Winter is hard on range!

[adric22]

Yep - My leaf is the 2011 so I don't have the heated seats, the battery warmer, or the heat-pump. So even here in Texas I'm experiencing degraded range. It has been in the low 30's the last couple of days and my regen is also gone. It will only give me
"1 bubble" of regen now. We are about to go to across town in an hour or so and normally the Leaf could make this trip but we're going to have to leave it at home this evening and take the Volt even though it will probably mean running on gas on the ay back.

 

[johnrhansen]

I just experienced lazy regeneration in cold weather. I didn't see it before because I always stop charging at 80 percent. I charged to 100 this morning and noticed I didn't get regeneration to or the double circle on the largest leftmost green dot until my charge got down to 82 percent.

 

[XeonPony]

for us with the "Cold weather package" at -17c the battery heater starts up and it scks I think 300w I saw some where. so just the fact it is -s is bad enough add the heater to the loop and the L1 charger does nothing in effect!

 

[cwerdna]

FYP...

the L1 EVSE does nothing in effect!

BTW, I noticed you frequently have been using the word "charger" when you mean EVSE.

This can create a lot of confusion. For L1 and L2 charging, the charger is on-board the car, part of the PDM stack under the hood in the case of '13+ Leafs. See http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=14728&p=332668#p332668" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

 

[timhebb]

Was just reading my manual, preparing for my first ever QC, and one thing it mentioned was that a QC will take longer when the pack is cold, up to 90 minutes!

Wow...a 90-minute QC is a contradiction in terms, or what literary types would call an oxymoron. At any rate, it almost takes the Q out QC altogether.

Still wondering how or if QC can be used to maintain warmer battery temperatures - and therefore capacity and range - in colder climates. Or, does a cold battery self-limit any significant warming effect?

Here in So Cal, there is very little opportunity to experiment with this empirically, so what do those of you from colder climes with access to QC have to say about it?

 

[TomT]

It doesn't have to be that cold... We were out last night with a battery temp of about 55 degrees and roughly a 40% SOC, and I only had one bubble of regen available in Eco... It definitely is worse after the P3227 update.

However, it has always been normal to have little if any regen in the 100% to 85% SOC range...

I just experienced lazy regeneration in cold weather. I didn't see it before because I always stop charging at 80 percent. I charged to 100 this morning and noticed I didn't get regeneration to or the double circle on the largest leftmost green dot until my charge got down to 82 percent.

 

[XeonPony]

been no retardation of my regen in cold weather so far at -20 it did just as good as it did in the +5 weather, so wonder if they changed things for us in the Northical

 

[dgpcolorado]

been no retardation of my regen in cold weather so far at -20 it did just as good as it did in the +5 weather, so wonder if they changed things for us in the Northical

No. The difference is between the 2013 models and the older 2011/2012 cars. And the regen in older cars was reduced even more by the software update P3227.

Even before the update the regen in my car at temperatures below -15ºC was minimal. Now it is reduced at mild temperatures in the 12ºC range. Quite annoying.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Was just reading my manual, preparing for my first ever QC, and one thing it mentioned was that a QC will take longer when the pack is cold, up to 90 minutes!

Wow...a 90-minute QC is a contradiction in terms, or what literary types would call an oxymoron. At any rate, it almost takes the Q out QC altogether.

Still wondering how or if QC can be used to maintain warmer battery temperatures - and therefore capacity and range - in colder climates. Or, does a cold battery self-limit any significant warming effect?

Here in So Cal, there is very little opportunity to experiment with this empirically, so what do those of you from colder climes with access to QC have to say about it?

Still quick compared to 5-1/2 or 6 hours on L2.

 

[Berlino]

It doesn't have to be that cold... We were out last night with a battery temp of about 55 degrees and roughly a 40% SOC, and I only had one bubble of regen available in Eco... It definitely is worse after the P3227 update.

However, it has always been normal to have little if any regen in the 100% to 85% SOC range...

