This article concludes worrying about 80% isn't necessary.

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.
It does raise the question as to why Nissan did away with that capability. I'm a new Leaf owner and have gone over the owner's manual and also watched the You Tube Nissan Channel Videos. I have not come across anything that says only charge to 80%. Can someone refer me to a Nissan publication that recommends this? Thanks
 
If your Leaf is 2014 or newer. Charge-nissan-leaf-to-80?

Out of date, simplistic and inaccurate.

Most newer cell phones allow a charge limit to 80%, you don't have to do it manually as suggested.

Why use charge bars for computing time to 80% when there is an SOC display?

Batteries have longer lives than they did in 2012, so it is true that less care is needed. Not because of better battery management software, however.

Slightly exaggerated example: Doubling battery life when it is expected to be 5 years is a big deal for a long term owner. Doubling battery life when it is 40 years is almost pointless, few cars last that long in any case.
 
It does raise the question as to why Nissan did away with that capability. I'm a new Leaf owner and have gone over the owner's manual and also watched the You Tube Nissan Channel Videos. I have not come across anything that says only charge to 80%. Can someone refer me to a Nissan publication that recommends this? Thanks
This paper came with this person's US '22 Leaf (see bottom 1/3 or so). We've gotten confirmation like at
Code:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/NissanLeafOwners/posts/5850038691760738/?comment_id=5850774598353814&reply_comment_id=5853707094727231
that folks received a paper with this verbiage with their '21 and '23 Leafs.

As for why, it seems likely due to https://www.autoblog.com/news/2013-nissan-leaf-revealed-gets-75-mile-range-actually-84-in-n and https://www.greencarreports.com/new...lectric-car-84-mile-range-aroundview-standard. 2013 Leaf got hit with a stupid 80/100% averaging rule:
"What it all boils down to is that the 2013 Leaf has two charging modes: the default "100-percent Long Distance Mode" that maximizes range and an optional "80-percent Long Life Mode" that Nissan says will optimize long-term battery health. The EPA test, which is being used for the first time on the 2013 Leaf, blends these two modes. Previously, EPA range estimates were always based on 100-percent charges, whether the cars had another charging mode or not.

If the old EPA test (i.e., 100-percent charge) had been used on the 2013 Leaf, Parman said, the result would have been 84 miles. The increase is due to, "refinements made to the MY13 Leaf's regenerative braking system, reduction in vehicle weight and enhanced aerodynamics," Parman wrote. The EPA's estimated, non-blended range estimate for an 80-percent charge is 66 miles. Parman said official EPA numbers should arrive in early March."

So, with https://www.greencarreports.com/new...lectric-car-84-mile-range-aroundview-standard, they got rid of the 80% limiter. Voila! EPA range and on the sticker went up to 84 miles from 75. Probably 95%+ of people shopping for sub-100 mile EVs back in '13 to '16 probably wouldn't know this backstory. 75 miles were near bottom of the barrel vs. competitors whereas 84 was ok.

It is known li-ion battery science that high state of charge is bad for them and will accelerate loss due to time (calendar losses). PLENTY of other automakers have recommendations for charge up to ___% for daily use for their BEVs, usually around 80%.

https://www.chevybolt.org/threads/b...e-g-80-for-daily-usage-recommendations.56439/ has some but you need to be a member of that site to see the post. I can maybe copy/paste some of there here later.
 

Attachments

  • 297768735_10159180131017153_3439952182122149287_n.jpg
    297768735_10159180131017153_3439952182122149287_n.jpg
    403.7 KB
Last edited:
Interesting document, extracted statement on capacity loss:
Factors that will affect and may hasten the rate of capacity loss include, but are --
-Sustained high battery temperatures (caused for example, by exposure to very high ambient temperature highway driving with multiple quick charges)

-Sustained high battery state of charge (caused,
for example, by frequently charging to 100% state of charge [and] leaving the battery above 80% state
of charge for long periods of time)
-Higher than estimated annual mileage accumulation (such as more than 12,500 miles per year)

Estimated annual mileage--huh? whose estimate?
12,500 miles is 50 miles a day for 50 weeks (commute for work) with no extra allowed for weekends or 2 weeks of vacation.
 
Interesting document, extracted statement on capacity loss:


Estimated annual mileage--huh? whose estimate?
12,500 miles is 50 miles a day for 50 weeks (commute for work) with no extra allowed for weekends or 2 weeks of vacation.
There are various govt averages. These (for example) cite some averages for the US:
https://www.kbb.com/car-advice/average-miles-driven-per-year/
"Drivers traveled an average of 14,489 miles in 2022, according to the United States Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration’s most recent data. That estimate is up more than 7% from the previous year’s average of about 13,500 miles and 14% more than the 12,724 average miles driven in 2020. While the average mileage per year is increasing, it’s still less than the average miles driven yearly before the pandemic. For comparison, DOT figures show the average miles traveled was 17,815 in 2017.

