Cold climates without battery heater?

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ishiyakazuo

Member
Joined
May 17, 2022
Messages
12
Hi,
I bought a Soul EV (2017 27kWh) a couple of weeks ago, and it's come to my attention that the one I bought may not have the battery heater... I live near Chicago, and we get pretty cold in the winter (-20F/-30C is rare but does occasionally happen). I had a 2012 Leaf SL before, and that had a battery heater. What can I expect from this Soul EV if it doesn't have one?
The battery is in very good shape for its age -- the car only has 18k miles on it, and SOH is over 95% still, which I understand is a rarity on 2017 27kWh models. If I take it out in temps of -10 to -20C, is it likely that the car won't start after a few hours, or just really reduce its range?
Any thoughts from knowledgeable folks out there would be much appreciated.

EDIT: Confirmed -- I went under the car and cleaned off the label, and it is indeed 37501-E4000. Anyone successfully gotten a swap from E4000 to E4250 or E4250R when getting battery replaced? Or are there other changes that make it difficult/impossible to add the battery heater?
 
I thought I'd follow-up on this post myself, as I couldn't find any other discussion on the topic on this forum, but I did find some interesting info on the My Nissan LEAF forum.
I'm inclined to believe that this won't be an issue for me. I keep the car in a garage, which I can heat in the winter if needed to give the battery extra ability to hold a charge and avoid damage. The battery pack maintains warmth to some degree when in use, and, for example, the Nissan LEAF won't even turn its heater on until -4F/-20C, and it sounds like it may need to be unused and exposed to the elements for a day or so before that is likely to happen. I have no way to tell if my former LEAF ever enabled its heater. We get noticeably colder than -4F here on occasion, so on those relatively few days, I'll probably just drive my Niro.
 
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