If you are going to buy an older electric car, it is of great importance to know how much the batteries have lost. If you are unlucky, you can end up with the "cat in the bag" without being successful in some instances. No one is required to disclose the health of the batteries. You have to find out for yourself.
Much to gain from checking battery health
When the first electric cars arrived, many were skeptical about the lifespan of the batteries. Therefore, an extended warranty was given. Everyone knows that batteries lose weight over time, but no one can predict exactly how much. By comparing 8-10 year old cars of the same model and year, you see clear variations. As the batteries gradually wear down over several years, it can be easy to forget to check the batteries before the warranty expires. And for those of you who are looking for a good electric car from an older vintage: Of course you should check the battery's health before signing a contract!
Let's go back to 2015
Then ordinary people could buy full-fledged electric cars - cars that could be used on longer journeys and that looked like real cars. The Nissan Leaf was already well established when it was joined by the Volkswagen e-Golf, BMW i3 and KIA Soul. Today, 8 years later, we can state that the cars have withstood the test of time well, both technically and visually. They are good options for first-time buyers and as the family's number 2 or 3 car.KIA Soul EV
Watch out for bullshit!
It was a breath of fresh air on the electric car market with its tough, youthful design and – for its time – "large" battery pack with more capacity than the competition. Net 27 kwh and 30,5 kwh gross. From 2018, the net capacity increased to 30 kwh. KIA gave a 7-year guarantee of at least 70% battery capacity. Several owners have reported large capacity losses, so if you own a KIA Soul, you should check the batteries before the warranty expires. The remaining capacity can be read via the car's OBD2 connector, or have it checked at any workshop.
Pricing
The 2015 KIA Soul is offered today for between NOK 80-120. Stated range is 000 km (NEDC).
Find battery health
The remaining battery capacity can be easily read via the OBD2 connector which you will find under the cover on the lower left of the dashboard. An OBD2 dongle costs only a few hundred Swedish kroner and can be purchased online. Make sure it supports the CAN protocol and fits your phone (Android or Iphone). With the dongle in the socket, you can connect via Bluetooth with apps such as "SoulSpy" or "Torque". Go to "Vehicle" data. The field is called SOH (State of Health) and shows the remaining battery capacity in percentage.
If the seller is a car dealer with a workshop, ask them to check the SOH, regardless of whether the seller tries to convince you that it is not right or necessary. It only takes 5 minutes. If you are going to buy from a private person, it is not as easy to fumble with an OBD2 dongle and app, if you cannot do it together with the seller. If you cannot read the status, you must try to calculate the range based on remaining km and remaining charge. It is the only basis for documenting that the batteries are relatively intact. You have to trust the numbers - not what the salesperson tells you.
Sales image. 49km over 13/18 dashes reveals either an uneconomical driving style or a battery that has lost a lot.Nissan Leaf
Ordinary people's turn!
In contrast to today's government, Nissan understood early on what this term meant, when they were the first car manufacturer to make full-fledged electric cars for most people. The Nissan Leaf has proven to last for many years and is a very safe used car purchase. On cars between 2013 and 2015, the battery pack is 22 kwh net - 24 kwh gross. with a stated range of 199 km (NEDC). From 2016, the Leaf could be delivered with batteries of 28 kwh net - 30 kwh gross. Nissan only gave a 5 year/100 km warranty on the first battery packs. Extended warranty of 000 years 8% was introduced for battery packs from 70 kwh and above.
Pricing
The 2014 Nissan Leaf is offered for between NOK 70-90 (source: Finn.no), and 000 models for between NOK 2015-60. I would strongly recommend ditching these early models and going for a 120 or 000 model year with 2016 kwh batteries. There are cars at the same price as the ones mentioned above (from NOK 2017-30) - perhaps with higher mileage and not as pretty - but still a better buy due to better range and battery warranty.
Find battery health
Nissan has an exemplary system for showing the remaining battery capacity on the instruments. On the scale above the charge, the remaining battery capacity is shown in the outermost arc. 12 lines mean that the battery's capacity is between 100% and 85%. At 9 bars, the battery is below 70%. Nissan's warranty is triggered if the number of dashes falls below 10 during the warranty period.
BMW i3
Class!
The design and choice of materials place the BMW i3 in a class above the KIA Soul and Nissan Leaf. In terms of size, it is smaller than the other two with 4 seats and 3 side doors. Original battery capacity was 18,8 kwh net - 21,6 kwh gross. From model year 2017, the BMW i3 had its battery capacity increased to 27,2 kwh net - 33,0 kwh gross. BMW's battery warranty is 8 years for at least 70% remaining capacity.
Pricing
BMW is also in a different class in terms of price. Both model year 2014 and 2015 are in a price range just below NOK 100 to 000 (source: Finn.no). Be aware that the BMWs are also more expensive to maintain. According to the manufacturer, the batteries in the i140 should not be damaged by being constantly fully charged with the charger connected. The remaining battery capacity can be checked from the dashboard.
