- The battery from the second-gen Nissan Leaf fits almost perfectly in the first-gen model.
- With double the capacity, the old Leaf EV can go over 200 miles on a full charge.
- The retrofit can be done at home by any home mechanic.
The first-generation Nissan Leaf was the first proper electric car that appealed to the masses. It had a decent driving range for urban dwellers, and it was simple to maintain and run. That said, the first examples are now 15 years old, and because the Leaf’s battery pack isn’t liquid-cooled, degradation is a huge issue.
To make matters worse, the original Leaf’s biggest battery capacity was just 30 kilowatt-hours, so there wasn’t much of a buffer in there to begin with. But there’s now a solution to make the otherwise perfectly decent first-gen Leaf a modern long-range EV, thanks to a bigger battery from the second-gen model.
The best thing about the retrofit is that it can actually be done at home, on the driveway. At least, that’s what the YouTuber known as Battery Man did. No four-post lift, no fancy tools. Just a set of hydraulic jacks, a good set of jack stands, and a basic set of tools.
What’s more, the home mechanic managed to finish the whole job in just–get this–three hours. Granted, that doesn’t include some welding and painting, but even with those taken into account, it’s still mighty impressive.
So, what do you need if you want to double the range of your old Leaf? First, a 62 kWh battery from a second-generation model. Despite it being from basically a different car, it fits nicely under the old Leaf. A set of metal brackets needs to be fabricated–but it’s as easy as cutting and drilling some holes into some steel square tube–and two other brackets need to be extended with help from a welder.
A new pyro fuse, new rear springs, some bolts, an OBD reader, and a CAN bridge are also needed. The latter is a $10 piece that’s used to fool the car’s electronic brain into thinking that the new battery is actually the old one.
There’s some software coding involved for the CAN bridge, but there’s plenty of documentation for that, and it’s really easier than it seems. Anyone out there with a little bit of mechanical knowledge and some self-preservation skills could do the same swap with great results.
When it was new, the first-gen Nissan Leaf with the 30 kWh battery had an EPA range of 107 miles. With the 62 kWh battery from the second-generation model, this old Leaf showed a whopping 228 miles on the dash after a full charge.
That’s an amazing achievement, especially considering the costs involved. A used Leaf can be had for around $4,000, while a 62 kWh pack from the second-generation model goes for anywhere between $5,000 and $10,000. If you’re lucky, though, you could source a good battery from a wrecked car for even less.
This, then, is probably the future of the home mechanic. For decades, enthusiasts have swapped engines and transmissions on their driveways–now, it’s time for EV batteries to get some attention.