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I have a 2013 Nissan Leaf which is down to about 70 miles of range which is annoying. And still, I'd never buy another ICE again. My next car will be a Tesla or

I have a 2013 Nissan Leaf which is down to about 70 miles of range which is annoying. And still, I'd never buy another ICE again. My next car will be a Tesla or a Bolt. I don't think the 2018 Leaf is in the picture but maybe if Nissan gave me a good trade-in.

esaym 9y ago
Thanks for the info. What was the range when new and what type of batteries does it have? And charge times?
- thephyber 9y ago
  Not the original poster, but I also own a first-gen Leaf. > What was the range when new When I bought my Leaf (used, 1.5 years old, half of MSRP) it showed 89mi with 12/12 of total potential capacity (compared to a new battery). After 5 years of ownership, it's down to about 60mi and the dash shows the battery is about 7/12 (meaning 5/12 of total potential capacity has been lost over time). > And charge times? All I know is it takes less than 8 hours. The local utility has a pricing plan for EV owners which encourages charging from 11p to 7am (cheaper during off-peak hours). I set the car to have full charge by 7a and it takes less than 8 hours for a full charge, even with the 120V plug. I have to remember to plug it in every night or I'm screwed in the morning (I don't use the phone app, but it has features that can mitigate your forgetfulness). I only drive it in-county and generally only one trip per day. I don't charge it during the day. I've also learned to drive like a very conservative retired person (to optimize range). The newer Leafs have a different battery (not interchangeable with 1st gen bodies) and the next gen Leaf will have even better range at a similar price).
vvanders 9y ago
I never found out if the new leafs actually use proper thermal management with a coolant loop on the pack. It's a shame the never did it on the original and battery life suffers because of it.
- CalChris 9y ago
  I’m in the temperate Bay Area and I’ve done well enough without. But I was in Tucson for Thanksgiving and my cousin was replacing a 12V for his SUV. Apparently 12Vs don’t live long down there.
  - toomuchtodo 9y ago
    Lead acid batteries only last 2-3 years in hot climates. Battery thermal management is mandatory for longevity (which Tesla does).
- mtgx 9y ago
  This is why we need Tesla to keep pushing carmakers forward. The majority of them seem either clueless about building long-range EVs, or they don't care enough to make them "great". So they don't bother to create a new EV platform from scratch, but just re-purpose their ICE cars (limiting them in total range and efficiency), or do stuff like supporting only lower-power fast chargers, or cut corners on the type of batteries they use, which degrade fast, or don't properly protect them, and so on. Plus, they have an incentive to drag their feet with EV progress. The incentive is not having to suffer dramatic changes within how their products are made and what type of people they need to hire or fire, and so on. It's the same incentive that kept Nokia and Blackberry from not just starting to build touchscreen phones, but committing to making great ones and actually transitioning the whole company to them. Who here can say that most car companies are currently ready to transition their whole companies to making EVs? I don't think any major car company actually thinks like that right now, or if they do their plans read more like "We'll get started on becoming an EV company 15 years from now".
  - mywittyname 9y ago
    EVs are expensive and cost cutting was the only way to make early ones viable. Even with all that cost cutting, the Leaf is a $30-35k car.
- dangrossman 9y ago
  > I never found out if the new leafs actually use proper thermal management with a coolant loop on the pack. It does not. It's just a 25% larger version of last year's battery. A 60 kWh battery pack manufactured by LG Chem is slated for later in 2018. LG Chem's battery packs for other EVs are liquid cooled. My uninformed theory is that Nissan contracted to buy far more batteries from AESC than they ended up needing for the Leaf's sales volume, and is still getting rid of them.

esaym 9y ago

Thanks for the info. What was the range when new and what type of batteries does it have? And charge times?

thephyber 9y ago
Not the original poster, but I also own a first-gen Leaf. > What was the range when new When I bought my Leaf (used, 1.5 years old, half of MSRP) it showed 89mi with 12/12 of total potential capacity (compared to a new battery). After 5 years of ownership, it's down to about 60mi and the dash shows the battery is about 7/12 (meaning 5/12 of total potential capacity has been lost over time). > And charge times? All I know is it takes less than 8 hours. The local utility has a pricing plan for EV owners which encourages charging from 11p to 7am (cheaper during off-peak hours). I set the car to have full charge by 7a and it takes less than 8 hours for a full charge, even with the 120V plug. I have to remember to plug it in every night or I'm screwed in the morning (I don't use the phone app, but it has features that can mitigate your forgetfulness). I only drive it in-county and generally only one trip per day. I don't charge it during the day. I've also learned to drive like a very conservative retired person (to optimize range). The newer Leafs have a different battery (not interchangeable with 1st gen bodies) and the next gen Leaf will have even better range at a similar price).

vvanders 9y ago

I never found out if the new leafs actually use proper thermal management with a coolant loop on the pack. It's a shame the never did it on the original and battery life suffers because of it.

CalChris 9y ago
I’m in the temperate Bay Area and I’ve done well enough without. But I was in Tucson for Thanksgiving and my cousin was replacing a 12V for his SUV. Apparently 12Vs don’t live long down there.
- toomuchtodo 9y ago
  Lead acid batteries only last 2-3 years in hot climates. Battery thermal management is mandatory for longevity (which Tesla does).
mtgx 9y ago
This is why we need Tesla to keep pushing carmakers forward. The majority of them seem either clueless about building long-range EVs, or they don't care enough to make them "great". So they don't bother to create a new EV platform from scratch, but just re-purpose their ICE cars (limiting them in total range and efficiency), or do stuff like supporting only lower-power fast chargers, or cut corners on the type of batteries they use, which degrade fast, or don't properly protect them, and so on. Plus, they have an incentive to drag their feet with EV progress. The incentive is not having to suffer dramatic changes within how their products are made and what type of people they need to hire or fire, and so on. It's the same incentive that kept Nokia and Blackberry from not just starting to build touchscreen phones, but committing to making great ones and actually transitioning the whole company to them. Who here can say that most car companies are currently ready to transition their whole companies to making EVs? I don't think any major car company actually thinks like that right now, or if they do their plans read more like "We'll get started on becoming an EV company 15 years from now".
- mywittyname 9y ago
  EVs are expensive and cost cutting was the only way to make early ones viable. Even with all that cost cutting, the Leaf is a $30-35k car.
dangrossman 9y ago
> I never found out if the new leafs actually use proper thermal management with a coolant loop on the pack. It does not. It's just a 25% larger version of last year's battery. A 60 kWh battery pack manufactured by LG Chem is slated for later in 2018. LG Chem's battery packs for other EVs are liquid cooled. My uninformed theory is that Nissan contracted to buy far more batteries from AESC than they ended up needing for the Leaf's sales volume, and is still getting rid of them.