Battery bars

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WyrTwister

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 9, 2016
Messages
45
Watched a YouTube video of a guy that something like 40,000 something miles on a Leaf . He pointed out that the instrument display had a " battery health " indicator with " bars " . Kind of like the display of signal strength on a cell phone .

His indicator was down 3 bars meaning the battery was down enough to noticeable reduce his range , in miles .

Now , to my question pertaining to the Spark EV . Does it have a display to indicate pretty much the same thing ? If so , what are you all seeing on your cars ? How much loss in range ?

Thanks , :)
Wyr
God bless
 
There is no equivalent display on the Spark EV that indicates battery health.

Degraded battery health can be inferred from the available range displayed after a full charge, but since that range is highly dependent on recent car usage it is not easy. It can also be inferred by calculating the full battery capacity from the center console display data. But there is variability in that data as well.

Fundamentally, GM has elected to not give the consumer this data. I see it as similar to the odometer. Early cars did not have odometers but now odometers have long since been mandated both by market pressure and government regulation. We're still in the "wild west" days of EVs but someday EV battery health will be more transparent. Until then, you're left guessing.
 
I see it stated that the range of the Spark EV id around 80 miles ? Correct ? Have any of you seen the range degrade , significantly ?

Do the batteries seem to be holding up OK ?

As I probably have mentioned , I am kind of shopping for an EV . Probably a Spark EV or a Leaf . They seem to be at the low cost end of the used market .

When I read the article about the " battery health " indicator , I thought that was an important thing to look for with used Leafs . I was hoping the same or similar indicator for a Spark EV .

Any other recommendations when looking at EV's ?

Thanks , :)
Wyr
God bless
Happy Father's Day
 
I haven't seen any significant degradation. The Spark EV batteries are clearly more robust than the early LEAF batteries. I understand the battery health indication in the LEAF can be reset by unscrupulous resellers, so beware.
 
Thank you for telling me that . It is valuable to know . Should be illegal , like turning back the odometer .

And good to know the Spark EV batteries seem to be holding up well . Is this because of the temperature management system ?

With no indicator , I guess it would show up in reduced range ? Have you noticed any degrading in range ?

Thanks , :)
God bless
Wyr
Happy Father's Day
 
It's due to both a different battery chemistry (which is very proprietary and obscure) and the thermal management systems. I have seen no degradation in range in 13,000 miles.
 
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