2013 range vs. 2012

[TonyWilliams]

One aspect of 2012 v 2013 is the ECO button and D/B on the shifter. How did you use the 2012? Shifted into ECO? How do you use the 2013? I turned on ECO the first day I got the 2013 and have never turned it off, use D on the highway and B in the City and N down hills. You could not do that in the 2012.

There's not an additional feature on the 2013 vs 2012 concerning regeneration ability, heater economy, and accelerator sensitivity. It's just different controls of those features.

 

[N1ghtrider]

I always used eco in the 2012 and the 2013. I use B now and coast in N when B would slow me too fast.

 

[Deleted member 9549]

There's not an additional feature on the 2013 vs 2012 concerning regeneration ability, heater economy, and accelerator sensitivity. It's just different controls of those features.

Are you saying there's no difference between 2013 and 2012 regarding regen and heater economy?

I have a 2013 and had a 2012 loaner and it seemed different in all those respects.

Regen on the 2013 seems much stronger, more effective than on the 2012. Maybe I wasn't in the right mode because I use B on the 2013 and was not in Eco on the 2012 but it seemed the behavior was different, not just the control. The 2013 seemed to recover much more energy.

Heater: The 2013 SV and SL have a heat pump so thats pretty different from the 2012.

Accelerator: The acceleration behavior and ramp is different. The 2013 reduces torque from the start and ramps it up shortly afterwards. The 2012 does not limit torque at the start and can jack rabbit start more effectively. However the 2013 seems to have more torque throughout the power band vs. the 2012.

In general, I took fairly careful notes comparing the 2012 and 2013 and was surprised at how many differences there are. It is almost like a different car in the same shell. Much more than a typical new year tweaking. I've been meaning to write up a post about the differences I observed.

 

[Yogi62]

One aspect of 2012 v 2013 is the ECO button and D/B on the shifter. How did you use the 2012? Shifted into ECO? How do you use the 2013? I turned on ECO the first day I got the 2013 and have never turned it off, use D on the highway and B in the City and N down hills. You could not do that in the 2012.

There's not an additional feature on the 2013 vs 2012 concerning regeneration ability, heater economy, and accelerator sensitivity. It's just different controls of those features.

I beg to disagree.

In the 2012 the reduced power consumption heater/cooling controls was dependent on ECO shifter mode.

The 2011/2012 had 5 modes, P, N, R, D, D+ECO. The 2013 gets 8 modes, P, N, R, D and P+ECO, N+ECO, R+ECO, D+ECO.

Someone with a 2011/2012, what happens to the heater power when you go from ECO to R or P?

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Someone with a 2011/2012, what happens to the heater power when you go from ECO to R or P?

nothing or next to nothing...


actually a better question would be; how can you tell?

remember the power display is only representational of actual use. it did not change when going from drive to eco. this is something i tried to observe several times.

i tried checking with the GID meter but hard to say since even when parked the numbers bounced around

**edit** well not "in park" but stationary I should say

 

[TonyWilliams]

There's not an additional feature on the 2013 vs 2012 concerning regeneration ability, heater economy, and accelerator sensitivity. It's just different controls of those features.

Are you saying there's no difference between 2013 and 2012 regarding regen and heater economy?

I have a 2013 and had a 2012 loaner and it seemed different in all those respects.

Obviously, there are differences of efficiency between heat pumps and resistance heaters, and even the air conditioning side of the heat pump.

My statement is the controls are different, and a 2013 LEAF with the exact same heater as a 2011-2013 will have no greater efficiencies, but may have different CONTROLS.

 

[evnow]

You can actually do foot+windshield mode in 2013 - with recirculation. This way the heat stays inside and the windows are clear. I'm driving in this mode with very little energy consumption vs >3kW in '11. This alone is worth quite a few miles in winter.

edit : That part is not correct - atleast when I try now, the "recirculate" is not lit. So I'm back to just using "defog". But, it does take much less energy than the '11 did.

 

[Yogi62]

You can actually do foot+windshield mode in 2013 - with recirculation. This way the heat stays inside and the windows are clear. I'm driving in this mode with very little energy consumption vs >3kW in '11. This alone is worth quite a few miles in winter.

That's interesting. Most of the time when the temps are 40-60 out the only reason I would run the climate controls is to keep the windows clear. The seat heater is enough to stay warm, but fogging is a safety deal.

