Nissan Leaf Battery Charge Time
Recharging a Nissan Leaf’s battery can take anywhere between 40 minutes and 2.5 days. Find out what affects your charging speed here.
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Fully charging the Nissan Leaf’s battery can take less than an hour to several days, depending on your battery type and the charging method you use. Level 1 charging can add 2 to 5 miles per hour to a Leaf’s range, while Level 3 charging can take an hour or less.
Part of picking out a new EV is understanding charging times so you can find the best possible fit for your driving needs. Once you know your EV’s driving range and how long it takes to recharge the battery using different methods, it’s easier to plan a charging routine that works with your daily commute and to find out how much time you’ll need to build into a road trip for charging station stops.
Here’s what you can expect for battery charge times when it comes to the Nissan Leaf.
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How long does a Nissan Leaf take to charge?
Recharging a Nissan Leaf can take anywhere from just 40 minutes to as long as 2.5 days.
Clearly, that’s a pretty huge difference—so what determines those charging times?
How long it takes a Nissan Leaf battery to charge will depend on the model year,
trim level
, and your charging method. Batteries with smaller capacities will give you faster recharge times, but larger batteries can give you that extra range for added convenience.The Nissan Leaf comes with two battery options: a 40 kWh battery or a 62 kWh battery. While the official EPA-estimated range fluctuates slightly from year to year, the 40kWh tends to get around 150 miles of range, while the 62 kWh gets closer to 225 miles.
The sole exception to that is the original 2017 Nissan Leaf, which came with a 30 kWh battery and has a total range of about 107 miles on a full charge.
For the typical EV, there are three basic levels of charging:
- Level 1: Uses a standard 120V household outlet; slowest charging method
- Level 2: Uses a 220-240V outlet for faster charging; requires additional equipment and professional installation for at-home charging; also commonly available at public or workplace charging stations
- Level 3: Also referred to as “DC fast charging” or “DCFC”; can charge at lightning-fast speeds when compared with level 1 and 2 charging options; requires a CHAdeMO connector
So how long could it take to recharge your Nissan Leaf, both at home and while you’re on the road? Let’s take a look.
At-home charging speeds for a Nissan Leaf
When you buy a new Nissan Leaf, a Level 1 charging cord will come standard with your vehicle, giving you all you need for at-home charging at its most basic level. All you need to do to get charging underway is to plug it into a standard 120V household outlet.
But if you’re charging from a nearly empty battery, you’ll be waiting around for a while. According to Nissan, Level 1 charging for a Nissan Leaf can generally add 2 to 5 miles of range per hour, which could take up to 2.5 days if you were trying to fully charge your battery. On the 2017 Nissan Leaf, Level 1 charging can take 26 hours.
If you’re an infrequent driver or you’re only making short local trips, that might be all you need. But if you need faster charging speeds, you could upgrade to a Level 2 charging setup.
To take advantage of Level 2 charging, you’ll need to have a 240V outlet (which are commonly used for larger appliances) and a compatible charging dock installed by a professional (but depending on what state you live in, you might qualify for
incentives
for doing so!).With Level 2 charging capabilities at home, Level 2 charging is comparably faster at 10 to 25 miles of range per hour. To reach a full charge could take up to eight hours for a 40-kWh battery or up to about 11 hours for a 62-kWh battery. The 2017 can take 5.5 to 9.5 hours, depending on the charging setup.
Home charging method | 30 kWh Nissan Leaf battery | 40 kWh Nissan Leaf battery | 62 kWh Nissan Leaf battery |
|---|---|---|---|
120-volt outlet (Level 1) | Up to 26 hours | Up to 26 hours | Up to 2.5 days |
240-volt outlet (Level 2) | 5.5 to 9.5 hours | 8 hours | 11 hours |
Public charging speeds for a Nissan Leaf
When you’re away from home, you’ll also find that many public charging stations, as well as workplace charging stations, offer Level 2 charging, which would generally give you comparable charging times to an at-home Level 2 setup.
But certain public charging stations will offer you the next level up: Level 3 DC fast charging.
While Level 1 and 2 charging methods make use of alternating current, Level 3 uses direct current, which allows for more rapid charging times. Level 3 charging can replenish up to 80% of a Leaf’s battery charge in the span of just half an hour.
One thing to know about using Level 3 chargers, however, is that the last leg of charging past 80% will take slightly longer—but not by much. Reaching a full charge on the Leaf can generally take a total of anywhere from 40 to 60 minutes using a DC fast charger.
Nissan Leaf battery type | Level 3 DC fast charging time |
|---|---|
30 kWh | 40 minutes |
40 kWh | 40 minutes |
60 kWh | 60 minutes |
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