what are the median SOH and kWh values for 2013 and 2014 Leafs

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BuckMkII

Well-known member
Joined
May 6, 2017
Messages
258
Location
Seattle
I finally figured out that my used Leaf buying goal is simply to avoid buying a worse-than-average battery. Has anyone ever tried to compile and calculate these numbers? Or simply make a well-informed WAG as to the medians?
 
I visited the friendly neighborhood Leaf dealer today and stuck my dongle in three cars. This claims to be a "no haggle" dealer, so allegedly the price is the price.

First car: 2013 SV + premium package, 45,000 miles, Carfax suggests it lived near Sacramento. $8,995
VIN: 1N4AZ0CP0DC419897
I thought the panel showed 12 bars, but I did not take a picture and may have forgotten to count carefully.

LeafSpy says SOH = 88%, AH = 58 but the battery cells display has 2/3 of the cell bars colored red (what does that mean?). In the cell histogram, there are 10 populated bins and the max voltage difference is 18 mV. Despite the high SOH, this looks weird.
http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah21/wagen13/Leaf/IMG_4947_zpscuzu4nu1.png
I don't think I want this car.

Next car: 2013 SV + QC, 33,000 miles, Carfax locations are Santa Clara, Sunnyvale and San Jose, $9,995
VIN: 1N4AZ0CP1DC407869
Panels shows 12 bars.

SOH = 84%, AHr = 55, all the battery cells are blue bars, histogram has five bins but two have only one cell (the outermost cells) and one has six, max voltage difference is 8 mV
Might be a contender.

Third car: 2013 SV, 39,000 miles, all Carfax locations are Fremont CA, $8,995
1N4AZ0CP3DC413625

SOH = 86%, AHr = 56, 2500 L1/L2, all battery cells have blue bars, six peaks on histogram but one has one cell and one has two (the outermost cells), max voltage difference is 7 mV.

I test drove the last one, pretty much entirely on the freeway on cruise control at 54 mph, an out and back of 23.0 miles.
Initial SOC = 71.9%, indicates 13.5 kWh remaining. After drive SOC = 51.4%, indicates 8.9 kWh remaining. One LeafSpy Summary view has fine print that says "Trip 23.0 miles 5.5 mi/kWH" while the next says "Chrg 23.0 miles 5.0 (4.8) mi/kWH" in the same text block

http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah21/wagen13/Leaf/summary%20post%20tripIMG_4966_zpsl7t5yiyl.png
(I didn't upload a picture of the 2nd screen)

I don't understand the latter information, so I tried working with the former: (23 miles / 5.5 mi/kWh) / (0.719 - 0.514) = 20.4 kWh

Is that the right way to do that calculation? If so, is 20.4 kWhgood for a 2013?
 
Forum member SageBrush corrected my misunderstanding about the meaning of the red bars in the battery cell display, so the 45,000 mile car is back under consideration.
 
I'm pretty sure you only want to compare AHr when the battery is fully charged, since the value will drop as the SOC drops.
 
Purchased my 2013 SL with premium package recently. 89% SOH and 58.8 AHr. 31,000 miles.

I looked at about 13 leafs before buying mine. I found a car lot that had a bunch of 12's and 13's in the end and was able to LeafSpy each one. I found most of them had an average of 56-58 AHr. I could have probably taken a bit more time and found something with a little better battery condition, but found driving to all the dealerships/lots (which is required if you want to plug in with LeafSpy) was becoming extremely time consuming. Especially when dealing with shady dealerships that bait and switch you. I love my car and hope to get at least 3-5 years of usability out of it. By then, the newer models with the bigger battery should be coming off lease and available OR 24kWh battery replacements will become more affordable (unlikely)
 
If there is no indication of a battery reset (suspiciously high numbers, possibly excepting AH), look for a 2013 Leaf with about 89-90% SOH. That's what you can reasonably expect to find, with a little searching. Pre-April 2013 cars should be showing lost bars, but always check the build date on the door sticker, in case, and pass on any built before April.
 
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