LEAF Plus 5 Year Review

[DaveinOlyWA]

Like every LEAF I've had, I have tracked various metrics including efficiency, charging, and battery stats in a daily log and manipulated the data several ways in order to determine whether my charging habits of living in the middle were making a difference.

At this point, I am unable to discern any appreciable advantage I have gained by my sticking to the charging regimen but other than that, I offer my POV on the data and welcome yours.

https://daveinolywa.blogspot.com/2024/11/leaf-plus-5-year-review.html

 

[BillAinCT]

I urge members to read Dave's review. The data is impressive and it will (I hope) lessen all the people saying avoid DC charging (now the recall may change that view). There are a couple of owners who also DC charge and don't show significant, if any, additional SOH loss. But as recommended and it appears to follow here that all of Dave's DC charging was only once per day. I've been more recently DC charging at 70kW (starting rate) and I don't see any downward SOH trend as well.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I urge members to read Dave's review. The data is impressive and it will (I hope) lessen all the people saying avoid DC charging (now the recall may change that view). There are a couple of owners who also DC charge and don't show significant, if any, additional SOH loss. But as recommended and it appears to follow here that all of Dave's DC charging was only once per day. I've been more recently DC charging at 70kW (starting rate) and I don't see any downward SOH trend as well.

To add; I have to emphasize nearly all my loss was done early and its hard to not come to the conclusion the loss isn't real but BMS manipulation since gains in capacity are not physically possible. What parameters the BMS uses to restrict capacity is still a bit of a mystery.

The other point was early on I used a lot more DC charging and some of it was roadtripping but most of it was for daily need because I still had free access. In the daily version, I generally charged from the low 30's to 60-65% SOC so it was DC but a very tame version of it.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

Great blog post. Our 5/2019 Leaf Plus is running with similar stats. 89.37%SoH and just under 40K miles. Our Hx is lower at 95.5%. The eRange tires on16" rims have essentially offset the range loss due to degradation.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Great blog post. Our 5/2019 Leaf Plus is running with similar stats. 89.37%SoH and just under 40K miles. Our Hx is lower at 95.5%. The eRange tires on16" rims have essentially offset the range loss due to degradation.

Since you have two LEAFs that iirc are driven/charged in different ways, what is the Hx on the other and have you noticed what makes it go up or down since this the only metric that seems to change daily like Gen One pack stats used to?

 

[Jeffs231Leafp]

Like every LEAF I've had, I have tracked various metrics including efficiency, charging, and battery stats in a daily log and manipulated the data several ways in order to determine whether my charging habits of living in the middle were making a difference.

At this point, I am unable to discern any appreciable advantage I have gained by my sticking to the charging regimen but other than that, I offer my POV on the data and welcome yours.

https://daveinolywa.blogspot.com/2024/11/leaf-plus-5-year-review.html

Nice blog. I have found out, as you seem to indicate. Nice gets in the way of perfect battery SOC management. So I just charge when convenient and most time to 100%. From my experience and what I have read, the impact on battery life is so low, that for me, it is a don’t care, or as you said not a big wolf.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Nice blog. I have found out, as you seem to indicate. Nice gets in the way of perfect battery SOC management. So I just charge when convenient and most time to 100%. From my experience and what I have read, the impact on battery life is so low, that for me, it is a don’t care, or as you said not a big wolf.

It will definitely be a factor and how much is determined by your usage. If you charge to 100% and it takes you more than a day to get to 50%, your rate will be higher. As mentioned, I strongly suspect my degradation isn't real due to BMS manipulation. What is it actually? Don't know but its obviously higher than what the BMS is reporting. This is the ONLY way the numbers can go up. In your case...who knows?

The above and the other takeaway should be that Nissan designed cells that have a high likelihood of not qualifying for a degradation warranty exchange. So if 100,000 miles of use is all you plan to get from the car, you likely have nothing to worry about. But if you are like many, getting the most out of the car only reduces the lifetime cost of the vehicle when you reach the point that replacement would win over a major repair.

 

[Jeffs231Leafp]

It will definitely be a factor and how much is determined by your usage. If you charge to 100% and it takes you more than a day to get to 50%, your rate will be higher. As mentioned, I strongly suspect my degradation isn't real due to BMS manipulation. What is it actually? Don't know but its obviously higher than what the BMS is reporting. This is the ONLY way the numbers can go up. In your case...who knows?

The above and the other takeaway should be that Nissan designed cells that have a high likelihood of not qualifying for a degradation warranty exchange. So if 100,000 miles of use is all you plan to get from the car, you likely have nothing to worry about. But if you are like many, getting the most out of the car only reduces the lifetime cost of the vehicle when you reach the point that replacement would win over a major repair.

In order to meet 10 years or 100,000 miles engineers typically design to 2.5 times this warranty. As many Leaf owners have reported more than 100,000 miles. But, hey my background is engineering and I am also more optimistic than most, based on my experience.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

In order to meet 10 years or 100,000 miles engineers typically design to 2.5 times this warranty. As many Leaf owners have reported more than 100,000 miles. But, hey my background is engineering and I am also more optimistic than most, based on my experience.

