Why is charging limited to only 80%?

[wlegro]

What I want to know is why Nissan advises to limit the charge to 80% to maximize the battery's lifespan. In other lithium battery-powered things I have, I'm told it's OK to charge them to 100% (hedge trimmers, iPhone, MacBook Air) and it's even OK to keep the hedge trimmer battery permanently plugged in. Limiting the Leaf charge to 80% can seriously cut down on the miles I can travel (100% gives me about 76 miles in D), and it often means I return with the battery below the 20% minimum Nissan advises. Is charging beyond 80% better or worse than letting it drop below 20%?

(I searched for this topic several times only to have my search terms continually rejected for using such common words as "charging" and "why" - this has got to be the crankiest search function I've seen anywhere.)

2012 Leaf SL

 

[Yogi62]

Have you check the battery gauge on your hedge trimmer lately? Do you plan on keeping your cell phone for 5+ years?

 

[davewill]

They don't "exactly" recommend it. In fact, the 2014 model year doesn't even have the function to limit the charge any more. Any LI battery is going to last longer if it isn't left at a high state of charge. The recommendation for any individual device is going to depend on the "smartness" of the charger, and how close to full it actually charges the battery. Anyway, for the LEAF, my recommendation is to charge it to 100% if you need or want 100% and not to worry about doing so.

There are lots of strategies bounced around on here for lengthening life of the battery, but so far, NONE of them have been demonstrated to actually do so (that may be because we don't have enough data, or because they don't really help much). One thing we do know for sure is that climate has much more to do with battery life than any "babying" people have done.

 

[Maaz]

Don't feel any more limited on already limited range of the leaf. Charge to whatever percent best fits your needs and comfort zone. Enjoy the car don't stress it.