Battery capacity indicator has just started to drop. Should I be concerned?

[hbquikcomjamesl]

The battery capacity indicator on Millie, my 2018 Leaf, has dropped from 12 to 11. Is that reasonable and expected for a Leaf that's approximately 5 years old, and in my hands for over 3 years?

 

[Drew21]

How many miles? What climate? What sort of driving and charging do you do?
Generally speaking, I would think that just dropping to 11 bars in a 2018 is pretty good. But, I don't have a newer Leaf with the bigger/better HV batteries so can't say from experience.

 

[Dooglas]

Well, it certainly isn't unprecedented. Lots of factors can come into play regarding how quickly your battery degrades. You've probably heard most of them - hot climates, many fast charges, extended storage at full charge or near zero charge, charging practices that result in high battery temperature, weak or unbalanced cells, etc. As there is a much larger span between 12 and 11 bars than between any other 2 bars on the LEAF capacity gauge, it would be helpful to know the actual LeafSpy SOH reading.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

61207 miles, all in Southern California. If she's ever been plugged into a level-3 charger, or turtled, it was before my time.

And given that the dealer has once again started to bug me about bringing her in for PM, it might not be that long before I get an actual number for battery capacity.

 

[Ez2517]

Since you are in a hot climate, this sounds reasonable. The first bar drops around 85 % SoH, my 2019 currently is at 87 %.

 

[Ez2517]

61207 miles, all in Southern California. If she's ever been plugged into a level-3 charger, or turtled, it was before my time.

And given that the dealer has once again started to bug me about bringing her in for PM, it might not be that long before I get an actual number for battery capacity.

My dealer never provided me with an exact capacity. during last service a couple of months ago they handed me a printout that said that the battery was at 'full capacity' which obviously is not correct, no Leaf battery is at 100 % after 5 years. You need to use LeafSpy to get a more accurate estimate.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

. . . As there is a much larger span between 12 and 11 bars than between any other 2 bars on the LEAF capacity gauge . . . .

The tick-marks look pretty evenly spaced on "Millie."

At any rate, when she goes in for her PM this year, I'll try and remember to specifically ask for the exact number on capacity.

At any rate, isn't LeafSpy a smartphone app? I don't have a full-on smartphone, and refuse to own (much less carry) one. And discrimination against non-smartphone-users is a berserk-button for me. Not as big a berserk-button as attempts to either bribe me or solicit bribes from me, but still, a berserk-button. One of the reasons why, even though I'm a former Disneyland passholder, I now frequently go for over a year without ever setting foot in the place (unless I get word of a Main Street Electrical Parade encore).

 

[BillAinCT]

Use an Android tablet to use LeafSpy. If you want to know more about your battery and won't do that, no one here including the dealer will tell you want you really want to know and should know. The data LeafSpy processes has been reversed engineered by dozens of people. It's why it's the only way to get this data. It has to use an OBD dongle for the connection to the car to get this data, and they all connect with either BlueTooth or Wireless. This isn't to discriminate against you or anyone - it was the only practical way to get the information to Leaf owners. If you want the data, you have to chose to access it this way. What LeafSpy can tell you is something the dealer will not disclose to you.

 

[Drew21]

The tick-marks look pretty evenly spaced

The uneven spacing is in the amount of charge capacity signified by each SOH, not the physical size or spacing of the bars on the dash display.

The first bar represents 100%-85%. From there I think each bar represents 7.5%. So, the first bar should disappear when your battery health is around 85%. The second bar would disappear around 77.5% and so on.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

The only Android tablet I've ever owned was a cheap- model that slowly degraded from mildly dysfunctional to completely afunctional. I've since replaced it with a Chromebook. Which, thankfully, will run the MFA mobile apps that I need for work. As well as such Linux apps as LibreOffice, Firefox, and Thunderbird (I still don't understand why the Mozilla foundation named its email reader after a cheap wine).

Android apps are hit-or-miss on a Chromebook: some work well, some work poorly, and some won't even install. Can anybody (and I get the general impression that the Developer is on this board) tell me with absolute certainty whether or not the Android LeafSpy will run on a Chromebook?

I'm not terribly inclined to spend $15 on an app that may or may not work at all, that requires a hardware adapter for which the make and model recommended in the Google Play Store page would set me back another $30, unless I know that (1) it will actually run on a Chromebook, (2) that a dealership where (a) I've known my service-writer since he was in diapers and (b) the management knows they <vulgarity> me off big-time by saddling me with an unnecessary and unwanted 5-year note from which my credit score still hasn't fully recovered ("exactly what part of 'balance on net-30 terms' did you not understand?") will withhold that information, and (3) I can be convinced that in all of Orange County, CA, there isn't an independent EV mechanic who can work on a Leaf.

