Capacity Loss on 2011-2012 LEAFs

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Does anyone have any advice for some rapid yet legal battery wear? I have 3ish weeks left on my warranty and wondering if I can get this thing to drop the 9th bar.

47,000 ish miles
AHR 43.58
SOH 66%
Hx 45.37%

My biggest issue is that my commute is only 3-4 miles each way, so I don't get much daily driving in.
 
fbnella said:
I have 3ish weeks left on my warranty and wondering if I can get this thing to drop the 9th bar.
I feel for you! That sure is down to the wire. The problem is that the "bars" seem to represent some sort of weighted average of capacity measurements over a longer period of time. So, no matter what you do, that 9th bar may or may not disappear within three weeks.

In principle, I really don't like the idea of intentionally causing a battery to degrade for warranty purposes. Our time and energy on this Earth is just too limited to waste on "negative" pursuits.

That said, if there's a long trip you'd enjoy taking in the coming days, you could opt to drive the LEAF and use CHAdeMO fast chargers. From where you are, maybe you could head for the mountains, the ocean, or the Gulf Coast. Whatever happens with the LEAF, you'd have the pleasure of a vacation, provided you can occupy your time while waiting for fast chargers.

Whatever you decide to do, it's not worth stressing over this. Some on this forum have been able to gain concessions from Nissan even after passing the warranty thresholds.
 
MrPowly said:
I'm not sure this is the correct place to post, but perhaps someone can give me some advice. We are looking for a used Leaf, and the most tempting option locally is a 1st gen 2011 model with its original battery, but v low mileage (15k). I'm really struggling to know whether to be wary of buying an older vehicle even though its mileage is so low. My partner will be using it for a commute 25miles each way, with likely no option to charge at work, so will begin to be quite vulnerable to running out of juice once the battery capacity starts to drop off. The question is, should we expect this to happen very soon due to the age of the battery, or should it last a good few years, since it has done so little driving thus far?

Any opinions much appreciated!
No, this isn't the right thread to ask, but.... NO. A 50 mi RT commute with a 2011 will likely NOT work unless conditions are just perfect (e.g., 70F, no wind, rain, etc.). It might work this summer, but probably will cut it close this winter, and then by next winter you'll be running short.
 
fbnella said:
Does anyone have any advice for some rapid yet legal battery wear? I have 3ish weeks left on my warranty and wondering if I can get this thing to drop the 9th bar.

47,000 ish miles
AHR 43.58
SOH 66%
Hx 45.37%

My biggest issue is that my commute is only 3-4 miles each way, so I don't get much daily driving in.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=8802&start=7470
 
fbnella said:
Does anyone have any advice for some rapid yet legal battery wear? I have 3ish weeks left on my warranty and wondering if I can get this thing to drop the 9th bar.

47,000 ish miles
AHR 43.58
SOH 66%
Hx 45.37%

My biggest issue is that my commute is only 3-4 miles each way, so I don't get much daily driving in.

Looks like you might be fresh out of luck. What I will say...a lot of users have reported a jump in stats when they push their car hard (deep discharge, multiple QC's etc). Whereas in my experience, daily charging and short trips tricked the BMS into reporting lower stats. When my wife started driving our leaf on a regular 40mile commute rather than my 16, the AHR jumped by 2 over a month or so. If you're already daily charging to 100%, parking in the sun, etc, then probably not much more you can do. Chances are that your battery health are probably already reporting lower than they actually are.
 
Well, I made it with 3 days to spare. It dropped the 4th bar over the weekend and I had it verified at the dealer this morning. They ordered the new battery and it should be ready too swap out next week.

47,588
43.31 AHr
66% SOH
44.94 Hx
 
fbnella said:
Well, I made it with 3 days to spare. It dropped the 4th bar over the weekend and I had it verified at the dealer this morning. They ordered the new battery and it should be ready too swap out next week.

47,588
43.31 AHr
66% SOH
44.94 Hx
Wow! Just plain wow!
 
fbnella said:
Well, I made it with 3 days to spare. It dropped the 4th bar over the weekend and I had it verified at the dealer this morning. They ordered the new battery and it should be ready too swap out next week.

47,588
43.31 AHr
66% SOH
44.94 Hx
Congrats!!!
 
If the report and translation below is accurate, this Spanish Taxi is still in service after almost six years and about 181 k miles on the OE battery.

Of course, the driver probably has not been trying to damage the pack, just to get a free replacement...

Summer does not forgive. 5th autonomy bar lost. The good thing, "alone" is 9,000 kilometers to reach 300,000 km...

October 2011 (delivery)....

It is the Original Factory Battery. It has never been repaired or changed. You have lost 5 bars of autonomy. SOH 58% capacity, 13.3 KWh. Of REMAIN...

The numbers are very simple, for every 50,000 kilometers traveled you get a saving of € 5,000. In addition to saving on maintenance and breakdowns. One fact, the brake pads remain the original factory with less than 50% wear...
https://www.facebook.com/brubaker.nissan/posts/1121657321297944
 
I am doing a traction battery swap in the coming weeks (Dealer just ordered the battery).
Any advice on anything I should do before dropping the vehicle and then after picking it up?
 
fbnella said:
Well, I made it with 3 days to spare. It dropped the 4th bar over the weekend and I had it verified at the dealer this morning. They ordered the new battery and it should be ready too swap out next week.

