leaf is not fully charging?

[dgpcolorado]

...Either way they're both indicating only 84 miles at a full charge. No climate control turned on. I understand that it's a GOM, but should the estimate be closer to 100 miles? I'm a pretty tech savy guy but have to admit the Leaf can be somewhat perplexing.

No, it shouldn't. The GOM bases its estimate of range on how the car has been driven lately, such as before you shut it off before charging. That may, or may not, be similar to your normal usage pattern. If you were driving uphill the GOM would assume that you will go uphill forever. And so forth. You need to learn to ignore the GOM unless your driving is all on flat terrain at the same speed every day. Since the range of the LEAF is about 75 miles under average conditions, why would you think the GOM should be close to 100 miles?

You should have a "state of charge" display on your dash that gives you the SOC of the battery as a percent of full. You ought to get a feel for how much charge it takes to do various legs of your commute. And you might want to take a look at Tony Williams' Range Chart to get an idea of how dramatically speed affects range.

Also, be aware that your range will decline significantly in cold weather, in wind, with heater use, when roads are wet or snowy, and as the battery ages. You may need to do additional charging to make your commute in winter. Seventy miles is too long a commute to reliably do on a single charge in the snowbelt.

 

[c141medic]

Good to know. Thanks. Since I'm leasing it for 2 years I should be okay as far as battery degredation. My only concern is going to be the winter. Hopefully the new hybrid heating system in the 2013 will help with range issues.

 

[Phatcat73]

Good to know. Thanks. Since I'm leasing it for 2 years I should be okay as far as battery degredation. My only concern is going to be the winter. Hopefully the new hybrid heating system in the 2013 will help with range issues.

The hybrid heater is slightly worse than running the AC on a hot day. The bigger concern is the temperature drop, particularly below freezing as it will further reduce the range of your batteries and work your heater much harder.

 

[surfingslovak]

Good to know. Thanks. Since I'm leasing it for 2 years I should be okay as far as battery degredation. My only concern is going to be the winter. Hopefully the new hybrid heating system in the 2013 will help with range issues.

The hybrid heater is slightly worse than running the AC on a hot day. The bigger concern is the temperature drop, particularly below freezing as it will further reduce the range of your batteries and work your heater much harder.

Here is a low-resolution slide from a 2013 LEAF presentation from last year. It shows how the range declines with temperature, when climate control is set to auto. The range at -4F seems to be about half of what the range is at 68F.

 

[c141medic]

Thanks for all the info. I've had the vehicle for 2 weeks now and have driven it to work twice. My commute is exactly 68 miles r/t. I've tried different combinations of Eco/mode, standard mode, a/c set to 70 degrees. So far so good without recharging until I get home. I haven't gotten stuck or even had to stop anywhere to top up. The "range anxiety" is certainly decreasing. As I mentioned earlier, I believe the winter will be the true test. There are charging stations on my commute route so in a pinch I can certainly stop to top up ( although none are the quick charge ones). I've also been reading about the automated battery heater where it activates below temperatures in the -F degrees. Even so, can't recall many days where it has been below zero in NJ (unless you factor the wind chill).

Otherwise, love the Leaf. I'm sure they will keep improving it in the coming years.

c141medic

 

[bendleaf]

for the 2013 Leaf, the factory puts a ceiling on charging the battery to only 80%, to extend the battery life. since we are leasing the Leaf S for 24 months (and do not have a concern with extending battery life beyond 224 months), we took the car into the dealer this morning to remove this charging ceiling so we can charge to 100%.

in order for us to get to the mountain lakes (all uphill) and back (with no place to juice up in the forest), we need the 100% charge. of course, this will only happen occasionally, and not on a daily basis.

 

[planet4ever]

for the 2013 Leaf, the factory puts a ceiling on charging the battery to only 80%, to extend the battery life. since we are leasing the Leaf S for 24 months (and do not have a concern with extending battery life beyond 224 months), we took the car into the dealer this morning to remove this charging ceiling so we can charge to 100%.

You don't have to go to the dealer for that, you can do it yourself in about 30 seconds. For your S model, use the four buttons in a square to the left of your steering wheel. Press the top left one until you see Settings at the bottom center of the dash. Press top right once to highlight Charge%, then the left one to give you a choice of 80% or 100%. Highlight your choice with the top right, then work your way out of there with the top left.

As you may have noticed, you have no regen braking when the battery is 100% full, which can reduce your efficiency a bit, meaning you pay a bit more for electricity, if that matters to you. I switch back and forth between 80% and 100% depending on my driving requirements. And, there's another factor you should consider. I'm also leasing, but I expect in the future the state of the battery will affect the value of the car, so I try to baby mine.

Ray