What is the actual miles from a full charge on the freeway

[Kenkuramoto]

I think the range is full of BS the wind resistance is a big factor the speed is dependent on many other factors such as drafting a truck would make a difference. I think that the car was not made to go a 100 miles unless it was only city driving and then it would depend on how heavy footed a person is treating the car. the distance chart on a car one person made is only good if the other factors were not included. A good example is my Prius it goes over 50 miles per gallon on the freeway but much less in the city because I take shorter trips in the city than to warm up the engine. So the marketing people were lying about the total distance on the freeway in their presentation especiall when asked directly if it would go 70 miles on the freeway to my work.http://www.mynissanleaf.com/posting.php?mode=reply&f=9&t=4154#

 

[tzzhc4]

I think the range is full of BS the wind resistance is a big factor the speed is dependent on many other factors such as drafting a truck would make a difference. I think that the car was not made to go a 100 miles unless it was only city driving and then it would depend on how heavy footed a person is treating the car. the distance chart on a car one person made is only good if the other factors were not included. So the marketing people were lying about the total distance on the freeway in their presentation especiall when asked directly if it would go 70 miles on the freeway to my work.

I typically work from home but when I go into the office my trip is a little over 70 mile round trip, almost entirely highway which I drive at between 55-60mph the entire way. I drive in ECO mode both ways, with the AC on Auto set at 80F (it is +100F here, 80F is practically figid). I almost always finish with at least 2 bars. If I drop some of the normal highway for farm to market roads and/or don't use the AC I can get 90 miles. I have gotten a little over 100 on a handful of occasions but they were all city driving with no AC.

The 100 miles they say is for the LA4 test cycle which simulates city driving: http://www.epa.gov/nvfel/testing/dynamometer.htm

That all being said your post strikes me as very "trollish". There is a 4 page document you have to sign (which you get a carbon of) when you buy the Leaf that explains all the bad performance the Leaf will see (full heat on in the cold at highway speed), with some really crap numbers. If you don't like your Leaf sell it since someone else will be happy to buy it. I imagine you will at least break even if not make a small profit.

 

[Kenkuramoto]

I think you have no clue what I am saying if you drive less that 55 MPH on the average I will get 75 miles on a trip but at 60 I get less that 70 miles. I work in a rural area so it is possible to drive at 70 miles per hour but I do not knowing the car. My trip is 73 miles so it is so close to running out even in ideal conditions to drive that distance and there are no charge stations or any outlets for at least the last 10 miles from my destination.

I am saying that Nissan said it will go 100 miles in their presentations at Mosconi Center they told me it would have 30 miles left over. It is like saying I am going to take one dollar and give you back seventy cents for each dollar. you also said you get two bars left after 70 miles you do not get the 100 miles that was promised do you?

I believe I would get 125 miles in the city but not on rural roads.

 

[planet4ever]

I think you have no clue what I am saying

You're right there; I don't think any of us have a clue what you're saying, because it sounds like nonsense.

if you drive less that 55 MPH on the average I will get 75 miles on a trip but at 60 I get less that 70 miles. <snip> My trip is 73 miles so it is so close to running out even in ideal conditions

What do you mean by "so close to running out"? Down to one bar, perhaps? Or the guessometer drops below 10 miles? That's not close to running out; you've probably still got 20% of the battery's capacity at that point. Yes, I can certainly believe that traveling for 73 miles at 60 mph could use 80% of your battery.

I am saying that Nissan said it will go 100 miles in their presentations at Mosconi Center they told me it would have 30 miles left over.

I seriously think you must have misunderstood them. As the papers you signed when you got your car say, the only way you can do that is if you drive a constant 38 mph with no climate control.

you also said you get two bars left after 70 miles you do not get the 100 miles that was promised do you?

• You were not promised 100 miles. Read the papers you signed.
• Actually, that is close to 100 miles. Each bar is about 7% of the capacity, so if you have used 10 bars (i.e. just dropped to two bars) you still have about 30% left in the battery.

I believe I would get 125 miles in the city but not on rural roads.

Quite the contrary. At least I have never been able to get really high mileage in town due to traffic signals, stop signs, lots of traffic, and the blunt fact that there are very few cities that are 125 miles across, so you will be making additional stops for errands. I can get much higher mileage on country roads where there is little traffic, the stops are few and far between, and I can drive a constant 35 to 40 mph.

