2016 Leaf Question - EVSE?

[Skotty]

I've got a family member getting a used 2016 Nissan Leaf SV. A quick couple of questions for anyone that can answer. Did the 2016 Leaf come with a portable EVSE? What types of plugs could it plug into? And how was it packaged -- did it have a dedicated spot in the car somewhere, or did it just have a bag or something? Just trying to figure out what the Leaf should have with it.

Thanks!

 

[jkoya]

We had a 2012 Leaf, but I'm pretty sure they all came with a portable 110/120V charge cable (EVSE) from the factory. The case was similar to the Tesla one in materials, but styled more like a backpack. It was just stored in the trunk area. Some dealers did sell upgraded 240V ones in their parts department. When the Leaf first came out, there was a person who modified them with your own cable. Later, the Nissan dealers just started selling them.

Hopefully a 2016 Leaf owner can correct anything I may have gotten wrong.

 

[Skotty]

We had a 2012 Leaf, but I'm pretty sure they all came with a portable 110/120V charge cable (EVSE) from the factory. The case was similar to the Tesla one in materials, but styled more like a backpack. It was just stored in the trunk area. Some dealers did sell upgraded 240V ones in their parts department. When the Leaf first came out, there was a person who modified them with your own cable. Later, the Nissan dealers just started selling them.

Hopefully a 2016 Leaf owner can correct anything I may have gotten wrong.

Thank you! The dealer couldn't find the EVSE for it at first, and then I think they just gave us a new one. Wasn't sure if it was really supposed to have one or not.

 

[jkoya]

Thank you! The dealer couldn't find the EVSE for it at first, and then I think they just gave us a new one. Wasn't sure if it was really supposed to have one or not.

Glad they gave you a new one ! The Leaf has no thermal management for the battery and requires air movement while diving to cool them. Parking the car on hot pavement for long periods of time is what killed our battery. There was a class action law suit against Nissan for battery capacity loss due to heat. If you dropped 4 range bars by a certain date (this was years ago now), they replaced the batteries. Unfortunately, we missed that cutoff date by a few months. Other than the battery, the Leaf was an extremely reliable car. My wife still misses her Leaf.

 

[Lozza12]

Glad they gave you a new one ! The Leaf has no thermal management for the battery and requires air movement while diving to cool them. Parking the car on hot pavement for long periods of time is what killed our battery. There was a class action law suit against Nissan for battery capacity loss due to heat. If you dropped 4 range bars by a certain date (this was years ago now), they replaced the batteries. Unfortunately, we missed that cutoff date by a few months. Other than the battery, the Leaf was an extremely reliable car. My wife still misses her Leaf.

While diving? Dang you got one of those submersible Leafs?

Yes I confirm it should come with a mobile charging cable.

General rule - don’t fast charge 5 times in a row on a single trip as this begins to overheat the battery. Other than that if you live in a temperate climate just enjoy the car - it’s a great urban runabout.

 

[jkoya]

While diving? Dang you got one of those submersible Leafs?

Haha - Yup, it was made by the people who built the Lotus Esprit James Bond car .....

I guess spell check doesn't catch the wrong word when it's spelled right. Seriously though, I never learned how to type ! Thanks !

 

[ewoodrick]

Glad they gave you a new one ! The Leaf has no thermal management for the battery and requires air movement while diving to cool them. Parking the car on hot pavement for long periods of time is what killed our battery. There was a class action law suit against Nissan for battery capacity loss due to heat. If you dropped 4 range bars by a certain date (this was years ago now), they replaced the batteries. Unfortunately, we missed that cutoff date by a few months. Other than the battery, the Leaf was an extremely reliable car. My wife still misses her Leaf.

And just like Tesla, cars built before 2015 has some issues, but most batteries built since then, Tesla and Leaf and been well performing.
I had a 2015 Leaf and after 4 yers, 97% battery state. As usual, a one vlogger and a few issues in one part of the country make i relatively isolated sitations a huge problem that will follow a product for their entire lives.

The "air-cooled" batteries work great. They don't have the no-regen issues that Tesla does. They also work great in the summer.

 

[Skotty]

I had to do some hunting around to see how to handle charging. Was wondering if it was advisable to only charge to 80% or 90%. It seems since about 2014 or so there is no option to charge to less than 100% without using timing to unplug it before it's fully charged. I guess Nissan considers 100% charge ok, and maybe it's not really a full 100%. Dunno.

If anyone has a factory cargo cover that can fit a 2016 model I might be interested.

Pretty nice car anyway. Could use a little bit more power and I was never a fan of the bug eyes, but otherwise it seems like a solid car...less "iffy" than some of the other EV options that are out there when shopping for inexpensive EV transport.

 

[swaltner]

I had a 2013 Leaf SV, which did have the 80% charge mode. I would charge to 80% during the Spring through Fall, but set it to charge to 100% when the temps were at or below freezing. The 80% charging would start immediately, where the 100% charging was set to complete right as I was leaving for work in the morning.

For a newer Leaf without the 80% charging mode, I wouldn't mess with pulling the cable to keep it from fully charging (too much of a hassle), but would use the charging timer to have the vehicle charge right before you will use it in the morning. If you're going to leave for work at 7:30 AM, set the charging timer to finish charging at 8:30 AM (the last few percent take a LONG time to complete). That way, the vehicle is charged fully, but not sitting at 100% for too long. Use the charging timer disable switch to the left of the steering wheel to immediately charge if you ever need to head back out. If you don't normally drive on certain days (the weekend for example), just disable the charging timer completely on those days and the vehicle won't charge at all.