leafA seller sends a dashboard photo and says the Leaf has “all the bars”. Before deciding what that means, ask which display you are looking at. Charge and capacity answer different questions, and the layout varies between Leaf model families. A full display is useful information only when you know what it represents.
Charge is the amount available now
The charge display concerns how full the battery is at that moment. A worn battery can still reach the top of its charge display. It simply may hold less energy than it once did. A photo taken immediately after charging does not establish that the battery retains its original capacity.
Capacity is the longer-term question
The capacity display is intended to communicate retained capacity more broadly. A segmented display compresses a continuous estimate into a small number of steps. Two cars in the same displayed segment can therefore have different reported health and different useful range. Check the owner’s manual for the exact layout and explanation for the car being inspected.
Do not treat a generic internet threshold table as the sole authority for a particular car’s warranty or condition. Model, market, software and the manufacturer’s applicable procedure matter. A warranty decision belongs to the relevant warranty terms and inspection process, not a phone screenshot.
What an OBD reading adds
A Leaf-specific app can expose controller SOH, Ah and the 96 cell-pair voltages where supported. That adds detail beneath the broad display. It does not make the app an independent certification authority: the health figure is still a controller estimate, while the cells describe the conditions being observed.
Leaf Pro’s Battery tab keeps these readings together. A Full Assessment adds their behaviour across a drive and identifies gaps in the evidence. This is particularly helpful when a seller offers only a photograph of a capacity display.
Questions to ask at a viewing
- Is this the charge display or the capacity display?
- Does the photo belong to this car and a recent date?
- What model family and battery pack are fitted?
- Are there records of battery replacement, repair or relevant software work?
- Can the car be inspected and recorded during a safe normal test drive?
Bars do not decide whether a car fits your life
The useful question is whether the car can perform your routine journeys with room to spare. That depends on available energy and consumption as well as charging opportunities. A reduced-capacity car can still fit a short commute, while a apparently strong one may be unsuitable for a demanding route without reliable charging.
Keep the display in the bigger picture
Use the dashboard, detailed readings and the physical inspection together. If they seem inconsistent, investigate rather than choosing the most reassuring one. A high SOH or a full capacity display does not rule out every cell issue, and a lower figure does not name a repair.
For a practical next step, follow the battery-health check. If you are shopping, use the used-Leaf checklist to keep the rest of the vehicle in view.