So, owners what range are you getting ?

[cwerdna]

^^^
thankyouOB, I'm surprised you don't know this given how much of a hot button issue that battery capacity loss has been since last summer.

It's at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/wiki/index.php?title=Battery#Battery_Capacity_Behavior" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. We never did get an answer (at least not publicly) about why the chart was removed in newer revisions of the service manual. And, we know that there's going to be some software update that will affect the behavior of that capacity indicator, per what Andy Palmer said at at the Phoenix meeting.

 

[DaveCox]

Well that certainly hasn't been my experience. If I do an even 60 miles per hour, no heat or ac, on flat roads, I am down to one bar after 50 miles. That is only 25 miles round trip that I can go with out a charge. Not very far. I am in The Dallas Area, so hills aren't a problem, and the weather has been very mild. I got my car in November, and it only has about 1900 miles on it. The first time that I tried this trip, it only had 500 miles on it. Since I was so low I was worried about making it home. Since then, I have found that I need to take the trip much slower.

Dave

 

[cwerdna]

^^^
Is your car new? How many capacity bars have you lost, if any? Are you charging to to 100%? By "no heat or ac", are you sure? The HVAC system on the '11 and '12 is quirky in that the heater may run when you don't intend to. See http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=148844" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Can you update your location info via User Control Panel (near top) > Profile (left side)? That way, we don't need to ask in future posts/threads or do sleuthing to deduce it.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Well that certainly hasn't been my experience. If I do an even 60 miles per hour, no heat or ac, on flat roads, I am down to one bar after 50 miles. That is only 25 miles round trip that I can go with out a charge. Not very far. I am in The Dallas Area, so hills aren't a problem, and the weather has been very mild. I got my car in November, and it only has about 1900 miles on it. The first time that I tried this trip, it only had 500 miles on it. Since I was so low I was worried about making it home. Since then, I have found that I need to take the trip much slower.

Dave

tire pressure? set it 42 that will give you a few miles.

the rest is most likely due to your specific driving conditions. try this. put your center display on the power consumption screen. try to drive and avoid regen except when you have to stop. this means anticipating traffic slowdowns, hills, etc.

another thing to think about is you have a 2012 with no SOC meter which really sucks because that one bar could mean that you have 15% or more left.

also, some roads are rough to the point where they tend to make you wander back and forth in your lane. There are a few around here and its a hit on my performance as well. We have stretches down south when it rains it puddles up the tracks created by big rigs.

how far can you go before you hit the first battery warning? start tracking that kind of stuff because those are hard #'s and the same for all MY's so far.

 

[RCEV13]

To answer some previous questions:

1. The car computer says I'm getting 4.4 miles/kwh.
2. Types of roads during commute: 26miles FWY, 5miles HWY, 10miles of streets.
3. Car is a 2013 SL. Driven about 1500 miles in four weeks.

What I did is run the iPhone App RunKeeper while diving the commute to get accurate speed, distance, and elevation data. For SOC I dictated into my phone every 10% drop or when a driving event occurred (starting an incline, or reaching a summit). I then combined the data in photoshop to make a "battery map." Having done this I know I can get to work with 50% and get home with 38% of the battery. That's how I roll.

 

[thankyouOB]

^^^
thankyouOB, I'm surprised you don't know this given how much of a hot button issue that battery capacity loss has been since last summer.

It's at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/wiki/index.php?title=Battery#Battery_Capacity_Behavior" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. We never did get an answer (at least not publicly) about why the chart was removed in newer revisions of the service manual. And, we know that there's going to be some software update that will affect the behavior of that capacity indicator, per what Andy Palmer said at at the Phoenix meeting.

I was surprised, too. really.
but it turns out that when the controversy on battery degradation was hot and heavy, and facts are in dispute, and i dont know who is right or wrong and, most importantly, i am not a member of the aggrieved class (have a car working in 100-degree temp), i pay attention but dont grasp every detail.
i guess i paid enough attention to hold onto the 15% figure.
thanks for the reference to the wiki spot.
I can see that i am most likely having some typical 2-year loss of range, along with a larger loss due to heavier replacement tires.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

To answer some previous questions:

1. The car computer says I'm getting 4.4 miles/kwh.
2. Types of roads during commute: 26miles FWY, 5miles HWY, 10miles of streets.
3. Car is a 2013 SL. Driven about 1500 miles in four weeks.

