Leaf owners: What ONE thing do you most dislike about it?

[DeaneG]

Only think so far for me is that the rear camera seems to collect rain drips and becomes unusable in the wet. Our Lexus has a sharp lip above the camera which mostly keeps the raindrops away. Maybe I'll make a small shield next fall.

Oh, and those runty sunvisors.

Other than that, I know it's no Maserati and I don't expect it to drive like one (and for my commute, I don't want it to)!

 

[GeorgeParrott]

@EVnow and garygid

RE: Maps

I checked directly with Navteq, including actually talking to one of their "managers." Navteq maps ARE current and detailed. Nissan is about 5 years BEHIND in translating what Navteq supplies them into actual vehicle software, at least for my neighborhood.

We have lived here in West Sacramento for 3.5 years, and this neighborhood has been populated for 5 years, BUT none of these streets are in the Nissan Leaf software, nor in any other Nissan software, as I also went to one of our area Nissan dealers and checked with a new Murano on the showroom floor.

Our 2011 Chevy Volt has all these streets, but sightseeing in Vacaville for possible relocation options, we found even the Volt software was missing some of the new developments over there, HOWEVER when we called GM "Onstar" they downloaded the new streets directly to our Volt in about three minutes, while we waited !!!!!

 

[GeorgeParrott]

NonLinear range estimate reduction

We find that often in the first .5 mile, our Leaf drops 6-8 miles of estimated range for the garage startup display. By the time we drive another 2 miles, we have seen upwards of 5 miles disappear. On Freeway driving, the range remaining can drop as much as 2 miles for every actual mile above 60 mph....

This is very disconcerting, at the least.

The "lack of currency" in the GPS software should be an embarrassment to Nissan, and the really "weak" to put it mildly "Leaf Customer Service" when we actually try to get support or further information should be an even greater embarrassment, IMHO, particularly compared to the much greater attention and support available via OnStar with the Chevy Volt.

 

[perpetualstudent]

That I can't rely on my EVSE (Blink) to actually charge the car, but I suspect that the problem will be worked out eventually. I agree on the NavTeq issues. I was trying to find the best way to the International Rose Garden (it's been there since 1908) and it wasn't in the database. But I could see matches in Seattle, California, and Arizona (all well out of vehicle range).

Other than that my only major complaint is that my wife has the longer commute and so she is always taking the Leaf and I only get to drive it on days she is not working

 

[twingo]

Not knowing about the 100% vs. 80% charging rule prior to purchase day....then not having the ability to charge at 90% which would be perfect for my 60 mile commute.

Pardon my ignorance, but what is this rule?

There are a few threads on this, but in a nutshell that the battery will degrade faster at 100% charging vs. 80% charging, so Nissan recommends you charge at 80%. The difference between the two is unknown. I would love to have user control on the percentage of charge so these are not our only two options.

Sounds like 80 and 100 are selectable then. If so, yes it would be nice to be able to fine tune beyond those choices.

 

[friendnumber1]

The Headrest angle.

I like to have my seat upright rather than slightly reclined, and if the seat is upright, your head is forced forward by the rediculous angle on the headrest.

Adjustable would be nice, but the easy fix is to turn the headrest around. That means I can't adjust the height but no matter, at least it isn't pushing my neck out of whack.

The light interior and cloth seats and arm rests are pretty lame if you have kids, or do anything other than work in a clean-room.

And it would be nice if the USB port were in the Glove box so that you didn't have to unplug your ipod everytime you park.

Oops, I guess that was more than One thing.

It's the headrest.

 

[malloryk]

I'm a two week owner, and my pet peeve is the cold air that comes out of the fan when you turn on the heater. There needs to be a way to get the heater warmed up before turning on the fans! I know, someone will tell me I should pre-heat. But I never know quite what time I finish at night, so a pre-set just isn't working.

I have tried to start pre-heating 10 or 15 minutes before I leave (using the website). That works well.

I agree with Linda. It's embarassing when you have people in the car. I went to lunch last week on a cold and rainy day with a couple coworkers. I didn't preheat because my car isn't plugged it at work. I could tell my chilly coworker in the passenger seat wasn't impressed with the cold blast of air on her legs when I turned the heater on.

