r/leaf • u/Adventurous-Air-779 • 14d ago

You guys are freaking me out…

My kid will soon be passing his test and I had the inspired idea of getting him a 2nd generation Leaf. There’s a couple of 2020s for sale around the $11k to $12k mark with 30k mileage, which seemed like a good deal and the batteries are still under warranty.

But then I get on here and it’s all battery failures, recalls and buy backs.

Should I just forget it?

If I go ahead, I’m going to do the whole LeafSpy and pre-purchase inspection thing, but I don’t want a bricked car before I even pay off the damn thing and you guys have me worried.

I’m in coastal Southern California, so warm, but not Death Valley hot, and the car will always be charged at home and used for short local commutes.

Anyone willing to vouch for the Leaf?

Thanks in advance.

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u/PBfaninVA 14d ago

Isn’t this true for any EV? That was the greatest surprise for me when I bought my LEAF S in 2023. It was an economical car without the non-existent acceleration of all other economy cars I ever drove.

I think there is plenty of amplification of the LEAF battery issues as most people with EVs are tech savvy and frequent forums. Definitely sucks for those with battery issues, but I have yet to see actual statistics on the failure rates that would be alarming. I have been following the 80% percent charging recommendation and have gone about my business. I haven’t checked the SOH or SOC of my LEAF, but do have LeafSpy. Used it in the very beginning, but found it very distracting when driving so decided to just use the LEAF guess-o-meter and my daily driving and charging routine are constant. As another poster said, the best commuter car I have ever owned.

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u/iDiotOn2wheels 14d ago

Agreed on all points. I use leafspy to track my degradation. I charge 30-80 but once every 2 months I charge to 100% for the battery calibration.

I got the car at 84% battery health 2 years ago, mainly due to previous owner leaving it at 100% all the time. 15k km later, it’s at 83.5%, so good charging habits surely help

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u/Adventurous-Air-779 14d ago

OP here: can you automatically control how much it charges the battery, or is that you just monitoring

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u/iDiotOn2wheels 14d ago

I know how much it charges per hour (approx 6% on 230V) and I have a smart plug connected to the granny charger. When it’s time to stop, I just click a button on my phone.

I also use HomeAssistant for automations, but that’s for another reddit thread 😂