Zippy the Shuttlecraft II. Let's hope I have a better experience with this one!
r/leaf • u/RepresentativeNo6278 • 1d ago
Hi guys!
Last night, I pulled over in the middle of nowhere because my stereo wasn't working properly.
When I tried to start the car again, it wouldn't start, and I got the warning "When Parked Apply Parking Brake" (see photo).
I've been reading online, and a lot of people suggest it could be the 12V battery.
I have a 2020 Nissan Leaf N-Connecta (40kWh) with around 49,000 miles.
Just wondering if anyone here has experienced something similar?
What turned out to be the problem, and how did you fix it?
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
r/leaf • u/Feral_kittenz • 1d ago
I googled & read everything I could but just don’t understand. My car was dangerously low (like 5%) after a public station was down & ended up just pulling over & having it towed to another.
When the tow truck showed up (about 2 hrs later) it wouldn’t go into drive but the dashboard still fully goes on, fully lit, Bluetooth works, AC, no weird error messages, but not only that it won’t connect to the charger & the battery sign on the dashboard is lit up red. I know next to nothing about cars & don’t want to have it towed again if there’s anything I can do to override it and get it working at this charging station.
Forgot to mention I tried jumping with a portable jump box and nothing.
Any advice is appreciated
Edit: It’s a 2016 if that helps
Edit: it was the battery got it replaced and it chargers now
r/leaf • u/moshiimoshii_3 • 1d ago
I have wasted 2 visits to my local service center as they tried to address my steering wheel noises when driving under 5mph. These noises are audible when turning under 5mph. They have replaced the spiral cable and the angle sensor but it is still making noises. After my second visit to the shop they said this is normal in an EV since a ICE vehicle usually masks this noise but I don’t believe it.
Does anyone elses Leaf make this noise?
r/leaf • u/Plane-Investment-791 • 2d ago
Fort Worth, Texas — Since the start of early voting, I have driven almost 6000 miles in my new leaf and I really like it. I had an Ariya but sadly that lease was up and I needed more range. I really like my LEAF and despite what people may say, in Texas from Lubbock to Lampassas and everywhere along the way I have been able to charge although I do use my trickle charger 🔌 overnight at some hotels. I feel an all-electric future is a better future.
r/leaf • u/LetsTryAnal_ogy • 1d ago
I bought a used 2023 Leaf S in September or October of 2025. I joined this community and hung out. I participated in conversations. I posted "Zippy the Shuttlecraft" once or twice. I put my veteran, ally, and scuba diver stickers on it. It's been fun.
Then I saw the battery issues and talked with you guys about how the buybacks were going. I crossed my fingers for you guys and for myself. I worried a little if I was going to have problems, too.
I did.
My battery life dropped about 6 months ago, but it was manageable. I had to charge it almost every night, and my range dropped to about 75 miles. Then I took my kids to a concert about an hour and 20 minutes away. We quick charged once on the way up. But on the way back, the battery tanked. I had to stop three times - about every 20-25 miles or so. We limped back by 3am and about 2.5 hours of driving. :(
I took Zippy to my local Nissan dealer and they had her for about a week before finally telling me that Morley would be getting involved. Nissan even put me in a new Nissan Kicks loaner for the month or so while they had my car.
Morley was good about it. They made an offer and I accepted. They offered me more than I bought the car for, so I even made money!
I loved Zippy, so I bought another one. It's the same model, year, and even the same color. It cost me about $10,000 less than my other one and had fewer miles on it.
I'm worried about the battery, and still have anxiety of this happening again. I'm going to try to limit charging to about 80% and I'm trying to limit L3 charging. I love this car, and the price just can't be beat compared to other electric cars.
So I have another Leaf: Zippy the Shuttlecraft II. Let's hope I have a better experience with this one!
I'm digging the 2026 SV+ Leaf. Handles nicely. Feels peppy.
Good range.
Compared to the 2023 Ariya, it feels faster and more fun to drive. Has some improvements, but some parts seem cheaper. Rear hatch is tinny. Bit awkward to close the hatch. Power hatch on the Platinum might be nice.
