Help! I have 3 days and 250 miles before I return my Leaf...

[Momofmnm]

Hello All...
I have been lurking and gathering info for a few weeks and I didn't want to post until I bought my used 2011 Leaf SL. Now, I wish I had posted earlier. A little background. Before my current job which is 47 miles one way, we were a one car family. My kids were little and I biked everywhere with them in a bike trailer. I added an electric wheel kit which I loved. That was 6 years ago. When I got my current job, I had to buy a car because there was no mass transit to get me to work. I love my job, hate the commute. I started looking into purchasing a Nissan Leaf and found this forum which had a ton of info. I read up on the range and thought I could charge to 80% at night, drive to work, trickle charge at work and then be able to drive home. perhaps I was naive or maybe I just need to learn how to effectively drive to get the max mileage. I found a car in Costa Mesa which is about 105 miles from my home. We bought the car yesterday and started the drive back late in the day. I had asked to charge to 100 for the drive back but the dealer only did 80. I had them do a check on the battery and they gave me a goofy looking paper saying I had twelve bars and everything was "very good" I was hopeful that we could make it to Oceanside to use the QC at Mossy Nissan but I was 5 miles past San Juan Capistrano before I looked down and realized that I might not make it to Oceanside so I turned around and did QC in SJC. My husband ended up taking over, charged it to 90 percent and then he barely made it to La Jolla. He drove 54 miles on that charge. He said he was cautious about speeding, (Shocking! as he has a lead foot) and kept it between 55-60 and tried to cruise downhill. The commute back from Costa Mesa is a lot hillier than my work commute and usually I am stuck in traffic for a good 45 minutes,mostly going anywhere from stop and go to 15-25mph with a fair bit of braking. For anyone who knows SD I would take the 54 to the 805 to the 15 to get to work in Escondido. It looks like if I kept the car I would have to stop off at a Nissan dealership to QC on the way home and at night charge to 100% but wouldn't that kill the battery? Is my morning commute even doable on one charge?I need to make my decision in the next three days and can't use more than 250 miles if I am going to return it so I can't drive it around too much to test it. This is range anxiety at it's worst. I REALLY want to keep this car if it's doable but with 10 hr work days and a long commute, I would like to see my family once in awhile instead of hanging out at charging stations. It was so disheartening yesterday to buy a new to me car and be so excited and then to realize we weren't going to make it home without several charges and then to think about having to return it. Am I being unrealistic? It's either lose 500 now or several thousand later if it doesn't work out and I resell it in a few months. Any way to make this work? Any input would be appreciated.

 

[RonDawg]

I take it by the mileage and time restrictions that you purchased the optional "second thoughts" coverage for used cars here in California.

47 miles one-way is an awful lot for a Leaf without reliable workplace charging, preferably 240 volt. 80% will NOT work for you unless you have 240 volt charging at home and work. Would it be possible for your husband to use the Leaf instead?

Although your car may show 12 bars, keep in mind that the car does not lose the first bar until around 85%. So your battery could be as low as 86% and still show all the bars.

Yes you have found out the hard way that speed kills...your range.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I'd be happy to put your LEAF on a "Gidmeter" and give you an assessment of the battery condition. At a minimum, it is 10-15% degraded from new.

I will be in downtown at the convention center for Plug In 2013 today, and I live in Poway.

Assuming 65mph down the freeway with no heater, your car has a range of 84 miles * 85% assumed capacity remaining from degradation = 71 miles range. That range will likely further decrease to 59 miles in the coming years. In addition, using the heater can still further substantially reduce the range.

There's no reason you can't drive 47 miles each way with careful driving and no heater. You will absolutely need to charge fully at work, and that will require 240 volt 20 amp service. Without that, this commute is "unable".

So, please get us that info fast! Make sure your employer has either a dedicated J1772 plug for you, -OR- has a 208/240 volt electrical outlet with 20 amp minimum capacity. Ideally, it would have an L6-20 receptacle for you to plug in to.

