ICEless in Seattle : Official Pacific NorthWest thread

[LECTRFY]

Okay Seattle area LEAFers, I need a little encouragement. I'm tentatively scheduled to go pick up a leased LEAF tomorrow but am getting some last-minute jitters. Im asking myself, Do I really want to get into all this? Main concern is range anxiety of course. My wife and daughter will probably use the car more during the week than I will so my worst-case scenario envisions them with a dead battery on the side of the freeway and me wondering what the heck I was thinking.

So to you folks on the other side of this decision, anything you can say to ease my mind (or confirm my fears, as the case may be) would be appreciated.

Also, if you did lease, did you do 2 or 3 years? I'm leaning toward 2 but it's a bit more expensive...

Thanks!

For someone who has doubts about owning a Leaf I would say the following things:

1) Lease it - 3 years is probably best as the battery will degrade enough by then; you won't want to deal with it after that. We are going into our 3rd year of owning and starting to see the battery range deteriorate. I'm not looking forward to having to use up all of those fuel savings dollars on a new $5,000-$10,000 battery in 6 or 7 more years.

2) It is NOT like a normal car so if you want a normal car that you don't have to think about it, don't get one. You have to constantly plan out your driving. You have to think about how much battery you have left and what you will be using the car for during the day. Also, don't believe the "guess-o-meter" miles left. It's useless. Go by the number of battery bars left.

3) It depends on how much you drive it per day. Every weekday my wife drives to and from work (45 miles RT) and we run a few errands after work from time to time. That's 90% of our driving with it. It works great for that ($1-$1.50 per day in electricity costs). If we have to plan a trip to downtown Seattle after she gets home, we either make sure we charge it to 100% the night before and/or she comes home early from work to plug-in for an hour or two before we make the trip.

4) You can't rely on the DC fast chargers...PERIOD! It's not like if the gas station is out of gas you can go across the street to another station. There's only a few of them. If the DC fast charger on Snoqualmie Pass is broken, you have 3 choices....A) Get a room for the night B) Call a tow truck C) Coast down the hill as far as you can :lol: (P.S. How would the ICE drivers like it if I parked at their gas station to go into the store for a few minutes?! :evil: )

5) The weather REALLY affects what you can and can't do in a Leaf. The heater and defrost takes up an unmentionable amount of energy and the darn thing isn't sealed well so there is a ton of moisture in the car constantly. Don't think you are going to drive it off the lot on Monday and are going to be able to drive 100 miles per day. ...(I used it the other week while my wife was on a business trip. I charged it to 80%...I went on several 1 and 2 mile trips during the week for a total of 14 miles while using 8 battery bars and having to recharge at the end of the week)

All in all, we LOVE our Leaf. However, we know we are EV guinea pigs on the starting edge of what we hope is a long term trend for the future. We also know it is going to cost us much more time, effort, and dollars in the end than if we had purchased another petrol-based car. However, we were willing to make that decision based on the fact of the positives we see in EVs (lower fuel cost, lower air pollution, lower sound pollution, less dependence on foreign oil, etc..). If those things matter to you, you will get an EV too. If not, then I'm not sure what the up side for you would be.

 

[WetEV]

Okay Seattle area LEAFers, I need a little encouragement. I'm tentatively scheduled to go pick up a leased LEAF tomorrow but am getting some last-minute jitters. Im asking myself, Do I really want to get into all this? Main concern is range anxiety of course. My wife and daughter will probably use the car more during the week than I will so my worst-case scenario envisions them with a dead battery on the side of the freeway and me wondering what the heck I was thinking.

So to you folks on the other side of this decision, anything you can say to ease my mind (or confirm my fears, as the case may be) would be appreciated.

Also, if you did lease, did you do 2 or 3 years? I'm leaning toward 2 but it's a bit more expensive...

Thanks!

Range anxiety, as far as I've seen, usually eases with time. It is replaced with automatic and quick calculations about range: "I've got 5 bars of battery and it takes 3 for a round trip to Blah Blah... No sweat." Or "I have 3 bars of battery and it will take about 3 bars, so I don't go, until perhaps charging for a bit."

