wlegro
Active member
I'm sorry, I'm sure this discussion has happened here already, but my god there's so much to search and sift through, I gave up.
Ours is a 2012 SL, 14.2K miles, always parked outside, including in the LA sun, not as bad as Phoenix, but still...
Used to be on a full charge it would predict 80-90 miles. My wife would come home from work with miles at 40 and charge it up fully. We almost never let it get below 40 - and typically paid attention only to miles because that's what mattered most to us.
Now we're down to 11 bars, predicted miles down to mid-70s or less, when she returns home it's down to 28-30 miles.
So I went looking for ways to extend the battery life and came across this:
http://www.plugincars.com/eight-tips-extend-battery-life-your-electric-car-107938.html
Avoid full charging? Oh nooooo! Now you tell us!
Avoid deep discharging? Because Li-ion batteries don't have memory? Well, then I read this: "Unlike NiCad batteries, lithium-ion batteries do not have a charge memory. That means deep-discharge cycles are not required. In fact, it's better for the battery to use partial-discharge cycles.
There is one exception. Battery experts suggest that after 30 charges, you should allow lithium-ion batteries to almost completely discharge. Continuous partial discharges create a condition called digital memory, decreasing the accuracy of the device's power gauge. So let the battery discharge to the cut-off point and then recharge. The power gauge will be recalibrated." http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/five-apps/five-tips-for-extending-lithium-ion-battery-life/
One of those articles is from 2010, the other from 2011.
So now I'm wondering - have we really lost a bar after only 14,000 miles? Maybe it's not the miles that matter but the time - 4 years now. Never discharged fully, but always recharged fully.
Anyway - should we discharge as much as possible, then see if the gauge recalibrates? Or should I figure that the gauge is right, as evidenced by Nissan's admission that 2011-12 batteries weren't all that great and so extended the warranty. But at this rate of degradation, we won't go below 9 bars until way past the 96 months that I read was now the time limit. If all that is true, maybe we should hurry up and degradedegradedegrade?
We love our Leaf. Saved us a ton of money, saved us from gas station fumes, excellent ride, quite and comfortable. This 1-bar loss is the only thing that's ever gone "wrong" with it.
Ours is a 2012 SL, 14.2K miles, always parked outside, including in the LA sun, not as bad as Phoenix, but still...
Used to be on a full charge it would predict 80-90 miles. My wife would come home from work with miles at 40 and charge it up fully. We almost never let it get below 40 - and typically paid attention only to miles because that's what mattered most to us.
Now we're down to 11 bars, predicted miles down to mid-70s or less, when she returns home it's down to 28-30 miles.
So I went looking for ways to extend the battery life and came across this:
http://www.plugincars.com/eight-tips-extend-battery-life-your-electric-car-107938.html
Avoid full charging? Oh nooooo! Now you tell us!
Avoid deep discharging? Because Li-ion batteries don't have memory? Well, then I read this: "Unlike NiCad batteries, lithium-ion batteries do not have a charge memory. That means deep-discharge cycles are not required. In fact, it's better for the battery to use partial-discharge cycles.
There is one exception. Battery experts suggest that after 30 charges, you should allow lithium-ion batteries to almost completely discharge. Continuous partial discharges create a condition called digital memory, decreasing the accuracy of the device's power gauge. So let the battery discharge to the cut-off point and then recharge. The power gauge will be recalibrated." http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/five-apps/five-tips-for-extending-lithium-ion-battery-life/
One of those articles is from 2010, the other from 2011.
So now I'm wondering - have we really lost a bar after only 14,000 miles? Maybe it's not the miles that matter but the time - 4 years now. Never discharged fully, but always recharged fully.
Anyway - should we discharge as much as possible, then see if the gauge recalibrates? Or should I figure that the gauge is right, as evidenced by Nissan's admission that 2011-12 batteries weren't all that great and so extended the warranty. But at this rate of degradation, we won't go below 9 bars until way past the 96 months that I read was now the time limit. If all that is true, maybe we should hurry up and degradedegradedegrade?
We love our Leaf. Saved us a ton of money, saved us from gas station fumes, excellent ride, quite and comfortable. This 1-bar loss is the only thing that's ever gone "wrong" with it.