You'll want to have the charging cord that should be in the trunk modified to 240 volts / 16 amps at http://www.EVSEupgrade.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, about $300 (this will have an L6-20 plug for work charging). At home, you'll want to buy any of the multitude of 16 amp or greater charge stations ($500 and up).

The CRITICAL piece of data is what resources you have at work.

 

[Klayfish]

You're in very good hands with Ron and Tony, so listen to them. I'd just pose this question for you. As much as I love my LEAF and would love to see others have one, is the car really right for your needs?

47 miles each way without charging in between is unrealistic. A brand new LEAF probably could make it, if you had no heater on...and you'd arrive home on "fumes" every day. So as Tony said, the reality is that you'd be 100% reliant on the ability to charge at work or on your way home. What if the outlet at work broke, or was being used, or ??? Is that a risk you're willing to take? Only you can answer that question. Perhaps something like a Volt or Prius might be more suited to your needs?

 

[Momofmnm]

Thanks, for the prompt responses. Unfortunately, no 220 service at work. Only 110 so trickle charge is my only option. There is a fast charge blink station 1 mile away so theoretically I could use that but I didn't think that would be good to use daily. My husband could take the car but since my commute is so long, I need the "more reliable" car. Our other car is old and works but we don't know for how much longer. Hubs commute is close to home and his parents can help him out if he is in a bind since they live and work close also. Outlook not so good for my leaf.

 

[davewill]

Take it back. As much as I love my LEAF, it's not going to work for you. With 120v charging at work, if you stay plugged in for 8 hours, you're going to add about 32 miles of range. Given a likely range of 65 miles at freeway speeds for your degraded battery, that gives you 97 miles of range to work with...and your commute is 94 miles...and the battery isn't going to stop degrading. You'll be white knuckling your way home every night.

The only upside is that the QC is available for emergencies, but be aware that it's tricky depending on it. I assume you're talking about the Best Western Blink location. I've been backed up behind multiple cars waiting to charge there before...and Blink has not proven to be the most reliable company (or hardware), either.

It's just a no-go in my eyes.

 

[smkettner]

I don't think the fuel savings will offset the added stress running max range on a daily basis.
RAV4 EV would have the range you need but not the LEAF.

 

[Momofmnm]

Well, now we decided my husband who commutes a total of 32 miles per day will drive it. So much for my new wheels. I will just save my pennies for a different car. I guess my attempt for going green will have to wait. It sure is a nice car, wish it would have worked for me!

 

[Boourns]

^ That should work perfectly for him. That is about my commute, and I go from 80% to 40% or so daily round trip without charging at work.

It's too bad it didn't work out for you, but perhaps with the next gen (or possible later version of this generation) you may be able to make the switch.

 

[smkettner]

Well, now we decided my husband who commutes a total of 32 miles per day will drive it. So much for my new wheels. I will just save my pennies for a different car. I guess my attempt for going green will have to wait. It sure is a nice car, wish it would have worked for me!

If you are keeping the car... give it a go as long as you have 120v charging at work. Even one day a week would be fun.
Might actually work out for a while before you run out of range.

 

[tcherniaev]

Realistically, most people stay at work 9+hours (including lunch time), so if you can charge on L1 for 9 hours you should be back up to 80-90% by the time you head home. And don't worry about charging it to 100%, it is not going to kill the battery.

Your commute should look something like this: start with 100% in the morning, down to 30% at work, back up to 80%+ for commute home, down to 10-15% by the time you get home. Not a lot of reserve, but if you can get used to this it should be doable.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Well, no 240 volt at work, I would take the car back as planned or use plan B of having your hubby drive it a shorter 32 mile distance. I would not consider a singular DC charge point with so many potential reasons for it to not be available for daily transport, and Blink stations are the absolute worst.

Driving 94 miles a day minimum multiplied by 22 days per month is over 2000 miles per month. The perfect car for you is the unlimited mileage lease Toyota Rav4 EV. Driving a 25 mpg oil burning car will consume 80 gallons per month equals $320 just in gasoline, plus oil changes, smog checks, camshaft belts, and other maintenance of an old car.