I bought, and so far (year and a half) I'm happy I bought. The car is fun to drive, instant on torque, roomy, reasonable economics in Seattle. Lease if you are nervous about it, of course.

 

[QueenBee]

Okay Seattle area LEAFers, I need a little encouragement. I'm tentatively scheduled to go pick up a leased LEAF tomorrow but am getting some last-minute jitters. Im asking myself, Do I really want to get into all this? Main concern is range anxiety of course. My wife and daughter will probably use the car more during the week than I will so my worst-case scenario envisions them with a dead battery on the side of the freeway and me wondering what the heck I was thinking.

So to you folks on the other side of this decision, anything you can say to ease my mind (or confirm my fears, as the case may be) would be appreciated.

Also, if you did lease, did you do 2 or 3 years? I'm leaning toward 2 but it's a bit more expensive...

Thanks!

If you are feeling uneasy about this decision I would highly recommend you postpone picking it up tomorrow until you've addressed your concerns. I'd also recommend the local FaceBook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/seattlenissanleaf/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

How many miles is the commute of your wife/daughter? What's your plan for charging at home?

Which model did you get? Does it have the quick charge port?

If you want to meet up with someone who's been driving one for 2.5 years and has ~23,000 miles feel free to PM me, I'm in Bellevue.

 

[TonyAndTina]

Man... Seattle or PNW really deserve it's own forum on this board. This thread is HUGE!

After 10 days of ownership, we finally took a long, multi-stop trip today. The Wife has been commuting on the Leaf this past week. It does the job nicely with her 46 mile round trip commute (50 with errands). She is still a bit nervous with the Leaf's range, despite the fact that her commute is well within the GOM's estimate. So today I took us on a trip, well outside of her comfort zone, just to show her what the car is capable of. Hopefully, she can ease her range-anxiety.

2013 Leaf SL
Total Trip, 104 miles, 95% Freeway, Heat on, 2 adults and 1 kid
Typical PNW fall weather - high 40s, low 50s, a little rain

Start: Kent, WA. 80% charge
Stop 1: Woodinville Costco, Shopping
Stop 2: Woodinville Center, Shopping
Stop 3: Nissan of Eastside. 46 miles. Avg. HWY speed of 60mph.

On the way to Eastside Nissan, the Wife was already concerned that we may not make it here. I was down to 20% charge and 17 miles on the GOM. She breathe a big sigh of relief when we arrived. Well, there is still more to come.

First time using Blink L3. It was easy to use. Back up to 80% in less than 20 minutes. In hind sight, I should have charged it all the way to 100%. A lesson learned on my part. We were able to go inside of the dealership for some free latte. NICE!

Start: Nissan of Eastside. 80% charge
Stop 4: Downtown Tacoma. 37 miles. Late for a lunch with friends. Avg. HWY speed of 65mph
Stop 5: Nissan of Fife. need to do some warranty work on the Leaf. Charged with L2 for 30 minutes to pick up a little extra range. Should have charged 100% in Bellevue. :\
Stop 6: back home in Kent. 26 miles. avg hwy speed of 60

On the way home, the wife was really freaking out, watching the Nav like a hawk. We live on the Easthill so the big climb in the end will be a doozy. I showed her how the Nav works, the grey and white circle thingy, and all the charging stations along the way. Plus we had plenty of charge left so there really wasn't anything to be concerned with. She seemed to agree.

In the end, we got home with 10% charge remain and 8 miles on the GOM. The Leaf did great. The wife is now a bit more at ease. Good day.

 

[TLeaf]

Even after 34 months of ownership, my GF is still incredibly nervous about the LEAF's range. Lines like "why do you want to scare me?" and "you get to push it when it stops" usually follow any mention of using the LEAF outside of my normal commute routine. That said, it's never let me down once!

Congrats on a good run-around. You might find the same trip harder to do in 3 years, but then again, hopefully there will be many more chargers by then..

