Megunticook
Member
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2019
- Messages
- 13
This is my first winter with the Leaf. I read that cold weather reduces range, especially if you run the heat. Yesterday I decided to try a 104-mile trip. It was fairly cold, dropping from 20 to 10 degrees during the time I was travelling.
The battery was fully topped off when I left (this is the 40kWh). I was in Eco mode. I had to run a few quick errands, maybe 6 miles total, before actually hitting the road. Much to my surprise, after 53 miles we were down to 50% (mostly on 2-lane state highway at 60mph). I stopped and quick-charged up to 75%, then continued on the next leg of the trip. This was also 2-lane state roads, though not 60mph all the way, some stretches were too curvy or bumpy. In any case, when I was approaching my destination I was down to 8% and the battery warning light came on.
Although I probably could have made it, I decided to play it safe and stop at a nearby charger (which didn't work! but fortunately there was another a few blocks away). That was a little nerve racking.
Really surprised me how little range I had. Ran the heat intermittently to defrost the window, but it was on 68 degrees with low fan, and probably was off 75% of the time. There were three people in the car and a moderate amount of gear.
I did realize at one point that I had been driving for about 20 miles at 60mph in B mode. Normally I just use that for deceleration. What's the effect of driving in B mode at highway speed? Seems like not a good idea, but I see from some Google searches that some Leaf owners do this deliberately.
It was a good experiment and teaches me to be cautious with range in winter. Definitely not a good feeling to have that low battery light go on and start wondering if you're going to stall out somewhere. Fortunately it all worked out fine.
The battery was fully topped off when I left (this is the 40kWh). I was in Eco mode. I had to run a few quick errands, maybe 6 miles total, before actually hitting the road. Much to my surprise, after 53 miles we were down to 50% (mostly on 2-lane state highway at 60mph). I stopped and quick-charged up to 75%, then continued on the next leg of the trip. This was also 2-lane state roads, though not 60mph all the way, some stretches were too curvy or bumpy. In any case, when I was approaching my destination I was down to 8% and the battery warning light came on.
Although I probably could have made it, I decided to play it safe and stop at a nearby charger (which didn't work! but fortunately there was another a few blocks away). That was a little nerve racking.
Really surprised me how little range I had. Ran the heat intermittently to defrost the window, but it was on 68 degrees with low fan, and probably was off 75% of the time. There were three people in the car and a moderate amount of gear.
I did realize at one point that I had been driving for about 20 miles at 60mph in B mode. Normally I just use that for deceleration. What's the effect of driving in B mode at highway speed? Seems like not a good idea, but I see from some Google searches that some Leaf owners do this deliberately.
It was a good experiment and teaches me to be cautious with range in winter. Definitely not a good feeling to have that low battery light go on and start wondering if you're going to stall out somewhere. Fortunately it all worked out fine.