MY 2013 Speedometer reading incorrect!

[dgpcolorado]

...If you want to correct the speedometer, you can go in to the diagnostic screen and adjust it to as much as 2.5% one way or the other...

"Diagnostic screen"? Using the equipment at a Nissan dealer, or is this something that can be done by any LEAF owner? (I didn't see anything about it in the LEAF manual.)

 

[ricco]

to--- dgpcolorado, how do I get to the diagnostic screen ?
thank you

 

[TomT]

It is not in the manual. To enter the diagnostics, turn the car on with the radio off, then press the map button three times, the radio power button twice, and then the map button once. You may have to do this a few times to get the timing of the button presses right... Note: This is for a 2011/2012; I don't know if it has changed on later cars...

"Diagnostic screen"? Using the equipment at a Nissan dealer, or is this something that can be done by any LEAF owner? (I didn't see anything about it in the LEAF manual.)

 

[mctom987]

Note: This is for a 2011/2012; I don't know if it has changed on later cars...

I can confirm it works on a '14 SL

 

[Alex32817]

I searched and couldn't find much on this issue. I have verified on my 2013 SL that the speedometer is reading 3-4 mph faster than what I'm actually going. I took it to the dealer and they verified that the wheel speed sensors (and speedometer) are reading 55 mph when the car is actually going 52. They checked at 65 and actual speed is only 61. Nissan Tech told them to test the other '13 on the lot. It was an SL as well with same tire pressure, etc. It read exactly the same as my Leaf. They told the dealer that it was within the spec so they would not be correcting it.

I find this to be ridiculous! A high tech car like the Leaf and I have to use my phone to verify my speed?? I called in to the hotline and complained but it doesn't sound like anything will be done at this point. I need to see if any other 2013 owners have this issue. My dealer told me that if they get a lot of complaints then something may be done on this issue. My wife drives this car and traveling under the speed limit on the interstate (when she thinks she is going right at 65) is dangerous. I had to take my Volt to the Chevy dealer this morning and I mentioned this to them. They were a little shocked that Nissan just brushed it off and didn't fix it. Any feedback from other owners would be helpful. If anybody buys the Silver Leaf from Uftring Nissan, you will have this issue as well!

You think the speedometer thing is funny or odd, or just Nissan being lazy. Well, my 2014 Leaf S speedometer is off just like yours, but I took it a little further since usually speedometer and odometer, and I checked it against my cell phone, my wife's cell phone, and a spare handheld GPS by Magellan that I have for my boat, and all 3 gadgets read 10.4 miles, while my Leaf read 10.6. Well, that's a 1.9% more. So on a 12,000 mile lease x 3 years equates to 671 less miles since they read the odometer at the time of turning it in. We'll see what the service department says tomorrow as I will be bringing it in.

 

[Alex32817]

any one has info on how to calibrate the speedo ?

Does anyone know if recalibrating is possible?
Both the speedo and odometer on my 2014 are 5% off (overstating speed and mileage).
If I recall, Honda was sued a few years back over this same inaccuracy and had to extend warranty & lease mileage to compensate.

I am running into the same problem. At 30MPH, I am really going 28mph. @ 50mph - 47mph. I did a 10.4 mile run, and the Leaf recorded 10.6 miles on the odometer. I have a 12k/Yr x 3yr lease. Taking it in tomorrow to see what they say.

 

[billg]

It is not in the manual. To enter the diagnostics, turn the car on with the radio off, then press the map button three times, the radio power button twice, and then the map button once. You may have to do this a few times to get the timing of the button presses right... Note: This is for a 2011/2012; I don't know if it has changed on later cars...

"Diagnostic screen"? Using the equipment at a Nissan dealer, or is this something that can be done by any LEAF owner? (I didn't see anything about it in the LEAF manual.)

Does anyone know how to get to the diagnostic screen on an "S", with no map button to press?

 

[mctom987]

I did a 10.4 mile run, and the Leaf recorded 10.6 miles on the odometer. I have a 12k/Yr x 3yr lease. Taking it in tomorrow to see what they say.

This run is too short for your precision.

Here's why: your margin of error is 0.1 mi. Adding the error to the distance, and subtracting it from the indicated gives you the same value.

