How much is a battery for a 2013 Nissan Leaf?

• by Bob Aldons
• | October 4, 2019
• | Electric Vehicles, LATEST REVIEWS, Nissan
• | 60 Comments

Never Let the Truth Get in the Way of a Good Story – Nissan Leaf Battery

‘Auto Expert’ John Cadogan recently published a story regarding a Nissan Leaf Battery cost for a 2012 Nissan Leaf ZEO

In the article, owner Phillip Carlson complained to Cadogan that he’d been quoted $33,000 for a new battery for his car. And if that had been correct, the matter would have been serious.

The TRUTH is that Nissan has a battery exchange program for the series 1 Leaf and that change-over plan is $9900 plus fitting at any Nissan dealership. (With some conditions below)

Changeover takes about 4 hours so the owner should have expected an all-up price of around $10,500

Whilst Cadogan showed the quotation from Lennock Motors, it seems that whoever from Lennock quoted the job wasn’t aware of the exchange program. And that’s not a good thing.

However, when Nissan Australia got involved, the exchange program, available to any Nissan Leaf owners sanity returned to the discussion.

As part of my business, I have an advocacy program for customers who feel they’ve been wronged by the manufacturer. I’ve assisted a lot of car owners to claim against manufacturers, and be able to resolve their concerns equitably.

Only after, would I ever consider lambasting a carmaker, and then only if they’ve wanted to argue the point of Australian Consumer Law and had taken too long.

With Phillip, it would have been 1 call and it would have been fixed.

Here’s the press release from the publicity department of Nissan Australia about the Nissan Leaf battery matter.

“The Nissan LEAF is the world’s best-selling mass-market electric vehicle, with over 430,000 vehicles sold worldwide.

 The first generation LEAF with a 24kWh battery was sold in Australia between 2012 to 2016.  The manufacturer’s warranty for this vehicle was 3 years/100,000km and the battery warranty was 5 years/100,000kms.  There have been an extremely low number of warranty claims.

 Beyond the manufacturer’s warranty period, Nissan has introduced a subsidised battery exchange program for vehicles sold by its Australian dealers.  Nissan Australia will exchange a working 24kWh battery, with a state of health of 8 bars or less, with a new 24kWh battery for $9,990 plus the cost of fitment. 

The new Nissan LEAF, which was launched in Australia this year, has a larger 40kWh battery and is covered by an 8 year/160,000km battery warranty.

 In addition to customer’s rights under Nissan’s New Vehicle Warranty, all vehicles also come with guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law. Nissan is fully aware of its obligations under the Australian Consumer Law and is committed to treating our customers in full compliance with the law. For more information in relation to our New Vehicle Warranty and consumer guarantees, please visit: www.nissan.com.au/warranty  

Nissan Australia has contacted Mr Carlson and is working directly with him to address his concerns.”

Nissan Leaf Plus – First Look      WILL I VOID MY NEW CAR WARRANTY IF I USE AN INDEPENDENT WORKSHOP?

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60 thoughts on “Nissan Leaf Battery Cost – The Truth, Not Fiction”

1. The fact of the matter is that the car is not of durable quality and not fit for the purpose I bought it for. I was aware of the $9990 ( really comes to $14,000 after installation) but I still refuse this because the new battery will just fail like this one. I will accept a free battery replacement or a full refund

   1. Not sure who’s charging $4,000 for installation. Nissan advise that it takes 4-5 hours to swap. As to replacement or refund, did you really expect the battery to last forever?
      That doesn’t seem fair and reasonable to me

      1. Hi Bob. I bought an Nissan eNV200 6 months ago from Goodcar.co and just love it, what a change from my old car, a 1979 Toyota troop carrier! The van is built in 2016 with a 24kw battery, with a range of 100km, great around town (Hobart), but I thought I should find out how to upgrade the battery to a 40kw unit. Being a grey import that is not sold in Australia, Nissan is seemingly not interested supplying parts at all! I went to the spare parts section and asked about the price of a 40kw battery, but was told they couldn’t do it, go to the service section, where they told me they couldn’t sell me a battery, they had to install it, but they don’t have a mechanic that is qualified to do it! I said I just wanted a rough price, so they said go back to parts and ask them again, which I did. They took my name and ph number, but after a month I called in and asked if there was any news, and yes, they gave me a quote for $48.000.00 for supplying a 40kw battery ! As I was expecting about $15-20,000 tops, being stunned is an understatement. Luckily my battery is at 81% so should still have a few years to go and by then the market might have settled down a bit. I don’t understand the talk about scrapping a car, just because the battery is failing. Put in a new battery, the rest of the car is great!
         Of course it should be at a reasonable price!
         Happy ev-ing!
         Jorgen

