2016-2017 model year 30 kWh bar losers and capacity losses

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One more "sticking with my 2017".

First off I got such a deal on the 2017 that I am totally spoiled (rebates = $20,500). Second my driving is strictly as a "local" car so I'm happy with 50 mile range. Third I test drove the 2018 and it's a very nice car, but trading in is a joke and it's not worth it to me for the extra range and e-pedal.

I sold my 2013 in a day (just luck!) and that pushed me over the edge, plus the battery degradation warranty is 8 years. I just don't believe Nissan is so stupid that they will replace 30 kWh batteries with the same technology so they wind up replacing these potentially 2-3 times over the 8 year warranty period. In the same way there were changes to the original 24 kWh pack, I believe we'll see changes to the 30 and 40 packs.

And as an aside, the 2018 Leaf is a bit of an unknown right now, especially considering that the 40 is a denser package than the 30, so we may see some premature battery aging. Until things sort out over the next year or so, I can wait.
 
joeriv said:
I just don't believe Nissan is so stupid that they will replace 30 kWh batteries with the same technology so they wind up replacing these potentially 2-3 times over the 8 year warranty period. In the same way there were changes to the original 24 kWh pack, I believe we'll see changes to the 30 and 40 packs.

I hate to say it ...but I think we've seen the best version of the AESC battery pack we're going to see.
My "lizard" battery degradation is only marginally better than my original (2011) battery, and we now know that the 30 kWh packs are more densely constructed (apparently leading to even worse heat dissipation).
We also know that Nissan is moving to LG battery technology with the 60 kWh packs (the 40 kWh packs are still "old" tech which I expect will perform no better than the 30 kWh ones), and can only hope that the design change plus some active cooling will "fix" the problem.
 
berclese said:
berclese said:
berclese said:
I am under the suspicion that Nissan may have moved the SOH/capacity bar relationship for the 30 kWh battery. My car will likely drop it's second bar very soon. Have you taken your car in for the yearly battery check? That may help you in the long run (no pun intended). I have not contacted customer service. Please let us know how that goes.

UPDATE: I lost the second bar today. 237 GIDs AHr= 51.85 SOH= 65% HX= 65.88% 5899 miles.

UPDATE 2: I lost the 4th bar today at 7577 miles. GOM is still reporting range at 75 miles, but my actual range has been much lower. Off for a new battery on Monday. I can't wait to turn this leased vehicle in. Nissan really should consider pulling the Leaf from the Southwest.
What is the current LeafSpy stats?
 
If those with a 30kWh Leaf who QC could complement the helpful data provided here; http://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=25519&start=90#p523924
by Dave's data gathering on his 2018 40kWh Leaf, i.e. internal battery resistance data, by performing the same type of test (about 10-15
seconds at the start of a QC), that would result in having battery data on all the Leaf batteries, 24/30/40 kWhs. If that test results in the
battery resistance of the 30 kWh battery being about the same as both the 24 & 40 kWh batteries ( ~ 50 - 60 mohms), then it could be
implied that the additional prolonged 30 kWh battery heat over time (like the 40 kWh) results from a higher battery thermal resistance
(lower heat conductance) to ambient, e.g. resulting from a higher density battery volume. This would help explain the higher battery
degradation some 30kWh Leaf owners have experienced over the 24 kWh battery, and what some 40 kWh Leaf owners will probably
have to confront over time, which in hindsight necessitated TMS more so as the battery density increased over the 24 kWh battery.
 
joeriv said:
I just don't believe Nissan is so stupid that they will replace 30 kWh batteries with the same technology so they wind up replacing these potentially 2-3 times over the 8 year warranty period. In the same way there were changes to the original 24 kWh pack, I believe we'll see changes to the 30 and 40 packs.
Nissan is no longer in the battery business. Even if they wanted to improve the pack (doubtful), it is not in their hands now.
 
Nissan is no longer in the battery business. Even if they wanted to improve the pack (doubtful), it is not in their hands now.

IMHO Nissan is in a better position by outsourcing the battery - Nissan writes the specs and always has the option to change suppliers, so they have more leverage compared to an in-house source. Nothing like competition to keep a vendor on their toes.
 
jbuntz said:
berclese said:
berclese said:
UPDATE: I lost the second bar today. 237 GIDs AHr= 51.85 SOH= 65% HX= 65.88% 5899 miles.