Drivers in 2022 drove an average of 1,207 miles every month, or 39.7 miles daily. The 2021 average mileage estimate was roughly 1,120 per month or 37 miles per day. The 2020 average is 1,060 miles per month per driver or about 35 miles per day."
https://www.caranddriver.com/auto-loans/a32880477/average-mileage-per-year/

https://mynissanleaf.com/threads/am-i-doing-much-damage.36494/page-2#post-651420 and pointers there may help the OP.
 
Last edited:
I understand leaving it for a prolonged period of time at or above 80% and general lithium battery care guidelines. Still find it puzzling Nissan doesn't mention it. The way battery technology is evolving, I don't see having the car for more than 3 years...maybe 4 at max. So, I'm not going to knock myself out figuring out 80%. I'm more concerned about what these cars will be worth 3 or 4 years from now. BTW. I'm very pleased with it!
 
The lack of an 80% charge limiter is one of my biggest frustrations with my 2019 SL. (the other beginning CHAdeMO, I'm unlikely to ever do another road trip after my first experience) Especially since it seems like a charge limiter should be an easy software update. I purchased the car early this year, taking advantage of the $4,000 US used EV tax credit on top of the higher depreciation of EVS over ICE. The car was an excellent value, I love the tech, the comfort and it meets 98% of my driving needs. I will likely keep this car for another 5 to 7 years and want to maximize battery health, hence limiting it to under an 80% max charge.

I live in a condo and don't have the option of a personal charger. My complex has a shared power ChargePoint level 2 charger that I use a couple of times a week to keep my Leaf between 30%-80% SoC. The charger delivers 6 kW unless a second car plugs in, then it delivers 3 kW. So calculating charge times with a timer is ineffective. It's frustrating, I should be able to set the car to charge to a certain percentage, have it stop charging then it or the charger app notifies that the charge is finished. This really doesn't seem so much to ask, as every other EV I'm aware of has a charge limit feature to help maximize the battery life.
 
The lack of an 80% charge limiter is one of my biggest frustrations with my 2019 SL. (the other beginning CHAdeMO, I'm unlikely to ever do another road trip after my first experience) Especially since it seems like a charge limiter should be an easy software update. I purchased the car early this year, taking advantage of the $4,000 US used EV tax credit on top of the higher depreciation of EVS over ICE. The car was an excellent value, I love the tech, the comfort and it meets 98% of my driving needs. I will likely keep this car for another 5 to 7 years and want to maximize battery health, hence limiting it to under an 80% max charge.

I live in a condo and don't have the option of a personal charger. My complex has a shared power ChargePoint level 2 charger that I use a couple of times a week to keep my Leaf between 30%-80% SoC. The charger delivers 6 kW unless a second car plugs in, then it delivers 3 kW. So calculating charge times with a timer is ineffective. It's frustrating, I should be able to set the car to charge to a certain percentage, have it stop charging then it or the charger app notifies that the charge is finished. This really doesn't seem so much to ask, as every other EV I'm aware of has a charge limit feature to help maximize the battery life.
ChargePoint app can show you kWh delivered on a phone or watch. Not what you asked for, but you can check remotely. Requires setting a reminder, checking, snoozing reminder while awake and then unplugging.
Unfortunately OVMS doesn't support 2018+ models, otherwise you could build a SoC monitoring script and for some model years send command to stop charging.
 
You'll get a million different answers (and you're half-way there already), but here's the difference with the Leaf: since the Leaf doesn't have any battery temperature management (TMS), the potential for damage at high SOC/high heat is much greater than other EVs (that actively cool the battery). For that reason, I rarely charge to 100% (even with my 40 kWh pack), and I try not to charge when it's already "hot". YMMV.
 
Last edited:
Higher than estimated annual mileage accumulation (such as more than 12,500 miles per year)
First time I've seen this. It obviously shortens the time to get to 160 000 km warranty limit, but how does it impact capacity? How does milage matter if I only ever charge up to 80% on L2 and keep the battery cool?
 
ChargePoint app can show you kWh delivered on a phone or watch. Not what you asked for, but you can check remotely. Requires setting a reminder, checking, snoozing reminder while awake and then unplugging.
Unfortunately OVMS doesn't support 2018+ models, otherwise you could build a SoC monitoring script and for some model years send command to stop charging.
That's exactly what I do Currently, a combination of the ChargePoint app, the Nissan EV services app, and a spreadsheet I built, that I can plug in the current SoC. But charging an EV should not require this much thought and monitoring. With the state of technology, it should be as simple as setting up the charge once, then plugging the car in. Not having a charge limiter is an unnecessary complication to the ownership experience of a Leaf.
 