Ray

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Ken; why are you complaining? have you been left on the side of the road with a dead battery?

have you even seen any of the low battery warnings yet?

have you had to wait in line at the gas station?

you made it home. why do people feel its necessary to make it home with 30 miles of range left? u r home. what is the problem?

there has been several times when the Leaf came home with less than 10 miles of range left and we had planned a trip that evening. i simply plugged it in ASAP, boosted the charge for an hour and did what we needed to do. usually i went to low battery warning halfway there, but was more than enough to do what we needed to do and return home.

i mean, these are warnings. some people take warnings to be a threat. why is that?

 

[evnow]

I think you have no clue what I am saying ...

Slow down. It is up to you to explain clearly so that we know what you are talking about.

 

[tzzhc4]

I think you have no clue what I am saying ...

I have a pretty good idea what you are saying. It boils down to "Someone told me the Leaf would get 100 miles on my commute but now when I drive my commute I get less mileage and I am upset about it so I posted it to half a dozen forums on MyNissanLeaf.com". So like I said before the whole argument is pretty trollish to begin with and honestly while it is your right to say whatever you want I can't imagine you are going to garner a lot of sympathy coming onto a Leaf board and grousing about how crappy the Leaf is. So lets ignore that and move on (feeding the troll).

if you drive less that 55 MPH on the average I will get 75 miles on a trip but at 60 I get less that 70 miles. I work in a rural area so it is possible to drive at 70 miles per hour but I do not knowing the car. My trip is 73 miles so it is so close to running out even in ideal conditions to drive that distance and there are no charge stations or any outlets for at least the last 10 miles from my destination.

You have a few choices here either drive 55 or slower and make the commute in your EV or deal with it by finding a charging point somewhere other then those last 10 miles or if you really dislike the Leaf so much sell it to someone else. Given what orphans are going for you should be able to break even at least (saw an orphan today at a dealer for 39k for a SL no QC (before tt&l).

I am saying that Nissan said it will go 100 miles in their presentations at Mosconi Center they told me it would have 30 miles left over. It is like saying I am going to take one dollar and give you back seventy cents for each dollar.

You keep saying this and I can't fathom why that matters. At best it seems out of context unless you pulled out a topographical map with elevations and had showed them your specific commute and had them calculate how much approx energy it would take. As I asked before did you ignore all the other information like the window sticker on the car with the EPA rating of 73 miles and the 4 page document you sign when you buy the car that says mileage is variable and here is how it sucks and the owners manual and all the online information about actual range from people who had their Leaf for the months before you got yours?

you also said you get two bars left after 70 miles you do not get the 100 miles that was promised do you?

Having 2 bars left after a +70 mile commute comes out to right around 100 miles (give our take a couple miles) which I consider good since I use the AC on my commute because it is +100F here all summer and will at least be +90F until October.

I believe I would get 125 miles in the city but not on rural roads.

Huh?

 

[Kenkuramoto]

I have read all of the papers regarding the car the only thing that I see is that the car takes 7 hours to charge the car for a 73 mile trip not that it will only go 73 miles on a charge. I do not drive the car on my 73 mile commute due to the fact that it is now hot and I would have to use the Air conditioner. The main complaint I have is that the company gave presentations and said that the car will go 100 miles on a commute. I was going 47 mile per hour on the freeway home and I had one bar left with ideal conditions on the freeway and no air was needed, so with the current condition I would be left out on the road to be either towed or charging required I do not think that Nissan would be happy if I were to call on a regular basis to charge on the road

I think that some of the people to respond to me are sales men or company employees so they have to speak the company line.

The car is a beautiful car and if I did not support an electric car it will never get off the ground. I also have solar panels to charge the battery so I do not pay any extra charges to charge the batteries. I made sure that the solar panels had enough power to charge the car up so I planned for this car all along.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

A/C is not that much of a hit on your range. you could make it driving 60 mph easily

 

[abasile]

A/C is not that much of a hit on your range. you could make it driving 60 mph easily

Especially if you set the temp to 78 degrees so the compressor doesn't have to run all the time.

 

[91040]

I have read all of the papers regarding the car the only thing that I see is that the car takes 7 hours to charge the car for a 73 mile trip not that it will only go 73 miles on a charge. I do not drive the car on my 73 mile commute due to the fact that it is now hot and I would have to use the Air conditioner. The main complaint I have is that the company gave presentations and said that the car will go 100 miles on a commute. I was going 47 mile per hour on the freeway home and I had one bar left with ideal conditions on the freeway and no air was needed, so with the current condition I would be left out on the road to be either towed or charging required I do not think that Nissan would be happy if I were to call on a regular basis to charge on the road

I think that some of the people to respond to me are sales men or company employees so they have to speak the company line.