 

[davewill]

...Other than that my only major complaint is that my wife has the longer commute and so she is always taking the Leaf and I only get to drive it on days she is not working

That's what happened to "my" Prius. Her commute is 30 miles RT plus driving kids around, mine is more like 6. She had insisted on getting an SUV because she could see better and we had three kids to haul around, but when gas hit $5 on the last round, she got religion on MPG, and started to drive the Prius, leaving me driving solo in a Honda Pilot I had tried and tried to talk her out of buying. I electrified my bicycle, to try and avoid the SUV, but that doesn't really work as an everyday choice for me, I probably use it about 30-40 days a year. I put less than 10,000 miles a year on my car (to be fair, I drive "her" Prius whenever it's available). I swear that Pilot drinks a gallon just to start the engine. Anyway, I have no intention of letting the Leaf out of my hands.

 

[evnow]

I didn't preheat because my car isn't plugged it at work. I could tell my chilly coworker in the passenger seat wasn't impressed with the cold blast of air on her legs when I turned the heater on.

You don't need it to be plugged in to pre-heat. This is how I pre-heat when going home from work.

 

[evnow]

Interesting update on the issue - what does Nissan say about it ?

BTW, our development which is more than 5 year old still confounds some GPS - infact the mapping s/w sends them to a different part of the town (replace SouthEast with NorthEast !). We were not showing up in any map software until a couple of years back.

 

[malloryk]

I didn't preheat because my car isn't plugged it at work. I could tell my chilly coworker in the passenger seat wasn't impressed with the cold blast of air on her legs when I turned the heater on.

You don't need it to be plugged in to pre-heat. This is how I pre-heat when going home from work.

Yes, I realize that. I don't like to do it when I'm not plugged in though because it uses up a lot of charge and I had other trips to make later in the day.

 

[corwin]

Well I've only had mine for less than 24 hours, but by far it's the plastic odor. Seriously, I can hardly breathe in the car when I first get in it. Once I get the outside air moving through it is tolerable. I'm guessing that since no one else is bitching about this, that the plastic interior calms down after a few weeks.

And I was so looking forward to that "new car small"...

 

[kolmstead]

It does get better. I had the same reaction. I climbed in and thought "Man, does this car STINK!". Kind of a used motor oil smell, totally inappropriate for an EV.

Now, two months and 2000 miles later, it's just a new car smell; not particularly annoying. I figure after sitting outside at 110 degrees all summer while I'm at work, all the volatiles will be long gone. Important to keep a couple of windows down so that the chemicals can escape.

-Karl

 

[GeorgeParrott]

@EVNOW

When I have talked to Nissan, even as recently as yesterday....the "Leaf customer service" has no information and the Leaf service person at the local dealership I checked directly with also had no idea when a software update for the whole Nissan GPS line would occur.

For me, so far, Nissan corporate "customer service" simply doesn't exist as service, but functions simply to waste my time.

8 - (

 

[malloryk]

It does get better. I had the same reaction. I climbed in and thought "Man, does this car STINK!". Kind of a used motor oil smell, totally inappropriate for an EV.

Now, two months and 2000 miles later, it's just a new car smell; not particularly annoying. I figure after sitting outside at 110 degrees all summer while I'm at work, all the volatiles will be long gone. Important to keep a couple of windows down so that the chemicals can escape.

-Karl

oh, yes. I forgot about this. Tis true. It's a smelly car upon delivery, but now doesn't smell as bad. Reminds me of Phoebe's song on Friends about Smelly Cat..... Smelly car, smelly car, it's not your fault!!

 

[Ready2plugin]

oh, yes. I forgot about this. Tis true. It's a smelly car upon delivery, but now doesn't smell as bad. Reminds me of Phoebe's song on Friends about Smelly Cat..... Smelly car, smelly car, it's not your fault!!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[LindaK]

I have tried to start pre-heating 10 or 15 minutes before I leave (using the website). That works well.

Thanks evnow.... I'll try it. Now if I can just use my phone 15 minutes before rehearsal ends without getting caught by the conductor!

 

[evnow]

Thanks evnow.... I'll try it. Now if I can just use my phone 15 minutes before rehearsal ends without getting caught by the conductor!

You can also schedule it ad-hoc (say, if you get time to do this even an hour before your departure ...).

 

[DeaneG]

Funny thing - When you ask the car to precondition (fixed at 74 degrees), and have the dashboard climate control set for 70 degrees, you are telling the car to preheat to 74 then immediately spend energy cooling back to 70 as you drive away.

 

[TomT]

My PD referred to it as "New, recycled car smell" when I picked it up. It pretty much goes way after a few weeks... It also leaves a nice film on the windshield if left in the sun during the first month or so...

Well I've only had mine for less than 24 hours, but by far it's the plastic odor. Seriously, I can hardly breathe in the car when I first get in it. Once I get the outside air moving through it is tolerable. I'm guessing that since no one else is bitching about this, that the plastic interior calms down after a few weeks.

And I was so looking forward to that "new car small"...