90% battery SOH -> 87% in 100 miles

Hi, I recently bought a used 2013 S with 27k mi. We've driven it a mere 100 miles since the purchase 2 weeks ago, and the SOH has gone from 90% to 87% in that time.

Weather has been 60s-70s, never out of Eco mode, and charging has been 2 times to 80% using level 1.

When it dropped to 89% after about 25 miles, I figured it was just time. When it dropped to 88% after another 30ish miles, I was a little alarmed and suspicious. And now I see it's down to 87% after a total of 100 miles since purchase, 27,1xx miles total.

Is this at all within the norm? I'd like to get people's thoughts on this.

From what I've read, SOH doesn't update if the car is sitting, it requires regular operation. There is also some indication that it does not update in cold weather.

Depending on where the car was located before you purchased it, 87% is not too bad. Look on the door post for the date of manufacture. If it is before April 2013, it is very likely you have a battery that uses the 2012 chemistry.

I have a 2013 SV that I purchased in March of 2015. It was manufactured in January of 2013. It spent the first two years in Georgia. The SOH was around 89% when I purchased it. After one summer in Las Vegas, the SOH is now down to 74%. The first bar dropped last October, and I expect the second to drop at any time.

mud said:

Hi, I recently bought a used 2013 S with 27k mi. We've driven it a mere 100 miles since the purchase 2 weeks ago, and the SOH has gone from 90% to 87% in that time.

Weather has been 60s-70s, never out of Eco mode, and charging has been 2 times to 80% using level 1.

When it dropped to 89% after about 25 miles, I figured it was just time. When it dropped to 88% after another 30ish miles, I was a little alarmed and suspicious. And now I see it's down to 87% after a total of 100 miles since purchase, 27,1xx miles total.

Is this at all within the norm? I'd like to get people's thoughts on this.

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I own a 2013 SV and after I started keeping track of the battery via LeafSpy a few years ago, it causes a bit of TMI for the owner. I say TMI (Too Much Information) because the SOH can fluctuate around quite a bit depending on weather, usage, etc. All of this can play havoc with your nerves if you perceive that something is wrong (battery failing, etc.)

The best I can offer is a comparison to what you show. Mine has 31k miles and the SOH is 85%, but I still get excellent mileage out of mine. The SOH of the battery can be fluid, so if you are seeing a large trend in SOH dropping, then it might be time to take a close look. Otherwise, your vehicle is older than mine and has better stats, so you seem to be doing well in my opinion.

My LeafSpy screenshot below.

mud said:

Hi, I recently bought a used 2013 S with 27k mi. We've driven it a mere 100 miles since the purchase 2 weeks ago, and the SOH has gone from 90% to 87% in that time.

Weather has been 60s-70s, never out of Eco mode, and charging has been 2 times to 80% using level 1.

When it dropped to 89% after about 25 miles, I figured it was just time. When it dropped to 88% after another 30ish miles, I was a little alarmed and suspicious. And now I see it's down to 87% after a total of 100 miles since purchase, 27,1xx miles total.

Is this at all within the norm? I'd like to get people's thoughts on this.

Click to expand...

Sounds similar to my experience in March buying a 2013 SV with 26k miles. Started at 89% SOH (after a complete discharge and a trickle back up to 100% SOC). Dropped to 85% in a month. Early 2013 build, so maybe old battery chemistry?

It's back up to 87% after 2000 miles so I'm not too worried. It likes to be drained down to 20% and back up to 100% (while cool) to bump the SOH value up. I also think, anecdotally, that the DC quick charge actually seems to help bump it up a bit too. Your results may vary!

Many thanks to all of you. It seems our current numbers are in line with others' and I don't have much reason to fret at the moment. I guess I was feeling a little jumpy after having read about some monkey business people have apparently played with battery gauges. I hope that was very limited.

Our car also came from Georgia. I can imagine the whole process that finally landed this car in our hands could've taken1–2 months with little driving, so maybe the computer is slowly making adjustments that reflect its recent history. (??)

We are generally really enjoying this car, and I'll try not to get too alarmed every time I see something weird in the great details we see with Leaf Spy (like the 511 volts it showed today while off. )

Thank you again.

baustin said:

There is also some indication that it does not update in cold weather.

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Agreed. But I think this is for a very good reason: below about 40F, I think the battery hardly degrades at all.

If you are only charging it to 80% (to save the battery), possibly the batteries are having a memory effect of being used to a lower state of charge. I have a 2015 with 23K miles on it, and charge the car every night to 100% for the morning. I do not baby the car, and drive it 300-500 miles weekly now.

The battery reads almost as it did when new.

I am thinking, that you as a new owner, should not worry about a) state of charge, and b) what % of capacity to charge the battery... Charge the sucker every night to 100% (get a level 2 240v charger). You don't know how long the battery lay stagnant in a parking lot before you bought it, an maybe the battery needs to be "exercised" by you .

PS - do you still have 12 bars of capacity? that makes a difference also..

Yes, the battery still shows 12 bars. It's my understanding that it will drop to 11 bars when the state of health (SOH) reaches 85%. If the SOH can fluctuate a little, it makes me wonder if people have seen their battery indicators go from 11 bars back to 12 for short periods.

I think I read that the SOH was really a measure of the battery's internal resistance. That makes sense to me for a lead-acid battery, but I don't yet understand Li-ion batteries.

