Regenerative braking question on '16 Leaf SV

[rcm4453]

Is it normal for the regenerative braking to not always engage when braking? I can understand if the SOC is too high it would get limited but this will even happen at 50% SOC. It seems hit or miss, sometimes it engages, sometimes it doesn't or only very little. Does anyone else experience this? If not then looks like I will be getting it looked at.

 

[arnis]

One of the situations for regen being disabled is ABS detect a slip on any wheel when braking. So if car
is on very slippery surface it might disable regen even without pushing brakes.
It is not normal for random regen loss.

 

[dhanson865]

Is it normal for the regenerative braking to not always engage when braking? I can understand if the SOC is too high it would get limited but this will even happen at 50% SOC. It seems hit or miss, sometimes it engages, sometimes it doesn't or only very little. Does anyone else experience this? If not then looks like I will be getting it looked at.

If the pack is too cold or too warm it won't engage or will be limited.

If the SOC is too high it will be limited. You can't add energy to a full pack and it limits how fast you add energy the closer you are to full.

You'll find regen the strongest when the SOC% is lowest and the pack is close to your body temp or slightly cooler. Think 65 to 85F as ideal for regen. I don't know the exact temps off the top of my head, someone will likely correct me if my range is off slightly.

 

[rcm4453]

I'd say the pack temp is between 55 - 60 degrees when I leave the garage. I'm not driving on ice or anything so abs shouldn't be kicking in. I will just have it checked out it's under warranty anyway.

 

[jpadc]

I'd say the pack temp is between 55 - 60 degrees when I leave the garage. I'm not driving on ice or anything so abs shouldn't be kicking in. I will just have it checked out it's under warranty anyway.

Well the road does not have to be slick other road conditions can kick of regen like bumps or pot holes on the road as you are approaching stop lights etc which are common in places that experience a lot of freeze/thaw/freeze/thaw conditions can make the car disable regen during braking. My experience with this was worse in my Prius than the LEAF, but I've seen it plenty with the LEAF as well.

That's a major reason why I like ECO/B mode in the LEAF as it continues to slow the car as I approach stops in the city and it does not kick out seemingly randomly on rough road surfaces.

 

[arnis]

Still, regen hardly is disabled on any potholes and even snow. 30kW is not enough for slipping.
Of course tires must be appropriate.
Still I believe there is an anomaly with ABS pulses, so sensor maybe is glitchy.

 

[dhanson865]

I'd say the pack temp is between 55 - 60 degrees when I leave the garage. I'm not driving on ice or anything so abs shouldn't be kicking in. I will just have it checked out it's under warranty anyway.

Are you leaving the garage with a 100% charge?

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

High SOC, low temps or high temps. all can reduce regen. Even on mild days, it seems to take a few miles before regen gets up to "normal" for me. We don't have extreme weather temperature wise here so I should never see this but I do. Case in point; Daytime highs in the mid 50's now and still see this the first mile or two.

I reset my trip meter every day so my miles/kwh start out very low and rise up. not sure why this happens as I have a two block gentle uphill climb to the main street then a gentle downhill for about a mile which should be more than enough to get my readings to near normal but not to be. Usually by this point, I am just over half of where I should be in the 2.5-2.8 miles/kwh range

 

[rcm4453]

I'd say the pack temp is between 55 - 60 degrees when I leave the garage. I'm not driving on ice or anything so abs shouldn't be kicking in. I will just have it checked out it's under warranty anyway.

Are you leaving the garage with a 100% charge?

Not always, it will do it even when SOC is nowhere near 100%. My last car was a Volt and regen always worked, seems a bit flakey with this car.

 

[arnis]

Look closely at the bubbles of regen. Do you see that they is a ring inside another ring. If there are two it means
that bubble is available, if it is not double, it means that bubble is not jet available.
Start with 100% and you will see one double bubble, then getting 2-3 really fast then 4 and then all 5.

Volt did not charge battery ever to 100%. This results in noticeable cycle life extension.
But Volt did charge above 100% if going down the hill or regen.

 

[dhanson865]

I'd say the pack temp is between 55 - 60 degrees when I leave the garage. I'm not driving on ice or anything so abs shouldn't be kicking in. I will just have it checked out it's under warranty anyway.

Are you leaving the garage with a 100% charge?

Not always, it will do it even when SOC is nowhere near 100%. My last car was a Volt and regen always worked, seems a bit flakey with this car.

define nowhere near. Regen can be limited way below 100%. I see less than max regen when I'm driving around at 60% charge if the temps are right.

Still plenty of usable regen but not maximum regen.

I see very weak regen above 80%.

Keep in mind if you aren't in B mode you'll have your regen split between the gas pedal and the brake pedal with most of it on the brake pedal if you are regen limited.

If you are in B mode you might still have some in both pedals but there will be more on the gas pedal than in D mode.