         1. I feel your pain. Unfortunately, buying overseas imports is a minefield that is very difficult to navigate. I can’t really provide any guidance other than to keep an eye out for start up companies that can changeover batteries. They are overseas, but the volume of cars in Australia isn’t large enough to justify as yet

   2. I have a 2012 build leaf bought from a nissan desler new in 2015 ..It now has 33000klm and only 8 bars . Nissan have not been helpfull .
      It is now down to 90klms range only .
      My wife loves driving the leaf but we need to get better range. I will approach Nissan again with a claim!!
      I have a model 3 Tesla and it is the benchmark for other evs ..base model gives me a realistic 315klm range fully loaded at highway speeds.

      1. I did some homework for another Leaf owner recently. if its an Australian sold vehicle the cost of replacement is $14,000 from a Nissan dealer. There’s a warranty scheme available
         Currently only 1 dealer can do this – Berwick Nissan. Call Nick Strauss – his number is 0419 566 510
         Good luck

2. $10k or $33k. Doesn’t matter that the end result is big bill and some more landfill.

   1. Cameron, EV manufacturers don’t drop their ‘old’ batteries in landfill. Most are recycled to 3rd world countries where they will last a very long time and used to power lights, appliances in homes. Just because the old batteries won’t work in EV’s doesn’t mean to say they’re trashed.

      1. Actually read only 5% of EV batteries are recycled/repurposed. Got a source on your *most of* claim?

         1. Got a source on *any* of your claim?

            1. I do but please note the AGE of the post you’re questioning. Current information is far from the same

   2. 1. On that basis of 8 to 10 years petrol free driving you would break about even with running costs of the early model Leaf if you had to pay $14,000 to have a new battery fitted. Also you would be behind around $10,000 with the Leaf initial price compared to the equivalent petrol model of the day.
         Thank god modern EV’s have more range and more reliable batteries. In some cases they say they will last a million km.

3. My 2012 Nissan Leaf is down to 9 out of its 12 bars with just over 50K on the clock. Roughly 75% capacity. At 8 bars I will replace the battery. The car has cost me next to nothing to run as it is mainly charged on domestic solar so the cost of $10,500 to get a new battery doesn’t phase me. 8 bars is around 66% capacity or 16 kwH. That would make a damn fine domestic storage battery. Point is these batteries have a long life after their use in the car. I would love to upgrade to a 30 or even 40kwH pack, but at the moment NZ seems to be the only place smart enough to do these upgrades. Almost tempted to put my car on a boat and ship it to EV Enhanced in Christchurch.

   1. You’re smart to be considering whole of life expense. Well done

   2. Graham, $10k for 50k.
      My Audi A4 2.0tdi gets around 800km from a tank full and costs around $60 to fill. $3750 and I do not have to worry about my next 2 hourly stop on my next country trip!!! Also, my cost of fuel includes huge taxes (excise ect)
      Russell

   3. Hi Graham, Did you have to swap the battery yet, and can you get it done anywhere in Australia? What if the car is a “gray” import, like many appear to be in Oz? Thanks

      1. Hi Bruce. It has been a long time since I have posted here. We still have our 2012 Nissan Leaf and although it is down to 8 bars and 66% SoH we have not yet swapped the battery. It is still good for 80 to 90 kms around town and gets us between the ACT and Queanbeyan with no hassle. We now have a Tesla M3 LR for long trips and of course that is a huge step up from the Leaf. The Leaf is still great and we will hang on to it until an affordable battery upgrade becomes available. There are three Australian companies in the business at the moment, and we have a local installer here who is seriously looking at developments in Christchurch where they are looking at supplying upgraded 40 and possibly 62 kWh packs with thermal management. They intend to provide these as kits for local installers. This is very exciting news.

4. I was told when I bought the car that the battery would outlast the vehicle. I was also told to expect 1 percent degradation per year. Using that math, after 10 years the battery would be 90 percent good still. This was the basis for the sales man’s claim. Now 4 years on 100 000 kms later and my battery is below 66 percent. The cars range is severely limited. If they had told me that after 100 000 kms I would have to spend over 10 grand on the vehicle, I wouldn’t have bought it. I’m only 2,000 km out of warranty, so borderline.
   Finally, I would happily pay 5000 to get a new better battery without the heat issue and I would also pay an extra 1000 to keep the old one for home storage. 10,000 is a bit steep considering under Australian consumer law it has to perform as the sales person depicts.

