Taste of winter range

[golfcart]

I have a 2015 S and this cold snap in the south gave me my first taste of what winter range can be like when it gets really cold. Had my toddler and wife in the car today running errands and meeting friends for lunch at the oceanfront so I had to run the heater. Kept heat on constantly set at 70deg, most driving was 60mph on highway with about 15miles of surface streets with varying speeds and stop lights.

830am 21degrees out 100% soc, set trip odometer to 0.

4pm arrived home with 48 miles on trip odometer and 11% soc.

For comparison my daily round trip commute is 52 miles all interstate and I usually arrive home with 35% soc give or take driving 60-65 the whole way in the winter (typical high is around 50 in January here).

I know colder weather reduces capacity some and the heater uses a lot of juice, but I was a little surprised how much range was reduced. I can usually go 75-80 miles no sweat, I'd say today 55 would have been pushing it. That's about a 33% reduction. I feel for y'all up north this time of year. At least your batteries should last forever up there!

Of course this was a very atypical day for us we usually don't drive that much on the weekend and it rarely gets that cold here... so I'm not too concerned. But it was iinteresting to see that drastic of a reduction in range.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Never got above 20 this weekend. Yesterday, never got above 10 and managed to squeak out 60 miles by staying off the highway. Woke up today to -13 (-36 wind chill) and with over a 100 mile trip planned, took the Accord. Daughter took the Leaf to work because her car just groaned when she tried to start it. Twenty degrees will seem balmy tomorrow, and Tuesday is forecast to be in the 50s with rain. A strange winter. Below zero weather causes lots of problems, and at best we endure it.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Try keeping the temp set to 70F, but lowering the fan speed to 1 or 2, and using floor only vents (they will also provide a little defrosting if the fresh air intake is open). If you can substantially lower the volume of air being heated by the car, that will lower the power consumption. You could also try the "mild recirculate" feature, by holding the Recirculate button down until it flashes twice. This recycles most of the air, while letting in about 30% fresh. It should also keep the windshield clear, at least with the fan on "2."

 

[LeftieBiker]

Daughter took the Leaf to work because her car just groaned when she tried to start it.

We're having the same weather in Eastern NY, and it's nice to know that my car is plugged in, with the battery maintainer on as well, and is ready to preheat and take me anywhere within about 40 miles in comfort.

 

[kikngas]

Yes. The battery will last longer, but you're not able to drive the car as much because you have to charge more frequently

I've been tracking my daily commute, generally with no heat, it's only about 9 miles. My speed varies by the road conditions. Some days you can run 2.5Mi/kWh on the same roads that you know bring 3.7 on a nice Summer day. Now that I have LEAFSpy I can actually reset each day and track the watt hours used. There is a LOT of variability.

My main lifesaver is that it has been a mild winter this year, and that my attached, unheated garage has rarely made it below freezing. I'm sure it would drop even more if my battery were falling below the temp. where the battery warmer kicks on. Esp. with no workplace charging, and a cold surface lot for parking. But each morning the battery temp. is back up over 25(F).

I still don't follow the logic. If the car is charging at a lower rate because the battery is cold, why not use the available energy from the wall to run the battery heater? Then it would charge faster, hold more charge, and be warmer to start the next day. Making it less likely to need to kick on the battery heater when it is NOT plugged in.

 

[kikngas]

"mild recirculate" feature, bu holding the Recirculate button down until it flashes twice. This recycles most of the air, while letting in about 30% fresh.

Hmm, I had missed that one. Good to know.

I have a 2015 S and have not been able to get the fresh air NOT to come in. I finally put cardboard on the front grill. I still get undesirable air movement (i.e. COLD! On the feet!) because I've not blocked the vents under the wipers. I had read that if your setting at the time you turn off the circulation altogether was on defrost, that this closes those vents. But I can't seem to get it to work. Also having a problem where when I click the left button to turn it back on, it runs the fan, and shows the heat light on, but is NOT consistently heating. I have seen this many times recently, after leaving the cold air blowing for 30-60 seconds. I seem to have to fiddle with CC on/off, heat on/off, change in setting or hit defrost button to get the heater back on. Turning off the car seems to often work too, but not very conducive to continuing your trip once you are on the road. Anyone else have such problems with CC?

 

[arnis]

Gentle discharge will reduce capacity drop due to cold chemistry.
But that is pain in the A. Draw should not exceed 20kW at all with less than 4 temperature bars.

It will not reduce capacity wasted due to heating. In fact getting to the finish faster will :lol:

Also why everybody avoids highways? Why not to drive at 40mph there? If there is more than 2 lanes it is really no problem.
Stay in the rightmost lane.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Also why everybody avoids highways? Why not to drive at 40mph there? If there is more than 2 lanes it is really no problem.
Stay in the rightmost lane.

I advocate that people drive at 60MPH on freeways, in the right or center (when near ramps) lane, but it is definitely not "no problem." People who are accustomed to speeding don't just view it as their right - they get angry at those who dare drive at or a little below the speed limit - or even 5MPH above it. So freeways are not just energy wasters, they are also danger zones.

 

[jpadc]

Also why everybody avoids highways? Why not to drive at 40mph there? If there is more than 2 lanes it is really no problem.
Stay in the rightmost lane.