Tony, I get what you mean now.

 

[johnrhansen]

I'll try that on my way to work tomorrow. That and the rain x I just put on the inside of the windshield hopefully will allow me to leave that power hungry defroster off! It's really been sucking down my range... I'd say it makes me burn 38 percent vs 34 one way.

You can actually do foot+windshield mode in 2013 - with recirculation. This way the heat stays inside and the windows are clear. I'm driving in this mode with very little energy consumption vs >3kW in '11. This alone is worth quite a few miles in winter.

 

[evnow]

Note the update. We can't actually do "feet+windscreen" mode with recirculate. The normal '13 defog though is much less of a energy hog than the '11.

 

[johnrhansen]

I tried it today with mine.. I couldn't get the light to go on the recirculate button in that mode. It works on all the others.

Note the update. We can't actually do "feet+windscreen" mode with recirculate. The normal '13 defog though is much less of a energy hog than the '11.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Recirculate doesn't work with "Defrost" mode, either. I've been complaining here for months that I have to choose between being able to block exhaust fumes from entering the car and having active heat and/or A/C. You can turn the climate control Off and get Recirculate, but that doesn't heat, cool or defrost/defog. And the sequence required to go from active heat or A/C & Defog to CC Off and Recirculate On is distracting enough to be a safety issue. There is, once again, no need for this nonsense, as Recirculate + A/C is usually more effective at defogging than Fresh Air + A/C.

 

[dgpcolorado]

Note the update. We can't actually do "feet+windscreen" mode with recirculate. The normal '13 defog though is much less of a energy hog than the '11.

Can you use the defroster with the heat and AC buttons off on the 2013? That would be the big energy savings I think. (I can do the equivalent in my 2012 thanks to Phil's CC controller mod.)

Yes, it would be nice to be able to run the defroster on recirculate. If I have fogging issues I usually get rid of it then run the defroster with no heat at a low fan speed periodically to keep the windshield clear. But the air outside the car can be mighty cold where I live; had one morning that was -25ºF at the usual cold spot on the drive last winter.

 

[johnrhansen]

Yes, you can push the heat and a/c buttons and they both turn off, but does it really turn the heat off? I would hope so...I'm still kind of confused about that... EVSE upgrade sells a modified ac panel that does something different, but I'm unclear about what it does differently than the stock panel. It just seems to me that when I press the defrost, turn off heat and ac and turn the fan up higher it should keep my windows clear without running any extra load off of the battery.. But it doesn't work to keep the windows clear for me.. they still fog up all the time and I have to turn the defrost on now and then to clear them. I think it would be cool to make something like a delay that turns the defrost on for a set time and off for a set time so I don't have to cycle it back and forth manually all the time. I have still yet to find a non defrost (with heat and a/c) way to keep the windows clear. Oh I wish I bought the SV with the heat pump! I'd just turn it on heat only defrost and crank it up and leave it on. But mine has resistance heaters and even in eco mode I can really tell the difference in range when the defrost is on....I've always fogged up the windows in my cars, in my old ice vehicle I ran it in defrost all the time between September and April. I wish I could find a better way, and I'm still thinking about it. I think Nissan should make all of their cars with the heat pump next year. It's just wrong to sell the old version when they found a better way.

Note the update. We can't actually do "feet+windscreen" mode with recirculate. The normal '13 defog though is much less of a energy hog than the '11.

Can you use the defroster with the heat and AC buttons off on the 2013? That would be the big energy savings I think. (I can do the equivalent in my 2012 thanks to Phil's CC controller mod.)

Yes, it would be nice to be able to run the defroster on recirculate. If I have fogging issues I usually get rid of it then run the defroster with no heat at a low fan speed periodically to keep the windshield clear. But the air outside the car can be mighty cold where I live; had one morning that was -25ºF at the usual cold spot on the drive last winter.

 

[RonDawg]

Yes, you can push the heat and a/c buttons and they both turn off, but does it really turn the heat off? I would hope so...I'm still kind of confused about that... EVSE upgrade sells a modified ac panel that does something different, but I'm unclear about what it does differently than the stock panel.

The EVSE Upgrade modified HVAC panel gives 2011-2012 Leafers the ability to turn off the heater without turning HVAC totally off. It is not meant or needed for 2013+ Leafs.