UPDATE 2: I lost the 4th bar today at 7577 miles. GOM is still reporting range at 75 miles, but my actual range has been much lower. Off for a new battery on Monday. I can't wait to turn this leased vehicle in. Nissan really should consider pulling the Leaf from the Southwest.
What is the current LeafSpy stats?

Here's all the stats.
7505 mi
11 QCs and 384 L1/L2
16.1 kWh, 44.53 Ah
208 GIDs
AHr = 45.55
Hx = 57.28
SOH = 57.31%
 
IDK the numbers but gather that the total number of cars with 30kwh packs is not that great to begin with. Of those, Nissan's exposure is limited to the subset of cars:
- in warm climates
- were purchased, not leased, or leased and subsequently bought out (don't look for a big number there)
- don't get totaled in an accident or experience an out of warranty failure that isn't economically viable to repair (both of which Nissan can heavily influence with parts pricing)

I don't expect Nissan to make any improvements, the costs just aren't worth it. Remember when the lizard pack was introduced they still had a ways to go in that model cycle, here we have a car that is out of production and Nissan will have no interest in making improvements to cars they have already sold. This isn't Tesla.
 
mn4az said:
mn4az said:
Another Minnesotan here. Adding some initial stats to this thread:

'13 Leaf SV (Leased) - Leased 34 months. Drove 41K miles. All 12 bars intact when returned car. Mostly charged to 80% between midnight and 5a.

'16 Leaf SV (Purchased - Manufactured 12/15) . Typical charging pattern is to try and charge to 75-90%. Charging typically happens between midnight and 5a.

Date Ahr SOH V Hx ODO QC L1/L2 SOC
11/10/2016 74.49 93% 388.84 88.41 9769 3 350 87.70%
11/26/2017 70.85 89% 345.54 83.71 24414 7 1198 30.30%

The 11/10/2016 was actually a test for a friend. He wanted to ensure he could get a good read before testing used Leafs.
The 11/26/2017 reading is my test to make sure I could get the readings on my phone.

Pretty happy that in over a year my SOH only dropped 4%.

On Tuesday I plan on charging the car to 100% SOC and taking another set of readings which I will report back into the thread.

Here's my state from today from the Lite version of LeafSpy

Ahr = 70.85
SOH = 89%
V = 395.32
Hx = 83.71%
ODO = 24414
QC = 7
L1/L2 = 1205
SOC = 97.8%

Anyone care to comment on what they see within those stats?

The only change we'll make is to charge to 100% SOC when we know we may be at risk of dropping to <25% during the days driving. In the past we focused on holding near 80% SOC and if you got home at 5% SOC so be it. One other change will be, if we get home with <25% SOC to charge it to 30% - then finish the charge off during the evening hours when rates are less (off peak charging).

Update on stats from Minnesota over the winter. 1% drop in SOH over ~5K miles and ~4.5 months.

'16 SV

Ahr = 70.15
SOH = 88%
V = 394.97
Hx = 80.78%
ODO = 29348
QC = 9
L1/L2 = 1530
SOC = 97.8%
 
Yet another '16 30 kWh 4 bar loser at https://www.facebook.com/groups/nissan.leaf.owners.group/permalink/1901202823283883. Their initials are KWM and they mentioned Phoenix.

They said SOH had to drop below 55% for them. Leaf Spy shows SOH of 54.98%.
 
Our 2017 Leaf s purchased in March 2017 just hit 22k miles and still no bar loss. No Leaf Spy so can't give numbers. We're located in San Diego a couple blocks from the water so climates are reasonably moderate and car is generally driven with a few miles of the coast where things are cooler. Car is rarely charged to 100% unless we are going to be driving it immed. LOTS of QC. It is my opinion that charging to 100% is more likely the culprit and not QC.
 
pointlomadave said:
Our 2017 Leaf s purchased in March 2017 just hit 22k miles and still no bar loss. No Leaf Spy so can't give numbers. We're located in San Diego a couple blocks from the water so climates are reasonably moderate and car is generally driven with a few miles of the coast where things are cooler. Car is rarely charged to 100% unless we are going to be driving it immed. LOTS of QC. It is my opinion that charging to 100% is more likely the culprit and not QC.

