rwherrick
Well-known member
Hey Guys,
I'm thinking of starting a new thread, but thought I'd run it past the group on this thread first, and see if I could get any insight.
Here's the issue: the "battery capacity monitor gauge" (i.e., how many bars of capacity it *says* you have left) is a lot more optimistic than my real-world experience. And Nissan seems to rely on it's bar programming exclusively for warranty claims, and I haven't heard anything about a bench-test being available. The annual battery test is pretty worthless. They just tell you how many bars (you could read this for yourself), and then give you a star rating (20/20 in my case). When you ask for special warranty measurements to be done, they say they don't have any equipment that can do that.
My highway mileage in normal driving at 65 mph is about 40 miles from a full charge to LBW, which is starting to get to the point where the car is at the edge of being much less useful. I did a test this morning on a flat course with climate control turned off and cruise control at 65 mph, and got 46.3 miles. So according to LeafSpy, it started at 15.7kWh with a full charge, and had 3.8kWh left at LBW (11.9kWh of usable margin, or 13.9kWh to VLBW). But even 15.7kWh / 24 kWh = 65.4%, or a fair way below the 70% for the Nissan Warranty. If you look at mileage and use the efficiency metrics the car gives in its economy meter, you would come to the conclusion that the capacity was a few kWh less than that. So I should be eligible for a warranty replacement, right?
No, not so fast. I just lost my third bar a week ago, at 41,200 miles and 4.5 years of use. I have 47.52Ahrs, 72.6% SOH, and Hx = 51.41. Since I heard SOH has to drop under 70% (or maybe under 66.25% to drop to 8 bars), and Ahrs below 43-44, it's not likely to happen in the next 6 months, when the 60 month warranty runs out.
So anyway, I'm surprised something as non-transparent as battery bar programming trumps any sort of benchtop testing of the battery capacity (either charging or discharging testing). It seems like you have to lose maybe a lot more than 30% of your battery capacity to qualify for a warranty replacement. Any comment on why the battery capacity monitor gauge seems more optimistic than other more objective indicators?
- Bob
P.S. - I leased one of the first 500 Nissan Leafs. I wouldn't have purchased it at the end of lease if I'd known the true battery status, or capacity loss I would see over the next year.
I'm thinking of starting a new thread, but thought I'd run it past the group on this thread first, and see if I could get any insight.
Here's the issue: the "battery capacity monitor gauge" (i.e., how many bars of capacity it *says* you have left) is a lot more optimistic than my real-world experience. And Nissan seems to rely on it's bar programming exclusively for warranty claims, and I haven't heard anything about a bench-test being available. The annual battery test is pretty worthless. They just tell you how many bars (you could read this for yourself), and then give you a star rating (20/20 in my case). When you ask for special warranty measurements to be done, they say they don't have any equipment that can do that.
My highway mileage in normal driving at 65 mph is about 40 miles from a full charge to LBW, which is starting to get to the point where the car is at the edge of being much less useful. I did a test this morning on a flat course with climate control turned off and cruise control at 65 mph, and got 46.3 miles. So according to LeafSpy, it started at 15.7kWh with a full charge, and had 3.8kWh left at LBW (11.9kWh of usable margin, or 13.9kWh to VLBW). But even 15.7kWh / 24 kWh = 65.4%, or a fair way below the 70% for the Nissan Warranty. If you look at mileage and use the efficiency metrics the car gives in its economy meter, you would come to the conclusion that the capacity was a few kWh less than that. So I should be eligible for a warranty replacement, right?
No, not so fast. I just lost my third bar a week ago, at 41,200 miles and 4.5 years of use. I have 47.52Ahrs, 72.6% SOH, and Hx = 51.41. Since I heard SOH has to drop under 70% (or maybe under 66.25% to drop to 8 bars), and Ahrs below 43-44, it's not likely to happen in the next 6 months, when the 60 month warranty runs out.
So anyway, I'm surprised something as non-transparent as battery bar programming trumps any sort of benchtop testing of the battery capacity (either charging or discharging testing). It seems like you have to lose maybe a lot more than 30% of your battery capacity to qualify for a warranty replacement. Any comment on why the battery capacity monitor gauge seems more optimistic than other more objective indicators?
- Bob
P.S. - I leased one of the first 500 Nissan Leafs. I wouldn't have purchased it at the end of lease if I'd known the true battery status, or capacity loss I would see over the next year.