Elantra gone...hello Leaf!

[Msquared]

Thanks for the tips, SierraQ! I'll have to try that setup.

SanDust, I won't miss gas stations. We don't have self-serve here in Oregon, so you have to wait for gas station attendants. :roll:

I do live in a really hilly area, so I can see how this could be handy.

One question. I trickle charged the car all night, then drove it shortly this morning. Range was at about 104 with Eco on. Then I plugged her back in for a bit, then unplugged to her out of the way of the Xterra (we are going camping today). When I started her back up, Eco-on range was only 83ish. Why the drop in range?

 

[MrIanB]

Congratulations on your new car! I think you'll be surprised at your range when going slowly. Unlike your Elantra which got better MPG when on the freeway, you'll get your best range in your Leaf in really bad traffic jams. Slower is better for an EV. Uphills and downhills aren't so bad either because you can recapture a lot of the energy needed for the climb on the way back down.

I doubt you'll miss going to the gas station!

What's a gas station?

Congrats on the new ride!

Ian B

 

[dgpcolorado]

Thanks for the tips, SierraQ! I'll have to try that setup.

SanDust, I won't miss gas stations. We don't have self-serve here in Oregon, so you have to wait for gas station attendants. :roll:

I do live in a really hilly area, so I can see how this could be handy.

One question. I trickle charged the car all night, then drove it shortly this morning. Range was at about 104 with Eco on. Then I plugged her back in for a bit, then unplugged to her out of the way of the Xterra (we are going camping today). When I started her back up, Eco-on range was only 83ish. Why the drop in range?

Short answer: you need to learn to ignore what we call the "Guess-O-Meter" (GOM). It is notoriously inaccurate unless you drive the same route in the same way under the same weather conditions. It is particularly bad in hilly areas.

Long answer: The GOM (Nissan calls it DTE, "Distance to Empty") estimates range based on the previous driving conditions. It can't guess how fast you will be driving in the future or whether or not you will be going up hills. So, when you start the car, the range will be based on how your drove the car toward the end of the previous trip. When you turned your car back on it took a different slice of the data available and came up with a different solution. The actual algorithm used for the GOM isn't known but it could use a LOT of improvement.


My suggestion, given that you live in a hilly area, is that you get a feel for how many fuel bars you use to make various trips and judge your range on that.

"Extra credit":
If you drive only a few bars worth of miles per day, try charging your LEAF so that it stays in the three to eight bar range. You can increase the charge to 80% (or more) when you expect to take a longer trip. For example: my shortest routine trip is 18 miles round trip with 300' of vertical gain outbound and 1000' of vertical gain homebound. It takes me roughly three fuel bars. So, for days when I am going to make that trip I charge enough to add about three fuel bars (roughly 1.5 hours at 240V/16A or 4.5 hours at 120V/12A). The idea behind this charging strategy is that the battery may last longer if kept in the 30% to 70% range.

If that's too much trouble because your LEAF use is unpredictable, just charge to 80%. If you need to make a long trip that will stretch the range, charge to 100% just before you leave. As you may be aware, leaving the LEAF at 100% charge for an extended period of time will reduce battery life. Don't do this. Learn to use the charge timers, setting end-time-only is particularly convenient for those who leave home at about the same time of day; you can adjust how much charge you get by setting the end time at or after you plan to leave.

FWIW, I hope this isn't too much to absorb for a new owner!

 

[DaveEV]

"Extra credit"

Simple tips for improving battery life:

1. Use the 80% long-life setting by setting up the charge timers. You can use a charge timer with the same start/end time since you're on L1.
2. If you need to drive more than about 50 miles, you probably will want to charge closer to 100%. You can do this by pressing the timer-override button to the left of the steering wheel. On L1 this will take about 4 hours to go from 80% to 100% so plan accordingly. On L2 this will take about 90 minutes.

dgp's suggestion to aim to keep the battery charge between 3-8 bars is good if you are looking to extract maximum life out of your battery. But as a new owner it may be more than you want to tackle at this point. The majority simply charge to 80% and then use the timer-override or tweak the charge timer to 100% as needed.

Charging to 80% also has the benefit of keeping full regenerative braking meaning that the beginning of your trip will be more efficient than if you charge to 100% - at 100% charge there is next to no regenerative braking which reduces efficiency.

 

[dgpcolorado]

The majority simply charge to 80% and then use the timer-override or tweak the charge timer to 100% as needed.

One advantage of the 80% charge first, then timer override, approach is that it can easily be used to add less than a full 100% charge by stopping charging after a predetermined time. That allows some room for regenerative braking and is a big deal for those of us who live on hills.

But, again, I guess that's getting too complicated for a new owner to deal with.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Welcome to the EV world. I sold Hyundai when they were brand new to the USA. They were pretty much just a Mitsubishi design then, and now seems to have turned into pretty good cars. I would have never guessed then (when our competition was Yugo at $3995, and we were at $4995).

I'm currently driving my second LEAF, after putting over 25,000 miles on the first one in a year. Like every car, you'll learn the quirks, but there are surprisingly few. Overall, it's well done. We are finding that cars in hot environments aren't handling the heat well, but you won't every have that problem in your part of the world. In cool Pacific Northwest weather, keeping the battery charged as close to the middle as is practical for you, should be the best you can do to care for the battery.

Oregon has an AWESOME quick charge network, and getting 6 more chargers soon. Hopefully, your car is equipped with that port. Ask your dealer, if you don't know. Then get the AeroVironment "fob" to operate those (currently free) chargers.

 

[cwerdna]

Oregon has an AWESOME quick charge network, and getting 6 more chargers soon. Hopefully, your car is equipped with that port. Ask your dealer, if you don't know. Then get the AeroVironment "fob" to operate those (currently free) chargers.

The OP's 1st post said "2012 Leaf SL", so unless her post about it being an SL's wrong, she's got the CHAdeMO QC port.

 

[Msquared]

Thanks for all the helpful information. I just got back from a camping trip today - we took the Xterra of course.

I will try the tips mentioned. My husband plans on taking the car to work occasionally, and I've made sure he knows about the 80% thing, since he plans on charging it while at work (his work has stations - yay!)

Drove it today and I'm still very happy with the performance. I get a few people who seem to want to tailgate me because they must think I'm slow (well, I have been driving it on Eco mostly) but overall I've taken to not caring because I just comfort myself with the fact I'm not using gas. That is a big change from my former self, who wouldn't be afraid to push pedal to the medal when someone was irritating me. :?

 

[Msquared]

Today I was making a left turn out of a parking lot and was waiting a long time for traffic. Black Leaf pulled up behind me. Lady driving it gave me thumbs-up and I gave her 'em back in return, lol.