So, owners what range are you getting ?

[TonyWilliams]

Ok, now I see it was in there. All the numbers were a bit jumbled on the iPhone.

1- 4/06/13 80% 39.9 3.7 Low battery warning
2- 4/06/13 80% 49.2 3.7 Very Low Battery warning
3- 4/06/13 80% 51.9 3.7 2.7 mi past very low b/wrn

LBW is 17.4% Gid, and there's about 2.4% you can't use at the bottom, so about 15% usable remaining. VLB is about 6% usable remaining.

So, your data is:

1- 65% used of 21kWh = 13.65kWh burned * 3.7 = 50.5 miles. You drove 39.9 / 50.5 = 79%, suggesting 21% capacity missing from cold and/or degradation, or a really inaccurate economy meter. Or all three.

2- 74% usable burned of 21kWh = 15.5kWh * 3.7 = 57.5 miles. You drove 49.2 / 57.5 = 85.5%, suggesting 14.5% missing.

3- very similar to above

 

[ELROY]

Ok, now I see it was in there. All the numbers were a bit jumbled on the iPhone.

1- 4/06/13 80% 39.9 3.7 Low battery warning
2- 4/06/13 80% 49.2 3.7 Very Low Battery warning
3- 4/06/13 80% 51.9 3.7 2.7 mi past very low b/wrn

LBW is 17.4% Gid, and there's about 2.4% you can't use at the bottom, so about 15% usable remaining. VLB is about 6% usable remaining.

So, your data is:

1- 65% used of 21kWh = 13.65kWh burned * 3.7 = 50.5 miles. You drove 39.9 / 50.5 = 79%, suggesting 21% capacity missing from cold and/or degradation, or a really inaccurate economy meter. Or all three.

2- 74% usable burned of 21kWh = 15.5kWh * 3.7 = 57.5 miles. You drove 49.2 / 57.5 = 85.5%, suggesting 14.5% missing.

3- very similar to above

The charge back to 80% required 5.1 hrs.
5.1 hrs x 3.3kWh would be around 16.83 kWh max.

Also, quite amazed how fast my bars drop from the 10 bars starting point:

2.1 miles trip odometer reading: 9 bars remaining
3.2 miles trip odometer reading: 8 bars remaining
11.7 miles trip odometer reading: 6 bars remaining

 

[RCEV13]

Elroy,

I suggest toggling the center display to the "battery-percentage" indicator and reporting how your percentage decreases over distance traveled. Going 80% to bars remaining seems less accurate.

Good luck!

 

[RegGuheert]

2.1 miles trip odometer reading: 9 bars remaining

I tend to get three miles from the 10th bar on an 80% charge, but 2.1 is not unreasonable.

3.2 miles trip odometer reading: 8 bars remaining

Only 1.1 miles on the 9th bar! :shock: That's pretty low. I've seen that, but only when climbing a mountain at ~45 kW. Were you climbing a mountain?

11.7 miles trip odometer reading: 6 bars remaining

5.8 miles/bar average for bars seven and eight. Pretty normal. I shoot for 7 miles/bar, but usually end up with about 6.

I suggest toggling the center display to the "battery-percentage" indicator and reporting how your percentage decreases over distance traveled. Going 80% to bars remaining seems less accurate.

That is a new feature available on your 2013 LEAF which ELROY does not have on his 2012.

 

[elmobob]

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.

I commute to NYC area from Westchester, 11 miles each way. In winter when very cold less than 30F, mines uses up to 3-4 bars each way with heater off, not driving conservatively. So using up 5 bars on 36 miles is not bad at all.

 

[ELROY]

2.1 miles trip odometer reading: 9 bars remaining

I tend to get three miles from the 10th bar on an 80% charge, but 2.1 is not unreasonable.

3.2 miles trip odometer reading: 8 bars remaining

Only 1.1 miles on the 9th bar! :shock: That's pretty low. I've seen that, but only when climbing a mountain at ~45 kW. Were you climbing a mountain?

11.7 miles trip odometer reading: 6 bars remaining

5.8 miles/bar average for bars seven and eight. Pretty normal. I shoot for 7 miles/bar, but usually end up with about 6.

