Lower than normal charging

[ispud]

In the past 2 weeks our 100 percent charge has changed form 100ish to 85ish, and our 80 percent charge has changed from upper 70s to mid 50s. Car is 2013 with about 3k miles on it. I took it to the dealer and they did some recall thing which seems to have made no difference. We took it back today. They are talking about colder weather and using accessories, but I have a hard time with those explanations. I know there are many threads on these boards that deal with this subject, but after an hour of browsing I am more confused than ever. Any idea why we would see this sudden change??

Jack

 

[smkettner]

Do you get all 12 bars lighting up with 100% charge?
Is it just the numerrical % charge indicator the reads low?

 

[ispud]

as I recall yes - I will take a better look at the bars when I get the car back.

J

 

[planet4ever]

Please tell us specifically where you are seeing those numbers. On the dash, on the central console, from an app, from a website, from an add-on device? What gauge and what app, website, or add-on.

Ray

 

[ispud]

The numbers I refer to are from the GoM. The numbers here after charging are lower then they used to be. Since purchase in June they were consistent, then a couple weeks ago they got lower. Bars are 12 at 100 percent and 120 at 80 percent. I have had it to the dealer twice and they insist all is well. It is colder now than before, only change I can think of. Car is charged in 50 degree garage.

J

 

[smkettner]

+1 for the dealer. All is normal. GOM is not a great indicator of anything.

 

[cgaydos]

+1 for the dealer. All is normal. GOM is not a great indicator of anything.

Exactly. The Guess-O-Meter is an estimate of range based on charge in the battery and recent driving efficiency. In colder months efficiency goes down - lots of threads on that here - so you'll be using more energy to go the same number of miles and thus the GOM estimate of range will go down.

 

[ispud]

Using the percent of charge meter in center of dash and actual miles traveled I have been doing some figuring. I am finding that I get .5 to .6 miles per percent of charge used. If the percent meter and the odometer are accurate that means I get between 50 and 60 miles per charge. Car has 3500 miles. This seems toooooo low to me, but 2 trips to the dealer and they assure me everything is as it should be. It is cold here 20s and 30s. Car is garaged. I don't drive real conservatively, but the car wings assessment of our skills has gone up as we have owned the car, I think we were in silver last time I checked.

 

[keydiver]

I don't drive real conservatively

Well, I think you correctly identified the problem: As cgaydos said, the GOM guesstimates your range based on several things, including how fast/aggressively the car was driven the last time, which is why it is almost useless in predicting my driving range. In a cold Idaho winter, I think 50-60 miles range sounds about right. Do you have an S, SL, or SV? Even the improved heatpump of a 2013 SL or SV can still draw quite a bit of amperage in your climate.

 

[dgpcolorado]

If you drive most of your miles at freeway speeds and you use the heater, I can well believe those numbers — a 0.5 to 0.6 miles per percent SOC, not the useless GOM — in winter temperatures, even with charging in a 50º garage. If you have the S model the heater will have an even bigger impact on range and mileage efficiency than the heat pump on the SV/SL, but both take a lot of energy in cold weather if just turned on and ignored. If you are driving slowly and using the heater little or not at all, then your numbers do seem a little low for a new LEAF.

Be aware, though, that the 2013 LEAF has been reported to have more range below the Very Low Battery Warning than earlier models. That suggests that a percent of charge might actually have more energy when the battery is nearing depletion, i.e. the percent scale is not completely linear. So, your extrapolation of 0.5 to 0.6 miles per percent might be off somewhat.

If you haven't already done so, make sure that you keep your tires at 40 psi or more. The 36 psi Nissan recommends is much too low and keeping the pressure higher will improve mileage and tire wear. Other than that, just learning to drive efficiently will greatly increase mileage efficiency. I suggest that you check out the suggestions in Stoaty's Guide to Energy Efficient Driving of the Leaf.

 

[KillaWhat]

Gettin a little cold there in Idaho is it?

 

[ispud]

13 this morning and genius here had to ride his scooter to work - 10 miles - feet are still feeling it! My original post was about a drastic drop in GoM numbers - so from what I gather when spring comes they will go back up to near 100 miles at 100 percent? Not sure what effect that will have on actual mileage per percent of charge - will keep track - we are recording daily. I have had the GoM be pretty accurate - but I would say that is one in ten or 15 - not useful at all. So I am hoping the percent of charge shown in the center display is fairly accurate - I guess I will have to run it very low to see and I can't see me doing that.

>>

 

[XeonPony]

gom is useles! I only use the SOC% now I have a 2013 SV (I hate leather seats) in winter you need to drive very conservitive and be gentle on the accelerator pedal if you want any range, in our weather of -30c (-22f) I get an average of 65Km with a tiny bit to spare going at 75 to 80KmpH

So wasting time thinking the gom is in any way meaning full is a critical mistake on your end, forget about it period!

when the weather warms you will gain a great deal of range, I find the biggest drops start at about -15c at -5c I get amazing range and efficiency again.

 

[ispud]

soooo...I think it was the cold weather - I was getting about .51 miles per percent when it was cold out and now it's up to .7 to .8 at 50ish degrees. The dealer never told me my range would be so poor in the cold months - shame on them. I am keeping an eye on it.

>>

 

[dgpcolorado]

...The dealer never told me my range would be so poor in the cold months - shame on them...

I think that it is unrealistic to expect dealers to understand the limitations of EVs, much less explain them to prospective customers. When it comes to the new technology of EVs it is up to the customers to do their homework. In the case of the LEAF, the place to do so is here at MNL. I did that long before my LEAF purchase and my impression is that others have done so as well. With the current state of the technology, an EV is a really bad choice for an impulse purchase IMHO.