You need to pull the leaf spy stats, because all other info is insufficient in detail to make any kind of conclusion.

I'm also SoCal, and my leaf spy stats are in my signature. I haven't lost any bars either, but the leaf spy stats tell a different story.
 
pointlomadave said:
It is my opinion that charging to 100% is more likely the culprit and not QC.
Since your battery may be approaching 20% capacity loss without you knowing, I find your conclusions unfounded.
 
Oils4AsphaultOnly said:
pointlomadave said:
Our 2017 Leaf s purchased in March 2017 just hit 22k miles and still no bar loss. No Leaf Spy so can't give numbers. We're located in San Diego a couple blocks from the water so climates are reasonably moderate and car is generally driven with a few miles of the coast where things are cooler. Car is rarely charged to 100% unless we are going to be driving it immed. LOTS of QC. It is my opinion that charging to 100% is more likely the culprit and not QC.

You need to pull the leaf spy stats, because all other info is insufficient in detail to make any kind of conclusion.

I'm also SoCal, and my leaf spy stats are in my signature. I haven't lost any bars either, but the leaf spy stats tell a different story.

Since you have been helpful in providing the forum data about your 30kWh Leaf and since you indicated your frequent use of QCs,
it would be helpful to supplement the 40kWh data Dave provided on his 2018 Leaf:

If those with a 30kWh Leaf who QC could complement the helpful data provided here; viewtopic.php?f=27&t=25519&start=90#p523924
by Dave's data gathering on his 2018 40kWh Leaf, i.e. internal battery resistance data, by performing the same type of test (about 10-15
seconds at the start of a QC), that would result in having battery data on all the Leaf batteries, 24/30/40 kWhs. If that test results in the
battery resistance of the 30 kWh battery being about the same as both the 24 & 40 kWh batteries ( ~ 50 - 60 mohms), then it could be
implied that the additional prolonged 30 kWh battery heat over time (like the 40 kWh) results from a higher battery thermal resistance
(lower heat conductance) to ambient, e.g. resulting from a higher density battery volume. This would help explain the higher battery
degradation some 30kWh Leaf owners have experienced over the 24 kWh battery, and what some 40 kWh Leaf owners will probably
have to confront over time, which in hindsight necessitated TMS more so as the battery density increased over the 24 kWh battery.
http://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=25519&start=90#p523924
Thanks for your help.
 
^^^I understand. Point being I've yet to lose my first capacity bar at 22k miles while others are reporting 3 bar loss. I know the first bar represents 15.5% capacity loss so yeah, I could be close or I may not be. Point being, at least my car is not in the category of high wear rate for the battery.

THis is my 2nd Leaf. 1st one I drove 56k miles. 1 bar lost at 31,500 on that one which was a 2013 with a 4/13 build date.
 
lorenfb said:

Since you have been helpful in providing the forum data about your 30kWh Leaf and since you indicated your frequent use of QCs,
it would be helpful to supplement the 40kWh data Dave provided on his 2018 Leaf:

I actually don't QC regularly, but I'll see what I can do about doing one just to get those stats. Might take a few days though.
 
Oils4AsphaultOnly said:
lorenfb said:

Since you have been helpful in providing the forum data about your 30kWh Leaf and since you indicated your frequent use of QCs,
it would be helpful to supplement the 40kWh data Dave provided on his 2018 Leaf:

I actually don't QC regularly, but I'll see what I can do about doing one just to get those stats. Might take a few days though.

Thanks.
 
Just got to 20k on my '17 S, no bar loss in the foothills of Denver, CO.

I can do LeafSpy one better - actually driving the car from full to VLBW. When I do that, I'm seeing 8-10% in capacity degradation (used to be able to easily hit the EPA listed mileage, now I'm down to 92-90% of that).

I've QC'd about 30-40 times and charge to 100% regularly.
 
Bummer.... down to 90% SOH. 14k. Chicago weather. Seems that even a few summer months are enough to significantly degrade the battery. Glad I leased.

On the bright side I did get my Model 3 invite today... 3-6 week delivery
 
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