BoulderLeaf
Well-known member
Hello,
We bought a 2012 LEAF several years ago and while it's been a pretty good car, we've recently really started to notice a loss in battery capacity. We lost our first bar a couple of weeks ago and even though the temperatures are still in the 80's and lower 90's, we are using much more of the battery on a daily basis than I'm comfortable with because I know when winter rolls around that we'll use a lot more than that. Frequently, after a usual day we'll use 10 bars, and it isn't even cold out yet. I actually worry that our 2012 will not be able to make the hilly ~30 mile round trip to work (plus any side trips) when it is cold. I've used Stoaty's spreadsheet, etc, but I don't think I'll be eligible for a warranty replacement anytime soon, and with losing ~5% capacity each year, the car is becoming less and less useable.
So, long story shorter, we are looking at trading in the 2012 for a 2015 with the upgraded heater (SV or SL, preferably the SV with QC port and 6.6Kw charger). We really, really want to stick with a plugin and were hoping to be able to hold out for the 2016 with the larger battery (or even the rumored plugin Rogue in a couple of years) but there are some local deals that are very compelling and would leave us with roughly the same payment as we are paying currently.
So my questions are:
1) How much better is the hybrid heater in the new LEAFs versus the old style heater from 2011/2012? Besides using a heat pump, I know that there is more insulation, etc, but is there a lot of real world improvements? Does it heat more efficiently than the older style LEAFs near freezing and below or just in moderate winter temperatures? We do live in CO and have a plugin hybrid (Volt) for when it is really too cold for the LEAF, but I'd rather not have to rely on that too much.
2) Do we have any sense of how much more heat tolerant the 2015 battery is over the previous generations (especially the 2011/2012)? I suspect that there is a substantial improvement in tolerance, but I've been overwhelmed trying to find, read, and compare new owner's experiences vs old owners. Has it also been determined that all 2015's are the new "lizard" type battery?
Thanks a lot for any help!
We bought a 2012 LEAF several years ago and while it's been a pretty good car, we've recently really started to notice a loss in battery capacity. We lost our first bar a couple of weeks ago and even though the temperatures are still in the 80's and lower 90's, we are using much more of the battery on a daily basis than I'm comfortable with because I know when winter rolls around that we'll use a lot more than that. Frequently, after a usual day we'll use 10 bars, and it isn't even cold out yet. I actually worry that our 2012 will not be able to make the hilly ~30 mile round trip to work (plus any side trips) when it is cold. I've used Stoaty's spreadsheet, etc, but I don't think I'll be eligible for a warranty replacement anytime soon, and with losing ~5% capacity each year, the car is becoming less and less useable.
So, long story shorter, we are looking at trading in the 2012 for a 2015 with the upgraded heater (SV or SL, preferably the SV with QC port and 6.6Kw charger). We really, really want to stick with a plugin and were hoping to be able to hold out for the 2016 with the larger battery (or even the rumored plugin Rogue in a couple of years) but there are some local deals that are very compelling and would leave us with roughly the same payment as we are paying currently.
So my questions are:
1) How much better is the hybrid heater in the new LEAFs versus the old style heater from 2011/2012? Besides using a heat pump, I know that there is more insulation, etc, but is there a lot of real world improvements? Does it heat more efficiently than the older style LEAFs near freezing and below or just in moderate winter temperatures? We do live in CO and have a plugin hybrid (Volt) for when it is really too cold for the LEAF, but I'd rather not have to rely on that too much.
2) Do we have any sense of how much more heat tolerant the 2015 battery is over the previous generations (especially the 2011/2012)? I suspect that there is a substantial improvement in tolerance, but I've been overwhelmed trying to find, read, and compare new owner's experiences vs old owners. Has it also been determined that all 2015's are the new "lizard" type battery?
Thanks a lot for any help!