When does turtle mode appear and how much farther can you go when it does?

[atikovi]

Yes I searched first but found nothing similar.

1. At around what range does the turtle illuminate. I got my '12 down to single digits, then drove it on neighborhood streets in case it started to lose power. It didn't, even when range said 4 miles, at which point I chickened out and parked it at home. So when does the the turtle appear? At 0 miles? And THEN you are in reduced power mode? How much farther can you go when it appears, and if it doesn't go into reduced power mode then, when?

2. Noticed that with the range in single digits, I could drive more than what the meter says. If range shows 8 miles, I could drive more than a mile before range drops to 7. The opposite of what happens when well charged. It that just the way it's set up?

 

[cornbinder89]

I think it varies and depends on what the BMS reads the battery at.
I will say this: Some have suggested running the battery down until it is beyond "turtle" by running the HVAC system until it shuts down and then recharge, to "re-set" the BMS and cell balance. I would NOT recommend doing so. I tried it and ended up with the car going into "full turtle" with fully charged pack, sometimes it would clear by shutting off and re-starting, but it kept coming back until I did a "forced re-set" by disconnecting the 12 volt battery.
It may satisfy your curiosity to do such things, but may come at a cost you weren't expecting.
I didn't see any better range estimates or SOC estimates by doing so.

 

[Drew21]

If you've been driving your Leaf for long, you probably know that the range estimate is more of a "guess-timate" and is highly influenced by your recent driving. In other words, it's guessing your range as if the driving you have just done is the driving you will be doing.

We don't charge at home all that often (wife has free charging at work) but when we do the range estimate on our 2014 is >100 miles because the last few miles to our house are downhill. That estimate drops very quickly when we leave our house because we are driving back up the hill for the first few miles.

This is why there is no one range estimate or maximum distance for a Leaf. A 24 kWh Leaf like your 2012 might have a range of 70+ miles on the roads where I live (rolling hills, speed limits of 25-45 mph) but could struggle to take you 40-50 miles if your driving has long/steep uphills and/or high speeds. If you drive the same route(s) you should gain a good understanding of your Leaf's range for your driving, but it won't really transfer to someone else's Leaf being driven in different conditions.

 

[Jerther]

I recently did a three cycle deep discharge on my 2018 40kwh and turtle mode appeared at three different points. Once it appeared with some % left while driving, and once it appeared right before the car shut off while parked. I think it depends on how hard your driving. The harder, the sooner turtle mode will appear.

Bottom line: don't rely on it.

 

[DavidMW]

I ignore the range estimate on my 2018 Leaf - it's really not helpful. I watch the battery% instead. I know the relationship between % and miles, which varies considerably with temperature. In summer I can get 1.4 miles/% while in winter it can fall below I.0 miles/%.
The range estimate doesn't make nearly enough allowance for low temperatures - that's why I ignore it.

 

[nlspace]

Turtle is not related to range or SOC, but to individual cell voltage. It is a protection against drawing a cell too low.