2015 Nissan Leaf 42,000 Miles

Hello everyone!

I'm new to the electric car market. I actually work Jeep so this is totally new. I wanted to buy something efficent and reliable. Found great reviews on this car. Now here is the worries I have and hopefully I can lay them to rest.

The vehicle i'm buying has 1 bar of degradation. 11 bars. Do I have to worry? I have a 26 mile commute each way about 75% of commute is highway. Round trip of 52 miles. At the Jeep dealership I work at we have a level 2 charger, so I can charge while I'm working.

Are they any ways to prevent battery degradation? Special charging instructions of previous owners?

Any help with tips would be great. I'm a part of Jeep forums, so I'm sure this question has been asking 10,000 times! LOL

With L2 charging at work you can make that commute for many years without worries in any weather. 26 miles is an easy distance for a 2015 Leaf although using the heat can take some energy.

The only things I do to reduce battery degradation is to not leave the car sit at high SOC (state of charge) for long periods. I'd call high SOC something over 80%. Also, don't leave the car sit at very low SOC for long periods (to me, low < 15% SOC). High battery temperatures will also increase the speed of degradation so try to park in the shade, let the car cool off at night, etc. You can easily over-think this and no matter what you do, the battery will degrade with time.

rconn1989 said:

Hello everyone!
The vehicle i'm buying has 1 bar of degradation. 11 bars. Do I have to worry? I have a 26 mile commute each way about 75% of commute is highway. Round trip of 52 miles. At the Jeep dealership I work at we have a level 2 charger, so I can charge while I'm working.

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Key question, where?

Degradation is partly a function of temperature. The hotter the climate is, the faster capacity is lost with any battery. The Leaf will be at a disadvantage in very hot climates: Southern AZ, inland CA and such. I'd be somewhat concerned about hot places. Depending on price, of course.

Range is also a function of temperature. The colder the weather today, the less the range. California winters, not so bad. Yukon, I'd be very concerned about cold weather range.

52 miles is too far, without workplace charging. How sure are you that the charger will be available when you want to use it?

rconn1989 said:

Are they any ways to prevent battery degradation? Special charging instructions of previous owners?

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Prevent? No, batteries will degrade. 2015 model year is one of the better of the older LEAFs, so will take a lot. But

Minimize time at or near 100%, especially in hot weather.

Minimize discharges to very low battery, say 10% or less. Time matter less.

Store battery with ~40% charge, unless at very cold temperatures.

I live in Pennsylvania. Summers can get a little hot. My concern is the car is originally from Arizona. I would be parking it in a garage. Winter's may get as low as 10-15 OCCASIONALLY. I purchased it from Carvana. It arrives next Saturday so I do have a return policy if I don't feel comfortable. So typically charging is not to exceed 80%? The 8 year warranty on battery. Does that cover degradation or Workmanship. I've been getting mixed answers

I made my 52-mile round trip commute (26 each way with about 20 of those miles on the highway) using A/C normally without issue when the original battery in the 2011 was down to 8 capacity bars even though there was not much reserve left toward the end (before Nissan replaced the battery). I also made my 52-mile round trip commute when the 2105 was down to 8 capacity bars before several weak cells really reduced the range so I had to stop for charging on the way home. You should be able to make your round trip commute for a couple of years and your one-way commute for many years as long as you can reliably charge at work. Even 120-volt charging at work would be enough to save you from charging on the way home. You need L2 charging at home to get the most use from the car.

Speaking of Jeeps, my road trip vehicle is a 2004 Grand Cherokee (if I don't take the motorcycle) and I also have a 1988 Comanche (both purchased new).