 

[Turnover]

I push our Leaf to see what it can do. If you are going to travel long distances and hit the QC stations, its going to take about twice as long as an ICE. For example Vancouver, WA to Harrison Hot Springs took 13 hours recently ... double the normal time. Geography can work for you or against you. Flat lands such as from Bellingham to Harrison HS work for you especially if you can take a parallel road to the freeways. Some steep terrain works better others in regeneration. For example up Mt. St. Helens from the Castle Rock QC you can get to the Forest Learning Center, but have trouble returning to Castle Rock as the grades go up and down on the way back so much that the regen kind of fizzles.... On the other hand going up Mt. Hood and returning to Portland directly or via the loop down to Hood River works quite well. Going over the Coast Range between the Willamette Valley and Tillamook or Cannon Beech is not overly exciting- but with the choices of QC stations in Oregon its much different that similar trips in Washington over the Cascades.

I live by PlugShare no matter where I go. Get familiar with the charger choices in your area by visiting them in your free time. That way you are less likely to panic when things get tight. Also, try to do your charging in places you want to be - The Tacoma Market in Fife is nice and so is the Grande Ronde Spirit Mountain Buffet. The Tumwater Shell Station might not turn your crank after you are caffeine out.

I probably have a little more time that most to experiment as we are retired. It also helps to live across the river from Portland as Oregon has a lot of charging facilities ... many still free and most well kept up.

 

[njb27]

Hi all -

Thanks for your feedback awhile back. We've decided to wait on the LEAF for the time being, but I just wanted to mention for anyone who's looking that I did quite a bit of hunting around and Advantage Nissan over in Bremerton had the best deal I was able to find. At the time, I was looking at $249/mo for 36 mos, $0 down, $0 out the door for S + charge package. Since then, I've seen their base S deal (without charge package) get better - it's now $199/mo, $0 down (it says $229/mo on the website, but got an email from them saying it was $199/mo) - so maybe the S + charge package deal could be better too.

Of course, the offers change all the time, so no guarantees this would be available, but always worth a try. If you're interested, Adam Green is the person to ask for, he's the EV specialist over there. (And no, I don't work for Advantage Nissan. Adam just did a great job and the deal seemed to be the best around, so thought I'd spread the word.)

Cheers!

 

[garygid]

Any LEAF Gatherings for owners and the interested?

If they really happening, are they burried in this thread?

I have an inquiry from a new owner who would like
to meet with, and chat with other owners.

If there are meetings happening, maybe someone
up there should become "meeting captain" and start
a "Seattle Area LEAF Gathering" thread?

Anybody in the Seattle area want to meet for breakfast
at the Old Country Buffet on Saturday 14 Dec, 2013?

Meet around 8 AM, and chat until around 11 AM
while the crowds go shopping?

4022 FACTORIA MALL SE
98006 BELLEVUE, WA (425) 644-5499

East of Seattle, Washington via I90, just East of I405.
The mall is just south of I90, it seems.

Hours:
Sat 8:00 AM - 8:30 PM
Sun 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM

We have been LEAF Gathering for almost 3.5 years,
with 2 Gatherings each month, at two different
locations. We have become a family of friends.

 

[Drivesolo]

I'm not really a fan of buffets, but I'd be down for a meeting to do a couple of sessions at K1 in Redmond. EV owners... driving electric go-karts... get it?

 

[ebill3]

I'll pass on Bellevue on a Saturday shortly before Christmas. I'm wimpy, I guess.

 

[QueenBee]

I've been to a couple local meetups. Not too much activity on this thread though. I recommend any Seattle area LEAF owner to join our FaceBook group which has a lot more activity. https://www.facebook.com/groups/seattlenissanleaf/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Looks like the next meetup is https://www.facebook.com/events/571305799606637/?ref=3&ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And there was a meetup this evening.

SEVA also has regularly meetings.

 

[garygid]

Thanks for the links.
Finding meeting info in 1600 plus posts in this thread
is difficult. Finding the Facebook info might be
difficult for many, especially older non-Facebook owners
and prospective owners.

