mn4az
Well-known member
Love my Leaf but the degradation leading to the Limited Motor Power (ie turtle mode) with the SOC% bouncing all over the place is a bit unnerving when it's below freezing.
Today's drive was 37 miles in 10F temperatures, and I left the garage fully charged, battery pack balanced and car pre-heated. With some creative driving (trying avoiding hills at high spped, mostly avoiding speeds of 55MPH+, cabin temp at 60F, etc) I was able to get home with .9kWh in the pack. Once safely in my garage LeafSpy showed three weak cells (#30, #42 and #46). FWIW #42 and #46 showed as weak last week with a SOC of 36%.
I know my Leaf is very likely to hit the battery degradation warranty this spring/summer (which I am SO looking forward to), but I'm half tempted to try and force a DTC event (like the one documented here: https://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=627932#p627932) that shuts the car down, have it towed to a Nissan dealership (I have AAA so no worries about a tow charge) and force Nissan's hand to either fix the cells or replace the pack. The only thing keeping me from doing this "experiment" (basically go to a road that is 55MPH+ with a significant incline) is that if cells are replaced, I fear it would risk the entire battery being replaced under the battery degradation warranty.
Some pictures I've taken over the last couple of weeks: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AmMHBcyzLWAx8K89Z3ZoHYghn5xg-Q
Looking for thoughts from this community: Would you have patience for the rest of the winter and stay the course for the battery degradation warranty (ie new pack) or push the issue for a new cell/pack now?
Today's drive was 37 miles in 10F temperatures, and I left the garage fully charged, battery pack balanced and car pre-heated. With some creative driving (trying avoiding hills at high spped, mostly avoiding speeds of 55MPH+, cabin temp at 60F, etc) I was able to get home with .9kWh in the pack. Once safely in my garage LeafSpy showed three weak cells (#30, #42 and #46). FWIW #42 and #46 showed as weak last week with a SOC of 36%.
I know my Leaf is very likely to hit the battery degradation warranty this spring/summer (which I am SO looking forward to), but I'm half tempted to try and force a DTC event (like the one documented here: https://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=627932#p627932) that shuts the car down, have it towed to a Nissan dealership (I have AAA so no worries about a tow charge) and force Nissan's hand to either fix the cells or replace the pack. The only thing keeping me from doing this "experiment" (basically go to a road that is 55MPH+ with a significant incline) is that if cells are replaced, I fear it would risk the entire battery being replaced under the battery degradation warranty.
Some pictures I've taken over the last couple of weeks: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AmMHBcyzLWAx8K89Z3ZoHYghn5xg-Q
Looking for thoughts from this community: Would you have patience for the rest of the winter and stay the course for the battery degradation warranty (ie new pack) or push the issue for a new cell/pack now?