80 mile round trip; 2 adults; 96% freeway; A/C on one way; 60mph top speed using power; Easing back to 55 on hills; Using no power on downhill getting up to 75-80; Full charge ending with "---" (Very Low Battery Warning); Hilly route. I have done this route 2 or 3 times with similar results.

On two other routes, I have driven alone, in similar style, getting 106 and 103 miles, mostly freeway, no A/C, less hills, returning with 4 miles and 5 miles below Very Low Battery warning.
I would suggest that you analyze your driving style if you are not happy with the range you are getting. The energy window in the Navigation window is much more accurate than the bubbles in the dashboard.

Disclaimer: I do not work for Nissan, Nissan dealers or any company that makes components for or provides services to Nissan or the auto industry. However, as a freelancer, I worked on 2 Nissan ads, one in 1996, the other in 2006. It is also possible that other organizations I work for accept sponsorships or advertising from Nissan. Further, my financial investments probably include Nissan, Nissan affiliated companies and companies that benefit from a business relationship with Nissan. I have also visited Japan a number of times and have benefited from the hospitality of the Japanese people, their good food, rich culture and the beauty of their country. Oh, and I am married to a sansei!

 

[GregH]

Six years ago when I first got my Prius I tried a semi controlled experiment to see what the different efficiencies where at 55, 65 and 75mph. After years of driving the EV1 at 55-60mph or drafting large trucks (they love that btw) I was curious to see how the slightly less aero Prius performed.. The test was about 2-3 flat miles on the 405 freeway with a lead up and coast down section (not used in the calcs), test was done in both directions to hopefull account for wind and any elevation. The take home info was that 55mph was 15% more efficient than 65mph and 65mph was 15% more efficient than 75mph.. Ie about 30% from 75 to 55mph.

I haven't done this kind of testing on the Leaf yet, but on one trip I made to L.A. and back (charged there as well) I went 65mph up with climate control and 72mph back with no climate (night) and the 72mph trip wasn't much worse... At least not as much as I would have expected.. I think it was 3.9m/kwh up and 3.7 back? I'm not sure what you folks want to call the "bottom" of charge.. When guess-o-meter goes to "---"? If that's the case (ignoring reserve, new S/W) then my range that day was around 80 on the way up and 75 on the return... Not sure how slow I'd need to go to get 100 miles...

 

[TonyWilliams]

I'm not sure what you folks want to call the "bottom" of charge.. When guess-o-meter goes to "---"? If that's the case (ignoring reserve, new S/W) then my range that day was around 80 on the way up and 75 on the return... Not sure how slow I'd need to go to get 100 miles...

Probably about 45 mph to go 100 miles. When the Guess-O-Meter hits the "---", use the following chart to estimate how far you'll go from the landmarks of "Battery Warning" and "Very Low". I just reset the trip odometer at each event:

                           RANGE IN MILES   
                 
                    Speed in MPH     Battery  Percent                     
                    38  50  60  70    Value    Charge                 
-------------------------------------------------------
Fully charged    | 130  91  78  65     281     100% 
Battery Warning  |  20  14  12  10      48      17% 
Very Low Warn    |  10   7   6   5      24      8.5% 
Turtle mode      |  about 1 mile         5      1.7%

 

[tbleakne]

80 mile round trip; 2 adults; 96% freeway; A/C on one way; 60mph top speed using power; Easing back to 55 on hills; Using no power on downhill getting up to 75-80; Full charge ending with "---" (Very Low Battery Warning); Hilly route. I have done this route 2 or 3 times with similar results.

On two other routes, I have driven alone, in similar style, getting 106 and 103 miles, mostly freeway, no A/C, less hills, returning with 4 miles and 5 miles below Very Low Battery warning.

Allen, I have been unable to get anywhere near your impressive results.

Yesterday I drove 68mi round-trip. I started just short of 12 full bars, perhaps 11.5, and returned with 2 red bars, dropping to 1 red bar after I cycled car off, then on. I drove the very same style you describe, 90% freeway, down-hill at neutral circle, A/C one-way, only rarely going to neutral+2 positive power circles where necessary for surrounding traffic. If I still had about 1.5 red bars of reserve, and I drove on to "---", I would think I could expect to get perhaps 12 more miles. Add 4 more miles if I had started with a full 12 bars, for 85-85 miles tops. I don't see how I could ever go much further.

I note that you got your car in early May. Is it possible that it has the original firmware with the 8% bars, and not the new firmware with the 7% bars? My car, arriving in early June, definitely has the revised firmware. My experience seems to indicate that Nissan reduced the effective battery capacity with the new firmware.