(And at any rate, at some point [hopefully not for a few more years], I will have to find somebody local, who will do a traction battery change-out on a Leaf, because [given that I kept both of my previous vehicles for 20 years each, and both outlasted their factory engines] there is no way in Hell that I'm going to send a perfectly serviceable vehicle to the scrap heap just because it needs a new traction battery.)

 

[cornbinder89]

It has been my experience that any of the marketplaces that sell Leafspy will not let it download to anything that is not seen by it as an Android O/S. I would gladly pay for Leafspy and try and run in with an Android emulator on Linux if I could. May be there is a way and I am too computer illiterate to know how, or may be there isn't. The Whole world doesn't begin and end with Android.
From what little I can glean, most all Android apps are written on a Linux machine and de bugged on the same before being offered for Android.

 

[Jeffstumpf]

The tick-marks look pretty evenly spaced on "Millie."

At any rate, when she goes in for her PM this year, I'll try and remember to specifically ask for the exact number on capacity.

At any rate, isn't LeafSpy a smartphone app? I don't have a full-on smartphone, and refuse to own (much less carry) one. And discrimination against non-smartphone-users is a berserk-button for me. Not as big a berserk-button as attempts to either bribe me or solicit bribes from me, but still, a berserk-button. One of the reasons why, even though I'm a former Disneyland passholder, I now frequently go for over a year without ever setting foot in the place (unless I get word of a Main Street Electrical Parade encore).

Yes it is a smart phone App, it does work with an iPad too, if that does not press any buttons.

 

[Jeffstumpf]

How many miles? What climate? What sort of driving and charging do you do?
Generally speaking, I would think that just dropping to 11 bars in a 2018 is pretty good. But, I don't have a newer Leaf with the bigger/better HV batteries so can't say from experience.

The Nissan LEAF Wiki Website claims that, according to an April 2011 Service Manual (page MWI-23), the first bars will disappear when the capacity drops below the percentages in the table on the left. One bar was reported lost in 2012, so 1 year in may be about right for one bar drop, but a lot depends on your driving style, your mileage, the way you charge, and the type of charges (L1, L2, DCQC) and the environmental conditions.

Anyway: The bar figures below are for the 1st Generation (2010-2017) Leafs. The 2nd Generation (2018 - 2024) should be similar. Note that the 1st and last bars drop have bigger %, and the bars in-between are all about the same % between them.

12 bars = 100% to 85%
11 bars = 85% to 78.75%
10 bars = 78.75% to 72.5%
9 bars = 72.5% to 66.25%
8 bars = 66.25% to 60%
7 bars = 60% to 53.75%
6 bars = 53.75% to 47.5%
5 bars = 47.5% to 41.25%
4 bars. = 41.25% to 35%
3 bars = 35% to 28.75%
2 bars. = 28.75% to 22.5%
1 bar = 22.5% to 16.25%
0 bars = 16.25% to 0%

The new car warranty will only apply if you have lost 4 bars (leaving 8 BARS left / illuminated).
[ If less than 9 bars during the warranty period, Nissan will repair or replace to bring the HV Battery up to at least 9 bars ]

 

[Jeffstumpf]

The battery capacity indicator on Millie, my 2018 Leaf, has dropped from 12 to 11. Is that reasonable and expected for a Leaf that's approximately 5 years old, and in my hands for over 3 years?

The Nissan LEAF Wiki Website claims that, according to an April 2011 Service Manual (page MWI-23), the first bars will disappear when the capacity drops below the percentages in the table on the left. One bar was reported lost in 2012, so 1 year in may be about right for one bar drop, but a lot depends on your driving style, your mileage, the way you charge, and the type of charges (L1, L2, DCQC) and the environmental conditions.

Anyway: The bar figures below are for the 1st Generation (2010-2017) Leafs. The 2nd Generation (2018 - 2024) should be similar. Note that the 1st and last bars drop have bigger %, and the bars in-between are all about the same % between them.