   1. David
      If I was you, I’d immediately take this up with the dealer. Unless the salesperson is still at the dealership, I’d write to the dealer principal setting out what you were told and your expectations. If you don’t get any satisfaction with the dealer, then get in touch with the manufacturer via their customer assistance centre.
      If that doesn’t achieve it for you, then it’s off to your states Consumer Administrative Tribunal. Irrespective of what the salesperson advised, 4 years /100,000k is well inside what a fair and reasonable person would expect to get from a battery set. You have a case for compensation. I have NEVER heard of such a low return for an EV (or Hybrid) battery pack

5. Mr Car Guy you are wrong. The original Nissan Leaf had a battery system which was not suitable for hot climates as it did not have a temperature control system. I understand that the new Leaf does have a battery temperature control system. This was a fault which is well known around the world and which makes the original Leaf faulty under Australian Consumer law. No wonder the Leaf is so unpopular in Australia ( I notice Nissan quote world wide figures not Australian figures). No one would shell out over $50k for a car to require a new battery at $30k after a few years. Furthermore I understand that the quote referred to was issued before the battery exchange program came into being.

   I am afraid you have fallen for the Nissan spin on this one Mr Car Guy. For the avoidance of doubt I do not own an electric car of any description and I have no connect with Carlson in any way. I am an engineer who just hates seeing people get ripped off, and seeing the electric car revolution get damaged in this way.

   Shame on you Nissan.

   1. $10,500 not $30,000, learn to read.

6. Hi Bob
   I think nissan are not being completely up front about the ‘elegibility criteria’, I just got this response from Nissan after forwarding the link to this article:

   Dear Justin,

   Nissan Reference: 1219892
   Vehicle Details: 2013 Nissan LEAF

   Thank you for taking the time to contact Nissan Motor Co. (Australia) in relation to the replacement battery on your Nissan LEAF.

   Please note the link you have found does not mean that a new battery will be supplied at this cost.

   The vehicle will be required to be booked in and diagnosed at a Nissan dealer. If a manufacturing fault is found the dealership can submit a request and we will review assistance with the battery cost. Leaving this amount to $9,990. This is for manufacturing faults only and does not include the fitment.

   Regards,
   Maddie
   Customer Service Consultant – Customer Service Centre
   Nissan Motor Co. (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
   Phone: 1800 035 035

   —
   Its not completely bad, the dealer quoted: “The cost for the battery inspection is $320 and if it meets the criteria it is 4-6mths for the battery to come from japan and they are made to order.
   The cost is supplied and fitted $11690 plus the battery inspection $12010.00 inc gst”

   1. Can’t assist with this one. Sorry

7. I have a 2011 LEAF I’ve had since new. I expected since the battery is a consumable item the replacement 10 years down the track would be both higher capacity and at a reasonable price given it is still the most numerous EV on the planet.

   Unfortunately I was wrong – and it is likely that nearly all 430,000 LEAF’s will be abandoned and crushed into landfill shortly. Such a shame for an otherwise well engineered car.

   J.

   1. James
      I’m not sure where you’re located but it seems a pity. In Australia, Leaf hasn’t been around that long, so I can only hope that the matter will be resolved

      1. As a matter of principle, I think you need to express something stronger than hope!
         Some very pointed and accurate knowledge of the problem would lead an ‘expert’ to spell out Nissan’s lack of reasonably priced options for less than 10 years old cars, bought at a significant up front premium. Their ‘replacement offer’ at around $12,000, together with the very high initial premium for such Leafs, make it a very poor financial option/incentive to buy a new or used one, even with today’s better batteries.
         If Nissan really wants to get serious with their current offerings, new or used, a much more nuanced attitude and response should be expected. It seems it is time for the ACCC to have a good look at these matters – they also are relevant to other battery electric manufacturers.

      2. A huge amount of pressure needs to be applied to Nissan to make them offer a better solution

         1. Hans
            At this point in the EV life cycle, I disagree with you. The actual price is circa $14,000 and yes indeed that’s a lot. The battery is around $12,000 plus labour of $2,000. Will battery prices come down? Undoubtedly. When? That’s the $14,000 question

            1. Just had the hybrid battery pack fail on our 2005 Prius. Car built may 2005, battery failed February 2021, neatly 16 years old! Cost to replace with new battery pack including labour from our local Toyota dealer in Adelaide – $3224. Makes the Leaf pricing look terrible!!!

