2013 SL with 20K miles being delivered to me by Carvana

[dhanson865]

And it's bad to charge to 100%? I've read both opinions on here.

Charging to 100% if you need it isn't an issue. The key is drive it ASAP after hitting a high state of charge. Don't charge it to full and leave it sitting for several hours and definitely not a day or days.

If you are going on a road trip and you are going to literally unplug and drive away then don't worry about charging to 100% unless it's a super hot summer day, the car is sitting in the open sun, on 100+ degree asphalt, baking away, while it is charging. Try to charge in a cool environment if you have a choice but not if that means leaving it sitting with a full charge half the day.

If you are just charging for what you might do a day or two from now don't charge it above 60% or whatever you feel your "I gotta have this much range for whims amount is". Then charge it again the hours leading up to the time you plan to leave.

But in TX you will pay the price no matter how you charge so don't baby it, just treat it with the slightest bit of care and know about it.

In that 200+ mile trip I did last spring I charged it to full several times

1. Hickory, NC
2. Asheville, NC
3. Waynesville, NC
4. when I got home

I didn't hesitate to charge to full that day and I don't regret it. But I haven't charged to full since then maybe 3 times in a year. If you really need to charge to full several times a week do it, no big deal. Just don't charge to full if you don't have to.

Charging to full and leaving it full = damage every hour it sits
Charging it to full and driving away = no big deal.

 

[Levenkay]

And it's bad to charge to 100%? I've read both opinions on here.

Some of the discussions are a bit like arguments about the merits of rhinoceros repellent ("I sprayed it around , and by golly; no rhinos in MY yard") - there's some doubt about the relevance. I'm going by a fuzzy notion that wherever possible, try to avoid stressing the envelope of things believed to degrade the battery. If you haven't run across this, I'd recommend you watch Prof. Dahn's lecture.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Don't charge it to full and leave it sitting for several hours and definitely not a day or days.

That should be "Don't charge it to full and leave it sitting for more than several hours and definitely not a day or days."

 

[bigbearballs]

So today, for example I charged to 100%. I left it sitting about an hour. I drove back home and now I'm about halfway down from a full charge. I don't plan on charging until I go back to work on Friday. I work this particular job MWF. So basically, I'm trying to use all the almost free energy at work, fill up enough to get back home and do my errands the next day, and then be almost to empty by the time I go back to work. Does that sound ideal? Am I thinking about this too much? This is a slightly fun but stressful game, this driving a leaf.

 

[LeftieBiker]

"Ideal" would probably be charging to 100% once or twice a week (and driving it immediately thereafter) and charging to 90% the rest of the time, but you're close enough.

 

[dhanson865]

Don't charge it to full and leave it sitting for several hours and definitely not a day or days.

That should be "Don't charge it to full and leave it sitting for more than several hours and definitely not a day or days."

That might be true for you in New York, but in Texas every hour matters in the heat.

So Texas Winter, charge to 100% on your free power.

Texas Spring/Fall if cool charge to 100% only if you can get to it quickly and leave. Consider using a timer to try and charge to 80% or time it right for 85% if you can.

Texas Summer, Charge to the minimum you need to get home and pay for some power at home to avoid charging to 100% in the hot open parking lot at work. Use timers and whatever tricks you need to reduce time spent above 60% charge.

But all of that is assuming you have range to spare. If not just charge it to 100% and deal with the range loss.

 

[bigbearballs]

Man, this forum is great. I appreciate the help. I'd love to rep you guys, hopefully this is rep enough. We haven't gotten over 80 yet, but in a month or so we could hit 100. I'll definitely be laying off the 100% charge then thanks to your recommendations.

 

[beezer41]

I just bought a 2013 S with 15800 miles. standard radio with backup camera. I bought it from a Nissan dealer, they did a good job cleaning up the car and covering all the scratches. I paid just over 10K for it. For the past 3 days I have been getting about 75 miles on a full charge.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I'll definitely be laying off the 100% charge then thanks to your recommendations.

The Leaf seems to only fully equalize the pack cells when charged to 100%, so whenever you have a cool night, and/or six or fewer temp bars, try charging to 100% (maybe on L-1 for less heat) at night at least once every couple of weeks.

 

[bigbearballs]

I'll definitely be laying off the 100% charge then thanks to your recommendations.

The Leaf seems to only fully equalize the pack cells when charged to 100%, so whenever you have a cool night, and/or six or fewer temp bars, try charging to 100% (maybe on L-1 for less heat) at night at least once every couple of weeks.

Let me make sure I have this right,

"Ideal" would probably be charging to 100% once or twice a week (and driving it immediately thereafter) and charging to 90% the rest of the time, but you're close enough.

Does it matter how far I drive it immediately after a 100% charge? Tonight was a beautiful Austin night in the upper 60's, I charged to about 90% at Whole Foods.

If I charge at home to 100%, does the car stop charging once I get to 100%? I read, I think, it was bad to charge your car to 100% and leave it plugged in.

 

[bigbearballs]

Where could I get one of these?

 

[Evoforce]

Now for a different way of looking at the whole subject. We would like to know some Leafspy numbers. Many people are/will be kicking themselves because they babied the battery too much and are just barely going to miss out on the warranty replacement.

