New recall? P5327 for electronic brake boost in cold temps.

[JRoque]

Hi

2. D mode (no Eco) has Regen cut in Half, but all other modes are unaffected. Why mention it? Because it now feels like I can really coast in D mode, as though regen is almost not there. I felt the effect as soon as I left the dealer and had to take a couple of laps back and forth on the Interstate to verify what I was feeling.

This is not how I see mine but you seemed to have tested it much more thoroughly than I have. I have certainly not checked regen at highway speeds. I did notice much more aggressive regen on "D" mode at low speeds. Maybe I got confused with B mode? I will check again.

Another difference that I noticed vs yours is that "B" mode is definitely more aggressive. While I'm rethinking my assessment, maybe what I'm seeing with "B" is the sharp difference between less regen on D and the regular B regen?

Less grabby brake, finally something with both agree on. It works a whole lot better, especially at lower speeds.

I realize you may not use B-mode, but if you have tried it since the service, did you noticeable changes?

Answers above, hopefully. I don't much like regen on deceleration. Pure coasting is more efficient. The problem I see is that, while you're driving, your accel foot is not always at a constant position. Any bump on the road or leg/foot position change can potentially induce regen which will brake the car and you need to accelerate back up to speed. These are small changes, and maybe I'm splitting hairs, but recuperating energy via regen to them try to put it back in is lossy. Coasting, on the other hand, eliminates this issue by only regening when you press the brake pedal. It works better for the people behind you since "B" mode can all but stop your car without any brake lights coming on. I'll leave it there as this is not the main thread topic.

JR

 

[GerryAZ]

Since it gets really cold here in Phoenix I wondered when/if I would get the notice in the mail from Nissan. It came yesterday, but I will wait until I am convinced by all of you who get the update that it does not harm B mode regeneration and does not make too much difference to D mode operating feel.

Gerry

 

[roguenode]

I had this done over the weekend and agree that D mode does seem to have less regen and the brakes are less grabby. Both positives to me. B-mode seems the same as does Eco.

Answers above, hopefully. I don't much like regen on deceleration. Pure coasting is more efficient. The problem I see is that, while you're driving, your accel foot is not always at a constant position. Any bump on the road or leg/foot position change can potentially induce regen which will brake the car and you need to accelerate back up to speed. These are small changes, and maybe I'm splitting hairs, but recuperating energy via regen to them try to put it back in is lossy. Coasting, on the other hand, eliminates this issue by only regening when you press the brake pedal. It works better for the people behind you since "B" mode can all but stop your car without any brake lights coming on. I'll leave it there as this is not the main thread topic.
JR

I also prefer pure coasting, except for when in hilly and/or predominately downhill stretches of driving. However, quite a bit of my driving involves long stretches of elevation gained or lost. B-mode is great for restricting acceleration when going down for long stretches as I don't have to ride the brake pedal nearly as much as when costing or in D mode.

 

[EVforRobert]

Has anyone had their brake update in either Fremont or San Jose? I don't know which dealer is capable or knowledgeable with the process and respectful of our time.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I too am waiting to make sure this update doesn't do anything bad. I wouldn't mind less regen in D and less grabby brakes!

 

[Firetruck41]

I don't know about respectful of time, but it seems like any dealership should be able to do this, as it is just a software issue, so they plug in, follow the directions they have, and install the new software (probably a relatively automated process once they are hooked up). There just shouldn't be much for them to screw up.

 

[LeftieBiker]

The Nissan dealerships around here will probably try to take two hours, just to have a captive audience to whom to try to sell cars. I may drop it off and pick it up a couple of hours later.

 

[knightmb]

I too am waiting to make sure this update doesn't do anything bad. I wouldn't mind less regen in D and less grabby brakes!

So far, I've been very happy with the update. The less grabby brakes are much appreciated when parking and the less regen D mode gives a lot better coasting ability at speeds below 50 mph. The Eco Mode and B mode regen appear to function the same as before. This is on a 2013 SV, and my parents have a 2016 SV with the same update, appears to have the same before and after effect. I have another friend who drives a 2015 SL and they noticed the same before and after effect.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I too am waiting to make sure this update doesn't do anything bad. I wouldn't mind less regen in D and less grabby brakes!

So far, I've been very happy with the update. The less grabby brakes are much appreciated when parking and the less regen D mode gives a lot better coasting ability at speeds below 50 mph. The Eco Mode and B mode regen appear to function the same as before. This is on a 2013 SV, and my parents have a 2016 SV with the same update, appears to have the same before and after effect. I have another friend who drives a 2015 SL and they noticed the same before and after effect.

That's great. Thanks for sharing the info.

 

[jamieo]

I had mine done today. I dropped it off and got a ride back to my office. They called a couple of hours later and said it was ready. I can't see that it made much of a difference but, on the good side, there didn't seem to be any problems as I was driving it back to work.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I can't see that it made much of a difference but, on the good side, there didn't seem to be any problems as I was driving it back to work.

That's my concern: that the dealer will create a problem while they have the car. Joyriding if I leave it, shop damage and/or a long wait if I stay and wait for it.

 

[JRoque]

Hi. More on my take about the effects of regen after the firmware update.

I tried it today at highways speeds, >70 MPH, D mode with Eco turned off. The max regen I could get from coasting at any speed was 30kW (~60% charge). At these speeds I could not feel it slowing down the car. In fact, after driving for 2 hours on D, no Eco, I have to agree with others that the update nearly eliminated the heavy regening from before. As slow as 30 MPH, I could barely tell the difference between D and neutral. Short of having no regen at all, this update made it great for me.

