We Left Our Nissan Leaf Out in the Cold for 2 Weeks. What Happened?

I love my Nissan Leaf 🍀 . It is wonderful, built for storms , handles high water on flooded roads , don't listen to anyone trying to talk you out of buying electric ! It is a great in town car and costs nothing to own it , because it is giving back to you on a daily basis. 0.00 cost especially used ones.

Wow! Thanks for the extremely detailed and very informative video. I just bought the 2018 Leaf and love it for getting to work and school. I knew from the beginning that it wasn't a trip car because of the 150 miles range and the lack of a battery cooler while charging. Otherwise for driving around town it is just a good as a Tesla for 1/2 the price.

This test was encouraging. My suspicion is that 49% remained 49% because, while it did get quite cold at nights (only a few tho) it warmed up considerably through the day. Probably not cold enough for long enough to trigger Nissan's algorithm thresholds for battery heating. Probably had its attention though a few times. A Leaf in a knowledgeable owner's hands, who reads the owner's manual and other sources of info stands a good chance of not disappointing its owner. For example, not making the assumption of charging it right up before the vacation, mistakingly thinking a full charge offers better freeze protection (which, technically it might but isn't necessary due to its ability to heat itself) but to the battery's longevity detriment leaving it at 100%. I still encounter people that don't know this. They are still not used to understanding that EV batteries operate under different rules than lead acid. Speaking of which, the working 12 volt battery probably is lead acid, or...no.. it's probably glass mat? I wonder the best state to leave a glass mat battery in when it's not going to be used for awhile in the cold. My guess is fully charged. Having a trickle charger hooked up certainly with lead acid if not glass mat too is a good idea for periods of non-use, especially for 2+ weeks. But there is another Leaf strength... I don't think they have excessive parasitic draw when car is shut down. And the fact the high voltage battery seemingly didn't lose enough to make the gauge move off 49% suggests it isn't used to keep the 12 v topped up, but this is something I still don't know about Leafs. Anyway great test. Looked like your vacation allowed you guys to thaw out a bit. It'll certainly shorten winter a bit.👍🙏

Great video, if there is no problem with the leaf in the cold there certainly be no problem with other evs.

Fantastic. No phantom drain like Tesla.

Good to hear and see. I always liked the Leaf, and the main thing I liked about it was, that it's a good car first and foremost, and it's also en EV, just like the Ariya. Nissan had that one right from the beginning.

After leaving that vehicle in the cold for two weeks, I’d expect someone to turn over a new leaf 😜

I left my 2022 Nissan leaf SV plus for six weeks last winter in the Seattle area in our garage at 60% came back, It was at 58%. Are you sure it has a battery heater I didn’t think so when I look through my manual. This is a very underrated car.

If the -19 C was for wind chill, that doesn't translate to the actual temperature. Nissan's caution applies to the actual temperature. Also bear in mind that the battery is quite massive and would have to "soak" in cold temperatures for a long before it actually approached the ambient temperature. If you do a similar experiment in the future, change the dash display to show the battery temperature before you start driving and it will give you an idea of how that has ended up.

This video shows why the Leaf still outsells Tesla in Norway and Sweden. It's actually a good cold weather car. Although in extreme cold I would not keep any electric (and very few ICE) cars outside. I have been told that in Iceland some people have wrapped the belly of their cars with an electric blanket. I'm guessing that trick would work for any car and electricity is cheap in Iceland. But that might be just an urban legend. That might be something a YouTuber could test.

That's a cute and funny title to your channel.

i would recommend charging it to 100% and letting the BMS level out the battery and relearn its limits after leaving it standing for an extended period of time. but yeah, i suspected noting is gonna happen and nothing happened.

I wonder what's the best strategy for long term Leaf storage? Could I leave it at the summer cabin over winter and find it still functional? Should I leave the 12V battery on a "tender" to prevent parasitic draw on the main battery?

I'd like to see the same experiment when the HIGH for the day is -25C and the lows at night are -40 like they are in Manitoba or Saskatchewan for weeks in January/February

In the manual to our 2014 Leaf it says it will be ok for 3 months without charging.

The problem with cold is losing 12V battery. It powers the computer which manages the operation of the lithium battery heater. In the case of my 2015 Leaf, if it is not connected to the charging station, it will not last more than a week. Without the charging station, it seems that the software does not provide (complete) recharging of the 12V battery via the lithium battery. Only a few minutes per period. Which is insufficient in my opinion.

Leafvlooks a great car, what year is this model?

Hi i want to buy a leaf but because i afraid the chademo ,i read that will dissapear,i need your opinion is possible for the next years to have this car for travels or no? Unfortunately i can't afford to change cars every 5 years. Thank you for your help

How many km can you drive with the Leaf?

If you lived 100 miles from an airport, drove from home to long-term parking in the open in winter, went away for 2 weeks holiday, would an EV still have enough charge to get you home when you return?