Find battery health
There is a service function via the dashboard where you can read the remaining battery capacity. The video clip below shows this in an excellent way. The trick is that you must first retrieve the car's ID number, add up the last 5 digits and use this sum as an access code to unlock the service function. Information about the remaining battery capacity in kWh can be found under "Tank/Battery". It must be net capacity that is displayed.
If you are in a position to buy, it might be nice to have done the test on another i3 before you approach the seller. Is the seller private, maybe you can do it together? If you buy from a brand dealer, they will know the function - and maybe talk you out of checking. Anyway, since the function exists and can be performed without doing any physical intervention, you should verify the number.
Markus Klemm – How to Find Your BMW i3 Battery Capacity
Volkswagen e Up!
The little brother of e-Golf
10 years ago, several car manufacturers planned to offer electric cars as variants of regular production models. The Volkswagen e-Golf and e-Up were electric variants of fossil car models. The E-Golf appears to be a class above the Nissan Leaf and KIA Soul. The net battery capacity was 20,5 kwh - 24.2 kwh gross - until 2017 when the e-Golf had its battery capacity increased to 32,0 kwh net - 35,8 kwh gross. Instead of the very earliest year models of the e-Golf, I recommend the Volkswagen e-Up, which is a 4-seater with roughly the same size and range as the BMW i3. The cars are produced in Bratislava and maintain good quality. Early editions of the e-Up had a battery capacity of 16,8 kwh net (18,7 kwh gross). Being a smaller and simpler car, it could be cheaper to maintain than the e-Golf and in a format better suited to short ranges. Volkswagen's battery warranty is 8 years for at least 70% capacity. Normal range is just over 100 km in winter and 130-140 km in summer.
For model year 2015, prices are NOK 60-90.
Find battery health
The Volkswagen e-Up has an OBD2 connector, but I don't know what measurements and calculations need to be done to arrive at the remaining battery capacity - if it is even possible? The Austrian company Aviloo offers a solution where you plug a device into the OBD2 connector, charge to 100%, drive down to 10%, charge fully again and return the box for analysis. This is not something that can be done in one fell swoop.
If you are in a buying position, you are dependent on trusting what the instruments tell you about the remaining charge and km estimated on the basis of previous driving. E-up does well 100 km on winter roads. Many sellers fail to show this in the pictures or can show an acceptable range when viewing. If the instruments show a poor range, it may be due to uneconomical driving or a bad battery. As a buyer, you must assume the latter.
Bad battery gives "Cat-in-the-bag"
When buying, you can never trust the seller's information about real range. These figures depend on so many different conditions that they cannot be verified. Before you buy an older electric car with a – by today's standard – small battery pack, you should make sure that it can supply usable electricity for a few more years. To put it a little more bluntly, so can you risk ending up with a car with a real range of 50 km without the possibility of canceling the purchase - without a safety net. The car works - the batteries have died - that's normal. Did the seller promise you something else? Enjoy leather seats and a premium music system!
"The last idiot has not yet been born"
If the seller cannot provide figures showing remaining battery capacity, he or she must at least be able to show a decent estimated range based on previous driving. Unfortunately, many retailers seem to hold their cards close to their chests. Of course, they know the condition of the battery, but try to focus on other, superficial subtleties. I have browsed hundreds of ads, and am amazed to see dealer ads that neither tell about the real range nor the condition of the batteries.
A sales image that makes it possible to calculate the real range when the temperature is 2,5 degrees. 80km at 80% gives approx. 100 km range.Battery capacity based on charge
One test you can do yourself to test the battery's capacity is to compare what the charging station have supplied electricity against what knowing says it has received. For example, if you charge from 10% to 60% on a battery of 30 kwh net, the charging station should have given you 15 kwh plus what is lost in charge loss. If you charge from a wall box with a T2 cable, as much as 5-10% can be lost on the road in the form of heat. Since we do not know the exact loss of charge, this method can never be very accurate, but carried out over a longer period of time - on the same car and wall charger - it can reveal a pattern.
Battery health – the most important characteristic of commercial electric vehicles
Battery health is undoubtedly a 2015 model year's most important characteristic, both because of the cars' market value and the fact that lost range can make the car almost useless. Car buyers without technical insight into electric cars can easily end up with the "cat in the bag" without the opportunity to advertise. It is a fact that all batteries deteriorate over time, but not everyone realizes how much. Based on a search among 7 and 8 year old Nissan Leafs, I find that normal annual battery loss is between 1,7 - 2,5%. When I look at cars that are 9-10 years old, the variations are greater. One in three cars has had a greater average loss than 3% per year. Do batteries lose more weight as they age? Was the quality of 2012-2013 model year cars worse than 2014-2015?
Factors affecting battery health
– High number of charges as a result of high km.
- The batteries have been fully charged for a long time.
– Extensive use of fast charging.
- The batteries have been exposed to heat, for example during motorway driving and rapid charging in hot weather. The cars in the review have primitive systems to regulate the temperature in the batteries.
- The car has been parked outside in cold areas.
- The batteries have run out of power.
– Manufacturing defects or damage to battery cells.
Shouldn't battery health be as mandatory as mileage when selling used electric cars?
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