The Rav4 EV comes with all service included and you never buy gasoline. It can easily make this trip, with about 142 miles of range at 65mph when the car is new.

Dianne up at Carson Toyota will hook you up with this deal (she sells 70% of ALL Toyota Rav4 EVs sold!):

$48999 selling price + $80 doc + $7 CA tire fee. Toyota Financial Services (TFS) $650 bank fee.
The TFS's $14,000 is applied against the lease, therefore 0 - Z E R O - 0 cash needed from you.
At 12K annual, 35 more months at $479-487 + tax a month depending on your own county of residence.
Residual $20418.

UNLIMITED MILEAGE LEASE, same selling costs, residual drops to $19422.
35 more months at:

$507-515 + tax

per month depending on your own county of residence.

 

[stjohnh]

One other possibility, seeing as you are keeping the Leaf, and you have 120 volts at work, might be to get a box that converts two 120 volt outlets to 240volts.

http://www.quick220.com/220_catalog/20-ampere-systems-locking.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

$220. You want the one with the two adapter cords. Item # P-103.

This may work if there are multiple 120 volt outlets at work. It is "messier" than just using the portable "charger" (actually EVSE) that comes with the car, but if you really are motivated, this could solve the problem of not having 240 volts at work. Note: if you go this route, be sure the EVSE that you get upgraded to 240 volts is set up with the L6-20 plug (not the L6-30 plug).

 

[goaliepride]

I'd second looking into a quick 220. Also you can ask your work if they'd be willing to put in a 220. One other is, are there any 220 chargers NEAR your work? If there's one that's a 10 minute walk that might be nice.

 

[adric22]

I'm also in the camp that says the Leaf is probably not the right car for this situation. Not that the Leaf can't work but the sacrifices involved are beyond what most people are willing to tolerate. I usually recommend the Leaf to people with less than a 45 mile round trip. Keep in mind when it gets really cold or really hot outside, things will be even worse than they are now.

 

[stjohnh]

One other is, are there any 220 chargers NEAR your work? If there's one that's a 10 minute walk that might be nice.

That is possible as well. Plugshare shows about 10 public charge stations in Chula Vista, though that would eat up some of the fuel savings.

 

[ksnogas2112]

Just a side note, I have a 2012 Leaf with almost 18k miles and all 12 bars showing. Monday I charged to 100% to run to KU. I was able to make the round trip 74 miles on a single charge and hit very low battery on the way back. I ran 70mph out and 55 back with 3 passengers. You CAN make a 94 mile round charging 100% and trickle for 8 hours at the office if you don't move the car over lunch and don't run any errands at work or immediately when you get home and don't find yourself with more "normal" degradation than you can accept next year.....i think that puts me agreeing with the guys who say this just isn't the right car for you at this time if by only a small margin but that margin is a very annoying one to stress with daily for 3 years.

 

[DaveEV]

Just a side note, I have a 2012 Leaf with almost 18k miles and all 12 bars showing. Monday I charged to 100% to run to KU. I was able to make the round trip 74 miles on a single charge and hit very low battery on the way back. I ran 70mph out and 55 back with 3 passengers.

I have a '11 LEAF w/22k miles and 11 bars showing (just lost the 12th bar). Charged to 100% twice this weekend. Drove about 55 miles before LBW each time with mostly freeway driving at 65 mph.

 

[Momofmnm]

The voices of experience are definitely booming loud and clear in my ear. Hubs is having a ton of fun with the Leaf. I looked into the quick220 but there is only one outlet at work. I think in the long run he is the better driver for the car. Thanks to to Ron for suggesting my husband drive it because we didn't even consider him to be the driver. We were just ready to return it. I guess I can drive it on the weekends. I will look into the Rav 4 for my next car.

 

[Navin]

With a 10 hour workday if you charge all day you'll be very close to 100 percent for the ride home which should be no problem. I would try it a few times to see how it works out--you'll definitely save a lot of gas!