I suggest toggling the center display to the "battery-percentage" indicator and reporting how your percentage decreases over distance traveled. Going 80% to bars remaining seems less accurate.

That is a new feature available on your 2013 LEAF which ELROY does not have on his 2012.

The 11.7 miles used the four bars.

 

[wishboneash]

2.1 miles trip odometer reading: 9 bars remaining

I tend to get three miles from the 10th bar on an 80% charge, but 2.1 is not unreasonable.

3.2 miles trip odometer reading: 8 bars remaining

Only 1.1 miles on the 9th bar! :shock: That's pretty low. I've seen that, but only when climbing a mountain at ~45 kW. Were you climbing a mountain?

11.7 miles trip odometer reading: 6 bars remaining

5.8 miles/bar average for bars seven and eight. Pretty normal. I shoot for 7 miles/bar, but usually end up with about 6.

I suggest toggling the center display to the "battery-percentage" indicator and reporting how your percentage decreases over distance traveled. Going 80% to bars remaining seems less accurate.

That is a new feature available on your 2013 LEAF which ELROY does not have on his 2012.

I get very similar numbers. 10th bar about 3 miles with an 80% charge. Round trip commute is 55 miles, come home with around 2 bars left.

 

[ELROY]

2.1 miles trip odometer reading: 9 bars remaining

I tend to get three miles from the 10th bar on an 80% charge, but 2.1 is not unreasonable.

3.2 miles trip odometer reading: 8 bars remaining

Only 1.1 miles on the 9th bar! :shock: That's pretty low. I've seen that, but only when climbing a mountain at ~45 kW. Were you climbing a mountain?

11.7 miles trip odometer reading: 6 bars remaining

5.8 miles/bar average for bars seven and eight. Pretty normal. I shoot for 7 miles/bar, but usually end up with about 6.

I suggest toggling the center display to the "battery-percentage" indicator and reporting how your percentage decreases over distance traveled. Going 80% to bars remaining seems less accurate.

That is a new feature available on your 2013 LEAF which ELROY does not have on his 2012.

I get very similar numbers. 10th bar about 3 miles with an 80% charge. Round trip commute is 55 miles, come home with around 2 bars left.

You drive 55 miles on 80% charge with 2 bars remaining????
I drive 55 miles on 100% charge and hit LBW.

 

[DaveEV]

The 11.7 miles used the four bars.

At 3.4 mi/kWh.

How are you driving to get such low economy? The only way I get that low is driving 75 mph or driving uphill.

This weekend I drove 50 miles uphill climbing just under 3000 ft on a 100% charge and got there reading 3.5 mi/kWh. Around 1-2 bars left (70 gids). Of course, driving speeds were 35-55 mph for the most part.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

You drive 55 miles on 80% charge with 2 bars remaining????
I drive 55 miles on 100% charge and hit LBW.

assuming you are not drag racing everyone off the line, I have to say that you have serious degradation or there is something amiss here.

 

[ELROY]

You drive 55 miles on 80% charge with 2 bars remaining????
I drive 55 miles on 100% charge and hit LBW.

assuming you are not drag racing everyone off the line, I have to say that you have serious degradation or there is something amiss here.

Doesn't the mi/kWh rating reflect how you drive...whether hypermiling or driving less conservatively? I think it would be awesome to be getting the range of many of the members here.

 

[wishboneash]

I get very similar numbers. 10th bar about 3 miles with an 80% charge. Round trip commute is 55 miles, come home with around 2 bars left.

You drive 55 miles on 80% charge with 2 bars remaining????
I drive 55 miles on 100% charge and hit LBW.

I don't charge to 100% unless I plan to drive over 70 miles. Winter, I would be down to 1 bar or 0 bars with the GOM flashing at 6 or 7 miles. But then I don't drive over 60 mph for the most part. I can safely say that I haven't seen battery degradation in ~25,000 miles.

 

[cwerdna]

I can safely say that I haven't seen battery degradation in ~25,000 miles.

