This YouTuber doubled his Nissan Leaf’s range with a DIY battery swap

YouTuber Battery Man successfully upgraded a first-generation Nissan Leaf by swapping its original 30 kWh battery with a larger 62 kWh battery from a second-generation model. This DIY retrofit more than doubled the car’s range from 107 miles (172 km) to 228 miles (366 km) on a full charge. The process took about three hours using basic home tools such as hydraulic jacks, jack stands, and a welder for minor fabrication, including creating metal brackets and extending existing ones to fit the bigger battery. In addition to the battery swap, Battery Man installed new rear springs, bolts, a pyro fuse, an OBD reader, and a CAN bridge to enable communication between the new battery and the older vehicle’s systems. The total cost for the upgrade was approximately £3,200 ($4,340), making it an affordable option for EV enthusiasts willing to undertake some software adjustments and mechanical work. Battery Man emphasized the Nissan Leaf’s adaptable design, likening it to a Lego car, and expressed optimism that DIY battery swaps like this could become more common in the future.