Suggestion: Start a Seattle Area EV Happenings thread
here, where there are over 10,000 members who might
be visiting your area, and post at least a notice of each
"happening", with links of where the find more info,
and possibly a contact person for the event.

Glad to see that you are active.
Cheers, Gary

 

[QueenBee]

Suggestion: Start a Seattle Area EV Happenings thread

I'd actually really appreciate a Washington sub forum. Pacific is pretty broad hence why there is once giant thread.

 

[GaslessInSeattle]

This is a heads up for North Seattle/Shoreline/Edmonds EV owners, the PCC Edmonds WA Chargepoint is now free! turns out the fee was lifted back in 2012, after use had dropped off. I've been in contact with PCC about expanding charging stations and they tell me that due to an utter lack of use of this pilot project charger, they are not compelled to expand EV charging at other stores. I told them that fee based public charging for L2 had proven a failure and that they should drop the $2 hr fee. I was surprised to hear that happened a while back, with no communication to patrons. So, folks, if you shop at PCC or want to show patronage to businesses that support charging infrastructure, lets get that stall filled with EV's as much as possible so they consider adding more at other stores!

 

[LECTRFY]

Finding the Facebook info might be difficult for many, especially older non-Facebook owners and prospective owners.

Hey, I resemble that remark!

But seriously, I don't have a Facebook account and don't want one, but I can see lots of public Facebook pages. Is the information stored on this (https://www.facebook.com/groups/seattlenissanleaf/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false Facebook page so secretive that it requires a login? Is it possible to change it to a public profile so others without an account can see it?

 

[nosuchthing]

GO NINERS !

 

[doug401]

GO NINERS !

Oh yeah... it's on. I've been spending too much time on the sleepy Rav4Ev site wanting to start something with all those Bay area Ev'er. Lets face it... the 2 best teams in the NFL will be in Seattle Sunday, and this match up has the potential to be the greatest Seahawk game of all time, but only due too how good the 49er's are. I really didn't want to face the Niners again honestly, and thought the Saints would be the toughest team on the road to Stuperbowl. So hear we are... the moment of truth. "Montana to Rice"..."Touchdown"... those days are sadly gone.

Friendly wager... loser licks a live J1772 plug
Let's touch base after the game

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Finding the Facebook info might be difficult for many, especially older non-Facebook owners and prospective owners.

Hey, I resemble that remark!

But seriously, I don't have a Facebook account and don't want one, but I can see lots of public Facebook pages. Is the information stored on this (https://www.facebook.com/groups/seattlenissanleaf/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false Facebook page so secretive that it requires a login? Is it possible to change it to a public profile so others without an account can see it?

to answer your question;

GO HAWKS!!

actually no you cannot see a facebook page unless you have a log in whether the page is public or not. (it is)

 

[nosuchthing]

So hear we are... the moment of truth.

I like that hear we are part... I wish you Hawk fans stopped with all that noise and instead raptly watched Kaepernick pull a few Houdinis on ya... On the way to the Bowl, that is. :lol:

But seriously. It's gonna give me butterflies in the stomach. I'm hoping it won't. Like when it's 6 minutes remaining in the 4th and we're 2-3 possessions on top of ya. I'll be definitely relaxin' then.

Of course than at the SuperBowl it's gonna be the same s***t Kap pulled off in the last minute and 6 yards out. So it ain't over until then. But our offense has gelled by now and it's doing great.

Good game!

 

[LECTRFY]

actually no you cannot see a facebook page unless you have a log in whether the page is public or not. (it is)

Hmmmm. I researched this a little more and think you are correct. Facebook "group" pages are not viewable without a Facebook account. Even though the Facebook help page says that "Open" privacy settings allow "Anyone" the ability to see anything. I guess their idea of "Anyone" is only those that succumb to their world...."resistance is futile"...

I can see many public Facebook pages without a Facebook account, but I guess these are not classified as a "group" account. If the privacy setting is already set at "Open" then is there any way the "SeattleNissanLeaf" Facebook page could be reclassified to a different type of Facebook page that allows non-Facebook users the ability to see what is going on?