While there is a capacity (but not new battery replacement) warranty on your car, Nissan lately, as a business practice, has been replacing them instead of repairing. My belief is that they will continue to do that with all year Leafs even though they are not legally bound to do so. There has been some precedence set with the 2011-12 Leafs and the court settlement along with their current business policy. They have tried to repair cars in hot climates before only to have them quickly degrade back to 8 bars again with the car still under 5 years/60,000 miles. Then they have to put the (new) pack in after attempting to repair. It costs them more money to do it that way. Twice the labor plus the new battery.

If you use your car normally, in Texas, you probably will have a 8 bar car well before the warranty expires unless you drive an excessive amount of miles and it appears you won't. If you baby it, you will probably still qualify (or barely not) but closer to 5 years/60,000. They could more easily decide to repair it so close to the finish line just to get you over the time/mileage if they go back to repairing them.

Keep in mind if they do give you a (new) replacement it only has a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty but cannot be shorter calendar/mileage than when original capacity warranty would have originally expired. Your calendar degradation in Texas will rapidly march on whether driven or not. Batteries are lasting a little over 2 years in Arizona and possibly close to 3 years if babied and climate controlled in garages. It took my car only 7 months to degrade from a 10 bar car to a 8 bar car. IMO I would not wreck havoc on your soul to only gain 6-8 months of more time. Don't abuse it, but expect that it was not built durable enough to handle your climate. So, your strategy is up to you. Good luck!

 

[LeftieBiker]

Does it matter how far I drive it immediately after a 100% charge? Tonight was a beautiful Austin night in the upper 60's, I charged to about 90% at Whole Foods.

If I charge at home to 100%, does the car stop charging once I get to 100%? I read, I think, it was bad to charge your car to 100% and leave it plugged in.

You want to use a charge timer to set it to reach 100% about an hour before you will use it in the morning. That lets it equalize, charge in the coolest part of the night/morning, and it doesn't sit at 100% for too long. Set an end timer only - no start time. The car will reach 100%, stay there for a while with all three charging lights lit, then turn off when EQ is finished.

 

[bigbearballs]

Now for a different way of looking at the whole subject. We would like to know some Leafspy numbers. Many people are/will be kicking themselves because they babied the battery too much and are just barely going to miss out on the warranty replacement.

While there is a capacity (but not new battery replacement) warranty on your car, Nissan lately, as a business practice, has been replacing them instead of repairing. My belief is that they will continue to do that with all year Leafs even though they are not legally bound to do so. There has been some precedence set with the 2011-12 Leafs and the court settlement along with their current business policy. They have tried to repair cars in hot climates before only to have them quickly degrade back to 8 bars again with the car still under 5 years/60,000 miles. Then they have to put the (new) pack in after attempting to repair. It costs them more money to do it that way. Twice the labor plus the new battery.

If you use your car normally, in Texas, you probably will have a 8 bar car well before the warranty expires unless you drive an excessive amount of miles and it appears you won't. If you baby it, you will probably still qualify (or barely not) but closer to 5 years/60,000. They could more easily decide to repair it so close to the finish line just to get you over the time/mileage if they go back to repairing them.

Keep in mind if they do give you a (new) replacement it only has a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty but cannot be shorter calendar/mileage than when original capacity warranty would have originally expired. Your calendar degradation in Texas will rapidly march on whether driven or not. Batteries are lasting a little over 2 years in Arizona and possibly close to 3 years if babied and climate controlled in garages. It took my car only 7 months to degrade from a 10 bar car to a 8 bar car. IMO I would not wreck havoc on your soul to only gain 6-8 months of more time. Don't abuse it, but expect that it was not built durable enough to handle your climate. So, your strategy is up to you. Good luck!

My brain just exploded.

 

[Evoforce]

Sorry... I guess my point is I hope you will mostly just enjoy your car for better or for worse. We all hope the unknowns will go in our favor and we bought the cars to enjoy as cars. We wish everything could be perfect but since life isn't that way rejoice in the positive and try to mitigate the negative in the best way possible and not let it overwhelm the good.

 

[bigbearballs]

Sorry... I guess my point is I hope you will mostly just enjoy your car for better or for worse. We all hope the unknowns will go in our favor and we bought the cars to enjoy as cars. We wish everything could be perfect but since life isn't that way rejoice in the positive and try to mitigate the negative in the best way possible and not let it overwhelm the good.

I've been very happy with my purchase, I'm even thinking if I have below 9 bars after the 60k I still might not mind getting a new battery since I paid such a small amount for the car. I'm just going to drive it and enjoy it, but I still might baby a little too.

 

[bigbearballs]

The dealership I bought the car from gave me a book with a coupon for a free oil change. Hahahahaha!

 

[LeftieBiker]

The dealership I bought the car from gave me a book with a coupon for a free oil change. Hahahahaha!

I think we all got one of those. And a suggestion by the finance Manager that we needed the Service Plan for all those future oil changes and tuneups as well...

 

[bigbearballs]

The dealership I bought the car from gave me a book with a coupon for a free oil change. Hahahahaha!

I think we all got one of those. And a suggestion by the finance Manager that we needed the Service Plan for all those future oil changes and tuneups as well...

Along with not needing oil changes, what else do I not need to worry about driving a ev?

 

[joeriv]

1. Changing Brake pads (with regen)
2. Oil stains in the garage
3. Engine noise
4. Gas stations closed
5. OPEC severely limiting oil production
6. Tune ups