Suddenly losing range

[snowgoose]

I have a 2019 Leaf (UK) which has always predicted the 'miles left to empty' fairly accurately.

Recently, this has changed. An example from today; I fully charged my Leaf from the 2.3Kw lead to 100%. The display shows 160 miles remaining which is what it shows on a good day. I drove a total of 74 miles and at the end the car showed 65 miles remaining which meant I had 'used' 95 miles. For this journey, outside temperature was 12⁰C, there were absolutely no accessories running (no heat, no air con, no screen demister - nothing), typical speed 45mph max speed 50mph so to my mind, that should get about the best range possible.

Other journeys perform similar. On average, 100 miles shown as remaining will last 75 miles meaning that a full charge showing 160 miles will only give 120 despite driving carefully and with nothing else drawing power.

If this is a bad battery why does it not just show 120 miles left when fully charged?

At my last service, they reported the battery condition as 'excellent'. The condition of the battery according to the dash display is 100%.

Any suggestion about what I should do, or what might be causing this?

Thanks

 

[Snakebitten]

74 miles driven
65 miles to empty
Ambient temp 12C/53F
A total of ~140 miles combined

Far from what I would consider alarming, even for a brand new 40KWH battery

I doubt 160 miles was ever realistic.
Doesn't Nissan publish it as 150?

 

[snowgoose]

74 miles driven
65 miles to empty
Ambient temp 12C/53F
A total of ~140 miles combined

Far from what I would consider alarming, even for a brand new 40KWH battery

I doubt 160 miles was ever realistic.
Doesn't Nissan publish it as 150?

I used to get 160 miles in the warmer weather ie it would show 160 miles and that is more or less what I got from a full charge. Reason being, it's very rural where I line and I rarely exceed 45mph.

In the colder weather, this figure would drop....but still be accurate. Eg after a full charge in winter the range would show as around 140 miles and this is approx what I would get. So I could rely on the range when calculating where to charge etc. This sudden drop in accuracy of the range shown is the problem. It shows me I have, say, 120 miles left but I can only drive for 90.

 

[Drew21]

A typical response to your question would be that the range estimate is more of a guess as it's biased towards recent driving. However, it sounds like you have a regular drive that you do and the range estimate is no longer reporting as accurately as it previously did. It also sounds like you're driving in moderate temperatures and at moderate speeds which would tend to generate more consistent range estimates.

I would start by checking your tire pressure and for unusual tire wear (i.e., out of alignment). I would also check that you don't have a dragging/stuck brake. Has anything else changed about your drive? Are you carrying a significant amount of weight? Anything change with your car that might increase aerodynamic drag? Basically, is there anything that has changed with your Leaf that would increase drag/resistance moving down the road.

Finally, when you say "The condition of the battery according to the dash display is 100%" are you confusing the charge percentage with the battery state of health (SOH) percentage?

You said that your last service showed your battery to be in excellent condition, but I find it difficult (actually impossible) to believe that a 2019 EV would still have 100% battery SOH. If your battery SOH is declining you'll still be able to charge to 100% but it won't take as much electricity to get to 100%, and thus your driving range will decline.

 

[knightmb]

The only thing I would add since most of the other posters already covered what to check, is start getting more technical with LeafSpy data. At least then, you can post up screenshots for the rest of us to look at and give opinions on whether it is a mechanical issue or battery issue that you are seeing.

 

[snowgoose]

A typical response to your question would be that the range estimate is more of a guess as it's biased towards recent driving. However, it sounds like you have a regular drive that you do and the range estimate is no longer reporting as accurately as it previously did. It also sounds like you're driving in moderate temperatures and at moderate speeds which would tend to generate more consistent range estimates.

I would start by checking your tire pressure and for unusual tire wear (i.e., out of alignment). I would also check that you don't have a dragging/stuck brake. Has anything else changed about your drive? Are you carrying a significant amount of weight? Anything change with your car that might increase aerodynamic drag? Basically, is there anything that has changed with your Leaf that would increase drag/resistance moving down the road.

Finally, when you say "The condition of the battery according to the dash display is 100%" are you confusing the charge percentage with the battery state of health (SOH) percentage?

You said that your last service showed your battery to be in excellent condition, but I find it difficult (actually impossible) to believe that a 2019 EV would still have 100% battery SOH. If your battery SOH is declining you'll still be able to charge to 100% but it won't take as much electricity to get to 100%, and thus your driving range will decline.

