2011 Regeneration not working properly or at all

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joebrod

Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2011
Messages
13
Location
Burbank, CA
Hello,

I did a basic search of the forum but could not find a similar thread.

More often then not when I drive now I notice that the regen dots do not go as far left as they used to when applying the brake or coasting at a high speed while slowing down. For instance when I apply the brakes while coming to a stop from a high speed - say a freeway off ramp I only have 3 dots (put of 5) when braking in eco mode or only 2 when in normal drive. This would normally pin the dots to the left.

The other thing is on occasion it will not go into regen at all, the dot will stay in the middle and not move to the left at all while applying the brake but will go to the right when I apply power (No the battery is not at full charge). Also sometimes there will be no difference in feel when changing from normal to eco mode - you know that slight resistance when feels when eco is engaged while coasting. Actually that is how I first noticed the problem.

I am at a loss since I took it to the dealer and they said the computer shows no problems and the car is working fine. I took the tech out for a drive but it was pointless as he said he doesn't drive the car so he doesn't know how many dots there should be with the regen process. I have been driving this car for almost 3 1/2 years & the battery capacity is 10 bars out of the 12. It recently went to 10 - shortly after I noticed this issue.

It doesn't do it all the time but it is more often than not. I took to Glendale, CA Nissan initially since the tech at Universal Nissan where I bought the car is on vacation for the holiday season. :(

Any similar threads or any insight appreciated .

Thanks

P.S. I did purchase one of those Bluetooth OBD dongles to use with the android app if that will show anything but not sure what I am looking for!
 
The experts will chime in, but I will give you the simplified answer. When you took your car to the dealership at some point they did an update P2XXX to reprogram your battery capacity gauge. My car which went in 2 weeks ago was delinquent for this, and I only took it in to get a nail pulled out of my tire. They also did this update. Well when I got the car back I noticed the same as you. The regen bubbles do not light up like they use to even when the battery capacity was low, and I used to have full regen bubbles at 10ish bars. Well this update reduces the amount of available regen I am assuming to help protect the battery further due to this new 5yr/60,000 mile capacity warranty. So that is why you are noticing this effect, and the dealer is telling you the car is operating as designed is because it really is. With a touch of software it is gone. Maybe one day Ingineer or some of the really smart people on here will help us get it back, but until then you are left with it as is unfortunately.
 
Hmm, They may have done the update but the problem of the regen is why I took the car in. The car hasn't been at the dealer since Sept 2013. Are you saying that previously they updated the software so that when it hits 10 bars of life/capacity it automatically reduces regen?
 
Due to some inexplicable design consideration of Nissan, the amount of regen available dramatically decreases as battery degradation increases, everything else being equal... Temperature also plays a part.
I almost never see more than two bubbles of regen with my current level of degradation, and only one is not uncommon, regardless of SOC...
 
You don't say where you live, but a cold battery will have reduced (allowed) regen. So you will see less regen available, at a given charge level, in cold weather versus warmer weather. At very cold battery temperatures (below freezing) regen will disappear almost entirely even at fairly low levels of charge.

Another factor to consider is the state of charge. A car at "100%" will have no regen because there is no place to put the extra charge. If the car is at 85% and you go down a hill the regen will decrease as you increase the charge in the battery. For reasons I can't fathom, it is never possible to regen your way back to "100%", not even close.

You can tell, roughly, how much regen you have available by looking at the power circles. A double circle means that level of power/regen is available. A single circle means that power/regen is not available. In general, as you reduce the charge on the car you will see more regen circles become doubled and available, meaning that more regen can be used for braking.
 
See http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=18726&hilit=p3227&start=20#p404407" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

I have still avoided P3227 . With one missing capacity bar and soon to be two, my regeneration is still about like it was when the car was new.
Some small impact if battery is cold but rarely is mine cold enough to notice much difference.

Really sad that Nissan messed up the software change and so far more than a year later has done nothing to fix the problem.
Just sad :cry: :cry: :cry:
 
Never knew the degradation affected it as well, but that makes sense. Knew about temperature all to well though. Summer time in VA is great since I can roll the windows down, not use climate control, and I usually always had max regen except when fully charged. Hopefully can be fixed through a programmer or tuner at some point. Especially once the cars become more prevalent in the used market.
 
It wasn't until shortly before I lost my third bar that it really started to be very significant... Now that I am closing in on the fourth, it is very dramatic.
And yes, it is sad that Nissan so screwed this up and still refuses to fix it!

TimLee said:
I have still avoided P3227 . With one missing capacity bar and soon to be two, my regeneration is still about like it was when the car was new.
Some small impact if battery is cold but rarely is mine cold enough to notice much difference.
 
My car hasn't lost any capacity bars yet (it's close!), but mine still shows the same overall lack of regen since the update. With the temps outside hovering around 40ºF, I regularly see only one or two regen bubbles even when I'm down to 20%SOC.
 
