Hello All!

I hope everyone is doing very well with things slowly going back to normal. It has been around 4 months since lockdown. People may now start being brave and venturing outside to look for a new vehicle, specifically an EV! You may be thinking, with the EV’s sitting for such a long time, will this effect the battery. 

To be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t know the definite answer but would certainly look into purchasing an OBD dongle and Leaf Spy Pro if you are purchasing a Nissan Leaf of course.

OBD Dongle - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01JU11EZE/

Leaf Spy

iOS - https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/leafspy-pro/id967376861

Android - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Turbo3.Leaf_Spy_Pro&hl=en_GB

With Leafspy, you are able to check the following

* Voltage of each of the 96 cell pairs (highlighted if shunt active)
* Minimum, average, maximum cell pair voltages
* Histogram of cell pair voltages
* Battery Temperature readings (4 sensors for 2011/12 models, 3 for 2013 models)
* Battery AHr rating (this will decease with age and is an indication of remaining capacity)
* VIN
* Odometer
* Number of Quick Charge connections
* Number of L1/L2 Charge connections
* EVSE Max available amps
* EVSE voltage

Additional information displayed by Leaf Spy:
* Battery energy level in GIDs & kWh
* Resetable energy usage meter (Wh resolution)
* Graphic display of SOC, GIDs and DTE (Distance to Empty)
* Remaining distance meter (miles/km) to Event (Low Battery Warning, Very Low Battery Warning or Reserve) based on user selectable energy efficiency
* Graphic display of battery temperature with min, avg, max temperatures
* Tire Pressure of each of the four tires with low pressure warning and delta pressure warning alarm (at the moment only for 2011-2017 Leafs)
* Ambient Temperature
* Logging function that records most data and optionally GPS location to a csv file that can be easily imported into excel.

The "Pro" version adds the ability to perform functions normally requiring a visit to the dealer.
* Change automatic door lock/unlock settings
* Read Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC)
* Register Tire Positions (required after tire rotation or seasonal tire changes so your Leaf knows the correct location of each tire on the car, at the moment only for 2011-2017 Leafs)
* Ability to reset DTCs from selected ECUs

If you are looking at purchasing a Renault Zoe. You can use the same OBD dongle shown above but with the following app

CanZE - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=lu.fisch.canze&hl=en_GB

Unfortunately there is only an android app so if you are iOS I am not sure what is out there. 

Hopefully using these apps will help keep a peace of mind when looking for a car you can plug the dongle in and take a look. The dealerships should NOT say no when you ask if you can do this. Certainly the Nissan dealership I spoke to were very intrigued and was happy I showed them the app. 

As for my fellow EV drivers on here. Is there anything else you can think of which a new EV owner would need to know when looking to purchase an EV after lockdown? Any other apps for other car manufactures?