Capacity Loss on 2011-2012 LEAFs
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JPWhite
Well-known member
KJD said:
Good idea. I will adopt this as my new strategy. Saves having to change timers to charge to 10% and then change them back afterwards.
TickTock
Well-known member
I lost my first capacity bar this morning. I had only charged to 80% and read 186 gids and 9 SOC bars. My last 100% charge was 228 gids 3 days ago. Will charge to 100% tomorrow to see if it reads lower then that.
TonyWilliams
Well-known member
vegastar said:
Yes, as expected for Tick Tock.
You seem to be confusing some numbers, however. 85% is the threshold of current capacity to maximum design capacity before you lose that first bar, and that means the threshold is 231 Gid on a 100% charge. It has nothing to do with 80% charges, which would meet the 85% capacity threshold at 185 Gid.
Volusiano
Well-known member
I guess I'm the 5th(?) guy in AZ now who officially lost a capacity bar (happened today).
I almost always charge to 80% only, and maybe once a month I charge to 100%. When I charge to 100%, it's only because I need 100% and usually I charge from 80% to 100% just before I leave, so I don't let it sit at 100% for very long. I always plug the Leaf in as soon as I get home to top off to 80%. But if it's during Peak hours (1-8pm summer, 9-5 am/pm in winter), the Blink is off during peak so the Leaf doesn't get topped off until Off Peak hours kick in.
I charged to 100% this morning for a trip, and noticed 12 charged bars on the left, but only 11 capacity bars on the right. Is that normal or is it kinda odd that there's more charged bars on the left than the capacity bars on the right?
Anyway, I've had the car for almost a year now (about 2-3 weeks shy of a year), and I'm at around 16.5K miles. I always garage the Leaf. Only used the DC QC at Riverview Toyota a couple of times a few months ago when it went online. Most of the times it's L2 charging from a Blink in my garage.
Last summer the highest battery temperature I saw was 7 bars.
I also notice that lately, my 80% charge completion only shows 9 bars instead of 10 bars. This phenomenon started happening maybe 6-9 months ago once in a blue moon. But it's now happening almost on every 80% charge. In the past, if I restarted charging just for kick to see what happens after 80% completion, the 10th bar will show up under a minute or so. Now the 10th bar wouldn't show up until 5-6 minutes later. Note sure if that really means anything anyway.
I have not taken my Leaf back to the dealer for the 1 year battery checkup yet. I'm planning to do so in early June.
I almost always charge to 80% only, and maybe once a month I charge to 100%. When I charge to 100%, it's only because I need 100% and usually I charge from 80% to 100% just before I leave, so I don't let it sit at 100% for very long. I always plug the Leaf in as soon as I get home to top off to 80%. But if it's during Peak hours (1-8pm summer, 9-5 am/pm in winter), the Blink is off during peak so the Leaf doesn't get topped off until Off Peak hours kick in.
I charged to 100% this morning for a trip, and noticed 12 charged bars on the left, but only 11 capacity bars on the right. Is that normal or is it kinda odd that there's more charged bars on the left than the capacity bars on the right?
Anyway, I've had the car for almost a year now (about 2-3 weeks shy of a year), and I'm at around 16.5K miles. I always garage the Leaf. Only used the DC QC at Riverview Toyota a couple of times a few months ago when it went online. Most of the times it's L2 charging from a Blink in my garage.
Last summer the highest battery temperature I saw was 7 bars.
I also notice that lately, my 80% charge completion only shows 9 bars instead of 10 bars. This phenomenon started happening maybe 6-9 months ago once in a blue moon. But it's now happening almost on every 80% charge. In the past, if I restarted charging just for kick to see what happens after 80% completion, the 10th bar will show up under a minute or so. Now the 10th bar wouldn't show up until 5-6 minutes later. Note sure if that really means anything anyway.
I have not taken my Leaf back to the dealer for the 1 year battery checkup yet. I'm planning to do so in early June.
TonyWilliams
Well-known member
Yes, normal for a 15% reduced capacity battery. You have 100% of the available 85% capacity of the battery.
Stoaty
Well-known member
It is hard to see how those who have lost a capacity bar could have "about 80% capacity remaining after 5 years". That would be about 1% loss per year. In Arizona? Doesn't seem likely. This is the first report of someone who has been pretty careful with the battery (as far as the info reported shows), yet still lost one bar in less than one year. I think a bit more guidance from Nissan about expected rate of capacity loss would be helpful.Volusiano said:
JPWhite
Well-known member
Stoaty said:
Yes the only common theme left now is that they are all from Arizona. Charging patterns appear to be less of a factor in these cases than maybe we thought. Last year saw crazy temps in August. http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/arizona/article_e9bcef0a-d5b6-11e0-a61a-001cc4c002e0.html
I imagine a high of 117 and an average for the month of 109 was enough to cook a cell or three.
smkettner
Well-known member
Getting to be more on heat and time. Less on use & abuse.
But I can tell mine is slipping..... gradually.
But I can tell mine is slipping..... gradually.
Volusiano
Well-known member
Never got to turtle or very low battery warning. Probably about half a dozen times to low battery warning (about 10-12 miles remaining).KJD said:
Also, car is used almost every day except for the first month of use (June 2011) when I left it at 80% unplugged inside garage for about 2 weeks while I went on vacation.
Stoaty
Well-known member
I wonder if the higher temps in Arizona affected one or two weaker cells and the problem isn't with the entire battery. In that case, if capacity gets low enough Nissan may step in and fix under warranty as they fail more fully. Time will tell.smkettner said:
Herm
Well-known member
Volusiano, what is your average efficiency?
GaslessInSeattle
Well-known member
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do we know if these are all off the same boat or essentially assembled from the same batch of batteries? It seems odd to me that so many are just within weeks of each other at the 1 year mark and now with even a pack that was charged to 80% with being easy on the battery in mind.
From talking with a Roadster Owner last year they mentioned a substantial drop the first year and then a leveling off of to 1% or so a year after, so 80% after 5 years **may** still be possible, but I'd have to agree it seems unlikely. At some point it seems inevitable that Nissan is going to have to speak to this.
From talking with a Roadster Owner last year they mentioned a substantial drop the first year and then a leveling off of to 1% or so a year after, so 80% after 5 years **may** still be possible, but I'd have to agree it seems unlikely. At some point it seems inevitable that Nissan is going to have to speak to this.
JPWhite said:
TonyWilliams
Well-known member
JPWhite said:
I know that the one battery that hit 9 temp bars (126.5F) did not get an auto-shutdown, like he should have at the specified 50C / 122F. That's a bit troubling, too.
Was that mine Tony? I got to 9 bars after 4 QCs in one day, but that still wasn't a "red" bar" and I didn't think I was supposed to shut down. I though someone else had done 6 QCs in one day, did they not also get to 9 bars?
Volusiano
Well-known member
It used to be around 4.6 for the longest time, but for the last couple of months, it's slipped down to 4.5. I never bother reset it, so it's cumulative for almost a year now. I suspect my son is the more aggressive driver who's been dragging it down. The rest of us (3 others) probably drive a lot more conservatively.Herm said:
Also, I had the tires rotated at Discount Tires at 7.5K and 15K, and they told me at 15K that I probably have enough tread for one more rotation and that'd be it (new tires around 20'ish K). Not sure if this has any bearing on battery longevity, though.
TonyWilliams
Well-known member
Volusiano said:
My tires are trashed at 24,000 miles. I looked at the Michelin Energy Saver in 205/55R16, but Costco wants almost $200 each !!! I don't think I'll buy another Bridgestone.
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