TLeaf said:
My car hasn't lost any capacity bars yet (it's close!), but mine still shows the same overall lack of regen since the update. With the temps outside hovering around 40ºF, I regularly see only one or two regen bubbles even when I'm down to 20%SOC.
My experience is essentially identical to yours, including being near to dropping the first capacity bar. (Although my temperatures are even lower at present, mostly teens and twenties in recent days with lots of snow.)

Sure wish I hadn't had the P3227 update done.
 
Nissan technical support state they have never heard of regenerative braking change after a Telematics or software upgrade. Anyone know how I can have them reference another vehicle with the same issue?

Thx
 
Search the thread(s) on the P3227 software update. There are numerous posts about its effect on regen.

There are also other threads on MNL discussing the reduction of regen due to a degraded traction battery.
 
Regen braking not working after update.
What if your brake pads were warrantied and the manufacturer shut off power brakes after you purchased the vehicle.
The bottom line is how can a manufacturer all but turn off regen braking something that is advertised by nissan the car has.
Does Nissan have the right to do this?
Did they advise owners what the update would do?
I'm another owner not happy with Nissan about this.
I've spoken to them on the phone and they play ignorant and say to take to dealer who are really ignorant to what Nissan did.
The truth is they deleted a feature the car had without noticing owners or potential buyers prior to purchase.
Sorry for rambling.
 
Yep, Had the same thing happen t me. I noticed after it dropped a bar of capacity it started to lose regen. Took it to the dealer. The tech had no idea what I was talking about (that it wasn't regenerating) . Found out on this forum that after that stupid update, when the battery drops to a certain capacity it reduces the regen to almost nothing. I was/am I pretty aggressive regen fan and it sucked. Just got a new battery and regain is back to where it should be. Like the previous poster went on about - It's a crime they do that
 
I also have basically no regen on my '12, missing 2 bars :( My '13 OTOH missing no bars still has full regen, even in the upper 90s of SOC.
So it sounds like this update(which was years ago) didn't affect regen so much with a new or high SOH battery but as soon as it drops a bar or two, basically no regen :x which is when you really need regen and the extra range it would provide, basically a double whammy for range!
 
You are basically flogging a dead horse with this regen issue. Nissan is never going to fix it, let alone admit that it even exists... One of the many reasons why I have sworn off Nissan...
 
Looks like that dead horse is waking up.
Check out the Thundershruck vcu at
https://www.thunderstruck-ev.com/dilithium-vcu.html

It looks like you can adjust the regen setting and get it back.
 
photonpharmer said:
Looks like that dead horse is waking up.
Check out the Thundershruck vcu at
https://www.thunderstruck-ev.com/dilithium-vcu.html

It looks like you can adjust the regen setting and get it back.
Nice, but no way I personally would pay over $500 for some more regen! still if you were a business I suppose it might be something to purchase. I might pay $50-100 for someone to do it to my 8-bar '12 which has very little to no regen.
 
It’s an intermittent issue not to do with degradation. I have a leaf. Happens some time weather is not a factor.
 
dgpcolorado said:
My experience is essentially identical to yours, including being near to dropping the first capacity bar. (Although my temperatures are even lower at present, mostly teens and twenties in recent days with lots of snow.)
Sure wish I hadn't had the P3227 update done.

I have a 2011 Leaf, with 5 capacity bars. It charges from the wall at a normal speed (does not take long, due to low battery capacity). I get about 30 miles of range.... and essentially zero regen.

Today for example: 65F going downhill
I was able to get one regen dot on a steep hill by slowing to 13 mph, then I could generally get up to about 19 mph and keep the dot going. I can feel the difference between friction and regen brakes, and yep it's turning off regen.

When regen is not working, it's the equivalent of "N" mode, and switching from D->ECO->N does nothing, thus I've also lost that characteristic of letting off the gas to slow down in traffic (it's disconcerting and probably unsafe).

  • Can anyone explain the physics of WHY Nissan would do this?
  • What is different with wall charging vs. regen?
  • And can a dealer revert a car to older software (legally, morally or actually)?
  • Would a LeafBox https://evtun.com/leafbox.html do anything?

As the battery has steadily degraded, so has the car's willingness to regen. It was a slow frog boil, not a sudden matter.

What does Nissan have to say?
One of the LEAF’s most important features is its regenerative braking. It can add power back to the battery and enhance the LEAF’s range. It also makes e-Pedal driving even more efficient compared to a petrol or diesel equivalent. https://www.nissan.co.uk/owners/nissan-ownership/technology-explained/leaf-regenerative-braking.html




Keywords: 2011 Nissan Leaf degraded battery regen regeneration regenerative braking energy efficiency range carwings, SOH, State of Health, battery capacity, rage.
 
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