New Nissan Leaf 40 kWh #rapidgate short version

Yesterday I drove the new Nissan Leaf 40 kWh on a 1000 km/620 mi trip to test the fast charging. In this video I explain my findings about #rapidgate and what you can do to overcome some of the problems.

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[renebergqvist]

Hi Bjørn,
In the FB group for Nissan Elbiler in Denmark (members not affilliated with Nissan) we had taylored a little test just after your trip.
We tried to scheme a 400 km trip to avoid reduced charging speeds. LeafSpy was used for tracking.;
Limits were under under 100 km/h on motorway and not to charge beyond 75%. The battery temp started at cold 2, 4°C.
Summarized result. First charge OK - second DC charge @35°C reduced to 36 kW. Car returned with 32% SoC with 44, 9°C bat temp. Had it required 3rd DC it be at 22 kW or lower.
Average consumption was just over 16 kWh/100 km so it was not hammered.
My taking is that even gentle driving in fairly cold weather starting with a cold battery you will see reduced charging speed at 2nd charge and severely reduced charging speed at 3rd charge.

[maximilianholland]

Short Version, if you live in a moderate climate and plan on trips of maximium 250 miles/400 km at modest highway speeds, the 2018 40kWh leaf will be fine (if your route has fast dc chagers). For longer trips or hotter climates, wait for the 60kWh leaf or get another EV.

[phileasler]

I have around 2500 miles on my 2018 Leaf and it’s a fantastic vehicle. I don’t want to drive over 350 miles a day in it. I’m glad Nissan limits the charge on the 3rd fast charge to preserve battery long life. I bought my Leaf S with fast charger options and heated seats/ steering wheel for $22K out the door, it’s a great car for the $.

[djhvideo]

Your trip was taken with outside temperatures often well below freezing. in normal European summer temperatures of around 20 deg C the effect would be sooner and much more pronounced.

[jeremywasinger]

Bjorn, I just got the latest software update on my tesla model s. It has the new navigation software. It works really well. It now picks the fasted route vs the shortest. Hope you can get it loaded before your trip so you can use it going to Spain.

[VirtuellJo]

An additional problem i countries like Norway, where you pay for charging time, the cost for juicing up increases the farther you go...

Will there be a similar test in warm weather during summer?

[davepermen]

i'm scared on how this works out in southern regions, in summer... add ~30deg ambient temp and i wonder if it'll ever rapid-charge..

[twiper]

I'm from Denmark and I ordered a Ioniq EV last week, the Trend version in white :)

[bano]

People are really freaking out about this. But I would and might well still buy a new Leaf, because it'll still suit me for 99.9% of my needs without encoutering this problem.

[rzvqvb]

Great summary and valuable information how to best deal with this issue. 👍

[JohnDoe-vxz]

This is a deal breaker for me. It must be even worse in summer.

[tongsli]

I will never forget the FLIR images/video that you posted of the VW E-GOLF when you stopped to rapid charge, remember how HOT that battery pack got????

[johhny]

Where I live Dublin Ireland, nowhere is really and further than 300 km so it's not going to be a problem here .Great video .

[gillespelletier]

I'm from Canada and what I see is a big advantage here. Having a battery that change at 40kw on the first charge by -10°C is my dream come true. I have a 30kwh leaf and my first charge is always slow at 20kw average. My round trip is around 400km twice a week. Now I can save more than half an hour on my run. Yes we get 30°C in summer but the total of days we get that is a big 5 rarely conservative and last summer we got 0 day over 30°C. Night are always below 20°C. So here it's a non issue. Also statistics here show that 90% never used a rapid charger. Again no problem for all those peoples. ProPilot is standard here and you get quite a car fully loaded for way cheaper than a Bolt that doesn't have any driving assistance (same for the ioniq) here.

[Marklek]

Good information, Bjorn. I think that active thermal management is probably the electric starter of EVs. Back at the start of ICE technology there may have been companies who tried to reduce their price by not fitting an electric starter. But the prospect of a broken thumb or arm affects the "market forces".

My grandfather, back in the day, restored a Ford Model T. I remember the starting procedure and how he would not allow anyone else to start the car until he trained them to recognize the dangers of doing it wrong. If one of the cylinders fired before it had reached top-dead-center, you got the full thrust of the engine back into your fingers, hand, arm right when you were putting all *your* effort in the opposite direction.

[aboliamoilmotoreascoppio]

excellent video Bjorn! Thank you! I don't think it's such a big problem since most of the people will not drive the Leaf often on long distances trip. What matters most is the price of sale which should stay around or below 25 thousands euro included battery, in my opinion. Then the new Leaf is a bargain.

[JoseVargas-dxwz]

GReat video, Bjorn! as usual. I thought that the new leaf had active cooling, that was the main disadvantage of the old leaf!. As you say There are being Bad Pandas!

[bendixon]

No wonder they won't release it in Australia, a warm 40 deg trip might be interesting.

[Cosmycal]

Basically the 40kWh Leaf it's not ideal for long trips, otherwise it's a great car. If you need long trips capability wait for the 60kWh Leaf that will be launched this fall.

[Kristisltu]

I've just canceled my order. Thanks Bjorn :) Will have to keep waiting for mode3...