What I did is run the iPhone App RunKeeper while diving the commute to get accurate speed, distance, and elevation data. For SOC I dictated into my phone every 10% drop or when a driving event occurred (starting an incline, or reaching a summit). I then combined the data in photoshop to make a "battery map." Having done this I know I can get to work with 50% and get home with 38% of the battery. That's how I roll.

never thought about using run keeper to track car info. great idea!

i normally only use it to track how far i walk the dog since SO thinks i dont contribute enough (she has weird ideas like that i spend too much time online and stuff like that :shock: )

 

[haggard1]

My first drive from the dealer to my destination was 65.5 miles. I made it and never saw the turtle.
Starting SOC : 80%
Range (till battery low) : Very low.

Efficiency : miles/Kwh: 3.something... not sure.
Driving : flat coastal highway in the southeastern US.
Climate : fan only.

 

[cp11]

Just had it for a couple weeks, so I haven't run it all the way down yet. Just my work commute, approx 40 miles round trip which takes me from 100% to 40%.

2013 SL
Starting SOC: 100%
Ending SOC: 40%
Efficiency: 3.7 miles/kWh
Driving: 30 mi freeway (70 MPH), 10 mi streets (25-50 MPH)
I use B mode -- Eco was way too wimpy for me.
Climate: Outside temp 40 - 80 F, use heat/AC as needed to keep it comfortable

 

[RegGuheert]

My first drive from the dealer to my destination was 65.5 miles. I made it and never saw the turtle.
Starting SOC : 80%
Range (till battery low) : Very low.

Efficiency : miles/Kwh: 3.something... not sure.
Driving : flat coastal highway in the southeastern US.
Climate : fan only.

I recommend charging to full before setting out on a 65-mile drive. I cannot believe the dealer did not do that.

It is good that the new cars are no longer sitting around at 100%, but now it seems the dealers do not know how to charge them to 100% for delivery.

In any case, welcome!

 

[PV2leaf]

As previously stated ......

I have a 2012 Leaf and live in Connecticut with 36 mile one way commute. I am able to plug in (L1) at work so I only charge to 100% at home if it is really cold (below 20F) or snow is expected. I use 5 bars one way on average. Round trip would be theoretically possible with a new battery.

I have had a few worst case commutes with freezing rain that required me to use the defroster much of the time which used 8 bars even after a 30 minute preheat while still plugged in to the 120 V outlet.

I have only had the car since December so all my experience is in cold weather which seems to be the most challenging from a range perspective. No regrets yet .... but I am working on a thermal management strategy for charging this summer.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

As previously stated ......

I have a 2012 Leaf and live in Connecticut with 36 mile one way commute. I am able to plug in (L1) at work so I only charge to 100% at home if it is really cold (below 20F) or snow is expected. I use 5 bars one way on average. Round trip would be theoretically possible with a new battery.

I have had a few worst case commutes with freezing rain that required me to use the defroster much of the time which used 8 bars even after a 30 minute preheat while still plugged in to the 120 V outlet.

I have only had the car since December so all my experience is in cold weather which seems to be the most challenging from a range perspective. No regrets yet .... but I am working on a thermal management strategy for charging this summer.

on those rainy days, dont preheat unless you are at 100% SOC (should not do it ever on 120 if range is a concern unless its real real cold out) . preheat adds to window fogging so not recommended. In fact, during wetter parts of Winter, I preheat in garage for 20 minutes, then take sqeegee and towel and collect the excess moisture that on the glass in the car. this goes a long way towards reducing fogging while on the road.

 

[bowthom]

Hello,
At least once during the winter I leave the car in the garage with the windows down and the garage heater on to dry out the interior. Because we don't have a hot exhaust heating the floorboards the carpet retains all the moisture we track in. I agree that preheating can fog the windows but I have to do it to get the ice off. :lol:

 

[PV2leaf]

on those rainy days, dont preheat unless you are at 100% SOC (should not do it ever on 120 if range is a concern unless its real real cold out) . preheat adds to window fogging so not recommended. In fact, during wetter parts of Winter, I preheat in garage for 20 minutes, then take sqeegee and towel and collect the excess moisture that on the glass in the car. this goes a long way towards reducing fogging while on the road.[/quote]


The moisture buildup is a problem as I have discovered !! I usually keep a rear window open about 1/2 inch when parked in my garage so that it drys out a little during preheat.

Regarding not preheating, when the car is covered in 1/8 inch of ice from freezing rain followed by a temp drop in the teens ..... a long preheat beats scraping.

 

[ELROY]

Logged a few more tests. From the information gathered, I can go a reasonable amount of mileage if charging to 100% and running it to very low battery warning or turtle mode. But surprisingly, I can only average 45 miles or so on a 80% charge down to low battery warning. Today i noticed I dropped from 10 bars to 8 bars in only 6.1 miles of driving. Are most people dropping those first 2 bars from 80% this quickly? And is 45 miles about all you can expect when trying to maintain a battery friendly 80%-LBW charge range?

