Please help... I want to love my nissan Leaf

[goldbrick]

I'd say 36 is the minimum for a heavy car like a Leaf. A lot of folks run 40-44 but there is a trade-off with comfort vs efficiency.

Of course, never go over the max rated PSI listed on the tire and the tire inflation should be measured with the tires cold, meaning the car hasn't been driven or sitting in the sun for at least several hours but preferably over-night.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I'd say 36 is the minimum for a heavy car like a Leaf. A lot of folks run 40-44 but there is a trade-off with comfort vs efficiency.

Of course, never go over the max rated PSI listed on the tire and the tire inflation should be measured with the tires cold, meaning the car hasn't been driven or sitting in the sun for at least several hours but preferably over-night.

I did a test doing 36 verses 44 and couldn't discern a difference in ride comfort. FYI; the roads around here are crap anyway so...

But I did notice a less stable feeling doing roundabouts which we have a LOT of around here at the lower pressure. Now with LRR tires, traction is going to be weak the the Ecopias are one of the worst. I really don't drive in a manner that challenging situations concerning stopping distance is a thing so.

Yeah, its all about trade off but the OP is below what I consider to be the lowest I would ever go although right now I am 43 all around.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Tyre pressure... so 34 is so low? The rec is 36 right? Happy to follow best practice ... what is everyone else running?

This is a long-running conversation. Nissan and other manufacturers set the recommended tire pressures too low because they want the car to have a pleasant ride. 38psi is the lowest I've ever run, and I usually do 40-42psi. I recommend that people run 90% of the maximum pressure printed on the tire sidewalls. There is no discernible degradation in ride comfort at 38-40psi, and the handling actually improves.

Look at my signature for an inexpensive, reliable OBDII dongle.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

We keep ours at 40-42. You get a noticeable 5%+ lift in low speed travel.

 

[TsiorLeaf]

OK BAFX dongle ordered and I will inflate tires to 40 on way home...
thanks so far to everyone for their comments and time!

I really want to love this car! So I am happy to spend the money and get to the bottom of my issues!

 

[TsiorLeaf]

So with Leafspypro and my dongle hooked up I took these screen shots yesterday ..
And here is my big question

4 year old car with 40k - 88% SOH.... not the best
Seems like I have a bad cell?
and is this for real ... the difference of the guess o meter and the SOC is HUGELY different!!!!

I cant insert images btw ... when i click on the image button it just inserts

@dougwantsaleaf
@leftiebiker
@daveinolywa
@goldbrick
@gerryaz
@sagebrush
@alozzy
@oxothuk

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

So with Leafspypro and my dongle hooked up I took these screen shots yesterday ..
And here is my big question

4 year old car with 40k - 88% SOH.... not the best
Seems like I have a bad cell?
and is this for real ... the difference of the guess o meter and the SOC is HUGELY different!!!!

I cant insert images btw ... when i click on the image button it just inserts

@dougwantsaleaf
@leftiebiker
@daveinolywa
@goldbrick
@gerryaz
@sagebrush
@alozzy
@oxothuk

You can only post pix if you are a forum sponsor. You have to use a hosting site

Why do you think you have a bad cell?

 

[TsiorLeaf]

In the battery Cells page - it says that #18 is a weak cell

Also in the pictures that I cannot post :

The SOC is 47.6% but my guessometer shows 17%

any other data points I should share?

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

In the battery Cells page - it says that #18 is a weak cell

Also in the pictures that I cannot post :

The SOC is 47.6% but my guessometer shows 17%

any other data points I should share?

voltage delta at various SOC's.

 

[SageBrush]

I cant insert images btw

One easy workaround is to post your photos somewhere else and then give us the link

 

[TsiorLeaf]

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1I9z6vYQ7KR7YGxxHSrsmXDq4gbMoyidN?usp=sharing

Link to images. I will post more once I get in the car.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Definitely one bad cell.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1I9z6vYQ7KR7YGxxHSrsmXDq4gbMoyidN?usp=sharing

Link to images. I will post more once I get in the car.

Ok, now the question becomes how much range are you losing from that one cell? What SOC can you go to before getting any dash warnings?

Post LEAF Spy shot with tire pressures, making sure you toggle the data points to show kwh remaining, SOC, etc. along with the voltage screen.

 

[Stanton]

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1I9z6vYQ7KR7YGxxHSrsmXDq4gbMoyidN?usp=sharing

Link to images. I will post more once I get in the car.

~100mV at ~50% SoC is not the end of the world (I've seen much worse). It depends what it is at full charge...and maybe even a couple of full charges. FWIW, I keep my tires as close to 40 psi as possible.

 

[LeftieBiker]

~100mV at ~50% SoC is not the end of the world (I've seen much worse). It depends what it is at full charge

Actually, it's more important what it is at states of charge well below 50%. If the weak/bad cell is telling the BMS that the pack is very low when it isn't, that costs a whole lot of range.

 

[SageBrush]

Definitely one bad cell.

Yes, but not nearly enough to convince Nissan to repair it under warranty.
There have been a spate of cars like this one reported in the forum.

OP: grab the same shot at a SoC of 20% of thereabouts. I don't know exactly, but my impression is that the weak cell will have to be > 250 mv from the average to have any hope of interesting Nissan; and even then, corporate will demand that the car set a DTC before it accepts a warranty claim.

Welcome to the world of Nissan EV ownership, where Nissan screws its customers when at all possible. The only good news I can give you is that the weak cell *will* get weaker, and it is likely that eventually Nissan will accept a warranty claim. Your other question is going to be how much that weak cell is impairing your range now, and as it degrades. The best way to know is to perform a charging test. Know that the impairment will be worse in the cold winter; and towards the bottom of the SoC a hard acceleration may cause the car to turtle. Search the forum for the details for the pack capacity test.

 

[SageBrush]

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1I9z6vYQ7KR7YGxxHSrsmXDq4gbMoyidN?usp=sharing

Link to images. I will post more once I get in the car.

~100mV at ~50% SoC is not the end of the world (I've seen much worse). It depends what it is at full charge...

The reverse -- what matters is the delta at low SoC. Weak cells typically have pretty normal voltage at high SoC

 

[Stanton]

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1I9z6vYQ7KR7YGxxHSrsmXDq4gbMoyidN?usp=sharing

Link to images. I will post more once I get in the car.

~100mV at ~50% SoC is not the end of the world (I've seen much worse). It depends what it is at full charge...

The reverse -- what matters is the delta at low SoC. Weak cells typically have pretty normal voltage at high SoC

Yes, weak cells normalize at higher SoC, but bad cells don't. So that's why he needs some perspective.
I have a similar cell I keep an eye on, but it's by no means time to panic...and a trip to Nissan is a waste of time (as was pointed out in a previous post).

 

[TsiorLeaf]

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1I9z6vYQ7KR7YGxxHSrsmXDq4gbMoyidN?usp=sharing

Hi all and thanks for your input ... it is starting to make share and explain what is happening.
I have updated all my pictures.

The most telling pictures for me are Thursday afternoon where I get in the car and drive 25 yet lose 50% of range according to the guess o meter.

I have also included further shots during the day all titled with with the time during the day for perspective.

 

[TsiorLeaf]

@leftiebiker

OP: grab the same shot at a SoC of 20% of thereabouts. I don't know exactly, but my impression is that the weak cell will have to be > 250 mv from the average to have any hope of interesting Nissan; and even then, corporate will demand that the car set a DTC before it accepts a warranty claim.

Is there a screen in Leafspypro that I can check t he mv of the weak cell in order to reach out to Nissan?