Which year has the best battery?

[llamapants]

Is there a consensus as to which years battery lasts the longest with least degradation?

 

[MrDRMorgan]

Is there a consensus as to which years battery lasts the longest with least degradation?

the 2014 Spark EV has a battery from A123. The 2015 and 2016 Spark EVs have a battery from LG. I have had all three models. Here is what my data shows:

2014 Spark EV lost 1.0 kWh every 4482 miles (21964 miles on the ODO)
2015 Spark EV lost 1.0 kWh every 7604 miles (26508 miles on the ODO) (see note below)
2016 Spark EV lost 1.0 kWh every 9198 miles (27761 miles on the ODO)

(Updated 24-Jan-20): My 2015 Spark suffered a significant drop in battery capacity at about 19k miles. Battery capacity dropped from 17.09 kWh to as low as 15.3 kWh. The check engine light went on too. Chevy replaced a charging port component but I never recovered the lost capacity. Data prior to that point shows I was losing 1 kWh every 10225 miles.

Note: All of my data for the 2015 Spark EV was derived from the car's Energy Information Screen. Data for my 2014 and 2016 Spark EVs was taken using TorquePro. A friend of mine had a leased 2016 Spark EV. Using TorquePro, I measured his battery capacity at 14.8 Kwh just before he turned his car back in at 30k+ miles.

 

[llamapants]

Thank you very much for the great data. I had the impression that A123 battery was better for long term use, but it looks like the 2016 lg chem is great.

Thank you again.

 

[NORTON]

My '14 at 76k miles is going strong.
My pack seems to be an unusual example. I haven't logged data recently because I plug in at home and at work and never get below 50% usage.
I plug in because it is COLD and I want the pack to always be in a happy temp range.

Here's one of the recent data logs from the energy page.:

Miles _Date___%used____kWh used_Present pack capacity_Temp _% of Original Cap [19.5kWh (?)].
72131_10-21-19_80%____14.7 _______18.38__________________44_______94%

The '14's had a bigger pack rated at ~19.5kW. This is a hard to find figure and I may have it wrong.

 

[llamapants]

That's super impressive! I hope I get that lucky!

 

[MrDRMorgan]

Thank you very much for the great data. I had the impression that A123 battery was better for long term use, but it looks like the 2016 lg chem is great.

Thank you again.

My data is just one point out of many. Some, like Norton, are getting great battery performance. My experience and that of my friend has been quite different. I just lost another 0.1 kWh in battery capacity yesterday on my 2016 Spark EV and I am now down to 14.6 kWh. The battery capacity data I keep for my 2016 Spark EV shows a faster decline in cold weather followed by a slight rise through the warm summer months. This has happened for the last two years.

 

[CSW]

2014 prob best.

larger capacity for one.

simplified cooling system over 15 and 16 models for another, less possible leakage points.

only downside?

A123 went bankrupt, but they seem to be back in business full-force, but it was only made for 1 year,
so maybe getting a replacement more difficult?

I hear it had different voltage as well.

 

[MrDRMorgan]

2014 prob best.

larger capacity for one.

simplified cooling system over 15 and 16 models for another, less possible leakage points.

only downside?

A123 went bankrupt, but they seem to be back in business full-force, but it was only made for 1 year,
so maybe getting a replacement more difficult?

I hear it had different voltage as well.

Define "BEST". I have both - a 2014 Spark EV 2LT w/o DCFC and a 2016 Spark EV 2LT with DCFC. My TorquePro data for the period of June 2018 to June 2020 (9399 total miles driven) shows the HV battery in the 2014 Spark EV degraded 1 KWh every 4273 miles. TorquePro data for my 2016 Spark EV, for the same time period (20228 miles driven), shows the HV battery degraded 1 KWh for every 8794 miles.

 

[CSW]

Well, if the 2014 battery degrades 2x faster than 2016, the 2014 battery is garbage!

reasons i cited were my rationale for saying it best.

so if 2x faster, than 2016 battery is best!

which is what I have, so great. All is well.

 

[MrDRMorgan]

Well, if the 2014 battery degrades 2x faster than 2016, the 2014 battery is garbage!

reasons i cited were my rationale for saying it best.

so if 2x faster, than 2016 battery is best!

which is what I have, so great. All is well.

Yes, the battery capacity degradation rate for my 2016 Spark EV is about 50% less than the battery capacity degradation rate for my 2014 Spark EV A123 battery. But... right now I am getting 5.9 mi /KWh out of the A123 battery in my 2014 Spark EV. That means my current full-charge range is still around 87 miles which is close to the manufacturer's published range. The full-charge range of my 2016 Spark EV is currently running around 92 miles.

Personally, I pay more attention to the mi/ KWh performance for both cars. This number takes into consideration environmental factors and how I drive the car.

Here is a little more information I found:

My first Spark EV was a leased 2015 Spark EV 2LT with DCFC. I found some old battery capacity data I calculated using the information from the Energy Information screen. That data shows I lost 1 KWh every 7604 miles as measured over 25k miles of driving. I started with a 18.8 KWh battery capacity.

At one time, I had all three model years - 2014, 2015 and 2016.

 

[CSW]

Dude, I get like 4.5 mi on a good day......

 

[MrDRMorgan]

Dude, I get like 4.5 mi on a good day......

My guess is the HEAVY appendage below your right ankle is the problem. :lol:

 

[CSW]

yessir!

Spark too much fun to shock folks off a stoplight.

My favorite is raced-out civics I can easily outrun.

 

[MrDRMorgan]

yessir!

Spark too much fun to shock folks off a stoplight.

My favorite is raced-out civics I can easily outrun.

YEP!