Not surprising as you live an ideal climate in terms of battery degradation. It almost never gets hot up there compared to places like south San Jose, Walnut Creek or Concord.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

You drive 55 miles on 80% charge with 2 bars remaining????
I drive 55 miles on 100% charge and hit LBW.

assuming you are not drag racing everyone off the line, I have to say that you have serious degradation or there is something amiss here.

Doesn't the mi/kWh rating reflect how you drive...whether hypermiling or driving less conservatively? I think it would be awesome to be getting the range of many of the members here.

it "can" but that is only a part of the equation.

tonight is a prime example. I just got home from work less than 10 minutes ago. I left on a 88% charge (248 GID) , drove 64 miles, got home with 14 GID. I drove between 50-53 mph and got 4.2 miles/kwh.

no rain, no wind to speak of. nearly identical route that gave me 5.2 miles/kwh last week when it was near 70º. Tonight it was 40º

so your miles per Kwh should be used to judge yourself. you cant take my numbers because I am in a different area, different climate, different everything.

if you drove conservatively, pumped up the pressure on the tires, minimal climate controls, etc. if you did all that and still got 3. something, well maybe that is all you can get.

I would have your alignment checked though. you should be getting better than that. but then again, how fast do you drive?

 

[wishboneash]

I can safely say that I haven't seen battery degradation in ~25,000 miles.

Not surprising as you live an ideal climate in terms of battery degradation. It almost never gets hot up there compared to places like south San Jose, Walnut Creek or Concord.

I live in the East Bay (Pleasanton) of the SF Bay area. A bit hotter in summer and bit cooler in winter than the San Jose and South Bay. Similar to Concord/Walnut Creek temperatures.

 

[2lehwalder]

Greetings Folks,
I have owned my 2011 Leaf SV with 9000 miles on it about 2 and a half weeks, but have driven700 miles since then. I drive on a 60 MPH -2 lane road from my small farm North of Spokane to North Spokane, where the closest charge station is at Wendle Nissan. By then with 45 miles driven in eco mode, slowing down whenever possible to 40 mph when in either a two-lane-on-my-side area or when traffic is light, and going 55 when i have to, there are 8 white bars used. Two white bars left, plus the red. At Wendle i plug into the 240 volt for three and a half hours, lift the bike out, and ride and shop. If i choose to go father in to the center to the TWO pathetic 240 volt stations ( and they are available), there seems to be little perceptible useage on the way. It is the freeway speeds that eat up energy it seems. The farthest i have gone at 55-60 mph - the night i drove it home from the dealer-there were just the 2 red bars left, but i do live up a steep two mile hill. I had gone just 58 miles, but it was 32 degrees out. Is my car weaker than most??
I love this car, but may have made a mistake. When winter comes, there will be less energy, more resistence/slippage from snow, colder denser air to penetrate- it may not be workable. Am considering a Prius, but still reluctant to abandon this grand experiment.
Has anyone considered carrying along a small generator of about 3500 continuous watts? Either in the back or on a short trailer? When will reliable battery augmention be available? I have seen the Enginer web site, but not sure how reliable the company is. What i would not do for 20 more miles range.
I welcome all experience/opinions.
Spokane SV

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Greetings Folks,
I have owned my 2011 Leaf SV with 9000 miles on it about 2 and a half weeks, but have driven700 miles since then. I drive on a 60 MPH -2 lane road from my small farm North of Spokane to North Spokane, where the closest charge station is at Wendle Nissan. By then with 45 miles driven in eco mode, slowing down whenever possible to 40 mph when in either a two-lane-on-my-side area or when traffic is light, and going 55 when i have to, there are 8 white bars used. Two white bars left, plus the red. At Wendle i plug into the 240 volt for three and a half hours, lift the bike out, and ride and shop. If i choose to go father in to the center to the TWO pathetic 240 volt stations ( and they are available), there seems to be little perceptible useage on the way. It is the freeway speeds that eat up energy it seems. The farthest i have gone at 55-60 mph - the night i drove it home from the dealer-there were just the 2 red bars left, but i do live up a steep two mile hill. I had gone just 58 miles, but it was 32 degrees out. Is my car weaker than most??
I love this car, but may have made a mistake. When winter comes, there will be less energy, more resistence/slippage from snow, colder denser air to penetrate- it may not be workable. Am considering a Prius, but still reluctant to abandon this grand experiment.
Has anyone considered carrying along a small generator of about 3500 continuous watts? Either in the back or on a short trailer? When will reliable battery augmention be available? I have seen the Enginer web site, but not sure how reliable the company is. What i would not do for 20 more miles range.
I welcome all experience/opinions.
Spokane SV

