Hi, I’m new here so I don’t know if I’m doing this right. I have a question about my Leaf and I can’t find any answers on google. My dad bought a 2012 Nissan Leaf in ~2014. He drove it 40 miles a day for two years. When he sold it to me last year, the range indicator had lost two bars. I’ve done mostly city driving, about a total of 20-ish miles a day, and I charge my car when it shows anywhere from 20-40 miles. Until two weeks ago, the regenerative braking wouldn’t kick in until there were about 65 miles left. My range indicator says anywhere from 70 to 90 miles when fully charged. I’d tell my battery capacity but I don’t remember it. Recently, regen has stayed on. My dad doesn’t know why, and he knows a lot about EVs, so I’m totally lost. The regen is on as soon as I start driving when it’s fully charged. Now I can usually squeeze in 5 or 10 more miles than I could before since the regen is always going. I rarely use eco mode. Is this supposed to happen when the battery degrades to a certain capacity, and has anyone here had experience with this?
I don't have a clue, but if you haven't done so, I would post your question in a more active Leaf forum like mynissanleaf. Anyhow, it seems that's good news for you, as you are getting more miles.
By "always on" do you mean the bubbles to the left are always outlined indicating that regeneration is available? Or do you mean that it feels like the brakes are dragging? How do you know that it's always on? I drive a 2012 with 3 bars down. The bubbles to the left show that regen is available when I drop below a 100% charge, or when I drop below freeway speeds. My car doesn't like to regen when going fast or when fully charged. If by "always on" you mean that you were able to coast before, then I am super jealous. I bought mine in 2015 and have never been able to coast, taking my foot off the accelerator always goes straight to regeneration. Yes, in Drive mode, I seldom use Eco.
