2 years 12 bars

[Valdemar]

Since the first bar is so wide, you really have no way to know what your loss is without some form of Gid meter. Remember that the 12th bar (20%) equals more then three of any of the other bars (6.25%) in capacity... You could be right at a 20% loss and not yet know it based only on capacity bars...

27 months. 25,000 miles. No bars lost here in Sacramento. At home, I only charge after 1am. At work, I begin my charge at 7am. 95% of the time, I only charge to 80% SOC. I'm not going to worry about the new software because I'll be turning the car in 9 months from now. Likely for a 2014 LEAF

Is it 20% now, not 15% ?

 

[ttweed]

I'm down to 11 bars as of last weekend. CB s/w update isn't done, but I'm not expecting to get the bar back based on first reports. 31k miles, almost 22 months ownership, manufactured 7/11.

Our car performed fairly similarly to yours, although it kept all 12 capacity bars for 26 months and almost 32K miles, possibly due to slightly cooler climate here. It was manufactured in Mar. of '11, never quick-charged, never saw 7 temp bars, but otherwise matched your usage.

Measurements with the ELM327 device and Leaf battery app shortly after losing the first bar showed capacity of around 83.5%, so I don't think the stated 20% loss for the first bar is accurate--15% estimate is closer for the first bar, and 6.25% for each bar after that, as stated in the first owner's manual. The latest gauge firmware update may change that slightly, but I haven't had it yet.

TT

 

[palmermd]

~20,000 miles, 2.5 years and according to the ELM327 app @ 101.44 % or 67.21 Ah.

That is awesome...wish I could say the same.

 

[ttweed]

~20,000 miles, 2.5 years and according to the ELM327 app @ 101.44 % or 67.21 Ah.

That is awesome...wish I could say the same.

+1. This might be the only reason I can think of to want to live in the Pac NW.
OK, maybe the killer fishing would be another reason... And cheap hydroelectric power...
I like to see the sun every once in awhile, though, and I get moldy when it rains a lot...

TT

 

[ericsf]

2.5 years, getting close to 45K. Still 12 bars. I don't know what my *real* capacity is but I started noticing a drop in range on my daily commute this spring. I have a faint hope that the tires may have something to do but doubt it will make a visible diference when I'll replace them.

 

[Valdemar]

New tires can make range worse initially until they "break in".

 

[Valdemar]

Our car performed fairly similarly to yours, although it kept all 12 capacity bars for 26 months and almost 32K miles, possibly due to slightly cooler climate here. It was manufactured in Mar. of '11, never quick-charged, never saw 7 temp bars, but otherwise matched your usage.

It is definitely the climate, I was seeing 7 bars quite often last summer.

 

[astrorob]

I'm at 25 months, 13k miles, and 95.9% CAP. Oakland has an ideal climate for LEAFs and humans. BTW, Trinidad Bay and the nearby Patrick's Point State Park are gorgeous.

almost the same here in oakland as well. just over 24 months, 15k miles, and 93-94% capacity. this is slighly better than the battery model would predict (88-89% IIRC). then again i think using GIDs as a measure of battery capacity is not totally accurate. i have never done a range test. have QC'd only once, down at the stanfurd mall.

the car is kept in a garage and when parked outside it's normally in the shade. we charge the car to 80% for most of the year and 100% in the winter. it will sit at that SOC for 4-6 hours since we generally charge in the early evening or night - still on rate plan E1.

having said all that, with the way nissan is mishandling battery capacity issues, i wish i had leased the car. i feel like the resale value of a car with a bar missing is not going to be so great. i could probably get top dollar for the car right now, but i'd have to hassle with returning part of the CARB rebate. i briefly considered selling it and leasing a 2013 leaf under the current promotion but the quality issues coming out of TN plus the problems with the power distribution model on the 2013 changed my mind. i should save my $ for a tesla

 

[leafwing]

There have been so many threads and complaints from forum members about (apparently) losing one or more bars of range that I thought it would be useful to find out how many people have NOT lost a bar after two years. I've had my Leaf 2 years and 3 weeks and still have 12 bars when I charge to 100% (which isn't very often). I have the advantage of living in a moderate climate and rarely needing to QC (I think 6 times in all) as well as low mileage since I'm retired (11292 mi.) My experience with forums are that people are more likely to post if something is going wrong for them than if everything is fine, so I'd like to get a feel for whether my experience is pretty typical or the "losers" (just kidding - no offense meant) are more typical. Please weigh in with your experience.

All of us have some expectations about battery degradation (20% over 5 years, 30% over 10 years per Nissan) when we purchased or leased our cars . The concerns of the "losers" are focused mainly on early capacity loss, which is caused by high temperatures ( since high mileage or frequent 100% charging/Qcing, in cold and moderate climates, are not factors in early battery degradation).
If you have not lost a bar, just enjoy your car.

 

[TomT]

Sorry, typo. I meant 15% for the first bar, at least prior to the Program Update. I don't know if it has changed subsequently, but I doubt it...

Is it 20% now, not 15% ?