And how about my charge times from Turtle? Seems like I might only have about 19kWh useable battery pack. Car now has 4200 miles on it, little over 5 months old. 50-60 Temps. Usually 80% charging, never quick charged.

 

[TonyWilliams]

And how about my charge times from Turtle? Seems like I might only have about 19kWh useable battery pack. Car now has 4200 miles on it, little over 5 months old. 50-60 Temps. Usually 80% charging...

It's certainly entirely possible. My 2012 did a 10% reduction in about 5 months from the manufacturer date.

Concerning the range from 80% to LBW, just check out the range chart at 93% capacity and see if that is what you're seeing.

 

[DaveEV]

Today i noticed I dropped from 10 bars to 8 bars in only 6.1 miles of driving. Are most people dropping those first 2 bars from 80% this quickly?

Yes, usually if you power off/on after those 6.1 miles. The 10th bar usually goes away after as little as a mile for me. The 9th goes away pretty quickly, too.

And is 45 miles about all you can expect when trying to maintain a battery friendly 80%-LBW charge range?

At the 3.6 mi/kWh you drive at, yes.

Seems like I might only have about 19kWh useable battery pack. Car now has 4200 miles on it, little over 5 months old. 50-60 Temps. Usually 80% charging, never quick charged.

My car is also about 19 kWh usable, though a good deal older and more miles, 22 months, 17k mi.

 

[ELROY]

And how about my charge times from Turtle? Seems like I might only have about 19kWh useable battery pack. Car now has 4200 miles on it, little over 5 months old. 50-60 Temps. Usually 80% charging...

It's certainly entirely possible. My 2012 did a 10% reduction in about 5 months from the manufacturer date.

Concerning the range from 80% to LBW, just check out the range chart at 93% capacity and see if that is what you're seeing.

Yes...I think the 93% chart is pretty close to mine.
What upsets me is that I'm pretty sure this is about what my car has been getting since it was new.
There is a good 9-10 miles of range available between LBW-VLBW. I'm wondering if running it down to VLBW more often will accelerate the battery deterioration noticeably? Did more testing this morning:

4/06/13 80% 39.9 3.7 Low battery warning See below
4/06/13 80% 49.2 3.7 Very Low Battery warning See below
4/06/13 80% 51.9 3.7 2.7 mi past very low b/wrn

I really think that 39.9 miles is pretty short range when using the recommended 80% charging level to LBW.
Will charge tonight to see what the time is. But I am sure it will be just a tad below 5hrs again. I would assume as battery capacity is diminished the charge time will go down accordingly as the battery won't absorb as much of a charge?

Also, when cruising at 60mph on the fwy, the car will usually not reach 4mi/kWh. Is 3.7 mi/kWh normal?
As you can see, I am more concerned about real world mileage here then when I was solely trying to hypermile.

What are the chances the Nissan will do anything for this kind of degradation on a 5 month old LEAF? Would they ever consider getting me out of my 2012 into a 2013 for minimal expense to me? And if so...who would I contact? I'm sure if I go to the dealership, they will say its the Nissan "Normal". Kind of funny how I thought 100 miles would be attainable, and 73 miles would be easy before I took delivery of the car.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Could you please provide your range data with the applicable economy data? It really doesn't tell us much, otherwise. Be sure and reset it after each "fill-up".

If your economy is 3.7 on level roads with NO HEATER and no wind at 60mph, the sad reality these instruments have proven to not be super accurate. Is the tire pressure 36psi or better?

Your questions about whether some amount is "normal", just look at the chart for the applicable mileage. If you drove from 80% to LBW, what doesn't the chart say the miles are at your economy? The answers are right there.

No, Nissan will not do anything for your lost range. Don't waste your time and effort asking.

 

[ELROY]

Could you please provide your range data with the applicable economy data? It really doesn't tell us much, otherwise. Be sure and reset it after each "fill-up".

If your economy is 3.7 on level roads with NO HEATER and no wind at 60mph, the sad reality these instruments have proven to not be super accurate. Is the tire pressure 36psi or better?

Your questions about whether some amount is "normal", just look at the chart for the applicable mileage. If you drove from 80% to LBW, what doesn't the chart say the miles are at your economy? The answers are right there.

No, Nissan will not do anything for your lost range. Don't waste your time and effort asking.

I have the dash economy reading listed with each trip. I reset the trip odometer and the economy readout after every charge.
My tire pressures are right around 48 PSI.