On the other side, I feel Eco mode added much greater regen rate and Eco+B even more so. In any mode, including D, applying the brakes increases the regen rate. I get a full ~40kW regen in D mode when I press on the brakes gradually - very nice. I'll be using Eco D or B in heavy stop/go traffic to reduce the tap dancing with the pedals. Otherwise, D mode with Eco off will be what I use most often now.

Cheers,
JR

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

+1^ I can confirm all of that.

Had it done Thursday. Took them a little longer as there was a brake booster code that interfered with the download. They had to call Nissan's EV tech support, but the code cleared and it went through OK. Tech support told them that has happened to a couple others. If the code hadn't cleared, they would have had to replace the brake booster module. Nothing negative to report, except, had to reset the clocks, and lost my accumulated m/kWh and avg. speed on the dash. No big deal, I was averaging 4.2 over 16 months, and 26 mph average and it'll be about the same 16 months from now.

 

[lorenfb]

Hi. More on my take about the effects of regen after the firmware update.

On the other side, I feel Eco mode added much greater regen rate and Eco+B even more so.
JR

That's my view also, e.g. even at very high SOC (86%) which before provided very little to no regen.

 

[Martytdi]

Our 2012 Leaf SL is doing well except loosing 2 capacity bars. Also the braking electric regeneration is all but gone. Dealer surveyed the problem and conceders it good because no codes and range is good.
Nissan wants me to find another Leaf specialist to diagnose the problem with the regen.
I believe they know exactly what is going on, and I don't want to waste my time having another specialist give me the cooperate answer.
I also have a 2012 Toyota Prius Plug In and the regen always works and is very predictable.
Lost my trust in Nissan, wish they would handle this problem. Not holding my breath.

 

[lowspeed]

Our 2012 Leaf SL is doing well except loosing 2 capacity bars. Also the braking electric regeneration is all but gone. Dealer surveyed the problem and conceders it good because no codes and range is good.
Nissan wants me to find another Leaf specialist to diagnose the problem with the regen.
I believe they know exactly what is going on, and I don't want to waste my time having another specialist give me the cooperate answer.
I also have a 2012 Toyota Prius Plug In and the regen always works and is very predictable.
Lost my trust in Nissan, wish they would handle this problem. Not holding my breath.

I feel your pain, I ended up selling my leaf after 3 months. The battery degrading is a big issue. And I have a feeling they have no idea what they're doing. (The techs at the dealerships)

Back to ICE cars for the time being.

 

[GerryAZ]

Our 2012 Leaf SL is doing well except loosing 2 capacity bars. Also the braking electric regeneration is all but gone. Dealer surveyed the problem and conceders it good because no codes and range is good.
Nissan wants me to find another Leaf specialist to diagnose the problem with the regen.
I believe they know exactly what is going on, and I don't want to waste my time having another specialist give me the cooperate answer.
I also have a 2012 Toyota Prius Plug In and the regen always works and is very predictable.
Lost my trust in Nissan, wish they would handle this problem. Not holding my breath.

2011 and 2012 Leafs lose regeneration in cold weather as the battery deteriorates. It is really noticeable with loss of 2 capacity bars. I believe it is due to increase in internal resistance of the battery. Some will say that the P3227 software update (applies only to 2011 and 2012) causes the loss of regeneration, but I lost regeneration on my 2011 prior to getting the software update. Regeneration was normal in cold weather after the battery was replaced due to loss of 4 capacity bars.

The P5327 software update being discussed in this thread does not apply to 2011 and 2012 Leafs.

 

[Martytdi]

The regeneration doesn't work all year. I brought it to the dealer last winter. He said "I got some regeneration". Are you kidding!
Some regeneration, how many kW. All year we get a sliver, maybe 1000 watts for a short time. Someone commented it's like putting it in neutral. Thats what it feels like. When the battery is depleted to 5 mile range or so it does pick up quite a bit.
In the past could go down steep hills without touching the breaks in eco mode. Now eco mode doesn't change the regeneration.
Just want it to work like it should. Never mind nissan advertised the car getting 100 mile range. The battery is like a gas tank that cannot get filled up all the way and not able to drain it to zero.
Frustrated

 

[Firetruck41]

The regeneration doesn't work all year. I brought it to the dealer last winter. He said "I got some regeneration". Are you kidding!
Some regeneration, how many kW. All year we get a sliver, maybe 1000 watts for a short time. Someone commented it's like putting it in neutral. Thats what it feels like. When the battery is depleted to 5 mile range or so it does pick up quite a bit.
In the past could go down steep hills without touching the breaks in eco mode. Now eco mode doesn't change the regeneration.
Just want it to work like it should. Never mind nissan advertised the car getting 100 mile range. The battery is like a gas tank that cannot get filled up all the way and not able to drain it to zero.
Frustrated

Might want to start a new thread or find one related to your issue, as this thread really only relates to 2013+ Leafs.

 

[Nfuzzy]

Well, I am going in for regular maintenance later this week. I will see if they let me leave without doing the firmware update. I use nothing but b mode and the folks here and elsewhere that have complained about a ruined b mode have me concerned. Those of you that said it is unaffected seem to prefer d mode so that doesn't give me a warm fuzzy that you'd notice the difference. All other evs have stronger regen for a reason... Wish it was stronger in the leaf, not weaker. One pedal driving us awesome.

Will post back my results.