I noticed a difference in cold-weather regen for the first time today, when a single bubble was missing with a max battery temp of -2.8C at 50% SOC.


Why is there so much difference between MY13 and MYs 11-12 with respect to regen? Hard to believe the battery chemistry has changed that much.

 

[dgpcolorado]

I noticed a difference in cold-weather regen for the first time today, when a single bubble was missing with a max battery temp of -2.8C at 50% SOC.


Why is there so much difference between MY13 and MYs 11-12 with respect to regen? Hard to believe the battery chemistry has changed that much.

As I've said a couple of times before, I think it was a flub in the software update P3227. If so, I am hopeful that Nissan will fix it eventually; I don't believe that there was any good reason for the drastic reduction in regen after the update.

 

[TomT]

I'm told that Nissan is investigating the issue... And I agree, there is no good reason why it should be that much different between a 2011/12 and a 2013... The battery chemistry is only very slightly different and mostly due to the manufacturing process, not battery improvements...

As I've said a couple of times before, I think it was a flub in the software update P3227. If so, I am hopeful that Nissan will fix it eventually; I don't believe that there was any good reason for the drastic reduction in regen after the update.

 

[johnrhansen]

All this talk about that bad software update makes me not to want to get one if it ever applies to my car. It works fine now and I don't have to worry about security like I would with my pc. Like the man says if it ain't broke don't fix it!

 

[Berlino]

fwiw, the battery temperature dropped further to -3.3C, but the fourth regen bubble was restored when I got down to 35% as per the dashboard.

The LEAF will be outside at -15C the next two nights and I am curious to see how the car will perform.

Since Nissan is allowing more regen of cold batteries now, could they also have enabled cold-weather quick charges to proceed faster?

 

[supra410]

I didn't do so well today. I started at 100% 229 gids and no highway travel and intermittent heat use. It was 25 degrees (f) today. I hit turtle for the first time a quarter mile from my house. Ended at 7 gids and 54.6 miles. I also notice a humming or like a metal to metal rubbing noise for the first few miles.

 

[DaveEV]

It doesn't have to be that cold... We were out last night with a battery temp of about 55 degrees and roughly a 40% SOC, and I only had one bubble of regen available in Eco... It definitely is worse after the P3227 update.

Shoot, even with battery temps in the 65F range at freeway speeds I only get 2 bubbles of regen after the update. Have to get the battery down to 4 bars or less for it to start acting more normal.

How do you know that Nissan is looking at it? Anything we should do if we're annoyed by it?

Back on topic - I see a 10% loss of efficiency with just mildly cold temps (50-60F ambient) unless I'm able to really drive smoothly.

 

[KJD]

I didn't do so well today. I started at 100% 229 gids and no highway travel and intermittent heat use. It was 25 degrees (f) today. I hit turtle for the first time a quarter mile from my house. Ended at 7 gids and 54.6 miles. I also notice a humming or like a metal to metal rubbing noise for the first few miles.

Did you take the survey on what the LEAF battery size should be ?

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=15103" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[michapok]

I think it would be interesting for people to report their tire pressure as well as the accompanying temperature - Theoretically you'll lose about 1psi per 10 degree drop and topping back up to 40psi could be a quick way to gain back 5 or 10 miles of range

 

[XeonPony]

40psi @ -20C I get to work with 30% remaining and an ice coated car with no heat usage, and after 9H of recharging at L1 it is just barely at 80% + or -5%

regen at this temp is dead on normal

 

[Berlino]

regen at this temp [-20°C] is dead on normal

Is your LEAF garaged at night? I normally charge to 80%. If the battery temp is below roughly -2°C I lose one regen bubble. At -5.5°C three of four are gone, which is annoying because I can no longer drive with one pedal and have to get used to a different feel of the brake pedal.

My LEAF is kept outside, so a night-time low of -8°C is enough to for the battery to be -2°C and -12°C got it down to -5.5°C. Also, I only have level one, so charging warms the battery less than if I had L2.

If you have an insulated garage, your battery temp might never break zero.