The car won't charge, due to a damaged on-board charger (OBC). According to my research, this is a very common problem with Leaf's and consequently, e.g. the OBC's are very sought after in salvage yards and often they are sold out. A new unit would cost about 2700 EURO in europe and around $1500-$1800 in USA. Since it is a complicated device, there is no aftermarket alternative, other than what Nissan sells and therefore the price is high.

On the other hand, it is made of components with limited life, such as high power diodes and capacitors that eventually (within 5-10 years of use) die out. Nissan seems indifferent to the suffering of the car buyers and only offers replacements at a price of 2-3 65" LCD TVs. Obviously similar problem that renders the power plant of a regular car is rare (and predictable/avoidable with good maintenance). BTW... I have tried simple fixes (such as using a new 12 V battery, adding an external diode or diode replacement, and problem is still there.)

So far I was a very happy EV owner, now I reconsider it a risky and expensive experiment.

I bought the Leaf 6 months ago. Everything was good, except the capacity. They have for 11-12 years problem with chemistry, so they degrade very quickly. I lost 7% of SOH for 6 months.

But the problem began when it just stopped to charge. I looked on forums and everywhere and found that it is the common problem for 2011-2012, in older models, they fixed it. I tried to figure it out, had no success. I went to the Nissan dealership. They tried for four days. The serviceman said, maybe it is because of the battery, and for checking it out they have to order the new battery. BUT in spite of it has the warranty on batteries for 100k miles and 8 years they refused to do it with warranty. The serviceman proposed to me buy all the parts they need just to try if it fixes the problem. The price was 12k for a new battery, 2 000 for an onboard charger and 700 for cable with connectors.

So I just sold it to someone on eBay for 2,000 and bought the gasoline car. We are not ready yet for EV. Please, don't repeat my mistake! Don't buy Leaf 2012!