Being a Nissan LEAF owner sounds pretty stressful...

[smkettner]

As if filling my truck weekly (or more) with $80+ in gasoline did not cause stress :roll:
And since now we drive the Subaru less there is less service on that also.

 

[MaxPower]

My Leaf allows guilt-free excursions like the ones I made in my Honda Civic 14 years ago, when gasoline was 99 cents per gallon. While the rules for using an EV are slightly different than the ones for gas power, the reward is worth the price in most cases. And since I have a gas-powered vehicle for the trips that require it, it becomes more of an adventure than a hassle to try longer trips in the BEV.

This weekend I drove to the quick charger at the VW ERL near Oracle campus, just to see where it was, and to try my first QC. On the way there I kept up with the 65 mph traffic on US 101, which drains power pretty rapidly. I kept an eye on the charge state so I could be sure of making it back home if the QC was still out of service. The only road to the facility is tricky to find! It is at the Ralston exit, at a stoplight in the middle of an overpass! Don't get fooled into re-entering the freeway like I did . Even though the QC was marked as out of service on the plugshare app, both sides were working. Since no one was waiting to use it, I charged to 98% (which took about 30 minutes) and pushed on to one of my favorite restaurants near San Francisco, because I could . Even though I could have limped home without more charge, I stopped at the QC again and charged to 80% (in 13 minutes.) The full trip was 86 miles, almost completely at 65mph, with 2 QC stops. It is obvious that L3 QC in the middle of an extended journey is far more useful for range extension than L2 chargers at either end. I have started carrying a couple of books to read while waiting for a L2 charge.

The next day I tried a trip to the Gilroy outlet stores. I avoided the freeway for 75% of the trip, and made a couple of small side trips. There was some difficulty finding the charger, since it wasn't where plugshare said it was. I asked a facilities guy for directions to the EV chargers (Thanks Anthony!). I also could have read the reviews in plugshare, which mention the Sony Store. I got an hour of free L2 charge at the Sony store, and bought some jelly bellies (there's a Jelly Belly outlet store?!). I made one last side trip near home in order to hear the low battery warning for the first time . What did I gain? A scenic 95 mile drive in the country, and increased comfort level knowing what I can expect from the Leaf. There were a few other alternate locations nearby according to plugshare, including a Nissan dealer, and I could easily have made it back to the South Bay, so I had plenty of options if things didn't go as planned.

All this was done with zero gas and very low stress. I actually found it to be fun! And the fuel cost was zero, since I have some excess solar power. I am looking forward to maintaining the ability to go on excursions like this no matter what happens to oil prices.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

This week I set an all time record for miles driven at 402.5. Granted 4 QC sessions made it easy. None of the sessions lasted longer than 12 minutes and they did not really inconvenience me and did allow me to talk with 4 people who were interested in what I was doing including a guy who works for a company that is de eloping charging stations.

Right now I am camping 42 miles from home and got here without burning a drop of oil

 

[charlie1300]

Zero stress here. I charge to 80%, top off to 100% if I'm driving more than 50 miles just to keep my margin of error. All those miles are totaly stress free in comfortable, smooth and quiet car. Had to drive my wife's ICE yesterday and it was a jarring experience that I'm not looking forward to repeating.

Sure this form is full of complexity, but that's what makes it fun!

But when I get in the leaf, I just drive it and enjoy it.

 

[DesertDenizen]

I can report another anecdote of the new world I inhabit with my Leaf. I had a coupon for a free dozen eggs, expiring the same day. The store is not on my normal route, so if I had my old ICE the gas to get there would negate the coupon. I drove my Leaf, at not fuel cost thanks to my photo voltaic system, so I got my free dozen eggs.

 

[dgpcolorado]

I can report another anecdote of the new world I inhabit with my Leaf. I had a coupon for a free dozen eggs, expiring the same day. The store is not on my normal route, so if I had my old ICE the gas to get there would negate the coupon. I drove my Leaf, at not fuel cost thanks to my photo voltaic system, so I got my free dozen eggs.

I have a similar anecdote: I recently spent a couple of days working on a volunteer trail building project in the tiny town of Silverton. When I got home I realized that I had left my camp chair behind (and it is an expensive lightweight model from the mid '90s that is no longer sold because of myriad cheap, heavy, knockoffs). The next morning I drove the 86 mile round trip over a high mountain pass (11,018') to retrieve the chair. The cost of the trip was $2.70 in electricity and the scenic drive through the mountains was clear and lovely:

Red Mountain, 6-24-12.

Stress would have been deciding whether or not to spend the bucks on gas for the ICE car!

 

[DesertDenizen]

I can report another anecdote of the new world I inhabit with my Leaf. I had a coupon for a free dozen eggs, expiring the same day. The store is not on my normal route, so if I had my old ICE the gas to get there would negate the coupon. I drove my Leaf, at not fuel cost thanks to my photo voltaic system, so I got my free dozen eggs.