 

[arnis]

I see less than max regen when I'm driving around at 60% charge if the temps are right.

Still plenty of usable regen but not maximum regen.

I see very weak regen above 80%.

This is only specific to gen1 Leaf. 99% of the time with at least 4 battery bars there is no regen limit (in respect of 30kW portion only) below 80%. And regen is hardly limited at 80-95%.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I see less than max regen when I'm driving around at 60% charge if the temps are right.

Still plenty of usable regen but not maximum regen.

I see very weak regen above 80%.

This is only specific to gen1 Leaf. 99% of the time with at least 4 battery bars there is no regen limit (in respect of 30kW portion only) below 80%. And regen is hardly limited at 80-95%.

well I sure am living in a different World! cause I see limited regen at all SOC's and temp ranges. In fact; the only time I didn't was the Gen 1 LEAF before one of its updates. forget what it was supposed to "fix" since the only result I remember is it breaking regen...

 

[jjeff]

I see less than max regen when I'm driving around at 60% charge if the temps are right.

Still plenty of usable regen but not maximum regen.

I see very weak regen above 80%.

This is only specific to gen1 Leaf. 99% of the time with at least 4 battery bars there is no regen limit (in respect of 30kW portion only) below 80%. And regen is hardly limited at 80-95%.

well I sure am living in a different World! cause I see limited regen at all SOC's and temp ranges. In fact; the only time I didn't was the Gen 1 LEAF before one of its updates. forget what it was supposed to "fix" since the only result I remember is it breaking regen...

I own a '13S and really like it's regen or engine breaking feature. I always drive in ECO mode and generally in a SOC of less than 80%, if I charge to 100% I do notice little engine breaking and I don't care for it. I test drove a '12 SL today and immediately noticed lack of engine breaking, even though the SOC was <60% and ECO was on. Maybe I'm wrong but don't the older Leaf's have a separate "B" and ECO mode? I asked the dealer and he said no, they just had a ECO mode.....which again IMO really lacked on it's breaking feature. Oh and with the older Leafs does ECO go off every time the car is turned off? That would be annoying as again I use ECO all the time and on my '13 it always stays on, unless I mistakenly shift into Drive a second time.

edit: I just looked at a brochure for a '14 Leaf SL and it looks like it has a ECO(activated by a ECO button on the steering wheel) and a B mode activated by a double shift, didn't the '12's have this feature? It seems to me on my '13S that ECO and B are activated together by a double shift.....or so it seems.

 

[dhanson865]

I see less than max regen when I'm driving around at 60% charge if the temps are right.

Still plenty of usable regen but not maximum regen.

I see very weak regen above 80%.

This is only specific to gen1 Leaf.

lets get terminology straight here.

Gen 1 leaf = any leaf with a 24 or 30 kwh pack
Gen 2 leaf = an unreleased product that will come in a year or two and will likely have a 60 kwh pack.

The rest of your post wasn't clear enough to even know what you meant. Something lost in translation there.

 

[arnis]

I said that problematic regen limit applies to early years Leaf's only and I called them gen1 Leafs.

Why call 2011-2018 Leafs all GEN1 if they have noticeable differences?
2011-2012 is the first version (different motor ratio, mech. charge port opening, aluminum doors)
2013-2015 is the second version (B-mode, foot-brake, heatpump, different driver footwell)
2016 is the third version (3G, 30kWh option, infotainment system screen/software).
For Nissan these are HUGE differences.


Most likely 60kWh Leaf will look different (battery is different). Therefore we might call it facelifted.

But if there is only slight improvement (like 2011 vs 2014 vs 2016) 60kWh Leaf will be 4th or 5th gen.
We shouldn't name all pre 2018 Leafs gen1 vehicles as there might be as much or less difference between
2016 vs 2018. There might be no reason to call 2018 leaf gen2 Leaf. Even if Nissan calls it (for now) gen2 Leaf.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I said that problematic regen limit applies to early years Leaf's only and I called them gen1 Leafs.

Why call 2011-2018 Leafs all GEN1 if they have noticeable differences?
2011-2012 is the first version (different motor ratio, mech. charge port opening, aluminum doors)
2013-2015 is the second version (B-mode, foot-brake, heatpump, different driver footwell)
2016 is the third version (3G, 30kWh option, infotainment system screen/software).
For Nissan these are HUGE differences.


Most likely 60kWh Leaf will look different (battery is different). Therefore we might call it facelifted.

But if there is only slight improvement (like 2011 vs 2014 vs 2016) 60kWh Leaf will be 4th or 5th gen.
We shouldn't name all pre 2018 Leafs gen1 vehicles as there might be as much or less difference between
2016 vs 2018. There might be no reason to call 2018 leaf gen2 Leaf. Even if Nissan calls it (for now) gen2 Leaf.

your post is completely valid especially when you consider the availability of the "."