Just bought used 2012 sv, getting only 40 - 45 miles before LBW.

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Wltrbrgr

Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2016
Messages
12
Location
San Francisco, CA
I am experiencing buyer remorse.
Love how the car drives, disappointed in range.
Have 11 bars. It is 22 miles each way to work, mostly freeway, but I have to charge before coming home as battery will read 2/3 depleted after the one way trip.

Dealer just did 36k inspection of battery and they say it is fine. Car has 37k on it.

Is this normal? I understand that I might warranty replacement at 8 bars but seems unlikely I will see that before nov 2017 when that warranty expires.

Any insights would be appreciated.
 
Is this normal? Things to consider:
11 bars showing can mean you're on the verge of 10 bars
You need to use LeafSpy to know exactly how many GIDs remain
You may still have 12 miles left at LBW
2/3 depleted means you still have 1/3 left, but if that 2/3 is only 22 miles then you should look for a bad cell with LeafSpy, don't trust the dealer
Drive slower, especially on the freeway
If you don't make the warranty replacement, you can buy a new pack
You'll soon get used to what your range limitations are, you're experiencing beginners panic
Use Plugshare, charge at every opportunity
 
Assuming the car has not been tampered with (the battery management system reset to raise the capacity bar reading) I suggest you focus on your freeway driving. The Leaf looks like an aerodynamic little car, but sadly it's not. Above 60MPH the range suffers, and from 65MPH on up, it suffers a lot. Try driving 60 in the slow lane; if that greatly improves your range, try setting the cruise control for 62. Inflate all the tires to 40-42psi, as the door sticker suggestion of 36 psi is flat-out Wrong. You may get that range up quite a bit. Finally, get LeafSpy and an appropriate wireless OBDII code port reader, and use them to get all the range the car has available.
 
There is more miles contained in the last 1/3rd of the indicator.
Probably has more range than you think.
Do slow down and get the pressure up for best results.
Still a good chance for a new battery under warranty.
 
Wltrbrgr said:
I am experiencing buyer remorse.
Love how the car drives, disappointed in range.
Have 11 bars. It is 22 miles each way to work, mostly freeway, but I have to charge before coming home as battery will read 2/3 depleted after the one way trip.

Dealer just did 36k inspection of battery and they say it is fine. Car has 37k on it.

Is this normal? I understand that I might warranty replacement at 8 bars but seems unlikely I will see that before nov 2017 when that warranty expires.

Any insights would be appreciated.
How are you reading that the battery is 2/3 rd depleted? Since the '12 lacks the SOC% indicator are you going off the GOM? If so I've found it to be highly optimistic at first and then quickly turns to highly pessimistic, trying to scare you to charge. If you haven't already got LeafSpy I'd highly recommend it, not only does it give you the very handy SOC% meter but also other battery readings that help you much more than the very unhelpful GOM(miles left gauge).
 
Your post doesn't make sense. If you were getting "40-45 miles before LBW," then you wouldn't "have to charge before coming home". You'd be pulling into your driveway right around LBW and would still have a good ten miles or more of range. I think you need to learn how to properly judge your available range. It sounds like you're reading the guage much too pessimistically.. Not really your fault, Nissan kind of set you up with the way they put in the red bars and the way that battery degradation affects the guage.

That's why so many people here have LEAFSpy, otherwise it takes voodoo magic to know how far you can actually drive.
 
Did you research where the car spent the first 4 years of its life? By 37,000 miles, my 2012 Leaf was down to only 70% capacity. The dealer battery test is worthless, and tells you nothing. As others said, your location, how fast you drive, and tire pressure also make a huge difference in range. How long have you owned the car? If it starts suddenly losing bars, you can bet that someone tampered with the BMS. Resetting the BMS temporarily gives you back all 12 capacity bars, until the BMS relearns the actual condition.
 
Thanks everyone. Will try these suggestions and provide update in couple weeks.

I'm in Marin county California. And, yes my commute is only 22 miles each way but I forgot to mention I line to go out for lunch and run 5-7 miles worth of errand during day so hence the need to recharge before heading home in order to avoid severe range anxiety.
 
One more thing to consider - tires. Not just the pressure, but the tires themselves. Back when I was leasing my Leaf, I wore through the original tires in about 20k miles. I since learned that this is not uncommon. I personally bought cheapo tires that are NOT low-rolling resistance (I didn't need huge amounts of range). I didn't want to pay for good tires and then turn them in to Nissan at the end of my lease.

So check your tires - are they good LRR tires? It makes a surprisingly large difference (upwards of 20-25%).
 
GetOffYourGas said:
One more thing to consider - tires. Not just the pressure, but the tires themselves. Back when I was leasing my Leaf, I wore through the original tires in about 20k miles. I since learned that this is not uncommon. I personally bought cheapo tires that are NOT low-rolling resistance (I didn't need huge amounts of range). I didn't want to pay for good tires and then turn them in to Nissan at the end of my lease.

So check your tires - are they good LRR tires? It makes a surprisingly large difference (upwards of 20-25%).


Not all cheap tires have high rolling resistance, though. The Goodyear Eagle L/S tires I used to replace the Ecopias (at 5k miles, since I hated them) are doing fine, with my current average at 4.2 M/KWH. I get 4.3-4.4 on low elevation trips. They cost me less than $300 for the set, new, from an Ebay dealer.
 
Def more range when keeping speed at 62.
Leafspy rocks.
I am fortunate that I have a level 2 charger right near work, so, plan is to charge if able, and if so drive home at 70 and feel free to do lunch outings. If unable to charge, will simply drive home at 62, do lunch outings on foot, and be well within buffer.
I'm cured of Buyers Remorse.
This car is so awesome I love smoking muscle cars off the line between stop signs, and I can't believe how smooth and quiet it is. It's like the future. And it's a 2012.
 
I don't know if anyone has actually done the comparison, but you may be ideal: the Leaf seems to have been designed for 17" wheels, but those were optional until 2016. Since much of the drag at highway speed seems to be from the gaping wheel wells, you might try going to 17" Juke wheels with low rolling resistance (LRR) tires, maybe with/or rear wheel well covers added. I even have a set of said wheels I might be wiling to sell. ;-)
 
Ecopias are the factory tires and are LRR(low rolling resistance) which you want for longest range.
 
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