Foundmikey Posted February 16 Report Share Posted February 16 Hello, Currently, I have just plugged into my new-to-me 2014 CMax Energi with my stock Nissan Leaf Level 1 charger and the charging port on the Energi is lighting up blue and the Leaf charger "charging" light is on. So far, so good it seems based on my very limited knowledge. I bought this from a person who was selling it for his fiance's father, the original owner, who due to age, is no longer able to drive. Clean title, one owner, 104k miles, $3,900. How could I pass this deal up, in spite of the badly cracked windshield, cracked tail light body (lights still function,) broken hatchback struts & three little dings in the body? They could not however, indicate why there was no charging cable, nor could they answer whether or not it had ever been charged or used in EV mode. I'm assuming the original owner was content with the great hybrid mileage and didn't want to fuss with a plug. Also I should mention that when I press the EV button, I get a message that EV Mode is not available. So that leads me to believe that the hybrid system does not charge the EV batteries and that they are a completely separate system. So to get to my question, assuming the EV batteries have never been charged or just not charged at all in the last several years, should I expect these batteries to be functional at all with very limited range? or dead? or possibly still fully functional? Thanks for any insights at all, and please forgive my ignorance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foundmikey Posted February 16 Author Report Share Posted February 16 Update: Finished charging after 5.5 hours. Started the CMax and put it in EV mode with headlights, heat & defrost on. EV battery reading stated 12 miles available. Proceeded to drive to the local 7-11 and back for a total of 2.8 miles. Six miles available on guess-o-meter. I guess the EV batteries are good for six or so miles while driving at night in 39f conditions. About as good as I could have expected :(. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cr08 Posted February 16 Report Share Posted February 16 On 2/16/2024 at 6:18 AM, Foundmikey said: Update: Finished charging after 5.5 hours. Started the CMax and put it in EV mode with headlights, heat & defrost on. EV battery reading stated 12 miles available. Proceeded to drive to the local 7-11 and back for a total of 2.8 miles. Six miles available on guess-o-meter. I guess the EV batteries are good for six or so miles while driving at night in 39f conditions. About as good as I could have expected :(. The miles of range mean nothing as that can vary wildly depending on various conditions and colder weather will definitely effect it. You need to do a proper capacity test: 1) Fully charge the vehicle 2) Drive in EV mode ONLY until the battery is depleted (no highway driving, avoid cabin heat as much as possible to keep the ICE from starting. If it does, it invalidates the test) 3) Once depleted and it reverts to hybrid operation, safely stop the car and shut it off. The trip summary will list the kwh used for the trip. This is the number we need. 5.5kwh is the brand new plug-in capacity from the factory. Anything above 4.0kwh should still be 'good'. Foundmikey 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foundmikey Posted February 16 Author Report Share Posted February 16 On 2/16/2024 at 5:19 AM, cr08 said: The miles of range mean nothing as that can vary wildly depending on various conditions and colder weather will definitely effect it. You need to do a proper capacity test: 1) Fully charge the vehicle 2) Drive in EV mode ONLY until the battery is depleted (no highway driving, avoid cabin heat as much as possible to keep the ICE from starting. If it does, it invalidates the test) 3) Once depleted and it reverts to hybrid operation, safely stop the car and shut it off. The trip summary will list the kwh used for the trip. This is the number we need. 5.5kwh is the brand new plug-in capacity from the factory. Anything above 4.0kwh should still be 'good'. Much appreciated! On the next warm day, I will follow your advice and report back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stolenmoment Posted February 17 Report Share Posted February 17 Right, the cabin heater is a resistance heater and eats the battery, cuts range down by perhaps half on days like this in New England. Try the test again, as above: charge to 100% (percentage shown on the big screen), EV mode, heater off (you'll survive the chill), seat heater off, run in EV-only mode, no highways, until it drops into Hybrid, park and turn the car off. The left-hand screen will briefly show kWh used in this trip, that's your current usable battery capacity. Yes, "EV mode not available" is displayed when the battery is below the hybrid-only threshhold. The displayed range (guess-o-meter) is based on recent driving activity, so it's useless for the first couple of trips while it observes your driving style. I don't use the cabin heater on my Energi unless I have to, or if I'm going on the highway (and running the gas motor) anyway. The seat heater and gloves work just fine. But, I'm a fanatic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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