Edited to add: The 2015 was well beyond 60,000 miles in my hot climate before it dropped to 8 capacity bars.

rconn1989 said:

I live in Pennsylvania. Summers can get a little hot. My concern is the car is originally from Arizona. I would be parking it in a garage. Winter's may get as low as 10-15 OCCASIONALLY. I purchased it from Carvana. It arrives next Saturday so I do have a return policy if I don't feel comfortable. So typically charging is not to exceed 80%? The 8 year warranty on battery. Does that cover degradation or Workmanship. I've been getting mixed answers

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Charging can go to 100% if the car will be driven shortly after it reaches full - a few hours at most in hotter weather, much longer in the cold. The 8 year warranty is for battery defects only - the capacity warranty ends at 5 years or 60k miles.

rconn1989 said:

I live in Pennsylvania. Summers can get a little hot. My concern is the car is originally from Arizona. I would be parking it in a garage. Winter's may get as low as 10-15 OCCASIONALLY. I purchased it from Carvana. It arrives next Saturday so I do have a return policy if I don't feel comfortable. So typically charging is not to exceed 80%? The 8 year warranty on battery. Does that cover degradation or Workmanship. I've been getting mixed answers

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I did not see this post before typing my previous reply. The battery warranty is 8 years or 100,000 miles for defects, but only 5 years or 60,000 miles for gradual capacity loss (at 8 bars) on 2015. Is the car an S, SV, or SL? An SV or SL would be best for you because they have heat pumps so cabin heating will not take as much energy unless it is really cold (in which case the resistance heater is used which draws more energy). The "S" has only the resistance heater. I believe Carvana allows you to drive it for a few days before deciding to keep or return it. If so, check the range by driving it normally from full charge down to low battery warning to make sure the range is appropriate for 10 capacity bars (it should be OK with only 42,000 miles). As LeftieBiker said, charging to 100% is fine as long as you drive the car within a few hours. If the car will be parked for extended time (more than a couple days), then it is best to be between 30% and 70% charge. I routinely charge to 100% and discharge deeply, but am very careful to avoid extended storage at high charge levels.

Its a SV. Was originally owned in Arizona. Only thing that makes me nervous.

GerryAZ said:

I believe Carvana allows you to drive it for a few days before deciding to keep or return it. If so, check the range by driving it normally from full charge down to low battery warning to make sure the range is appropriate for 10 capacity bars (it should be OK with only 42,000 miles).

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Range is appropriate. Use the following chart to compare between your range test drive and what is appropriate:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/uq86hzcj802x47o/LEAFrangeChartVersion7G75.pdf?dl=1

Print out a copy.

As this chart is for a car at 10 capacity bars, this car should do better than this chart expects. What this test is trying to find is find is a very recent battery capacity reset, or one or more bad cells.

After that, if you have a chance to recharge the car at a station (perhaps at work?) that records the kWh needed, record both the battery percentage when you stop and the kWh needed to fully recharge the car. With this, a more accurate battery capacity estimate can be calculated.

Also, I checked the carfax. I was looking at two different ones. The vehicle I purchased is from Atlanta, GA. So not as high of a temperature as it is in Arizona. Still a warmer climate, but not as bad. I'm paying $8900 for this car.

rconn1989 said:

Also, I checked the carfax. I was looking at two different ones. The vehicle I purchased is from Atlanta, GA. So not as high of a temperature as it is in Arizona. Still a warmer climate, but not as bad. I'm paying $8900 for this car.

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SV is a good choice because it has the heat pump and is capable of remote access so you can start climate control remotely to pre-heat or pre-cool (will run 2 hours while plugged in or 15 minutes maximum on battery). Check CarFax to see if the telematics control unit (TCU) has been replaced. If not, it will need to be replaced before remote access and public charger location map updates (on navigation screen) will function. The original cellular modem was 2G which is updated to 3G by TCU replacement. Replacement was free on 2015 and $300 total for parts and labor on earlier cars (at least to original owners) so you may still be able to get it done without cost, if needed. Make sure the navigation system works when you get the car since it will not function correctly if someone removed the proprietary SD card (should be a card in one slot and it is normal for the other slot to be empty). The proprietary card can be replaced through dealer by special order at significant cost so it should be Carvana's responsibility to replace it, if missing. Key fobs are a bit expensive to replace so make sure you get two with the car.

with 3g going away next year, any work on a 4g upgrade for the leaf?

How is your commute going with the Leaf? Without charge, what is your end of day percentage? I have a similar commute - however, no charging station. Thanks!