kieranmullen said:
Pardon my ignorance I live in a hilly area. Never had an interest in learning stick. Why not use the brake instead of the ebrake?
Speaking of shifting, I would imagine it is OK to shift at any time in any direction since their is no transmission and no gears to mash? I flip from coasting in D to slowing down for lights with Eco.
Finally while going 15 mph forward I accidentally put it in reverse. ( playing with the joystick too much)
Valid questions. On manual transmission cars it is proper procedure to shift to neutral when coming to a stop. People who don't do this just depress the clutch, known as "riding the clutch" and leading to unnecessary wear on the device. To hold position while stopped on a hill, those who ride the clutch release the clutch somewhat and let it slip (and wear) without taking the car out of gear and shifting into neutral. The proper procedure is to shift to neutral, hold the car with the brake, then briefly apply the parking (hand) brake while shifting into first gear to keep the car from rolling backward into the car behind (very embarrassing!). It is pretty easy to do with practice, but it is one reason why most people drive automatic transmission cars: "stomp and steer" is much easier to learn, albeit much less fun to drive than a manual transmission.
The LEAF has a hill-holder function: when you come to a stop going up a hill and release the brake, the car will hold position for a couple of seconds before rolling backward. This gives plenty of time to use the accelerator to get the car moving forward. In a car with no creep or hill-holder function it would roll backward when the brake is released and you'd have to be pretty quick to apply the accelerator on a steep hill to avoid hitting the car stopped behind. Or you'd have to use the parking brake.
As for shifting any time, yes you have it about right. The motor always turns in the same direction, is directly connected to the front wheels, and whether it provides power forward, reverse, or regen braking, depends on the magnetic fields applied.
If you are going forward above seven miles per hour and you shift to reverse the car will beep at you and shift to neutral (this is the quickest way to shift to neutral, but beware of doing it below seven mph or you will actually get reverse, which can be a rude shock). It works similarly when going in reverse and shifting to D (or Eco).