The 62kWh Battery Topic

[GerryAZ]

Doug,

One difference you need to consider with your test is that both cars did not start at the same SOC. Since the SV+ started at a lower SOC, the current from the battery throughout the test would be slightly higher to get the same power to the motor. Although this difference is small, the I2*R losses are slightly higher in the battery, wiring, inverter, and motor with lower SOC. Also, the SOC% display on the dash and the GID (and kWh) displays in LEAF Spy are not exactly linear from full charge to low charge so there is some additional error introduced by not having both cars at the same charge level when starting. I suggest you start with both cars at full charge if you perform more tests in the future.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

That's a good idea. I have been trying to enlist my son to help so we can drive the cars in parallel as we really need a longer test, ideally 150-200 miles. The wife thinks I am nuts already.

 

[WetEV]

Remember that your wife is always right. :lol:

 

[goldbrick]

The local util company just came out with a $5.5k / $4k credit for 2019/2020 Leaf + respectively. Damn! Once again a new Leaf (now Leaf+) is much cheaper than the used prices around here. Add in the $7.5k fed and $4k state tax credits plus the dealer 'discounts' and I'm tempted to get a new Plus+. But.......I just don't need the range. What I really want is a used 24kWh Leaf for <$5k for my wife/kids. Just another 1st world problem I guess.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

It looks like primarily Mass and RI for thst deal.

Still pretty good of you can get a dealer discount on top!

Leafs post all the incentives top the value charts.

 

[goldbrick]

Where did you find the info on MA and RI? I got the offer in an email and it talks all about CO and mentions the $4k CO credit when calculating what the final cost will be. It does mention 'participating dealers' but everything looks the same as when I bought my 2017 Leaf.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

It was a pdf I found online. I went back and looked closer at it, and in the detail saw it expired earlier this year, but matched the amounts you quoted.

 

[Daklein]

FYI, Advance Auto Salvage in TN near the assembly plant has several 2019 62kwh packs available currently. They're asking 6995, + 500 core (bring in an old empty shell with rocks in it?), plus sales tax unless you say you have a business, and $800 if you want it shipped to you. They are at 615-896-7700. Something to watch for on car-part.com, or probably could pre-order one for the future maybe. This is the salvage yard I got mine from, and they are part of the disassembly / scrapping process for vehicles from the plant, test vehicles.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

Thats a great price if they are in good condition.

 

[Dala]

Here's a video on how I mitigate rapidgate on 40/62kWh customer upgrades
https://youtu.be/ensZ33hhNB8

Will be interesting to see the long term effect once more start using this solution!

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

I thought this solution is pretty clever. Just plan your meals around charging stops.

 

[SageBrush]

I thought this solution is pretty clever. Just plan your meals around charging stops.

We try, but I am not a fan of fast food or American food. An electric scooter helps to enlarge the radius from charging location to eatery. Our other default choice is to bring our own food.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I thought this solution is pretty clever. Just plan your meals around charging stops.

Might be an option for one or two stops but better options are hikes or quick walkabout sightseeing instead. Too much meal stops with healthy doses of seat compression makes for a not so healthy life.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

Yeah agreed, a good hour walk every 200 miles is probably best.

 

[lorenfb]

Here's a video on how I mitigate rapidgate on 40/62kWh customer upgrades
https://youtu.be/ensZ33hhNB8

Will be interesting to see the long term effect once more start using this solution!

A every good analysis and product develop effort on your part, thank you for posting.

It's unfortunate that Nissan "caved into" those Leaf 2 owners, who were whining about slow consecutive QC charging times,
and provided a firmware update increasing the potential for future battery degradation over time. One might infer that those
owners may have rationalized that trading less long term battery degradation, resulting in better long term vehicle value/utility,
as having less value than their future marginal time spent for QC charging. It's also very likely that some didn't even realize
that they were making a trade-off.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Yeah agreed, a good hour walk every 200 miles is probably best.

I have experimented with several options and yeah, some were work restricted so time management was key but I found that a brisk 15-20 minute walk every two hours made a huge difference with driver fatigue. So you can easily stretch that charging session to 60 mins if you need to. Park, plug in, use the facilities, do the 20 minute walk and you barely have enough time to get caught up on Facebook. Scenery helps a ton as well.

 

[cwerdna]

Here's a video on how I mitigate rapidgate on 40/62kWh customer upgrades
https://youtu.be/ensZ33hhNB8

Will be interesting to see the long term effect once more start using this solution!

Very cool! Thank you for the video. TIL about the extra heating in the rear stack. I didn't know things could get as bad as the examples you showed. Ugh.

I also watched your other charge rate limiting video.

If @TomT is still around, he'll probably get some laughs out of this video.

 

[Dala]

Very cool! Thank you for the video. TIL about the extra heating in the rear stack. I didn't know things could get as bad as the examples you showed. Ugh.

Yeah, after I posted this video I got tons of feedback. Turns out many 40kWh owners, especially taxi/rideshare ones are suffering from this.

One actually managed to get a warranty replacement, ridesharing caused this havoc:

This really should be in the 40kWh topic, but it applies to 62kWh aswell

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

I found that picture amazing. So the repeated heating cycles caused the battery pounches to pop and bend?

Were the cabs using DC charging almost exclusively?

 

[lorenfb]

I found that picture amazing. So the repeated heating cycles caused the battery pounches to pop and bend?

Were the cabs using DC charging almost exclusively?

Excessive heat!