I'm not getting confused between SoH and %charge, but I didn't explain myself clearly. The SoH as reported by the car on the dash display has all bars full (So although I said 100%, I meant that there are no lost bars, which of course could mean less than 100% but still fairly good).
Regarding dragging brake, good point. I did think of this and the OS rear brake does squeak when reversing first drive of the morning and then is ok once I move forward. After a 30 mile journey, I immediately got out of the car and checked the wheels with my hand for any heat. All were cold. Not very technical I know, but I would have thought a binding brake would generate a fair amount of heat.

 

[snowgoose]

The only thing I would add since most of the other posters already covered what to check, is start getting more technical with LeafSpy data. At least then, you can post up screenshots for the rest of us to look at and give opinions on whether it is a mechanical issue or battery issue that you are seeing.

My original thoughts were why pay money for ODB2 reader and LeafSpy app when there is nothing I can do about the results. But maybe the figures will give some indication of the problem to those experienced on here.

 

[Drew21]

Thanks for clarifying your SOH. I recall reading somewhere that the first bar covers 100% to 85% but that could be different for newer Leafs. Lets say your current SOH is 85.1% (i.e., just about to lose the first bar). Would that drop in battery capacity account for your decrease in range? Even if it did, you mentioned that your declining range is a recent phenomenon which argues against a battery problem.

If your battery isn't the problem, it seems like the two possibilities are:
1) Some problem with the values reported by your gauges. Can the battery charge gauge or the range estimate gauge go out of calibration?
2) Increased drag/resistance when your car is moving down the road so that it now takes more battery charge to go a given distance that it did previously.

For the first, I think a small investment in LeafSpy and an appropriate OBD2 reader might be of use. At the very minimum, you'll be able to provide real data for folks more knowledgable than me to interpret.

For the second, it might be worth paying for an inspection of the mechanical components (e.g., tires, brakes, suspension, reduction gear) of your Leaf.

 

[snowgoose]

The only thing I would add since most of the other posters already covered what to check, is start getting more technical with LeafSpy data. At least then, you can post up screenshots for the rest of us to look at and give opinions on whether it is a mechanical issue or battery issue that you are seeing.

Hi, I have my car booked in for a service and getting them to check for things like binding brakes etc, however this is not until April. I managed to dig out from the depths of the junk cupboard an old phone running Android 5!!! And this allows me to download Leafspy Lite which isn't available any more on any Android phone at least greater than Android 9. Today I ran it for the first time and have a few graphs to share. I have a rough idea of what it is showing, but would appreciate any comments from anyone clued up in reading the graphs. My interpretation is that might be a little more unbalanced than average, the SOH seems ok for the the age and mileage (around 60,000 miles / 4yrs 4mths old). Is it worth buying Leafspy Pro? would it give any more useful stuff than Lite?

A bit of background. I had the car second hand 3 years ago. I use the "granny charger" all the time and only use fast chargers when on rare long journeys. Most of my driving is 40-50mph using regenerative breaking where possible, so fairly careful. I have never driven at 60mph or more for longer than a few minutes as the roads around here aren't suitable. Prior to taking the readings today, the car has been standing unused for 24 hrs.

Any comments on the graphs very welcome. Cheers.

 

[Stanton]

DELETED

 

[Stanton]

Any comments on the graphs very welcome. Cheers.

I'd say your battery pack is in pretty good shape; very well balanced (for a middle-ish SOC) and the AHr is very good for 60k miles.
I would invest in LS Pro if for no other reason than to support the developer AND insure that you have access to all the features in perpetuity.

 

[snowgoose]

I'd say your battery pack is in pretty good shape; very well balanced (for a middle-ish SOC) and the AHr is very good for 60k miles.
I would invest in LS Pro if for no other reason than to support the developer AND insure that you have access to all the features in perpetuity.

Thank you. That's reassuring re the battery and points to some mechanical reason for the sudden change in reported range accuracy (aka guess-o-meter).

 

[knightmb]

Any comments on the graphs very welcome. Cheers.

I agree, the battery looks to be in very good condition. It still has 37.6 kWh of capacity according to the BMS, so assuming the BMS is probably charging to 97% of that, should easily have 35 to 36 kWh of driving capacity or about 140 miles (225 km) to 175 miles (281 km) of range under ideal conditions.

 

[snowgoose]

Thank you. That matches with my experience (up to a few months ago) where, in good weather and no heating/air con on the screen shows me 160 miles on a full charge and that is approx what I got. Suddenly now though, it shows about 150 miles (weather still quite cold) but I actually get around 115 so it is looking like some friction somewhere.