Capacity Loss on 2011-2012 LEAFs

[Pipcecil]

I am thinking this is atypical battery performance, maybe some cells went bad? I really abuse my car. 18k in 10 months, QC all the time (average maybe once every 2 weeks or more), have QC'd multiple times in a day on multiple occasions, charge to 80% during weekdays and 100% in weekends (athough first 6 months was 100% all the time) and dealt with 100+ degree texas summer. I have yet to have capacity loss yet.

[DaveinOlyWA]

Just the heat of AZ will NOT damage the battery.

LEAFfan, I must disagree with this statement. High heat will absolutely accelerate the aging process for these batteries.

first off Azdre, dont take our wildass speculations as anything negative to you, because that is not what our comments are and this forum is only to share information and experiences. no matter what the outcome of your situation, we are all GRATEFUL that you have told us what happened. every little piece of info gives us more data which will eventually (some of us are pretty thick-skulled, so it may take a "bit" longer!)

you are helping the next person and us. please do report back here with your experiences with Nissan in resolving this

2nd;

ok, we are back to the degree of degradation. Both your statements have a degree of "correctness"

what do you do with a pot of boiling water that is boiling over?

1) turn down the heat (not an option in AZ)

2) take some water out of the pot. (iow, keep SOC down from full)

neither option will keep the pot from boiling away but it reduces waste and gives you more time.

Nissan has tested the battery pack in extreme temps and for whatever reason, has determined no extra steps were needed to counteract the high temps we might see. now, its pretty common to see solar radiation well into the 140's i am guessing for Phoenix and sure, the recommendation is dont let it sit out in the Sun (mostly due to fear of 2nd and 3rd degree burns i would think!) if possible, etc.

[Stanton]

I am thinking this is atypical battery performance, maybe some cells went bad? I really abuse my car. 18k in 10 months, QC all the time (average maybe once every 2 weeks or more), have QC'd multiple times in a day on multiple occasions, charge to 80% during weekdays and 100% in weekends (athough first 6 months was 100% all the time) and dealt with 100+ degree texas summer. I have yet to have capacity loss yet.

Because:
1) you didn't leave it @100% (or close to it) for a MONTH, and
2) you don't "top off" (which has now been defined several times) frequently

I too live in Texas and agree with the conclusions that the US just doesn't have the kind of extreme heat (on an extended basis) that would require active battery pack cooling; extreme cold is a different issue (with different symptoms--like obvious short term capacity loss) that is not relevant to this discussion.

This is a very interesting thread and I hope the OP doesn't take any negative comments the wrong way. In fact, this discussion will do a lot of GOOD for current (and future) EV owners.

[Ingineer]

Normally, The Dealer has no access to degradation parameters via it's computer system (Consult III+), only Nissan does. The dealer can see the individual cell voltages and a few other parameters related to detecting and replacing a defective module though. If your degradation is caused by one or more bad cells, then Nissan will likely warranty it. Dealers are bad at understanding all this, so if one dealer effectively tells you to go away, try another. A call to the official Nissan regional service rep would be a good idea too.

No offense, but to me it sounds like abuse to ignore Nissan's suggestions and charge to 100%, let it sit and rarely use it. As several other members have pointed out, you can charge to 100% every day as long as you deplete the pack soon after that charge. Living in a hot climate exacerbates this. Going away with a full charge for an extended time is also a really bad idea.

My advice for the future is to set the 80% stop in your Leaf's charge timer. If you think you might need to go on a long trip, you can hit the override button on the dash or even remotely through CarWings to finish the charge right before you leave. This is how I do it and it works well. On Level II going from 80% to full is finished in under 2 hours, so that's the most notice you'd need.

With an 80% timer limit set, then you can feel free to leave the car plugged in and get your climate pre-conditioning benefit. The car will always stop at 80% even if the Blink reboots or anything similar happens.

If you know you will be storing your car for more than a few weeks, discharge to at least 60% before leaving and either disconnect the 12v battery or connect a "Battery Tender" type trickle charger. You can lower the charge by either a quick aggressive drive, or by running the defrost full-tilt for a while.

Please also don't take all the chatter in the forum for anything more than it is. This is an extremely valuable resource for us to learn about this car, and I think collectively we've amassed a n impressive body of knowledge here. Sharing your experience will greatly aid the rest of us now and in the future.

-Phil

[surfingslovak]

Please also don't take all the chatter in the forum for anything more than it is. This is an extremely valuable resource for us to learn about this car, and I think collectively we've amassed a n impressive body of knowledge here. Sharing your experience will greatly aid the rest of us now and in the future.

Great post, Phil. Couldn't agree more. Although I'm glad that this topic came up, we don't know if a module was bad or not. Hopefully, the OP can take care of it.

[Herm]

I am thinking this is atypical battery performance, maybe some cells went bad? I really abuse my car. I have yet to have capacity loss yet.

Pipcecil, have you checked capacity with a GID meter?

[rainnw]

At over 20,000 miles and closing in on a year at the end of the month, i have not lost any of the "high voltage battery status" bars.

[RuneW]

At over 20,000 miles and closing in on a year at the end of the month, i have not lost any of the "high voltage battery status" bars.

Personally, I find posts describing problems with the Leaf about 1000 times more interesting than posts stating that "my car has no problems", but that's me...

[planet4ever]

Personally, I find posts describing problems with the Leaf about 1000 times more interesting than posts stating that "my car has no problems", but that's me...

I have a serious problem with my LEAF. It's called "capacity anxiety" because I have no way of knowing whether my battery is 1% degraded or 14% degraded.

[Yeah, I know, Dr. Gary has a pill to cure that, but I'm waiting for Dr. Phil's pills bills. ]

Ray

[Pipcecil]

I am thinking this is atypical battery performance, maybe some cells went bad? I really abuse my car. I have yet to have capacity loss yet.

Pipcecil, have you checked capacity with a GID meter?

Unfortunately, no, I don't have access to one. I will also add that I have been guilty of "topping off." A trip into town for some food, etc. is only about 5-10 miles depending on how far. I do try and really push the engine to burn energy so I at least get a bar down from full (I keep my car charged to 100% on the weekends due to numerous unexpected longer trips into downtown) or 2, but it doesn't always happen. Regardless, I don't mind pushing my car to its limits. Yes, I will try and be nice (like charging to 80% on weekdays, etc.), but if my car gets older faster, eh, lesson learned and I will get another in 8-10 years. I am lucky enough to have a level 2 at home and work so I can stand more battery degradation that most before i am forced to give the leaf up.