Provided the user abides by the guidelines and Nissan has been clear that they do not recommend 100% charging on a regular basis especially if the need does not warrant that level of SOC.

To add; I will likely be changing over before my LEAF hits 150,000 miles and by all appearances, I should still be over 200 miles of range. I am currently about 235-240 which is a drop from 275 new. Granted actual user range relies on a large number of unique circumstances

 

[frontrangeleaf]

I've been penciling in maybe something else for 2026, after the dust settles on the NACS. Not that we ever DC charge the way we use this car, but looking forward, that might change.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

Anyone tempted by the end of year Ariya fire sales? There is a new 24 Engage+ nearby for 17K off the hood, just over 30K.

 

[Jeffs231Leafp]

Provided the user abides by the guidelines and Nissan has been clear that they do not recommend 100% charging on a regular basis especially if the need does not warrant that level of SOC.

To add; I will likely be changing over before my LEAF hits 150,000 miles and by all appearances, I should still be over 200 miles of range. I am currently about 235-240 which is a drop from 275 new. Granted actual user range relies on a large number of unique circumstances

I understand your point and there is nothing wrong with following Nissan recommendations. But even if you do not follow them, the warranty still applies.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

Since you have two LEAFs that iirc are driven/charged in different ways, what is the Hx on the other and have you noticed what makes it go up or down since this the only metric that seems to change daily like Gen One pack stats used to?

Just got a report from our other Leaf Plus which now resides in Kansas. 91.21%SoH and 102.5% Hx. Only 31K miles though and battery is 6 months newer than the SV+ (November vs May 2019 build) my "kid" lives in an apt. So can only DC charge the car...1-2x a week.

 

[Caliwish]

Anyone tempted by the end of year Ariya fire sales? There is a new 24 Engage+ nearby for 17K off the hood, just over 30K.

I was tempted by a 30k Nissan Ariya platinum plus (very pretty) , but I reminded myself is that my Leaf is paid for and I slowly walked away. (I was at the dealership for some recalls).

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Just got a report from our other Leaf Plus which now resides in Kansas. 91.21%SoH and 102.5% Hx. Only 31K miles though and battery is 6 months newer than the SV+ (November vs May 2019 build) my "kid" lives in an apt. So can only DC charge the car...1-2x a week.

Well, I hope they are not getting too carried away with the SOC on the DC's. I am guessing you educated them on Plugshare app advantages. Hard to believe KC doesn't have more public AC's that "might" be free although I did hear that a major public provider was having funds issues.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

Well, I hope they are not getting too carried away with the SOC on the DC's. I am guessing you educated them on Plugshare app advantages. Hard to believe KC doesn't have more public AC's that "might" be free although I did hear that a major public provider was having funds issues.

Local dealer DC is only .15/kWh, and no L2 within easy walking distance. Not too hard to manage in your early 20s when driving ~100 miles a week.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Local dealer DC is only .15/kWh, and no L2 within easy walking distance. Not too hard to manage in your early 20s when driving ~100 miles a week.

That is a great price!

 

[TronJockey]

For what it's worth, I'm at 52,000 miles and 88.5% SOH with my 2019 SV Plus. I have rarely ever used HVDC charging, instead using a mixture of Level 1 and Level 2 charging mostly at home. For the past three years I have been careful to keep between 20% and 80% (~30% and 90% indicated). Charging to 100% only when using the vehicle right away. Again, this is how I have been charging for the last three years. I have to admit that during it's first two years (up to 27,000 miles) I wasn't so kind. I would charge to 100% every night to be ready for my 38-mile morning commute to work where I'd again plug it in to a Level 2 charger. I would then head home after work with a 100% charge. This would be the routine 5 days each week until I retired in the Summer of 2021. The first two years are also where I saw most of my SOH degradation, down to 91% by that Summer. It seems to have more or less leveled off since. However, after reading Dave's report I'm a lot less apprehensive about HVDC charging. Excellent job Dave.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

For what it's worth, I'm at 52,000 miles and 88.5% SOH with my 2019 SV Plus. I have rarely ever used HVDC charging, instead using a mixture of Level 1 and Level 2 charging mostly at home. For the past three years I have been careful to keep between 20% and 80% (~30% and 90% indicated). Charging only 100% only when using the vehicle right away. Again, this is how I have been charging for the last three years. I have to admit that during it's first two years (up to 27,000 miles) I wasn't so kind. I would charge to 100% every night to be ready for my 38-mile morning commute to work where I'd again plug it in to a Level 2 charger. I would then head home after work with a 100% charge. This would be the routine 5 days each week until I retired in the Summer of 2021. The first two years are also where I saw most of my SOH degradation, down to 91% by that Summer. It seems to have more or less leveled off since. However, after reading Dave's report I'm a lot less apprehensive about HVDC charging. Excellent job Dave.

Driving off the top ¾ of the pack did hurt you BUT... the BMS likely restricted access to part of the pack resulting in the appearance of a large loss to mitigate the situation. Granted, it would have been better to drive the middle or even bottom 3rd of the pack during the commute. I wouldn't be surprised to see you battery stats go up on an adjustment. This is physically impossible so it would be the BMS releasing more access to you.