Thanks, but there is already enough BEV hate in the US. This would just add to that. Besides, many states have a minimum speed requirement on interstate highways as well as a maximum and in places where the speed limit is 70, driving 40 is dangerous and likely illegal.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Also why everybody avoids highways? Why not to drive at 40mph there? If there is more than 2 lanes it is really no problem.
Stay in the rightmost lane.

I advocate that people drive at 60MPH on freeways, in the right or center (when near ramps) lane, but it is definitely not "no problem." People who are accustomed to speeding don't just view it as their right - they get angry at those who dare drive at or a little below the speed limit - or even 5MPH above it. So freeways are not just energy wasters, they are also danger zones.

Truer words are rarely spoken. There was a time when the speed limit actually meant the upper limit which you can legally drive. Now it means 10MPH less than the slowest you are expected to drive. I have to bit my tongue when talking to people about driving. Culturally, it is assumed that you drive at 10MPH over the speed limit, and those who dare to go slower ought to be driven into the ditch.

I have always driven slower than average, because even in a gas car it improves your efficiency. I used to have a Civic hatchback that would happily hum along at 60MPH getting 50MPG. I don't ever impede traffic flow, and speed up sufficiently (sometimes to 80MPH in a 65 zone) when passing. But I still get plenty of hate / aggression aimed at me.

 

[arnis]

There should be a sign that shows minimum speed. Those are really rare here in Europe.

In US people ignore speed limits much more so no respect for your driving culture.
Trucks ever never drive faster than manufacturer limit (90km/h in the whole EU).
No problems and hate with them.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

There should be a sign that shows minimum speed. Those are really rare here in Europe.

In US people ignore speed limits much more so no respect for your driving culture.
Trucks ever never drive faster than manufacturer limit (90km/h in the whole EU).
No problems and hate with them.

Well, often the posted minimum is 40MPH, but that doesn't mean that it is culturally acceptable or safe. And to be fair, I don't have much respect for the driving culture here either.

You bring up an interesting point with trucks. They typically drive around 5MPH over the speed limit here. So you can follow them, and travel relatively safely at 70MPH. Sometimes you can find one going a little slower, but that's rare. On the other hand, having a truck barreling down on you at 70 when you are driving 40 is unsafe and unnerving. It's better to stay off the highways if you want to go slower than the posted speed limit.

I do wonder, though, if we are talking about the same type of highways. I take for granted that "highway" means the Eisenhower Interstate system, which was designed and built during the cold war by then-president Eisenhower. Obviously you don't have the same structure in the EU.

 

[golfcart]

I drive past the largest navy base in the world twice a day on my daily commute. 40mph would be damn near suicide. Lol. I'll go 55 in the right lane but any slower than that is just asking for a dodge ram pickup 3 inches off my bumper... I'm not gonna put up with that for an additional 5 miles of range.

I'll try that trick with the recirculation though I never knew about that.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I'll try that trick with the recirculation though I never knew about that.

Most of us just learned about that this weekend, believe it or not.

 

[jjeff]

I'll try that trick with the recirculation though I never knew about that.

Most of us just learned about that this weekend, believe it or not.

I been using it ever since with only one occurrence of the windows starting to fog, I had 4 people in the car, otherwise alone things have been just fine. I do wish there was a indication what mode it was in but I'm just assuming it will stick unless I push the recirc button.

 

[golfcart]

What a difference a day makes, left house with 100% SOC this morning and arrived at work (26 miles later) with 70% SOC remaining. This time 60deg out, no wife, no kid, no heat.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

I'll try that trick with the recirculation though I never knew about that.

Most of us just learned about that this weekend, believe it or not.

I been using it ever since with only one occurrence of the windows starting to fog, I had 4 people in the car, otherwise alone things have been just fine. I do wish there was a indication what mode it was in but I'm just assuming it will stick unless I push the recirc button.

This is the first I'm hearing of this myself, and I've had my Leaf for almost 4 years! I followed Leftie's instructions, and both recirc and fresh air lights flashed about three times. Then the recirc stayed on. I have no idea how to tell if it actually stuck.

 

[arnis]

If AUTO light is on we can assume MILD recirc mode is on (depending on other conditions).

Autobahn minimum speed is 60km/h. This applies to the slowest lane. People drive
at 100-150mph daily and it is totally safe to drive 40-60mph on slow lane.
If US doesn't have slow lane then just accept that drivers are ---insert naughty word here---.
Also trucks are not allowed to drive on 3rd lane (or any higher).
Stop playing along with idiots. Drive on the rightmost lane at 45mph.
We here in Europe also accept slight speeding (like 10km/h aka 5mph) but driving
at 70mph on 55mph zone will result a massive fine. Passing on the right is highly
prohibited on highways and autobahns. In cities usually people ignore that but technically illegal.
On autobahn tailgating or returning too early is highly prohibited. Doing so might get you in jail.
Unfortunately this only applies to autobahns and on regular roads police usually ignores that.

What is inconvenient for others is driving on high speed roads where there is only one lane so
passing is hard (oncoming traffic).

 

[LeftieBiker]

I followed Leftie's instructions, and both recirc and fresh air lights flashed about three times. Then the recirc stayed on. I have no idea how to tell if it actually stuck.

Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but I think that when I held the Recirc button down, the light for it flashed twice, and then stayed off.

 

[BrockWI]

Since I found out about the partial recirc mode I have been playing with it a lot. On our 2013 S it blinks 4 or 5 times then goes out, you can let the button go once it starts to blink. If it stays on I would assume you are in recir only mode.