47,588
43.31 AHr
66% SOH
44.94 Hx


This is great news! Congrats!
 
fbnella said:
Well, I made it with 3 days to spare. It dropped the 4th bar over the weekend and I had it verified at the dealer this morning. They ordered the new battery and it should be ready too swap out next week.

47,588
43.31 AHr
66% SOH
44.94 Hx
LeafPowerIsIxE said:
I am doing a traction battery swap in the coming weeks (Dealer just ordered the battery).
Any advice on anything I should do before dropping the vehicle and then after picking it up?
Congratulations to both!

Our 2011 LEAF lost its third capacity bar on Friday, August 25, 2017. Wife was driving, so I do not have a picture from LeafSpy, but I estimate the following numbers:

46,100 miles
47.47 Ah
72% SOH
51.60% Hx

Our LEAF was manufactured in June 2011. It was put into service as a demo vehicle on September 29, 2011. We purchased it on March 26, 2012 with 2011 miles on the odometer. So it took nearly 5.5 years and 44,000 miles since we purchased it to lose the third capacity bar.

Let's see if the rate of capacity loss is increasing or decreasing:

1st Bar: 4/6/2015 - 24,496 miles - 54.01 Ah
2nd Bar: 6/11/2016 - 33,691 miles - 51.24 Ah
3rd Bar: 8/25/2017 - 46,100 miles - 47.47 Ah

1st-2nd Bar: 431 days/bar - 9,195 miles/bar - 2.77 Ah/bar = 155 days/Ah = 3319 miles/Ah
2nd-3rd Bar: 440 days/bar - 12,409 miles/bar - 3.77 Ah/bar = 116 days/Ah = 3291 miles/Ah

It's interesting that the Ah difference between the second and third bars was 36% greater than the Ah difference between the first and second. Since the car was driven more during the past 14 months than the previous 14 months, the capacity was lost at a faster daily rate. This may also be due to the second period including one-and-a-half summers while the first period included only one summer. OTOH, notice that the miles/Ah is virtually the same for both periods.

As usual, making sense of LEAF data proves to be a challenge! Unfortunately, our LEAF will see even MORE miles over the next 14 months, so those results will again not be exactly comparable.
 
I've been rather obsessively gathering reports of 2, 3, 4, and 5 bar losers an collecting them in this spreadsheet. Here's a histogram (0.5 Ahr buckets) of when bars were lost on 2011/2012 LEAFs based on these reports. (If you look at the spreadsheet and find that you have data that's not listed, I'll add you if you'd like to PM me with (preferably) a link to the forum post where you reported the data.)

I find it interesting that there's a larger spread on the 4 bar drops, but then there are also a lot more reports, I suppose because LeafSpy was more prevalent in later years, and because people may be more motivated to report that magical 4th bar. :)



Here's a graph of the average reported Ahr at each bar loss, and a best fit line:


These are "live" links to the spreadsheet so the images will update as I add data. I suppose this is all generally known data, but I found it interesting to see it graphically.
 
I've been keeping an eye on the used market, trying to buy a 2011 Leaf with 8+ bars and add a range extender pack if it degrades past my daily driving needs, and just found this one today: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/6309082620.html only $2400 which is a steal but holy cow only 5 bars left at 101k miles. Is that a record? Seems it has quick charging and it must have been heavily used to get to that level...
 
jkenny23 said:
I've been keeping an eye on the used market, trying to buy a 2011 Leaf with 8+ bars and add a range extender pack if it degrades past my daily driving needs, and just found this one today: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/6309082620.html only $2400 which is a steal but holy cow only 5 bars left at 101k miles. Is that a record? Seems it has quick charging and it must have been heavily used to get to that level...
I think I'd also heard of another '11 Leaf down 7 capacity bars. The guy might've been in TX. I wish I could find the link.

As for the bolded part, what legitimate outfit provides such a pack? Can you point to their handiwork, details about it and experiences from the owner of the vehicle?
 
jkenny23 said:
I've been keeping an eye on the used market, trying to buy a 2011 Leaf with 8+ bars and add a range extender pack if it degrades past my daily driving needs, and just found this one today: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/6309082620.html only $2400 which is a steal but holy cow only 5 bars left at 101k miles. Is that a record? Seems it has quick charging and it must have been heavily used to get to that level...

Get with COR on this forum to see about a battery switch - or possibly work with Nissan for partial pay on a new battery - or part out. Seems like a really good price if a reasonable price on a battery replacement. Most salvaged Leafs cost more.
 
Lost bar #4 today. 2012 SL. Warranty up on 11/15.

43.21Ahr
49256 miles
65% SOH
59.18 Hx.

I called No Gas EV and was instructed to contact the dealer in the am. They didn't start a case or take any info though. I'm due for a battery check. Last one was September last year, They'll likely make me pay for one. Dealer charges $120 for it.
 
Back
Top