 

[TomT]

Tires actually become more efficient (lower rolling resistance) as they wear. They are the most efficient just before they wear out.

2.5 years, getting close to 45K. Still 12 bars. I don't know what my *real* capacity is but I started noticing a drop in range on my daily commute this spring. I have a faint hope that the tires may have something to do but doubt it will make a visible diference when I'll replace them.

 

[nosuchthing]

2.5 years, getting close to 45K. Still 12 bars.

Your top CB is living on borrowed time. Let us know when you lose it and also what kind of driving/charging do you do that it lasted so long.

 

[TomT]

Living in S.F. no doubt has a lot to do with it. It's quite cool there...

2.5 years, getting close to 45K. Still 12 bars.

Your top CB is living on borrowed time. Let us know when you lose it and also what kind of driving/charging do you do that it lasted so long.

 

[Tango]

26000 miles, 100% charge from home L2 every night. We still have 12 bars, but the guess-o-meter is usually says around "80" on a full charge, where it used to get all the way to 97 way back when. Also, we routinely get to 1 bar (<8 on the guess-o-meter) after driving between 50 and 60 miles (most of it highway at 65mph).

I'm probably going to get a gid meter to get more info.

 

[astrorob]

26000 miles, 100% charge from home L2 every night. We still have 12 bars, but the guess-o-meter is usually says around "80" on a full charge, where it used to get all the way to 97 way back when. Also, we routinely get to 1 bar (<8 on the guess-o-meter) after driving between 50 and 60 miles (most of it highway at 65mph).

I'm probably going to get a gid meter to get more info.

did you have the software patch applied for the range meter? it's definitely more pessimistic at full charge but seems to be a little more accurate after the car is in motion.

 

[Tango]

26000 miles, 100% charge from home L2 every night. We still have 12 bars, but the guess-o-meter is usually says around "80" on a full charge, where it used to get all the way to 97 way back when. Also, we routinely get to 1 bar (<8 on the guess-o-meter) after driving between 50 and 60 miles (most of it highway at 65mph).

I'm probably going to get a gid meter to get more info.

did you have the software patch applied for the range meter? it's definitely more pessimistic at full charge but seems to be a little more accurate after the car is in motion.

I don't have the patch applied. I'm hoping to get a Leaf Dash Display or other gid-meter so i can get some real data before i take it in.

BTW, i realized that I didn't specify that I got my leaf in April of 2011, so 26 months ago (we're doing just about 1000 miles/month.

 

[ericsf]

2.5 years, getting close to 45K. Still 12 bars.

Your top CB is living on borrowed time. Let us know when you lose it and also what kind of driving/charging do you do that it lasted so long.

I sure hope that I'll keep all twelve for a few more 1000s miles. I recently saw a guys posting that he lost his 1st bar near 70K.

It's true that SF is a cool place (pun) but I commute 5 days a week to Fremont where the LEAF spends most of the day in the sun. I have to admit I've done everything I knew could help prolong the battery life so far: I charge to 80% at night using the timer programmed to end when it's about time to leave. Then I don't recharge at work right away. I plug it in the afternoon so that it doesn't sit all afternoon fully charged in the heat. I've used DC a few times but mostly out of curiosity. Also for the first year half of my recharging was L1. After that we got twelve L2 stations installed at work. The bad thing with that is that I now charge to 100% almost everyday... Having a way to charge at 80% on manual charge is one of the things my MY11 had.

 

[lkkms2]

Still have 12 Capacity Bars and still enjoying my Leaf after just passing two years and 22,500 miles

Generally charge to 80% at night. Charge to 100% 2 or 3 times a month, generally on weekends or when I have extra planned activity for the day.

Have only QCed 2 times. Generally see 5 or 6 temperature bars. First summer at work I just parked in the sun, now I try to find shade for the peak heat in the afternoons. (Parking lot can get into the 90s on some hot summer days)

Combined with miles traveled in the 1990s in a converted EV (68,000 miles over 8-9 years), I have now driven over 90,000 + miles on electric

 

[JJnHAWAII]

I recently completed the 2 yr battery check at the dealership with 5 stars across the board. However, we have just recently lost 1 bar, so are down to 11 of 12 bars after 15,790 miles in Hawaii. (Temps usually around 84 - 70 Deg F)

We usually only charge to 80%, but occasionally charge to 100%. (No QC charges) There are a lot of short trips and we always plug in as soon as we get home to keep it "ready". We purchased ours in July 2011 and it is our main get around town car. This is still the best car we have ever owned. I do have to think now about those longer trips that really test the range of the car, but then nothing is too far here in Oahu - range anxiety is almost non-existent once you get used to the car and there are charging stations everywhere here.

After reading that others still have 12 bars after more than 22K miles, I have to say that I'm a little jealous and wonder what I could be doing differently to increase the battery longevity.

 

[nosuchthing]

Maybe the problem is that even though the temp does not get into the critical values, it never goes down either, providing no chill relief for the battery. I'd recommend to empty that battery once in the while down to the last range bar with 10-15 miles left.