Charging any electric car is, of course, a vital part of ownership. The Nissan Leaf is no exception.
Once you’ve plugged your car in, though, how do you know your car is charging? How do you know the batteries are being topped up and not just sitting there?
The Nissan Leaf comes equipped with charging indicator lights. These illuminate and blink to let you know the charging status. You’ll find everything you need to know about the Leaf’s charging status indicator lights on this page.
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Where are the charging indicator status lights?
You might wonder where the Nissan Leaf’s charging indicator status lights are.
You’ll find them at the bottom of the windshield (inside the car). There are three small lights positioned in a straight line.
The lights might illuminate (come on and stay on) or flash repeatedly.
This article will explain what the different patterns and lights mean. Remember that most of the lights switch off after a few minutes or once charging completes.
Which charging indicator light is which on the Nissan Leaf?
The three charging status indicator lights on the Nissan Leaf are referred to as:
- Left light: (1)
- Middle light: (2)
- Right light: (3)
The following lights illuminate: (1); (1) and (2); or (1), (2), and (3)
When the lights illuminate in their respective groups, it means:
- Your car is charging. The number of lights indicates the charging status.
- After about five minutes, the lights will switch off.
- The more lights are active, the more charged the Leaf’s batteries are.
- (1) only – the battery is low on charge.
- (1) and (2) – the battery is mid-charging cycle.
- (1), (2), and (3) – the battery is fully charged (to the preset amount).
Three lights flashing – what does it mean?
If you see all three lights flashing (1), (2), and (3)) and hear three beeps, it either means:
- You’ve pushed the normal charge lock switch on the Intelligent Key and unlocked it.
- You’ve pushed the charge port lid switch.
- You haven’t connected the charge connector correctly.
- The lights will flash within 30 seconds of your attempt to connect the connector.
Lights illuminate from left to right, one by one
You’ll see the Nissan Leaf’s charging status indicator lights illuminate one by one if:
- The charging timer is set and ready to activate.
The lights will illuminate one by one. The first (1) on the left lights up. It then switches off as the middle light (2) illuminates. Finally, both (1) and (2) remain off while the right light switches on (3).
This cycle continues on repeat. The lights should turn off after about five minutes.
The middle light (2) illuminates on the charge status indicator
When the middle light (2) alone illuminates, it means:
- The car is ready for immediate charge, but you haven’t yet connected the charge connector.
- You’ll only have fifteen minutes to connect the charge connector to the vehicle. You’ll have to start the charge mode again if you don’t.
The right indicator light (3) only flashes
If you see the right indicator light (3) flashing (and no others), it could mean either:
- The 12-Volt battery is being charged.
- Power from the charging device to the Leaf has been interrupted.
- When you restore this charging power, the beep indicator won’t sound.
- Any of the following systems are active:
- The climate control timer
- The remote climate control has been turned on
- The battery preconditioning (warming) cycle has been activated
No lights are illuminated on the Leaf’s charging status indicator
If there are no lights on:
- The car isn’t charging at all (either the main batteries or the 12-Volt system).
See a PDF from the official Nissan owner’s manual below.