Try a longer route, as a higher precision might be difficult. A 1% error is half the difference, which will be wildly inaccurate. Also, try using kilometers, if possible. The Leaf stores everything in metric, and converts to imperial. This introduces further error.

 

[TomT]

You can not use a GPS to get an accurate measurement of distance unless the road is arrow straight the entire distance. Any curve - even one you can barely detect - will make the GPS show a shorter distance than the car's odometer...

 

[DarkStar]

You can not use a GPS to get an accurate measurement of distance unless the road is arrow straight the entire distance. Any curve - even one you can barely detect - will make the GPS show a shorter distance than the car's odometer...

Any elevation changes will also cause accuracy issues as well.

Here in Oregon, some of our interstates have an "Odometer Check" where you can reset your odometer and check it every mile for 5 miles. Whenever I've checked mine, if there was any deviation it wasn't noticeable.

 

[mctom987]

You can not use a GPS to get an accurate measurement of distance unless the road is arrow straight the entire distance. Any curve - even one you can barely detect - will make the GPS show a shorter distance than the car's odometer...

But you can use it to get an extremely accurate speed. In fact, with a 12-channel receiver, you can get around 10-foot accuracy. As GPS is already accurate to the nanosecond, at 60MPH, your margin of error is less than .1%.

For comparison, a perfectly accurate speedometer will have a margin of error of 1.7%. Why? Precision. If it says 60MPH, you don't know if that's 59.01, or 60.99 MPH. All you know is it's rounded, and may not even be "normal" half-up rounding.

 

[TomT]

Actually, some of the same sources of error for distance will also affect speed... And there is absolutely no advantage to more than 5 satellites in terms of accuracy... Without WAAS or DGPS or EGNOS, you are unlikely to reliably get 10 foot accuracy... Here is some info on multiple channel receivers: http://www.gpsinformation.org/dale/why12.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

But you can use it to get an extremely accurate speed. In fact, with a 12-channel receiver, you can get around 10-foot accuracy. As GPS is already accurate to the nanosecond, at 60MPH, your margin of error is less than .1%.

 

[mctom987]

And there is absolutely no advantage to more than 5 satellites in terms of accuracy...

True, which is why I said a 12-channel, not a 50 or 60 channel. Generally, the more channels the receiver has, the faster your cold-start time.
My estimation was based somewhat on the Copernicus II GPS module.

Actually, the time accuracy is at best 14ns. Still pretty damn good.

I like 30, lets use it. 30MPH speed, 30seconds sample, 30ft for accuracy, 30 nanoseconds accuracy. Sound fair?

30MPH for 30 seconds is 1,320 feet traveled. 30 seconds * 5280 feet per mile / 60 minutes per hour / 60 seconds per minute * 30 seconds. Or you could just know it's exactly 1/4 mile.

With a 30-foot accuracy error, this means the stop and start can be a total of 60 feet off. This means distance can be anywhere from 1260 to 1380 feet. Pretty big difference for the sample, but lets roll with it.

30ns start and 30ns stop come to a total of 60ns. This is a range of 29,999,999,940 to 30,000,000,060 nanoseconds. This error is only 0.0000002% of the example. This is pretty much negligible.

So, taking the worst case scenarios, we have 1260 feet traveled in 29.999999994 seconds, and 1380 feet in 30.000000006 seconds.

The first scenario comes out to 28.63636364209091 MPH
The second scenario comes out to 31.36363635736364 MPH.

Obviously, this isn't as accurate as I first thought. 30 seconds is also a pretty short sample time. Unfortunately, longer times might actually increase inaccuracy due to conditions such as elevation change (even inches will add up), wind resistance, even subtle engine power differences. Even cruise control won't keep a perfectly stable speed for minutes.

 

[Alex32817]

Many of the topics continues with the MPH (speedometer) of the car, which personally, I wouldn't care much if my car is going 47MPH (real) vs 50MPH on the dash. As I am pretty sure that I will not get pulled over for 3MPH difference, or even at 4-5MPH at 80-90MPH. So, I am not so concerned about the MPH of the car. My REAL concern is with the odometer. I measured my distance with 2 phones, different brands, a handheld Magellan GPS and all 3 devices were showing the same distance, except the car. I know, at a mere 10.4 miles (as per the car) and 10.2 miles as per the devices, it is not a huge difference. But at 36k miles lease, it will add up, or the other way, subtract from available miles. Or pay additional for overage.