12 bars = 100% to 85%
11 bars = 85% to 78.75%
10 bars = 78.75% to 72.5%
9 bars = 72.5% to 66.25%
8 bars = 66.25% to 60%
7 bars = 60% to 53.75%
6 bars = 53.75% to 47.5%
5 bars = 47.5% to 41.25%
4 bars. = 41.25% to 35%
3 bars = 35% to 28.75%
2 bars. = 28.75% to 22.5%
1 bar = 22.5% to 16.25%
0 bars = 16.25% to 0%

The new car warranty will only apply if you have lost 4 bars (leaving 8 BARS left / illuminated).
[ If less than 9 bars during the warranty period, Nissan will repair or replace to bring the HV Battery up to at least 9 bars ]

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Thanks, Jeff. I've printed out a hardcopy of the numbers, which will be inserted in my Owner's Manual at my earliest convenience. Which doesn't change the fact that I will (assuming it doesn't slip my mind) request a more detailed capacity report when I take Millie in for PM. Nor does it change the fact that if and when I get word that LeafSpy will run on a Chromebook (Android and ChromeOS both run on a fork of the Linux kernel; Mac OS is a fork of BSD. If a given Android app runs at all on a Chromebook, it runs natively; it's Linux apps that run in a subsystem), and will respond to a mouse and/or keyboard (as opposed to specifically requiring a touchscreen), I will be highly inclined to get it. Even more inclined if I get word that a less expensive OBD adapter will work.

 

[ToddA1966]

The only Android tablet I've ever owned was a cheap- model that slowly degraded from mildly dysfunctional to completely afunctional. I've since replaced it with a Chromebook. Which, thankfully, will run the MFA mobile apps that I need for work. As well as such Linux apps as LibreOffice, Firefox, and Thunderbird (I still don't understand why the Mozilla foundation named its email reader after a cheap wine).

Android apps are hit-or-miss on a Chromebook: some work well, some work poorly, and some won't even install. Can anybody (and I get the general impression that the Developer is on this board) tell me with absolute certainty whether or not the Android LeafSpy will run on a Chromebook?

I'm not terribly inclined to spend $15 on an app that may or may not work at all, that requires a hardware adapter for which the make and model recommended in the Google Play Store page would set me back another $30, unless I know that (1) it will actually run on a Chromebook, (2) that a dealership where (a) I've known my service-writer since he was in diapers and (b) the management knows they <vulgarity> me off big-time by saddling me with an unnecessary and unwanted 5-year note from which my credit score still hasn't fully recovered ("exactly what part of 'balance on net-30 terms' did you not understand?") will withhold that information, and (3) I can be convinced that in all of Orange County, CA, there isn't an independent EV mechanic who can work on a Leaf.

(And at any rate, at some point [hopefully not for a few more years], I will have to find somebody local, who will do a traction battery change-out on a Leaf, because [given that I kept both of my previous vehicles for 20 years each, and both outlasted their factory engines] there is no way in Hell that I'm going to send a perfectly serviceable vehicle to the scrap heap just because it needs a new traction battery.)

Try the free version of Leaf Spy (Leaf Spy Lite). It will show the state of health just like the paid version, and you won't be out $15.

 

[Steve52]

The battery capacity indicator on Millie, my 2018 Leaf, has dropped from 12 to 11. Is that reasonable and expected for a Leaf that's approximately 5 years old, and in my hands for over 3 years?

Perhaps you can find another Leaf owner nearby with Leaf Spy who could run their setup on your Leaf, it only takes a couple of minutes to run a scan.

 

[Steve52]

The battery capacity indicator on Millie, my 2018 Leaf, has dropped from 12 to 11. Is that reasonable and expected for a Leaf that's approximately 5 years old, and in my hands for over 3 years?

I tried Leaf Spy Lite on my Chromebook and it worked great! I went to the Play Store and found the App, installed it, connected and paired my BAFX Products OBDII adapter to my Chromebook, turned on my Leaf and Leaf Spy Lite showed the following chart. I also tried with Leaf Spy Pro and it worked as well.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I tried Leaf Spy Lite on my Chromebook and it worked great! I went to the Play Store and found the App, installed it, connected and paired my BAFX Products OBDII adapter to my Chromebook, turned on my Leaf and Leaf Spy Lite showed the following chart. I also tried with Leaf Spy Pro and it worked as well.

Thanks. It might be worth a try. Specifics on the adapter? Model? Where to buy?

Anybody here know what OBDII adapters are known to work with LeafSpy, and which ones (if any) are known not to work?

 

[Steve52]

Thanks. It might be worth a try. Specifics on the adapter? Model? Where to buy?

Anybody here know what OBDII adapters are known to work with LeafSpy, and which ones (if any) are known not to work?

Prices for OBDII adapters are all over the map on Amazon. The one I bought is no longer available on Amazon. Carista and OBDLink LX, MX and MX+ are the ones recommended by Leaf Spy. If you buy one of the cheaper adapters, make sure you can return it if it doesn't work. Another way to go is to borrow one from a friend and try it out before you buy. You can install Leaf Spy Lite for free on your Chromebook and after you open it, there's a help file available to explain all the details of installation and troubleshooting.