            2. Hi Darryl
               There’s a major difference between a hybrid battery for a Toyota and a full EV battery system.
               Nonetheless, the price Nissan is charging for their battery pack is ludicrous. But that’s what manufacturers appear to do until there’s an alternative. Watch this space as I bring you more information on an aftermarket supplies

   2. I was reading some articles that came out of NZ of people who had built and fitted battery systems for Nissan Leaf cars and were offering to replace and upgrade batteries. Sorry I dont have any links as it was over 6 months ago and although it was an interesting article I dont own a Leaf.
      I would start by googling for NZ Nissan Leaf Battery modifications or upgrades. (I think one of the articles was a YouTube clip

      1. Hi Laurens, if you havent already, check out EVs Enhanced in Christchurch NZ

8. This is a classic example of why TESLA will dominate the E.V market

   With other Brands of E.V your dealing with dealers who (based on this story as a factual example) don’t have a clue about what they are servicing. And this includes procedures, warranties, recalls etc

   Consumers are too busy to “micromanage” a situation like this.
   And where would the average consumer even know where to start ?
   Many Manufacturers are not even contactable directly any more referring back to the Dealer always.

   Time researching solutions is money.
   And failure by the dealer is even more money
   This should never ever happen

   With TESLA your dealing DIRECT with the manufacturer and the way i would always go.

9. I am in a different situation. I bought a 2016 30kWh Nissan Leaf through a Melbourne importer for $30k. When I received the car was in very good condition with 12 bars but no Aussie maps but I failed to notice that LeafSpy had indicated that one of the cells (no. 23 out of about 98) had a low voltage (about 200mV low) and now quite regularly the car goes into “turtle” mode with limited power which prevents me from driving smoothly up hills or accelerating quickly. Disconnecting and reconnecting the 12 V battery resets the error message and returns power to normal but turtle mode usually returns by the next restart of the car. Nissan Australia’s service centre are looking into solutions – initially they suggested that a new battery might be required but hopefully only the cell (or the battery controller) needs replacement. The web suggests that there was a batch of faulty batteries distributed worldwide from the USA in late 2015-early 2016 and I guess my car is one that got the bad battery cells. Has anyone else had a similar problem?

   1. Hi Wayne, just curious, what ended up happening with your faulty battery pack?

10. Hello there.
    I am a happy owner of the leaf from 2016.
    Bought the car with 9 bars and brought the car to nissan when SoH was at 66%,got the battery replaced for free.
    I live in Europe and gosh ill never pay 10500$ i mean from where is this price enyway.
    The 30kwh battery with labor is 6900.
    Checks the muxsan website.
    I belive they have a few shops around the world,plus you can get battery extender in your trunk.
    Payd them 4900 for extender and now my leaf goes 347km on 1 charge.

    1. “I live in Europe” – this is the answer to all the the issues you raised. Some countries don’t have that many people to subsidise one’s EV use.

11. It would be great if the Australian Government could subsidise the battery replacement on 100% Electric Vehicles as an incentive for consumers to make the switch while also reducing CO2 emission goals. San Francisco provides similar incentives for consumers driving a Prius, and it’s effective. More people are driving them.

    1. Seriously Rachel? If the Federal Government did that who do you think should miss out? Pensioners, Single Mothers/Fathers, or perhaps let’s lift the tax rate again. If we do that everyone will pay for the pleasure of early adoption of EV’s
       The USA has a population of around 340,000,000 while we have 25 million. Battery technology is not yet available for we ‘ordinary folks’ but I’d say that within 5 years or so, it will be affordable and so will the replacement battery pack.
       The Hyundai Kona Highlander EV costs around $70,000 versus the Petrol version at $40,000. $30,000 for the luxury of a battery is way too much in my opinion.
       Like every other piece of technology, prices will come down. Heck, I paid $23,000 for my first 40″ Plasma TV back in 1983 – a 60″ LCD is now $700. Be patient – it will happen to electric cars too

       1. You are right Bob. Thank you for bringing the true out.

    2. State governments do not get any fuel tax from EV’s so want to tax them more for using the road. Why should I pay for someone’s new battery with my tax? As most EV’s are still needing more development, instead buy a Hybrid that is efficient, like most cabbies do & drastically cut pollution in the cities.

       1. Emissions from a taxi hybrid are arguably more than that from an efficient ice engine. Average private distance is 17,000 k’s per year v 200,000 k’s for a taxi. Interesting to do the maths

          1. Bob, the maths you imply here are irrelevant. Emissions matter per km, not total per year. Taxis obviously do vastly higher mileage than private vehicles do. If you are implying that ICE private vehicles have lower emississions than hybrid taxis, due to the private ICE vehicles having much lower mileage, then that is true but irrelevant. Taxis replace effectively many private vehicles so to speak. ICE vehicles still pollute far more than hybrids do per km (at least, modern ICE versus modern hybrids, modern ICE versus older hybrids maybe not, both ICE and hybrids keep improving so newer tend to be better.)

