Nissan Leaf 2022 - general maintenance

This article shows tips for maintenance of various car parts: replacing windshield wipers, spare lug nuts, how to jack the car, etc.

Spare wheel lug nuts

TODO revisit. Leaf 2022 uses 21-socket-size nuts, but no idea otherwise.

Nissan Leaf 2015 uses M12 1,25 lug nuts; you can buy spare for example from Biltema: Wheel Nut Kit M12 x 1,25, 35mm, Art. 33-3305.

Tightening the lug nuts

The tightening torque is 108 NM; I recommend getting a proper torque spanner such as Momenttiavain 40-210 NM. The socket size is 21”.

Jacking

Nissan Leaf’s underbody is not flat but instead there is a pinch rail or a pinch weld; this nissan leaf jack video contains more information.

What’s totally weird is that I’ve failed to buy pinch rail jack adapter in Finland. The Nissan dealership, Motonet and also Fixus simply told me that it’s not being sold in Finland, and that I should simply jack the car and risk twisting of the pinch rail. Probably everyone simply uses a hockey puck or similar. The best thing might be to order a pinch rail jack adapter from AliExpress or Amazon and have it delivered to Finland, but that could be rather expensive.

I tried to order something from AliExpress, but the rubber is not strong enough: it twists and bends almost to the point of the car falling off the jack stand.

I ultimately purchased Biltema’s Jack Pad and a couple of hockey pucks - looks to be working the best.

Tyres

P205/55 R16

Windshield wiper replacement

I’ve discovered the wiper exact part types via Bosch Wiper Blade finder which will find AR26U and AR16U exactly as above. You need to put Nissan Leaf 2018.

  • The AR stands for “AEROTWIN Upgrade” whatever that is,
  • The U stands probably for Hybrid, or god knows what.

12V battery

Check out this youtube video on replacing the 12v battery in nissan leaf 2014, and also Why 12-Volt Batteries in Electric Cars Get Sick.

Nissan Leaf 2022 battery group is 12V - L1 50Ah 420A (EN) MF; the dimensions should be 204 x 170 x 190 mm; the terminal connector diameter is 17mm. Make sure to pay attention to R which says that the positive terminal is to the right. (measured on my leaf: W=170mm, L=204mm, H=190mm, height including the terminal connectors = 190mm).

In Finland here are proper replacements for the battery:

I have no first-hand experience with a replacement yet.

12V Battery Charging

The following applies to Leaf 2014 only; I have no idea whether this applies still to Leaf 2022. I’ll update when I figure this out.

Beware: Nissan Leaf only charges its 12V battery when:

  • It’s powered on and there’s 14V coming from the traction battery,
  • Or when the traction battery is being charged.

Therefore, the 12V battery will NOT be charged when Leaf is:

  • powered off with charging cable unplugged, or
  • Leaf is done charging and is not charging anymore (e.g. after it charged its main traction battery to 100%)

Therefore, when you leave your Leaf charging for a month in a cold weather, it’s possible to find the car with a dead 12V battery even though Leaf was connected to the charger for the whole time.

Dimensions

  • Length: 4479 mm
  • Width: 1790 mm
  • Height: 1535 mm (with 16” wheels)
  • Wheelbase: 2700 mm
  • Ground clearance: 150 mm

Spare air cabin filter

Dimensions: 260mm x 150mm x 25mm; Suodatin or Raitisilmasuodatin

E.g. CORTECO 80001720 or BOSCH 1 987 432 267.

There are lots of video guides on YouTube, I like this Replacement video guide on Youtube.

The filter cover is quite difficult to open, but even more difficult to close. Make sure to close the top hinge first and make sure it’s not moving before snapping the lower hinge inplace. The upper hinge tip needs to go under a part that holds it in place. I broke mine trying to close the damn thing - if you do, just order a spare part 92419-3SG0A on AliExpress (or here). The original car part number is 27276-1FC0A.

When installing the filter, the air flow goes from the front of the vehicle towards the back. Make sure the air flow arrow points towards the cabin and towards the seats.

Leaf Flaws

Fatal flaw preventing any long-distance travels: Leaf doesn’t have active cooling of its battery; fast-charging 2 or more times per day makes the the battery critically warm. Slow-charging via the Type 1 AC connector is okay.

Another flaw is that the water from the windshield drains onto a suspension strut, causing it to rust. I tried ordering Front Suspension Strut Top Mount Cover for Nissan Leaf ZE0 - even though it’s intended for the older generation of Leafs, hopefully it will match the new ones as well. I’ll let you know.

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Written on July 11, 2024