Is this "real life" range normal in your opinion?

Hello everyone again...

I would be grateful if you could tell me your opinion about an issue with my Leaf's range...

I just bought it used:
2012 Leaf SL
48000 km
Still all the bars of the battery: 132 km claimed range (in ECO mode) when 100% full.

So my workplace is 14 km from home.
I leave home after an 80% recharge of the battery.
The car says I have 121 km range.
I drive the 14 km.
I arrive at work.
The car says I have 68 km range.

I drove in ECO mode.
No AC.
No heater.
Only lights (it's 4 am when I leave, still dark).
No steep climbs, a pretty flat route (maybe very very slight slope in some tracts).
Average speed 70 km/h, with some short tracts at 80 km/h.

I drove 14 km.
I lost 53 km range.

That's an astounding 378% higher consumption!

Now, I understand one thing is theory, another thing is real life.
I might understand a +20%. Even +50%.
But even with a +100%, which is double, the km loss would have been 28.
But not 53 km, come on!

Do you think this is normal?

Thank you!

UPDATE November 7, 2016:

The range drop is real, I checked, it’s not only an estimation. Because if I don’t stop somewhere and charge the battery, it really drops almost to zero!

Wherever I drive, flat streets, normal road and traffic conditions, at a reasonable speed of 70-80 km/h the range in kilometers drops at the rate of approximately 1 km every 10 seconds!

If the car has only been charged to 80% since purchase, then the cells are in serious need of balancing. This can affect the range. Charging to 100% is not bad for the battery. The problem comes with leaving it at 100% for extended periods of time, especially in the heat. Also, the battery needs to be periodically charged to 100% to balance the cells.

Thanks Baustin. Interesting, I didn't know that.

So, well, I don't know what did the previous owner do. I bought it used from a Nissan dealer.

However, when I came back home from the dealer (almost 300 km from home) I had to recharge it to 100%, because totally I recharged it 3 times LOL (I left the dealer around 1 pm and I was back home at 4 am).

Is there any "service" at any kind of dealer to "balance" the battery?

Thanks.

I'm sure the dealer would love to charge you to balance the battery for you.

Just charge it to 100% at least once every 10 to 14 days. Let it go until it is completely finished. I would suggest once a week, on a day that you will be driving it down to at least 85% before parking it.

haha lol so you're saying they won't mind!

Actually, I have 30 days warranty from the dealer where I bought it used!!!

I should use it (Except for the 290 km distance from my home.... another 4am overnight drive LOL)....

You should not be paying attention to the "ESTIMATED MILES" "guess-o-meter". You can see how your battery is doing from the percent of charge vs YOUR miles driven... I start my car out at 100% every day (do not charge it only to 80%, that is a waste of good battery)... Every charge, reset your odometer to Zero.

Overall, you should be getting about 1 mile of driving per % of battery charge if you drive about 20-30 miles or more. What I am saying is that from 100% charge, the battery % will drop a lot more quickly. You may only drive 5 or so miles and the battery % will be down to 90%, but it stabilizes after that. Please report those numbers. I have driven many miles with my Leaf and I find the only important dash display is the % of charge ...... Also get the LEAFSPY app on your phone and buy the $20 wireless OBDII plug for the most informative information on the condition of your battery....

Keep in touch...

Thanks!!

How do I reset this odometer thing?

I already have an OBDII bluetooth device, from my old car (a gas SUV), used to read the error codes.
Do you think I can adapt it with the LEAFSPY app, or do I need a proprietary leafspy BDII device?

Thanks!

AriesMu said:

Thanks!!

How do I reset this odometer thing?

I already have an OBDII bluetooth device, from my old car (a gas SUV), used to read the error codes.
Do you think I can adapt it with the LEAFSPY app, or do I need a proprietary leafspy BDII device?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Not sure if your old adapter will work, you could try it, but this the one I purchased and it works great:
https://www.amazon.com/Panlong-Bluetooth-Diagnostic-Scanner-Android/dp/B00PJPHEBO/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1476365555&sr=8-5&keywords=obdii+bluetooth
The "odometer thing" he's talking about is simply the trip meter. Also note your not going to get anywhere near 1 mile for 1% on your '12, you'd be lucky to get 1kw/1% I'd guess 60-70 mile range in good conditions but don't expect much more. Personally I use 80% if I don't need full range but do like to use 100% every week or two to balance the cells. Another reason not to use 100% is because when the car is at a high SOC(state of charge) you have very little regen. In other words in this case when you let off on the gas the car coasts for a long time, requiring you to use and wear out your breaks much faster, also it's just more wasteful. At 80% or less you'll have a nice amount of regen capability, using regen you may be able to reduce your friction break use quite a bit. Note I always use the B mode(requiring a double shift every time you start the car) if you don't use B mode you also won't have as much regen or engine breaking.

Oh wow thanks....

Wow man we need a MSc degree to drive this car LOL!

.....mmm.... "B mode... what..."??? LOL is it a 2012 Leaf thing too?