Visibility out the back is more limited, but the cameras help a lot.
Smaller car limits space, but it handles better. Better suspension absorbs bumps better.
Charging by 120V J1776, NACS, and CSS adaptor work well.
Haven't got the MyNissan app fully connected yet.
r/leaf • u/EmployerSouthern6855 • 2d ago
Hey everyone,
So I've got a 2016 Leaf (no GPS version) and as it's been getting cold, I decided to try and use the Climate Control Timer. Unfortunately, it has been refusing to work at all.
I understand that the car must be plugged in and have sufficient battery for the timer to work. I've scheduled the timer for 6:20am so both of those are definately the case.
The car states the climate timer is on and the charging timer is off when I leave the car in the evening.
Does anyone know of any other things that could be causing the Climate Control Timer to not engage?
r/leaf • u/EVMaximizer • 3d ago
I've been test-driving quite a few different EVs lately, partly because I enjoy creating content about electric cars, but also because I'm starting to look for a possible replacement for my 2019 Nissan Leaf 40 kWh.
The funny thing is that after almost every test drive, I end up appreciating my own Leaf a little more!
Don't get me wrong. Newer EVs have plenty of advantages, whether it's longer range, faster charging, more power or newer technology. I've driven some genuinely fun and impressive cars, and there are definitely things I'd like to have in my next vehicle.
However, almost every car I've tested has had something that I didn't particularly like.
Sometimes it's the controls and user interface, sometimes it's the camera system, and sometimes it's the driver assistance features. These may seem like minor details, but they can make a real difference when you're using a car every day.
For example, I really appreciate the camera system in my Leaf. It might not be the most modern setup anymore, but I find it genuinely useful. Some newer cars offer more advanced camera features on paper, yet I haven't always found them as convenient in practice.
I also still appreciate having physical buttons and straightforward controls. Newer cars can offer all sorts of fancy features, but that doesn't automatically make them easier or more pleasant to use.
And here's another example: my seven-year-old Leaf's ProPILOT system feels noticeably more refined to me than the adaptive cruise control in the Leapmotor B05 I recently test-drove. I was actually quite enthusiastic about that car, and it was a lot of fun to drive, but its driver assistance system was one of the things that disappointed me.
I'll publish my full review of the Leapmotor B05 sometime next week, so I'll save the rest of my thoughts for that post!
Of course, my Leaf isn't perfect either. It's a 2019 model, and EV technology has moved on considerably since then. There are plenty of newer cars that can do things my Leaf simply can't.
But I'm beginning to wonder whether replacing it would really be as much of an upgrade as I initially expected. A newer car shouldn't just be newer. It should actually improve my everyday driving experience.
Perhaps that's the biggest thing I've learned from all these test drives: I shouldn't only focus on what a potential replacement offers that my Leaf doesn't have. I should also consider all the things my current car gets right.
Has anyone else experienced this?
You start test-driving newer EVs because you're thinking about upgrading, only to discover that your current car is actually pretty good after all?
And for those who have upgraded from a 40 kWh Leaf, what did you replace it with? Did you find something that genuinely felt like an upgrade in everyday use, rather than simply a newer car?
r/leaf • u/BaturalNoobs • 2d ago
I bought a used 2019 Nissan Leaf from my father in law.
One of the keyfobs works perfectly (left in the photo). The buttons on the other keyfob (right in the photo) do not work. When I place that keyfob on the start button, it does start the car.
I put new Energizer CR 2025 batteries in both keyfobs and cleaned the contacts with contact cleaner.
I asked my father in law about it, and he said both keyfobs worked for him.
What can I try to get the buttons on this keyfob working?
r/leaf • u/Porch_Chicken • 2d ago
My kid ran over something and now the tire is totally flat. There is no spare, but it also has locking lug nuts - so has anyone had to replace a tire on this version of the car before? What do I need to get the tire off, etc? I only have a few hours available to work on it, so really hoping it is not too difficult.