Last edited:
Unless you are putting many thousands of miles on the car each year (in which case you probably shouldn't be driving a Leaf in the first place), I just don't see this as being a real problem. I charge mine until the Chargepoint app tells me it is no longer charging at the full 6.4 amps, and then I take it off. I have no idea what SOC this is - nor do I care. After 5 years, LeafSpy tells me I have an SOH of 90, so I don't see any indication of undue wear on the battery. After charging, the GOM tells me I have between 200 and 250 miles of range (I don't know why it differs so much, but I don't really care, either) so it appears I am getting everything out that it has to offer, and since I have not spent a dime on the car since I bought it new, I am a happy camper!
 
Unless you are putting many thousands of miles on the car each year (in which case you probably shouldn't be driving a Leaf in the first place), I just don't see this as being a real problem. I charge mine until the Chargepoint app tells me it is no longer charging at the full 6.4 amps, and then I take it off. I have no idea what SOC this is - nor do I care. After 5 years, LeafSpy tells me I have an SOH of 90, so I don't see any indication of undue wear on the battery. After charging, the GOM tells me I have between 200 and 250 miles of range (I don't know why it differs so much, but I don't really care, either) so it appears I am getting everything out that it has to offer, and since I have not spent a dime on the car since I bought it new, I am a happy camper!
https://mynissanleaf.com/threads/2013-battery-bars-half-way.31297/ lost half their capacity bars on their 1/2013 built '13 Leaf in the super mild climate of city of SF, so you can't blame temps or lack of thermal management. Google for san francisco average temperatures.

They charged to 100% all the time (https://mynissanleaf.com/threads/2013-battery-bars-half-way.31297/#post-587652). I wouldn't be surprised if they topped off to 100% after their trips. Their chemistry was crap (pre-5/2013 Leaf) so I'd guess if they took better care of their pack, they'd have been down 2 to 4 bars by that point in time (2020) instead of 6.

My 5/2013 built former '13 Leaf that I bought used (better chemistry) in a much hotter climate was down only 1 bar by the time I sold it in mid-2021. Lost 1st bar at https://mynissanleaf.com/threads/2013-2014-bar-losers-and-capacity-losses.18269/page-14#post-511915. Was near 2 bar loss given LeafSpy stats (SOH around 79 or 78%, IIRC) when I sold it.

BTW, we've pointed to Spanish taxi Leafs at https://mynissanleaf.com/threads/the-40kwh-battery-topic.25773/page-77#post-640713. Not surprisingly, the ones which weren't charged to 100% all the time had better SOH.
 
I charge my Leaf, phone and chromebook the same way. Try to avoid charger to 100% but don't lose any sleep when it happens. Avoid charging in high temperature and charging overnight if possible. More concerned about fires than battery life.
 
Not that concerned about fires either. Yes, they can happen. They are also exceedingly rare. Both of my current ICE cars have had recalls due to fire risk, and they're not the only ones I've had a fire risk related recall on. Given my tiny, tiny sample of just 16 different cars in my 45 years of driving across various makes, that should put things in perspective.

These are extremely rare but seriously impactful events when they do happen. The caution and the expense in managing these risks is appropriate, but it's not something I'd lose sleep over either. The risk of wildfire blowing into my town is far higher, apparently. YMMV.

It happens that our Leaf is the 3rd car on the totem pole, so to speak, so it lives outside except when charging. But I don't worry about pulling it into the garage to charge it either.
 
I have owned a 2018 SV 40kWh, a 2020 SL PLUS and a 2023 SV PLUS. All 3 of these Leafs came with the written recommendation (Nissan Leaf Customer Information and Disclosure Form & Nissan Leaf New Vehicle Delivery System Form) to limit the charge of the HV Battery to 80 percent. The procedure for long term storage is outlined in the LEAF New Vehicle Delivery System Form. That form recommends keeping the HV Battery at a maximum 30 percent charge for storage longer than 90 days, and disconnection of the 12V Battery as well. Lastly, the Nissan Connect App states to keep the HV Battery charge between 30 percent and 80 percent to minimize battery degradation.
 

Attachments

  • 20241011_152902.jpg
    20241011_152902.jpg
    778.4 KB
  • 20241011_141350.jpg
    20241011_141350.jpg
    2.6 MB
  • 20241011_153356.jpg
    20241011_153356.jpg
    2 MB
  • 20241011_153134.jpg
    20241011_153134.jpg
    1.4 MB
  • Screenshot_20241011_140043_EV&Services.jpg
    Screenshot_20241011_140043_EV&Services.jpg
    221.4 KB
Last edited:
Back
Top