Hi folks,
I've read through the recent posts on this forum and since I think my question is a bit different from the others, I started a new thread.
My question relates to battery capacity calculated from the instrument cluster, versus rated battery capacity. I am not asking about energy usage as measured by a Kill-A-Watt type device.
My Leaf is a 2012, so first generation. It is missing two bars of capacity when fully charged.
Yesterday I knew I was going to be driving farther than usual, so I reset the odometer and the miles/kWH right at the start of the day. I started with a full charge and all day long I drove very carefully and got excellent efficiency on the instrument cluster. At the end of that day's trips, I had driven 68 miles and had four miles of range left. My energy efficiency for the day, as reported on the instrument cluster, was 5.3 miles/kWH.
I know there is a reserve below zero, as I've made significant use of it in the past. So let's say I had an extra 10 miles of range on top of the indicated four miles left. This means I might have been able to go 78 miles before running out of juice. So, the total battery capacity can be calculated to be 78 miles / 5.3 m/hWH or 14.7 kWH. This is way below the rated capacity of the battery pack, which is 24 kWH. In another thread, it was mentioned that 21 kWH may be the usable limit of the battery pack, but I'm way under that too.
The last time Nissan did a battery check (the one that tells Nissan if I'm mis-treating the battery), everything came out "Excellent."
So my question is, should I take it in to Nissan for them to check out, or just live with it? Is there any more information I should compile to make a decision?
I've read through the recent posts on this forum and since I think my question is a bit different from the others, I started a new thread.
My question relates to battery capacity calculated from the instrument cluster, versus rated battery capacity. I am not asking about energy usage as measured by a Kill-A-Watt type device.
My Leaf is a 2012, so first generation. It is missing two bars of capacity when fully charged.
Yesterday I knew I was going to be driving farther than usual, so I reset the odometer and the miles/kWH right at the start of the day. I started with a full charge and all day long I drove very carefully and got excellent efficiency on the instrument cluster. At the end of that day's trips, I had driven 68 miles and had four miles of range left. My energy efficiency for the day, as reported on the instrument cluster, was 5.3 miles/kWH.
I know there is a reserve below zero, as I've made significant use of it in the past. So let's say I had an extra 10 miles of range on top of the indicated four miles left. This means I might have been able to go 78 miles before running out of juice. So, the total battery capacity can be calculated to be 78 miles / 5.3 m/hWH or 14.7 kWH. This is way below the rated capacity of the battery pack, which is 24 kWH. In another thread, it was mentioned that 21 kWH may be the usable limit of the battery pack, but I'm way under that too.
The last time Nissan did a battery check (the one that tells Nissan if I'm mis-treating the battery), everything came out "Excellent."
So my question is, should I take it in to Nissan for them to check out, or just live with it? Is there any more information I should compile to make a decision?
