Recent content by Driver8

For all the folks at 8 bars and applying for battery warranty: Were you up to date on your service? I got a used 2017 Leaf from a Nissan dealer in Sept of 2020 and haven't taken into a dealer since then (the only issues I've had have been needing to replace the tires and the 12v battery)...

Interesting responses (all over the map). Thanks to all. Sounds like I should do a few tests with it off.

I have pretty much always kept my car in the ECO setting, and I was wondering the other day how often people drive without ECO mode on their Leaf (I would guess rarely given so many of us are likely trying to maximize range)?

It's very annoying to hear Nissan suggesting that the dealer doesn't know the full story, when that just makes them look bad. It's their job to communicate with their dealers!

I don't think this problem is necessarily specific to EVs in general or the Leaf specifically. Many newer cars seem to all have newer start up procedures that are more confusing than they need to be.

KBB is woefully unprepared to do legit estimates on EVs, as they have no way of rating the battery, and go solely based on mileage, which we all now is only a small part of the story for an EV. You say you got the battery warrantied, did the replace it with a 30kWh, or did you get the 40kWh?

I have the same car as you do (also with 11 bars). I would recommend ONLY driving it in ECO mode. While I can sometimes get my GOM (called the "guess-o-meter" on here due to it's often being inaccurate) to over 100mi on a full charge, I definitely wouldn't trust my car to get me that full...

How does the timer function on this unit?

What kind of charging are you doing that you're dropping a bar (and 8% SOH) in a year while only driving less than 3k miles? I bought a 2017 in Sept of 2020 (originally 88% SOH) and I'm only down to 84% and dropped my first bar 6 months ago with 13k miles of driving.

Thanks. So it's the same motor in both versions, but it just gets more power with the bigger battery in the Plus?

Reading the specs in that article, I see the motor in the 2014 Plus is a lot more powerful than the standard. Is there a mechanical reason that the increased battery capacity size in the plus needs a more powerful motor?

Agreed. It seems that when anything "really weird" that happens with the car the cheapest (and usually successful) first move is just to replace the 12V battery. It's an easy process and you should be able to do it yourself. I replaced mine and all my weird problems instantly went away.

I would agree to try a new 12v battery. My car was acting really strangely (with a lot of similar problem to what your'e describing) before I replaced mine, and that fixed everything. It's a cheap first thing to try, and swapping them is a quick fix at least.

What would you call "degraded significantly"? I bought a 2017 in Sept of 2020 (so more than 2.5 years now), and I've gone from 88 SOH to 84 in that time. That doesn't seem unreasonable to me, driving it at least a few times a week. I finally dropped my 12th bar about 6 months ago.

Sounds like you have an almost perfect situation! It's like an MC Escher! :D Use regen down the hill to town, then charge for free at your destination and use that charge to drive back up home! If you're only going to those destinations, I don't even think I would bother charging it at home...