Just lost one bar in my 2016 Leaf "S" - What effect does this have?

Hello All;
I recently lost one bar in my 2016 Leaf model "S". For those of you who have also lost one bar, can you tell me what effect this has on performance or range? Is the range less? If so, how much? Reason I ask is I am planning to take a road trip in the winter (30 degrees) and am wondering how to determine my range now. I realize I can't run the heater. I need to go about 120 miles and in the past, I'd recharge at a Nissan dealership half way to my destination. My range in the summer is around 80 miles. I am trying to get my Leaf through this year until the Ariya comes to the United States. Thanks.

Tim

The capacity bars do not represent equal amounts. The 12th (also known as the first) bar represents 15% of the battery's capacity, so when it 'drops' you have 85% capacity left. This translates to 85% of the original range, although because most people become more efficient drivers over time, it can be more like a 10% reduction in range. So call it 15% less range at worst. You may be thinking that the range drop will be felt only now that the bar is gone, but in fact the reduction in range is gradual, so if you could make that proposed trip yesterday, you can make it today - and next week.

And, the capacity loss is gradual and has been going on the whole time since your battery was made. It's just that day that you saw the bar go away is the day whatever the logic is that Nissan wrote decided to render one bar fewer. It's not like you suddenly lost ~15% on that day.

Thank you very much;
That's very reassuring. I'll have to measure the range (without the heater used) the next time after I fully recharge.

Tim

I'll link my 'Tips & Tricks' FAQ. It will help you with range, and if you aren't already doing anything suggested there, it can get you a large portion of that lost range back, through more efficient driving.

https://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=23297&p=482154

LeftieBiker said:

I'll link my 'Tips & Tricks' FAQ. It will help you with range, and if you aren't already doing anything suggested there, it can get you a large portion of that lost range back, through more efficient driving.

https://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=23297&p=482154

Click to expand...

LeftieBiker;
Read your FAQ's. Very interesting. I was intrigued by the procedure to heat a early Leaf with the very power sucking resistance heating by lowering the fan setting to minimum. Does this really reduce the drain on the battery as compared to full fan power? I thought of that a long time ago but never thought it would work. This interests me because I have a power hungry heater in my 2016 Leaf "S".

Also, could you tell me what LeafSpy is used for - Would it help me gain insight into the actual range my Leaf is capable of ?

Also what hardware do I need to buy to work with LeafSpy? Is it available on Amazon?

Thanks.

I was intrigued by the procedure to heat a early Leaf with the very power sucking resistance heating by lowering the fan setting to minimum. Does this really reduce the drain on the battery as compared to full fan power? I thought of that a long time ago but never thought it would work. This interests me because I have a power hungry heater in my 2016 Leaf "S".

Click to expand...

The design of the resistance heater is fairly simple, but the car does manage the power consumption. Switching to Eco mode limits the power draw of the heater to, IIRC, 1500 watts instead of the 5,000 or so watts it can draw. AFAIK the resistance heater (aka "PTC") will also use less power on the lower fan settings. If it didn't, you would feel very hot air at the lowest fan setting. I can also confirm cases in which it was so cold out that the heat pump in my departed 2013 Leaf was offline or barely working, but I was able to greatly reduce power draw from the PTC by setting the blower fan to the lowest setting, and using partial recirculate.

LeafSpy reads some of the communications the car sends between its various processors, and interprets them to show things like remaining battery capacity (as a percentage of original capacity, and as an amp-hour reading), true state of charge, and the charge state of all the individual cells in the battery, which gives you a picture of how balanced the pack is, and shows any weak cells. I suggest you look for the BAFX Bluetooth OBDII port dongle, as not all of them are compatible with the Leaf. You can use a cheap android phone and not register it for cell service, if you don't have one now. The app costs about $20 for the pro version.