On this trip I used (11.5-1.5) = 10 bars. Recharging back up to 11.5 bars took 15.7 KWhrs of wall power as measured by my TED. If the charger is 95% efficient (many folks believe the efficiency is less), this is only 1.50 KWhrs/bar. Even if the new firmware has a phantom 13th bar,
1.5*13 = 19.5 KWhrs, much less than the 24 KWhrs originally advertised.

Is my data inconsistent with everybody else ? I know Boomer23 put 26 KWhrs wall power into his car from turtle mode, but I am thinking perhaps he did this with the original firmware.

 

[Herm]

tbleakne, you forgot to mention the most important factor.. how fast were you driving?

 

[electricfuture]

After 2600 miles of driving I think Plugin's chart is close to my experience. I am driving the car like a conventional vehicle – i.e. 70 MPH cruising speed on the highway in cruise control often with A/C. I charge to 100% every night plus every chance I get for free power. 90% of the time there are 2 of us in the vehicle.

I am seeing a range of 70 miles under full charge under these circumstances.

The batteries are warranted for 80% capacity charge at 100,000 miles. So, I’ll just have them checked at that point. If they are below that, Nissan will replace them with batteries that do have at least 80% capacity.

I have noticed though that if the road temperature increases significantly the guess-o-meter's range drops significantly.

 

[QueenBee]

The batteries are warranted for 80% capacity charge at 100,000 miles. So, I’ll just have them checked at that point. If they are below that, Nissan will replace them with batteries that do have at least 80% capacity..

Don't forget to have your annual battery report performed and unless you got a different warranty than me I don't think it says 80% capacity is guaranteed. Just that capacity loss will be gradual over time.

You are required to perform annual EV Battery Usage Report at intervals of 12 months, 24 months, 36 months, 48 months, 60 months, 72 months, and 84 months. These EV Battery Usage Reports can be performed by a Nissan LEAF certified dealer or any qualified repair shop facility. The 12 and 24 month EV Battery Usage Report will be performed at no charge to the customer, provided the work is done at a Nissan LEAF certified dealer. Any damage or failure resulting from a failure to have these required services performed, or that could have been avoided had these services been performed, is not covered under warranty. Any damage or failure resulting from a failure to have these required services performed, or that could have been avoided had these services been performed, is not covered under warranty.

 

[surfingslovak]

After 2600 miles of driving I think Plugin's chart is close to my experience. I am driving the car like a conventional vehicle – i.e. 70 MPH cruising speed on the highway in cruise control often with A/C.

Could you please reset the energy economy gauge after your next charge or before a longer trip? It would be great if you recorded the miles per kWh number along with how many bars were lost.

 

[Herm]

The batteries are warranted for 80% capacity charge at 100,000 miles.

Not so, Nissan explicitly states capacity/range is not warranted. The ability to accelerate at the spec'd level is the only thing warranted, and only when you have some charge left.

 

[planet4ever]

Yesterday I drove 68mi round-trip. I started just short of 12 full bars, perhaps 11.5, and returned with 2 red bars, dropping to 1 red bar after I cycled car off, then on. I drove the very same style you describe, 90% freeway, down-hill at neutral circle, A/C one-way, only rarely going to neutral+2 positive power circles where necessary for surrounding traffic. If I still had about 1.5 red bars of reserve, and I drove on to "---", I would think I could expect to get perhaps 12 more miles.

I note that you got your car in early May. Is it possible that it has the original firmware with the 8% bars, and not the new firmware with the 7% bars? My car, arriving in early June, definitely has the revised firmware. My experience seems to indicate that Nissan reduced the effective battery capacity with the new firmware.

On this trip I used (11.5-1.5) = 10 bars. Recharging back up to 11.5 bars took 15.7 KWhrs of wall power as measured by my TED. If the charger is 95% efficient (many folks believe the efficiency is less), this is only 1.50 KWhrs/bar. Even if the new firmware has a phantom 13th bar,
1.5*13 = 19.5 KWhrs, much less than the 24 KWhrs originally advertised.

Is my data inconsistent with everybody else?

No, your data isn't inconsistent, but your perception seems to be.

• There are no red bars of reserve. The two white bars next to the red battery capacity bars are not reserve; they are part of your normal capacity above reserve. You still have about a 15% reserve after they are both gone.
• If you had 1.5 bars left, you could have gone way more than 12 miles before "---". Try more like twice that distance if you drive conservatively.
• There is not only a phantom 13th bar, but also a phantom 14th bar.

Ray