       2. Local, state and federal governments will eventually get with the plan.

12. If Nissan are charging over $12000 for new battery it should be newer technology with more capacity as the battery technology in the gen1 cars is over 10 years old now, surely they get an extra 50% capacity into the same size modules now
    Leaf owners should do a class action on Nissan
    I’ve got a 2014 leaf that’s down to 51% SOH and only 45000km, a range of 60km(according to the dashboard)

    1. Hi Mark
       I don’t disagree with your thoughts on what Nissan is charging. Outrageous! There are now aftermarket battery suppliers who are able to do a changeover for a lot less than $12k at least on Hybrids
       Not sure if they’re doing full EV’s as yet, but try Injectronics

    2. And I’d go to Nissan directly. Memory tells me that their warranty was 8-years on the battery. Good luck

       1. It’s only 8 years, 160,000km warranty for the newer 40kWh Leaf. The original 24kWh had a five year, 100,000km warranty.

13. Why would anyone by an EV when there are some excellent Hybrids on the market without the pain.

14. If the salesperson tells you that the car will do this or that eg battery performance, get it in writing and run it past the dealer to confirm. Spoken word is not worth the paper is written on ! My guess is that most second hand EVs will require a new battery sooner than later.

15. I just contacted my Nissan dealer and they stated that to qualify for the $10,000 battery swap, I have to pay $385 for them to do any analysis on the battery (my 2012 Nissan Leaf mine is at 6 bars out of 12 ), then if it qualifies, I need to purchase the battery exchange, which will take up to 6 months to come in or I could pay $30,000 for a new battery. Thanks Nissan, your support is appalling. Surely, Australian consumer affairs needs to get involved.

    1. Hi
       That sounds a bit suss to me. I’d be calling Nissan Customer Service on 1800 035 035

16. Can someone please tell me how to determine my battery’s “health”. I cannot find any indication in the car or reference in the owner’s manual. I have a new 2020 LEAF (ex demo) ZE1 with 40KWHr battery.
    John, I think the best way is to call the dealer where you purchased and enquire through them. If they don’t know, Nissan Customer Service is the next step – 1800 035 035

    1. Thank you. A nice lady on that number has promised to get back to me with an answer.

18. Hi John Hewitt

    All you need to check SOH of your Nissan Leaf is an app called LeafSpy or LeafSpyPro, and a suitable OBDII to plug into the Leaf under the dash just below the steering wheel. With this app and interface, you’ll be able to see lots of Leaf data on your Smartphone. I wouldn’t be without it. I have a 2019 (40KWH) Leaf bought in December 2019. My SOH after 25000KM is currently at 91.55%.

    Cheers John Gipps

19. Hi! Thanks for this webpage!
    I drive a 2014 Leaf SL that I bought in 2016 for $14,000 (USD) plus about $1000 in Junk fees! for 15,000 for a leaf with 23k miles on it with a monthly payment of $299.00. My gas non-ussage paid me about $325.00 for most months where the price of gas was over $2.00 a US gallon. The car is now paid for, and I collect the full amount But, Gas is now about $4.25 a gallon 3.7L. My problem is that I only get about 59 usable miles about 95km per charge. So Now I REALLY WANT AN UPGRADE! The only place I find I can just buy a battery outright is YESABattery.com HK on Alibaba they want a bit under 10,000 for a 40kWh battery plus shipping. No provision is made for installation.

    The problem is all my friends are warning me away from anything made in china. I have no idea if they have a quality product. Or if I need a Muxsan CANBus bridge to make it work.

    Has anyone ordered one of these and is it any good?

    Thanks in advance!

    Glenn N Davis

20. Good Morning,
    I writing to forum to get your advice. I’m thinking of buying a used 2013 Nissan Leaf from a dealer for 20K. However I’m not sure if its worth buying & spending 12K for replacing the battery pack. Is this a good deal, buying it from a reputable dealer in Melbourne.
    Thanks,

    Rick
    (Melbourne)

    1. Rick
       Before you assume $12k, my strongest suggestion is that you get a quote from a Nissan dealer for the battery change over. You haven’t told me whether it’s an Australian compliance car or import, nor the odometer reading. Do you know what the state of charge is?
       If I add up the $20k plus $14k for the battery and then compare it against a new car (circa $52k) it looks expensive for a 9-year-old Leaf

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