I have a similar anecdote: I recently spent a couple of days working on a volunteer trail building project in the tiny town of Silverton. When I got home I realized that I had left my camp chair behind (and it is an expensive lightweight model from the mid '90s that is no longer sold because of myriad cheap, heavy, knockoffs). The next morning I drove the 86 mile round trip over a high mountain pass (11,018') to retrieve the chair. The cost of the trip was $2.70 in electricity and the scenic drive through the mountains was clear and lovely:

Red Mountain, 6-24-12.

Stress would have been deciding whether or not to spend the bucks on gas for the ICE car!

I love Silverton. But 86 miles with a high mountain pass? Did you do this on one charge? From what I know of the area it seems unlikely there are chargers there. Well done in any event.

 

[ebill3]

Well, just have to add another.

Just returned from our little vegetable plot at our daughter's home. It is an ICE one gallon round trip, but in the LEAF, about half a buck. A half mile segment of the route is a curvy hill climb. Oh what fun whizzing up that little streach - puts the fun back in driving. Almost as much fun going down - shifting between N, D, and ECO. If I did have any stress, that little hill would relieve it.

 

[garsh]

If I have to wait in the car for someone, I always felt the need to shut the engine off and put the windows down so as to not waste gas.

With the Leaf, I just leave the AC running. Much more comfortable that way, and it doesn't use all that much electricity!

 

[TomT]

True, but I have to admit: Not nearly as much fun as running through the 6 gears on my manual BMW 335i was!

Just returned from our little vegetable plot at our daughter's home. It is an ICE one gallon round trip, but in the LEAF, about half a buck. A half mile segment of the route is a curvy hill climb. Oh what fun whizzing up that little streach - puts the fun back in driving. Almost as much fun going down - shifting between N, D, and ECO. If I did have any stress, that little hill would relieve it.

 

[dgpcolorado]

I love Silverton. But 86 miles with a high mountain pass? Did you do this on one charge? From what I know of the area it seems unlikely there are chargers there. Well done in any event.

Yes, it was on one charge; you are correct that there are no public charge stations here. The first time I did the trip I charged to 100% at mile 9—using a 240V outlet in the town park with the permission of the town manager—just to be safe, and got home with 3 bars.

The second time I just charged to about 1 hour past 80%, perhaps 95%—so that I could get at least a little regen going down from the mesa I live on—and made the entire drive on one charge with just over one bar left on the fuel gauge. I got 4.9 miles/kWh for the trip, measured on the console, so about 17.5 kWh was used for the trip. The cumulative elevation gain was 7000' but I got a lot of that back on the downhill segments, of course. The rough sequence: +300'-1000'+4000'-1700'+1700'-4000'+1000'-300'. Temperatures were in the 60s and 70s and I should point out that thin air at high elevation means significantly better mileage than what one gets at low elevation.

Speeds are slow in places over the mountain pass because of a number of curves posted at 10 mph and 15 mph that have to be taken at 15-25 mph to negotiate them safely. The narrow road has few guard rails so that avalanches can be pushed off into the gorge in winter. It is quite different from city driving; first time visitors sometimes get freaked out when driving that road, especially passengers on the dropoff side.

 

[TEG]

...I got an hour of free L2 charge at the Sony store...

Aren't those SemaConnect EVSEs that charge a fee to use?

 

[Nubo]

True, but I have to admit: Not nearly as much fun as running through the 6 gears on my manual BMW 335i was!

Just returned from our little vegetable plot at our daughter's home. It is an ICE one gallon round trip, but in the LEAF, about half a buck. A half mile segment of the route is a curvy hill climb. Oh what fun whizzing up that little streach - puts the fun back in driving. Almost as much fun going down - shifting between N, D, and ECO. If I did have any stress, that little hill would relieve it.

That's where I've had a bit of an epiphany. I drove manual trans since I bought my first used car in the 1970's. And I enjoyed that way of driving, wringing the most performance out of a car, etc...

So you'd think I'd be disappointed in the LEAF in that regard. But I find I am not. It's not like an automatic that is deciding shift points for you. There's just no need for shifting. Form follows function, and so there's no trans. As it turns out that's a critical distinction for me.

I don't feel like I'm missing out. On a twisty, hilly road I have more attention to devote to steering and braking. The power is always at my bidding with no pauses or hesitations. It's a new way of driving, and I like it a lot.

 

[SierraQ]

I've been following this forum for the past couple months and what I find crazy from reading all these posts is how careful you guys have been with your cars and yet are still having problems (referring to the hot weather people), but even for the people in cooler weather, all the precautions and knowledge you have to have.

I think it's just that we're quite obsessive. I dare say many owners who don't frequent this board are blissfully unaware of 90% of what is discussed here. Go to any car brand enthusiast site and you'll see the same kind of stuff ...

