Which Leaf do you have?
| Traction battery | Cooling | |
|---|---|---|
| First generation (ZE0) | 192 lithium-ion cells | Passive air cooling |
| Second generation (ZE1) | 40 kWh | Passive air cooling |
| Second generation e+ (from 2019) | 62 kWh | Passive air cooling |
| Third generation (ZE2) | 52 kWh or 75 kWh | Active liquid cooling, a first for the Leaf |
Why the cooling matters
All lithium-ion batteries lose capacity with age and use, and heat is hard on them. Older Leafs have no liquid cooling for the pack, so how a car has lived matters. Think about where it's parked, how often it's been fast charged, and how many years it's been on the road.
That's why two Leafs of the same year can have very different range. Trust a test on the actual car over the odometer or the seller's word.
What to do before you replace a Leaf battery
Rule out the 12-volt
If the car is dead, slow to wake or throwing odd messages, have the small battery tested first. It's the quick, simple possibility, and it gets missed.
Get a health test on the big battery
Ask a mechanic who works on electric cars to read the battery's condition with a scan tool and put the result in writing, with the car's age and kilometres beside it.
Read the warranty booklet
The traction battery has its own terms, separate from the rest of the car. Check them for your year, and ask Nissan in writing if they're unclear.
Ask about every option
A written estimate should say whether the pack would be new, used or rebuilt, what warranty comes with it, and what the mechanic would test afterwards.
Servicing a Leaf
An electric car has no oil to change, but it still needs looking after. CarsGuide's 2025 schedule lists the Leaf at 12 months or 20,000 km. Tyres, brakes, suspension, the cabin filter and the small 12-volt battery all get checked. Regenerative braking (the motor slowing the car and recharging the battery) doesn't mean the brakes can be ignored.
Fast charging is worth raising too. Second-generation Leafs use a CHAdeMO plug, at 50 kW, or up to 100 kW on the e+, so a charging fault may be the car or the charger. Note where it happened and what the screen said.
Tell us it's a Leaf, the year, and whether it won't go or just won't go far. A local mechanic who specialises in your car.
Safe for you, and not
You can
- Note the range you're getting and the conditions.
- Photograph any warning message.
- Find your service book and warranty booklet.
- Check tyre pressures on cold tyres.
Leave to the mechanic
- Anything touching the orange high-voltage cables or the traction battery.
- Testing the battery's condition.
- Replacing or jump-starting a dead 12-volt if you're unsure how.
Our take on a tired Leaf
Don't price a new pack until you've got a written health result in your hand. Plenty of Leaf owners can live with less range than the car started with, so work out what your week actually needs. If you're buying one used, make the battery test a condition of the sale and walk away if the seller says no.