2016 S: 24kw or 30kw?

How can I determine if my 2016 S has a 24kw or 30kw pack? Is it the gross vehicle weight on the driver door panel? The previous owner didn’t mention it and we didn’t know enough at the time to ask. 32K miles with 12 bars, GOM estimates a range of around 98 miles every morning after a full charge.

I believe there is a way to tell from the VIN# but I never saw anything near 98 miles on my 24kwh Leaf, even when new, I'm quite confident you have a 30kwh battery,

Look at the 4th character in the VIN. If it's an "A" then the car has a 24kwh pack. If it's a "B" then the pack is 30kwh.

Battery capacity is measured in kWh, not "kw".

The below docs confirm checking the VIN.
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10171230-0001.pdf
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10171223-0001.pdf

cwerdna said:

Battery capacity is measured in kWh, not "kw".

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Noted, and thanks for the correction. If I may quote The Beatles:

Ad hoc, ad loc, and quid pro quo
So little time, so much to know!

jjeff said:

I believe there is a way to tell from the VIN# but I never saw anything near 98 miles on my 24kwh Leaf, even when new, I'm quite confident you have a 30kwh battery,

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I would regularly get over 100 miles on the GOM when my 2013 was new, so it's not impossible. If anything, it should show a lot more on the GOM if it was the 30 kWh, something like +110 miles if it has 12 bars.

LeftieBiker said:

Look at the 4th character in the VIN. If it's an "A" then the car has a 24kwh pack. If it's a "B" then the pack is 30kwh.

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Shite! Ours is an A. Bloody hell.

Oh well. Also, original '16 S trim was 24 kWh.

30 kWh came towards the very end of the '16 cycle: https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1106593_nissan-leaf-s-quietly-gets-30-kwh-battery-upgrade-higher-price. I don't know build month the '16 "S 30" began. The build month is on the driver's side door sticker.

Wavebender said:

LeftieBiker said:

Look at the 4th character in the VIN. If it's an "A" then the car has a 24kwh pack. If it's a "B" then the pack is 30kwh.

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Shite! Ours is an A. Bloody hell.

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Well, look on the bright side, it is in really good shape, almost new like, if the GOM is still showing nearly 100 miles or else you are the world's most efficient EV driver?

I would really be curious what LeafSpy shows for your battery, it must be in a really excellent shape after 5 years.

It's likely a PNW LEAF

It also depends on how gentle and slow the last couple of minutes of the OP's drive is. A few blocks of 20MPH can easily inflate the GOM estimate to 90+ miles on a 24 kwh Leaf.

For sure, we're all speculating...

OP: you should get up to speed on using LeafSpy, if you want a useful answer on the pack health.

alozzy said:

It's likely a PNW LEAF

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It is indeed. Original owner is in Vancouver WA. He drove all but a few hundred miles of its 32k. Perhaps he is the most efficient EV driver in the world.

How did you guess is was from the Pacific Northwest?

alozzy said:

For sure, we're all speculating...

OP: you should get up to speed on using LeafSpy, if you want a useful answer on the pack health.

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I have been planning to. What’s the forum’s favorite OBD2 dongle? The one recommended by the LeafSpy developer is $100 and I’d rather not spend that much.

EDIT: I must have been confused by another OBD2 device. The LElink unit is only $30.

I like the one in my signature. They only make one, it's cheap, and it's reliable. I've had mine for about 5 years.

I too have a 2016 S with 24kWh battery. Originally sold 6/30/2016, it will be five years old in a couple of months. I will have had it for about half that time.

Here's a LeafSpy screenshot I just took, for comparison with your readings (once you get them).



It looks like I may lose my first battery life bar this year.

EDIT: My last 100% charge (a week or so ago) had the GOM at 91 miles (in Eco mode).

bobkart said:

I too have a 2016 S with 24kWh battery. Originally sold 6/30/2016, it will be five years old in a couple of months. I will have had it for about half that time.

Here's a LeafSpy screenshot I just took, for comparison with your readings (once you get them).

It looks like I may lose my first battery life bar this year.

EDIT: My last 100% charge (a week or so ago) had the GOM at 91 miles (in Eco mode).

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Sister cars! Ours is white as well. Even though it’s my wife’s car, she has little interest in the tech. But I’m enjoying researching the EV world for her. She drives in Eco/B mode at all times, except when getting up to speed on the freeway, which is rare.

I’ve ordered my dongle and should have it in a few days. I’m looking forward to going down the LeafSpy rabbit hole!

Wavebender said:

I’ve ordered my dongle and should have it in a few days. I’m looking forward to going down the LeafSpy rabbit hole!

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It's easy to nerd out on the LeafSpy stats at first, but just keep in mind that they only give you a better sense of the state of the battery health. At the end of the day, other than not constantly charging to 100% or worse doing that during hot summer days, you don't have much control over the pack health. Don't sweat it too much

One other health tip to be aware of is the influence of the depth of discharge - try to "float" the battery charge between 20% and 80% most of the time, but don't be afraid to charge to 100% if you need it (just don't let it sit for days at 100% SOC) or to run the pack down to the 5% if you need to make it to your destination.

I live in Vancouver, Canada and my pack's first bar dropped with about 66,000 miles on the odo on June 18th, 2018. So, my battery pack was 5 years old before it dropped its first bar and, like yours, it's a PNW LEAF. Given that you have a 2016, there's a good chance it will drop a capacity bar within the first year you own it, so don't be too surprised when that happens.

FYI, the odometer mileage doesn't really correlate with the pack health - that determined by age, the amount of heat the pack has had to endure, and luck (or more accurately bad luck, if the pack develops one or more weak cells)

Wavebender said:

I’ve ordered my dongle and should have it in a few days. I’m looking forward to going down the LeafSpy rabbit hole!

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Just wait until you get to play with the service screen.

Wavebender said:

She drives in Eco/B mode at all times, except when getting up to speed on the freeway, which is rare.

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I too drive exclusively in Eco/B Mode.

Keep in mind that full power is still available in Eco/B Mode (accelerator pedal fully depressed). It's just that the response curve is less aggressive in the early part of the pedal travel (for Eco Mode). And B Mode just makes Regen more aggressive, so doesn't impact (positive) acceleration at all.