Thanks Phil etc. Apparently the non-standard size of these 12V lead batteries is very expensive. Advance Auto just charged me $269 for each battery, 2020 Bolt (Delco 9943 or H4xEV) and 2021 Tesla-Y (B24XEV), almost $600 total with tax! Amazon wasn't much better, about $220ea.
Lead has doubled in price in the past few years, shipping costs too (since lead is heavy and diesel is expensive). Have a renewable energy day, Mark Mark E. Hanson 184 Vista Lane Fincastle, VA 24090 540-473-1248 phone & FAX, 540-816-0812 cell REEVA: community service RE & EV project club Website: www.REEVAdiy.org (See Project Gallery) UL Certified PV Installer My RE&EV Circuits: www.EVDL.org/lib/mh REEVA Demo: http://youtu.be/4kqWn2H-rA0 Fincastle Solar Weather Station Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2025 10:50:08 -0700 From: "(-Phil-)" <[email protected]> To: Electric Vehicle Discussion List <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [EVDL] Changing 12V Aux batteries in EVs intervals Message-ID: <CAHenfdp_A19ttosPkeQer2iFhB8EdZM45dzigez9KDZs6=y...@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" 4 years is about the expected lifetime on average. The big problem with EV 12v batteries is unless they have a system to detect low capacity, one day you are just stuck, and usually in a bad time/place in the middle of bad weather. On ICE cars you get a warning when it starts to crank slow, no such warning on an EV, so it's up to internal metrology, or it's just dead one morning. I'd say once it gets past the 4 year mark, it's worth replacing just for peace of mind unless you have a way to test it. (Such as what Teslas do) On Tue, Jul 29, 2025 at 10:45?AM Jay Summet via EV <[email protected]> wrote: > Our leaf is a daily driver in Florida so 80-90 degree weather in the > summer. You can see a photo of the failed battery here: > > > https://www.summet.com/blog/2019/05/03/nissan-leaf-12-volt-accessory-b > attery-replacement/ > > It had blue crystals forming around the top of one of the terminals, > so was definitely outguessing / leaking under pressure. > > Jay > > On 7/29/25 13:27, Lee Hart via EV wrote: > >> I would not be surprised if it is almost dead. 5 years appears to > >> be about the standard runtime for most car accessory batteries. > >> [I've had the one in my Leaf and a Nissan Altima both die around > >> that timeframe..] > > > > > > Interesting. Maybe it has something to do with the quality of the > battery, the climate where you live, or how often you use the vehicle? > > > > Our 2013 Leaf and 2014 Prius Plug-in still have their original 12v > batteries. The original 12v battery in our 2001 Prius didn't get > replaced until 2012, and the replacement is still working. My 2010 > Chevy Colorado pickup had the battery replaced in 2018, and is still > running on the replacement. > > > > The Leaf is a daily driver. The two Prius aren't driven often, but > > both > have roughly 1 foot square PV panels to charge them so the battery > doesn't go dead from sitting. Since the pickup is rarely driven, I > have a Battery Tender on it to keep it charged. > > _______________________________________________ Address messages to [email protected] No other addresses in TO and CC fields HELP: http://www.evdl.org/help/
