edatoakrun
Well-known member
Posting ~on my LEAF's build date anniversary, rather than delivery, since I have some free time.
Not much has changed so I'll just add some new specs to my six+ year post below.
I'm expecting to reach about 60 k miles by mid-May, and expect to see about 600 Wh in additional available capacity loss over the last year, the same as the last few years, once temps increase to the point I will regain most of the Winter seasonal capacity loss.
The only real surprise since my six-year post was Nissan's new screw you policy RE pack replacement, instituted last Fall.
So, rather than waiting for eight capacity bars (still at nine bars today, despite ~42.5 AH shown by the LBC) I opened BBB arbitration In November.
I can't say anything positive about the behavior of either Nissan or the BBB in that process, and I still haven't gotten into arbitration yet.
The good news is that finally having a few fairly reliable charge sites both locally and on routes south, I can make most extended trips far more quickly and easily now with a seven-year-old pack, than I could when my LEAF was new.
The bad news, is in that my 50+ mile regular trip minimum, ending with an >1,500 ft ascent, is now only possible using only my preferred "80%" charge to VLBW capacity when I have a combination of pack and ambient temperatures averaging above about 55 F, which has been hard to come by since last October...
Not much has changed so I'll just add some new specs to my six+ year post below.
I'm expecting to reach about 60 k miles by mid-May, and expect to see about 600 Wh in additional available capacity loss over the last year, the same as the last few years, once temps increase to the point I will regain most of the Winter seasonal capacity loss.
The only real surprise since my six-year post was Nissan's new screw you policy RE pack replacement, instituted last Fall.
So, rather than waiting for eight capacity bars (still at nine bars today, despite ~42.5 AH shown by the LBC) I opened BBB arbitration In November.
I can't say anything positive about the behavior of either Nissan or the BBB in that process, and I still haven't gotten into arbitration yet.
The good news is that finally having a few fairly reliable charge sites both locally and on routes south, I can make most extended trips far more quickly and easily now with a seven-year-old pack, than I could when my LEAF was new.
The bad news, is in that my 50+ mile regular trip minimum, ending with an >1,500 ft ascent, is now only possible using only my preferred "80%" charge to VLBW capacity when I have a combination of pack and ambient temperatures averaging above about 55 F, which has been hard to come by since last October...
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=23733&start=40edatoakrun said:Six years and 52k miles passed a few weeks ago.
Very pleased overall, with my LEAF's performance.
Dependability is such (towed only once, for a sidewall torn by a collapsed pavement edge I carelessly hit) that I will probably still will have never used the extended warranty, when it expires next year.
TCO has been slightly higher than I expected, due to depreciation being a few k$ more than expected, but I'll probably get that (and more) all back, due to much lower than expected prices on new BEVs, when and if I replace my LEAF with another BEV in the future.
There's one major difference I've noticed between my experience and many others on this forum.
Seeing many of the comments and complaints of others, I have to conclude that relying on the innacurate LBC ("gid" meter) while driving a LEAF is an anxiety-inducing experience.
After more than six years, I've never run out of Wh, and never really suffered from "range anxiety" (charge-site anxiety yes, frequently) and largely credit my never relying on my LBC for its estimates of remaining energy capacity or battery capacity loss, for this experience.
Instead of relying on the LBC, I prefer to use only high-integrity data sources, primarily AVTA test results:
https://avt.inl.gov/vehicle-button/2012-nissan-leaf
And parameters that can be measured accurately, kWh received from the grid, miles driven, and time.
Knowing the approximate nominal kWh available to LBW and VLB from my initial charge of "80%" or "100%", and watching the Nav screen m/kWh while I drive, I know both my nominal kWh used, and what are the approximate N kWh remaining wherever I drive, and can avoid all anxiety caused by the often "pessimistic" estimates from the LBC, of kWh remaining.
I also have a pretty good idea of what my LEAF's total and available battery capacity loss over time has been.
At six years and 52 k miles, my best estimates are:
My LEAF's pack had slightly under 19 kWh total capacity (as per AVTA test standards) and about 17 kWh available, when warm, at ~80 F.
That's about a 21% reduction from the 24 kWh Nissan specified, and ~18.5% lower than the average capacity Nissan actually delivered in 2012, according to AVTA testing of multiple LEAF packs.
My LEAF's range loss has been considerably lower than capacity loss since delivery.
At the relatively slow speeds (mostly mountain roads) I drive my own LEAF's efficiency gain reflects the high driving ranges relative to capacity shown in the AVTA 2012 LEAF 45 mph constant-speed tests, for the LEAFs with the less abused L2-charged packs.
I expect my LEAF's range loss per "100%" charge since delivery probably averaged close to 15% over the last year, higher in Winter and lower in Summer.
The ~32.5% Loss of capacity my LEAF's "pessimistic" LBC showed at six years and 52 k is really only of concern to me in how Nissan will consider this factor when I request (or demand) a replacement battery pack for my LEAF, which I'll probably be doing before Winter.