Appreciation post: My neighbor finally convinced me to stop topping off the battery every night

I used to plug in my Leaf every single night even after a 5 mile trip, thinking it was good for the pack. Then my neighbor Dave who works at a Nissan dealer told me that constant 100% charges actually stress the cells over time and recommended I only charge to 80% daily unless I needed the range. After 6 months of doing that my battery health meter actually went up 2%, so did that guy know what he was talking about or did I just get lucky?

2 comments

2 Comments

norag554d ago

Ah "battery health meter actually went up 2%"... sounds like your Leaf is going backwards in time or something lol. But honestly Dave was right, those dealer guys actually know a thing or two sometimes. Constant 100% charging is like eating a full Thanksgiving dinner every single night even when you just had a light snack. I did the same thing with my old Volt, always topped it off, then wondered why my range dropped like a rock after two years. So either Dave is a battery whisperer or you just got lucky with a pack that likes being treated like a Goldilocks battery... not too full, not too empty.

michael5194d ago

My 2015 Leaf jumped from 9 bars to 10 bars once after a month of only charging to 80%. Felt like I discovered a cheat code in real life. But nah @norag55, I think Dave just happened to be right this one time. Most dealership guys I've met couldn't tell a BMS from a BMW. Still, you gotta admit it's funny how treating a battery nice actually works sometimes. My buddy kept his Tesla at 100% for a year and now his range is shorter than my patience at the DMV.