sounds like your car is about normal. I remember the days of driving my LEAF with nothing but Nissan instrumentation to "guide" me. its not a fond memory.

it is a major paradigm shift in thinking to accept driving hear the maximum range of your battery's capacity. lately, I do it nearly every day and really could not have done it without my GID meter.

Come Winter, it will be a struggle for you especially with heavy snow. my LEAF's range dropped to the mid to upper 30's when we had our big snowstorm but then again I was driving thru 10-15" of unplowed roads trying to follow someone elses tracks. I avoided stopping as much as possible since I almost always had to rock it to get going again (the ability to disable traction control really helped here!)

Things I would look at is how soon do you lose your first battery bar after a full charge? hardly a perfect way to judge any possible degradation but should give u an indication. but if you are driving 60 miles at near highway speeds and park it with 2 bars left, you probably have most of your original range there.

 

[TonyWilliams]

The farthest i have gone at 55-60 mph - the night i drove it home from the dealer-there were just the 2 red bars left, but i do live up a steep two mile hill. I had gone just 58 miles, but it was 32 degrees out. Is my car weaker than most??
I love this car, but may have made a mistake. When winter comes, there will be less energy...

If you had 2 bars remaining, you had about 26% - 31% of the total available capacity still in the battery. Please review the Range Chart in my signature line.

 

[RegGuheert]

On a recent drive, we drove one leg 54 miles as shown in CarWings as trip 8 on April 8. (CarWings reported total distance 2.2% low for that day, so I calculate that leg as 52.8/0.978=54) Note that the energy used was 10.0 kWh for that leg. What is concerning is that at the end of that leg, I had just lost the 8th charge bar, leaving only four charge bars remaining. Since the fourth bar means 36% to 44% of available capacity remaining, I'll assume I was close to 44% remaining. That means the available capacity of the car is 10.0 kWh/0.56=17.8 kWh. Put another way, that is 85% of the 21 kWh available from a new LEAF.

There was a second leg that day which I estimate used about 200 Wh of energy past LBW which occurred at trip odometer reading 76.6 miles. Using the CarWings energy number that implies total energy available to LBW to be 14.9 kWh - 0.2 kWh = 14.7 kWh. If there are 3.6 kWh available after LBW, that would imply 18.3 kWh available or 87% of the 21 kWh available.

Temperature was about 70F on April 8, BTW.

So, what should I believe? 85% available? 87% available? There is no way to know since the instrumentation is so bad?

I must say it is a bit frustrating to not be able to gauge whether the battery is holding up or not. Our car has always calculated out to low energy available from the gauges whenever we have made a longish trip and I don't notice any real drop in the driving range since we got it.

Based on the fact that some of the cars in the Phoenix range test had quite a bit of range squirreled away below LBW, perhaps the best way to find out is to drive it to turtle or below. I just don't like to discharge the battery that far. I sure hope Nissan can make real improvements to the instrumentation in the car with an update, but I don't really see how that can be possible.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Reg, map out an 80-ish mile loop or out-and-back (or whatever distance you think the car will go) and make it happen.

I, of course, recommend following the procedures we've developed so that we can more accurately compare data:

1- 100kmh constant ground speed from GPS
2- cruise control engaged
3- heater / fan off
4 - reset dash economy and trip meter
5 - 36psi tire pressure
6 - measure course with Google maps to check odometer
7 - relatively level course

Record miles to LBW, VLB and Turtle (if applicable). Get the official weather from the local airport, unless that data really doesn't apply to your route.

Have fun!