When the car is in drive mode simply shift into drive mode a second time. You'll see a little B on the dash that tells you your in the B mode. In B mode when you let off on the accelerator pedal the car will use regen to start slowing the car down, if you anticipate stops you can significantly reduce friction break use by using B mode. Note some people like to coast a long ways or hyper mile, in this case they wouldn't want to use B mode. I use my Leaf in the city and run into far more stop signs and off ramps than areas where I can coast for a long distance so B mode works great for me. I just wish the setting stuck and I didn't have to continuously double shift after turning my car off, that and the stupid NAV nag screen which requires a push after every power up :x

I do not believe 2012 had a B mode. Only D and Eco. Shifting in D second time switches to Eco.

camasleaf said:

I do not believe 2012 had a B mode. Only D and Eco. Shifting in D second time switches to Eco.

Click to expand...

thanks, I get them mixed up driving a '12 and also my '13S. To further complicate matters I believe on some models they have both ECO and B mode :? and then theirs my wifes Prius that has a B mode......too many cars to keep track of :lol:

LOL, exactly, mine has no such B mode.
Only D and ECO.

uff!

At least on my 2013 S Trim, you don't have to "double shift" when you re-start the car to get in "eco" mode if you were in "eco" on last drive. The car seems to remember what I was last driving it in, so it starts right up in "eco" mode. With newer cars with "B mode" do you have to move into that mode everytime you start the car?

SurfHawk said:

At least on my 2013 S Trim, you don't have to "double shift" when you re-start the car to get in "eco" mode if you were in "eco" on last drive. The car seems to remember what I was last driving it in, so it starts right up in "eco" mode. With newer cars with "B mode" do you have to move into that mode everytime you start the car?

Click to expand...

Not sure about your question but your correct about the '13S, it remembers whatever last mode you were on. Unfortunately the '12(and probably '11) always default back to ECO off :x requiring a double shift for that and of course an acknowledgment of the GPS screen both of which gets rather tedious having to do on every startup
Note ECO mode on cars without a B mode switch not only reduces accelerator pedal touchiness but also gives you more "B" or engine breaking. Not sure if ECO also gives you more engine breaking on cars with both the ECO and B mode switches.....on my Prius('07) the car always goes out of "B" mode upon power down of the car.

2011 and 2012 have only D and ECO modes. First move of shift lever always gets Drive and an additional shift gets ECO. I could not measure a difference in efficiency between Drive and ECO with the 2011, but ECO does reduce the effectiveness of the HVAC slightly and it greatly changes the accelerator pedal mapping. The power draw from the heater can really sneak up on you in the 2011 or 2012 with no way to turn it off and still have ventilation so I will again recommend the heater control modification. Also, the heater will come on with A/C under some moderate temperature operating conditions. The lack of SOC percentage display on the dashboard forces the driver to rely on the bar graph and GOM to estimate actual charge level and range (or use some sort of aftermarket instrumentation such as Leaf Spy). Those who have never driven a 2011/2012 do not understand the limitations of the heater controls and dashboard displays.

Gerry

Yes, B mode was a new feature that didn't exist until model year 2013 SV and SL trims. In 2015, it was added to the S trim, as well along w/cruise control.

And, at least on the '13 SV, eco is activated via button on the steering, not double shifting to D. On '13 SV, shifting repeatedly to the D/B position toggles you between the two.

cwerdna said:

Yes, B mode was a new feature that didn't exist until model year 2013 SV and SL trims. In 2015, it was added to the S trim, as well along w/cruise control.

And, at least on the '13 SV, eco is activated via button on the steering, not double shifting to D. On '13 SV, shifting repeatedly to the D/B position toggles you between the two.

Click to expand...

On your '13SV do you notice an increase in engine breaking when you activate ECO or is B the only way to get more regen? Again on my '12 and especially '13 the ECO option not only changes engine power mapping but also gives a fair amount more regen, which I like. I wish my '12 had more regen(like the '13) but I believe its reduced because of the poor state of the battery(missing 2 bars) and having purchased it that way I don't know if it ever had regen like the '13, which has all bars.
Oh lastly, do you know if the B mode and ECO mode stick on the vehicles that have both or does it always revert to OFF after power down?
TIA

Hello everyone again!

Here I am with a relevant update after the initial post...

I determined that it's not a problem of the screen or indicator at all. It's a real energy drop.

Wherever I drive, flat streets, normal road and traffic conditions, at a reasonable speed of 70-80 km/h the range in kilometers drops at the rate of approximately 1 km every 10 seconds! This means that even if I wanted to use a 100% fully charged battery, and use it completely, to 0%, I could only drive for 29 km! This is a 75% variability, which is unexpected and unacceptable.

And the range drop is real, I checked, it’s not only an estimation. Because if I don’t stop somewhere and charge the battery, it really drops almost to zero!

In your experiences is such a charge drop normal?

Thank you!

Best.

N.

In order to really tell what's going on, I recommend getting LeafSpy so you can see the true battery charge levels.