If you guys have longer commutes than my 10.2 mile daily commute, try to do this tests yourself. I am waiting for a longer trip during a weekend to be able to test on a longer trip. We didn't go far at all this past weekend, so I wasn't able to do any more testing. And I wanted the test to be as accurate as possible, meaning, on a single trip, constant. Not on a home-to-office, at office all day, then continue adding from office-back-to-home. I wanted to stay connected to the same satellites throughout the trip for accuracy.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

I have taken up to 60 Mile drives and the odometer is within 1 Mike of Google maps. In both directions. Seems pretty good to me. I do keep my tires near 40 which might tweak the results

 

[TomT]

As was explained earlier, you can not get a distance measurement that accurate on a GPS due to angular errors...

I measured my distance with 2 phones, different brands, a handheld Magellan GPS and all 3 devices were showing the same distance, except the car. I know, at a mere 10.4 miles (as per the car) and 10.2 miles as per the devices, it is not a huge difference.

 

[rogersleaf]

If you guys have longer commutes than my 10.2 mile daily commute, try to do this tests yourself. I am waiting for a longer trip during a weekend to be able to test on a longer trip. We didn't go far at all this past weekend, so I wasn't able to do any more testing. And I wanted the test to be as accurate as possible, meaning, on a single trip, constant. Not on a home-to-office, at office all day, then continue adding from office-back-to-home. I wanted to stay connected to the same satellites throughout the trip for accuracy.

Yes, I run a true 73 miles/day commute with 60% of that at expressway speeds. The speedometer is off ~5% and the odometer is off by the same factor. Have checked this with my phone, Garmin, cross-checked the Garmin against my CRV, cross-checked the Garmin against my phone, used a stopwatch against mileposts, validated the odometer inaccuracy against the mileposts, and general intuition from 30 years of driving a commercial tour bus. Nissan got this wrong and have a gut hunch that they believe LEAF drivers don't run enough mileage or expressway speeds to notice. Not a happy customer to be getting screwed on my lease mileage. I expect this to be fixed or be granted a mileage offset for both the lease and warranty.

 

[TomT]

I've checked my odometer over a measured distance and it was .5% fast... No complaints...

 

[Alex32817]

Yes, I run a true 73 miles/day commute with 60% of that at expressway speeds. The speedometer is off ~5% and the odometer is off by the same factor. Have checked this with my phone, Garmin, cross-checked the Garmin against my CRV, cross-checked the Garmin against my phone, used a stopwatch against mileposts, validated the odometer inaccuracy against the mileposts, and general intuition from 30 years of driving a commercial tour bus. Nissan got this wrong and have a gut hunch that they believe LEAF drivers don't run enough mileage or expressway speeds to notice. Not a happy customer to be getting screwed on my lease mileage. I expect this to be fixed or be granted a mileage offset for both the lease and warranty.

Have you taken yours to the dealership yet? They need people to complain to start looking into it. Otherwise they don't look into it and they say it is fine.

 

[rogersleaf]

Yes, I run a true 73 miles/day commute with 60% of that at expressway speeds. The speedometer is off ~5% and the odometer is off by the same factor. Have checked this with my phone, Garmin, cross-checked the Garmin against my CRV, cross-checked the Garmin against my phone, used a stopwatch against mileposts, validated the odometer inaccuracy against the mileposts, and general intuition from 30 years of driving a commercial tour bus. Nissan got this wrong and have a gut hunch that they believe LEAF drivers don't run enough mileage or expressway speeds to notice. Not a happy customer to be getting screwed on my lease mileage. I expect this to be fixed or be granted a mileage offset for both the lease and warranty.

Have you taken yours to the dealership yet? They need people to complain to start looking into it. Otherwise they don't look into it and they say it is fine.

I inquired at the service desk but their Leaf tech was not working that day. Said I needed to set an appointment and leave the car for them to evaluate the problem. We also had a bit of an argument, the service writer claims 5% is a allowable variance. Wasn't prepared at the time to arrange an appointment. About due for a tire rotation, plan to get it evaluated at that time.