26,000 miles and still at 12 bars with 2015 S

[AndyGT02]

What's your experience with the new(ish) battery packs? I don't feel like I've lost much range since buying the car.

 

[Firetruck41]

Good to hear. My 2013 w/41k still has 12 bars and is at 87% SOH last time I checked.

 

[RonDawg]

The most important part is: where you are you? If you are on the cool Pacific Northwest, still having 12 bars at 26k miles isn't all that difficult, even with a pre-2015 model. If you're in Phoenix, that's a different matter.

 

[smkettner]

I always expected to get to the end of a 36,000 mile 3 year lease with all capacity bars.
But then I had also expected to drive 100 miles on a charge in mild conditions.

Happy for you and too little too late for me

 

[WMTribe90]

I'm at 25,000 miles in my 2013 and still all 12 bars.

 

[Graffi]

We are at over 32,000 miles and have lost almost nothing, maybe one or two miles range, if that much. If it keeps up, we should be at almost our full 45k miles at the end of our 3-year lease on September 6. Originally we were planning to turn it in for a new lease on the longer range MY2017, but now we are thinking of keeping it. We hope that Nissan will offer more than a $5,000 discount by then. Did I mention that we LOVE OUR LEAF!!!

 

[AndyGT02]

The most important part is: where you are you? If you are on the cool Pacific Northwest, still having 12 bars at 26k miles isn't all that difficult, even with a pre-2015 model. If you're in Phoenix, that's a different matter.

I'm on the north shore of MA. Nice and cool here.

 

[AndyGT02]

I'm at 25,000 miles in my 2013 and still all 12 bars.

That's great to hear!

 

[LeftieBiker]

Range perception is a funny thing: my 2013 SV is down 11% in capacity, but I'd also swear I've only lost a small handful - maybe 5 - of miles. I think it's because we get more efficient at driving as our packs lose capacity...

 

[jjgilham]

Seattle. 2013 SV 38K miles, 12 bars.
LeafSpy (1/2/2016 )
264 gids (94%) 60.89 Ahr 93.59% Hx

This strikes me as really quite good compared to what a lot of folks report but Seattle climate is ideal for EVs. Over the last few months my capacity as reported by Leafspy has actually increased which I understand is common as the temperature cools combined with more full 100% charge cycles which seems to boost reported values.

I track all my stats pretty closely and I've noticed that my efficiency has improved as I've owned the car although the actual Miles/KwH trend is hard to observe as the seasonal variation dominates the trend.

Below are my max and min 3-month averages Using Miles / kWh as reported by the car or Car Wings (they match pretty well). I also keep track of how many kWh I put in the car from the charger and I find those numbers "measured from the wall" match these but multiplied by about .89 . (I suspect this is the pooled charging inefficiencies.

Summer Winter
2014 4.9 3.9
2015 5.2 4.1
2016 4.0*

* estimated

I thought for a while that I was just getting "better" but in October I got new tires at about 33K) and immediately lost about 4-5% of my efficiency. I wonder if the gradual improvement, buried in the seasonal variation. was little more than reduction in rolling resistance due to tire wear. I suspect I may get this back as the tires get a little wear on them.

I've always been surprised by the strong seasonal factors. In 2015 the car appears to be about 25% more efficient in peak summer for me. Combined with the fact that the battery seems to gain capacity (or the BMS decides to let you use it) means I get much larger range in Summer (90+ miles) compared to winter (70 miles).

Estimated Seasonal Variation factors:
1) Temperature (denser air with increased wind resistance, battery temperature effects, more heat and defog, seat heater, steering wheel heater, etc. )
2) Number of days of rain (increased rolling resistance, more wipers and defog)
3) More wind (always seems to be hurting)
3) Shorter days (more headlights)
2) Usage patterns (better traffic, better routes - not dropping kids at school during commute)

 

[powersurge]

I have a 1 year old 2015 S with 15K miles. All is well, with no noticeable loss. I think that calendar time is the enemy of the battery. If you put a lot of miles when the car is newer, then the battery will give good service...

 

[truav8r]

My 2015 is holding up well too. Manufactured 9/14, bought 11/14. 15,900 miles. Still 292 GIDs last time I checked a few weeks ago. Cooler upstate NY temps are definitely a plus.

 

[minispeed]

36000 miles and still 292 gids 100% soh. If it's not super hot where you are millage doesn't seam to matter at all to battery life and actually using it a lot, ie not sitting at a high SOC appears to be better for it.

 

[jjgilham]

minispeed,

Can you tell us about your 143 mile single charge drive? I think 100 would be a push for me (in the middle of the summer). How fast, how flat, was it round trip or was there net elevation change? That is impressive.