Weak cells are discovered so there is work to be done. We have a 2019 Nissan Leaf with 181,000 kilometers for the battery degradation check.
Credit where credit is due: Nissan was early with the Leaf with a usable, fully electric car that could function as a family car. But while being first is fun, you can only be overtaken afterwards. And that happened. The range and consumption of the Leafs can already be called ‘moderate’ on today’s EV used market. Furthermore, the conditioning of the battery pack is not advanced, because there is no cooling. Yet there is also a big advantage: the Leaf has been available on the second-hand EV market for some time, making the Japanese car affordable for many people.
Wesley Velroij decided to enter the world of EVs six months ago. “I made a calculation of the costs of a used EV and my car at the time, a Suzuki Celerio, and that tipped in favor of the electric car.” Wesley went looking and ended up at the Nissan dealer for a used Leaf with a one-year warranty. “We have one daughter so I wanted a family car with some space. The range of 230 kilometers should in principle be sufficient for my daily car use. “Wesley works at Plus in Heerlen and also lives in that South Limburg town. But a ride from Heerlen to Terschuur, close to Amersfoort, is a different story. Especially in winter, when the range is only a measly 150 kilometers. In any case, it means charging in Terschuur before the return drive to South Limburg can begin.
Three different charging cards
Wesley is now an expert on electricity rates and charging cards to charge the Leaf. “I was shocked by the large differences in costs per kilowatt hour at charging stations. At one point I was walking with three different charging cards in my pocket. I now mainly do business with Vattenfall.” As a result, we have to pick up the Leaf two streets away before we can photograph it. These are the little things that come with electric driving and that Wesley takes for granted.
Weakness in lower range of battery cells
But Wesley has also delved into the technology and then reports to us for a battery degradation test. “I discovered that the battery in the lower range shows the symptoms of weak battery cells. The Leafspy program has been developed in the Leaf community, which allows you to read the status of the battery, but the 85 percent who indicated this do not take into account the inability to fully utilize the battery capacity.” Because Wesley has a one-year warranty, he wants to know exactly what happens before that period expires. “They did a static test at the Nissan dealer and it showed an SoH of 86 percent, but I don’t think a static test tells the full story.”
Marcel van Renselaar, business development manager at Aviloo, already senses the mood. Something isn’t right here. “These are more common symptoms that do not bode well and indicate some worn-out battery cells.” Wesley’s fears come true: a few cells are not good. They need to be replaced, but that’s still not enough. Marcel: “Because that means you have to deal with the remaining cells that are no longer 100 percent, so one way or the other you run out of capacity and that will only get worse.” According to Marcel, the next step could be that the car comes to a standstill at some point with a battery that suddenly stops working.