It's like a video game. Let's take Mario. 90% or so players are content with knocking out Bowser and rescuing the princess. They look at that and say the game is played.

Then there are those players who break every brick, find every secret passage, know or invented several cheat codes, and can give a first-hand step-by-step account of the best "1-up factories" and the time you must invest in each. As an encore they wonder at nights, "What happens if I complete the entire game without getting a single coin?"

We come from the latter camp.

(BTW the answer is you arrive at the princess quite poor and cannot afford a cab back home but I think she likes you anyway.)

When you bought your cars, did the sales guy go over all these things about not charging to 100% all the time? Or not letting it sit at 100% or not QCing too often or are these items you learned about from the owner's manual or here on the forums? ...

For myself I actually taught the dealer some things about the car. The rest I learned from official Nissan Q&A disseminated via forums like this. Honestly it is the mechanics and the people who designed the thing that know any given car the best. Dealers and sales reps and customer support are not the best sources of information. Either Nissan doesn't tell them or they don't ask. Plus there is a conflict of interest--dealers will never be forthcoming of anything that sounds like a limitation while they are trying to sell it to you.

 

[Flipper]

Agree with most comments:

We are definitely Techie oriented on this site.

Set the timed charger to 100% and plug in daily. Pick your best pricing.

Drive the heck out of this ride, it can do about anything (except long distance), and is fun.

Be range aware, not range anxious.

Enjoy!

 

[Nubo]

Just like any technology it helps to know something about it in order to get the most out of it. There are tips and tricks for ICE cars in general, and specific models of any make. Visit any car forum, particularly cars that have enthusiasts, and you will find plenty of minutiae and plenty of problem with details on how to avoid or mitigate them. What's the best oil? Oil filter? Should I get Copper or Iridium sparkplugs? How to remove Carbon?, it goes on and on.

Most people don't need all that, but some knowledge is helpful. Considering this is new technology, it's natural to want to be more aware than for a "normal" car.

Personally, I have an end-point timer for 80% which usually finished by 05:30. If I need more charge there's time to kick it off when I wake up or occasionally before I go to bed, for balancing. So in effect, "fueling" my car takes about 10 seconds of my time per day to plug and unplug, and maybe an additional minute on those days I want 100%. To me, that's significantly LESS stressful than fueling with gasoline on a number of levels.

 

[jackal]

My only stress was whether to start the timer at 9pm or 12am to maximise the off peak electrical rates.

 

[evnow]

I think that would have been my biggest issue.

I work from home in sales and sometimes I don't leave the house at all and other times I drive around 40-70 miles in one day depending on who I have to go see. In my mind, I would have plugged in the car in nightly and charged to 100% in case I had one of those 70 mile days as they are not that predictable. I do have a second car at my disposal (wife also works from home) which I planned to use if needed, but would of still wanted the LEAF ready to go with 100% charge at the start of every day.

I'd charge to 80% - and on the morning when you need to travel more, just hit the timer button to get to 100% charge.

I've about 0% stress being a Leaf owner. Lower stress than when I was an ICE owner (no worries about gas price or oil change etc).

 

[Randy3]

You know, I had to think about this awhile before commenting. It's about the source of the stress.

My LEAF has behaved just as expected. But I haven't. Sometimes I want to push the car's range limits. I've taken it to places without the possibility of charging between stops that are 75+ miles apart with a little elevation gain and at freeway speeds. Or places I'm not familiar with, or on routes I'm not familiar with. I don't have a GIDmeter and I've only gotten to VLB warning a few times. So, I've had a couple of times where I've slowed down to 50 on a freeway, or taken a side route at 35 mph because my mental calculation tells me I'm running out of electricity.

This has only happened when I put myself in the situation. I mean, I know ahead of time that I'm going to push the range limits of the car. It's like, in my ICE car, I'm the type who will sometimes see just how far I can drive with the gas gauge below the "E". (Drives my wife crazy and reminds me of a Seinfeld episode.)

Otherwise, the LEAF is completely stress free. Especially driving past gas stations!

 

[davewill]

...That's where I've had a bit of an epiphany. I drove manual trans since I bought my first used car in the 1970's. And I enjoyed that way of driving, wringing the most performance out of a car, etc...

So you'd think I'd be disappointed in the LEAF in that regard. But I find I am not. It's not like an automatic that is deciding shift points for you. There's just no need for shifting. Form follows function, and so there's no trans. As it turns out that's a critical distinction for me.

I don't feel like I'm missing out. On a twisty, hilly road I have more attention to devote to steering and braking. The power is always at my bidding with no pauses or hesitations. It's a new way of driving, and I like it a lot.

Yes! I have always preferred manual transmissions, but with the Prius before it and the LEAF, it did't matter because "wanting" a manual just makes no sense. The cars don't have gears, so why would I want to "shift" them?