I know the "fuel gauge" on my iPhone gets a little out of whack unless the battery is fully discharged every once in a while. My understanding is that for maximum battery life, it's best to cycle the charge between about 20% and 80%, but clearly yours is doing well with your regimen.

mud said:

Yes, the battery still shows 12 bars. It's my understanding that it will drop to 11 bars when the state of health (SOH) reaches 85%. If the SOH can fluctuate a little, it makes me wonder if people have seen their battery indicators go from 11 bars back to 12 for short periods.

I think I read that the SOH was really a measure of the battery's internal resistance. That makes sense to me for a lead-acid battery, but I don't yet understand Li-ion batteries.

I know the "fuel gauge" on my iPhone gets a little out of whack unless the battery is fully discharged every once in a while. My understanding is that for maximum battery life, it's best to cycle the charge between about 20% and 80%, but clearly yours is doing well with your regimen.

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Mine still reads 12 bars and has been at 85% SOH for over a month now, it might be closer to the actual capacity for the bar drop, I read in another topic of someone with 11 bars with 85% SOH but lower capacity than mine and more miles. When the day happens for me, I'll be sure to grab a LeafSpy screen-shot for future reference.

Down to 86% from 90% after 140 miles of use. :|

So you've only driven 40 miles since May 3rd? (8-9 days?)

I usually see my stats (everything but SOH though) drop when I don't drive much. As soon as you start driving 30-40 miles per day, stats start to climb back up.

Go try to drive extra everyday (at least 25-30 miles on top of your normal driving) for a few days and see what happens. You may be surprised.

Like I said in a previous post, I drive 60-80 miles daily, and the battery is great... I am starting to think that the battery is finicky if you drive low miles.

powersurge said:

Like I said in a previous post, I drive 60-80 miles daily, and the battery is great... I am starting to think that the battery is finicky if you drive low miles.

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Keep in mind that the SOH (state of health) is an arbitrary number by Nissan calculated based on past readings. I don't know if anyone has an official Nissan response to the purpose of SOH, though if such links or information exist, I would be glad to read it as well.

So this really gets to the heart of the matter. What exactly is SOH measuring, and what calculations is Nissan using to output that number?

I'd imagine there are multiple threads discussing this, and I don't imagine Nissan is too forthcoming with those answers.

To answer a previous question: yes, we really don't drive this car often or far. Typical use is for it to sit in the driveway for 1 - 2 days, then drive 4-6 miles RT, then sit…. I guess I'll do some deeper discharge and higher charges when the opportunities arise.

Don't worry about day to day variances in your readings.

driving infrequently will depress your numbers.

Unless you charge to 100% daily; don't worry about your day to day readings. Reason is because the lack of top end balancing WILL depress your numbers.

if you are unhappy with your numbers, I can tell you how you can boost them 10% or more...


compare this picture of my 2013 S taken Aug 2015. Not bad really. about where yours is now, right?





Ok, now take a look at the reading I got last month. This was after several days of fast charging and full charges (sometimes 2 a day)




same car, same device, same program...

Ah, thanks, Dave! That gives me some peace of mind. It seems everyone is saying more or less the same thing. I was imagining the SOH as something that marches irreversibly downhill with time & use. Not so, obviously.

It sure would be nice to find out exactly how that number is derived.

Thanks again, everyone.

mud said:

Ah, thanks, Dave! That gives me some peace of mind. It seems everyone is saying more or less the same thing. I was imagining the SOH as something that marches irreversibly downhill with time & use. Not so, obviously.

It sure would be nice to find out exactly how that number is derived.

Thanks again, everyone.

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"technically" speaking your definition of SOH is correct but in reality; there is so much that can affect the battery's ability to hold a charge including age, cycling, temperature, too much time at very high or very low SOC, etc... so it is generally a downward spiral but with all the caveats mentioned above...

We will have to get the opinion of others, but could this be from a Reset BMS? When I bought my 2012 it showed all 12 bars, however it lost one bar in two months and another a few months later. However I didn't have LeafSpy in the first months so I am not sure how quickly the SOH dropped at the beginning, but it went from 82 down to 78 quickly.

I would suggest for Mud to post his other figures besides SOH or a screenshot for others to compare.

Do a search for Reset BMS and you will see several threads on the issue.

Hey Mud, any updates on your SOH or stats?

I dig this up, because I used Leaf Spy in a pre-purchase inspection of a 2013 Leaf S. It had 91% SOH and 59.63Ahr so I bought it. Now 10 days later it is 97% SOH and 57.20Ahr. I've been charging to 80% via L1 only. Sounds like I need to check it after some 100% charges via L2 according to this thread. Just hoping that was your issue, and your car didn't drop a bar or two!

Darryl said:

We will have to get the opinion of others, but could this be from a Reset BMS? When I bought my 2012 it showed all 12 bars, however it lost one bar in two months and another a few months later. However I didn't have LeafSpy in the first months so I am not sure how quickly the SOH dropped at the beginning, but it went from 82 down to 78 quickly.

I would suggest for Mud to post his other figures besides SOH or a screenshot for others to compare.

Do a search for Reset BMS and you will see several threads on the issue.

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yours is suspect. Even in the most severest of areas, the 2nd bar took longer than a few months to drop. Granted bars 2+ drop faster because they only represent roughly 6¼% capacity while the first bar is just over 15% but even Phoenix was seeing 4-7 months between losing bar 1 and bar 2, 3, etc...