What I learned in 2 years with a Leaf

[thankyouOB]

my iPhone connects to the blue tooth every time--automatically when i start the car. it is often connected before i can hit the I DO button.
not sure what is happening in your car.

 

[cgaydos]

my iPhone connects to the blue tooth every time--automatically when i start the car. it is often connected before i can hit the I DO button.
not sure what is happening in your car.

If you have multiple bluetooth drivers it won't automatically select whoever is there - it will look for the last bluetooth phone and if not there will give up until you intervene.

 

[megalo]

my iPhone connects to the blue tooth every time--automatically when i start the car. it is often connected before i can hit the I DO button.
not sure what is happening in your car.

If you have multiple bluetooth drivers it won't automatically select whoever is there - it will look for the last bluetooth phone and if not there will give up until you intervene.

Same here. It's not a good design.

 

[cgaydos]

When I first got the LEAF I got shocked every time I got out - but no one else in the family did. Eventually the electroshock therapy worked. I subconsciously learned to get a foot on the ground before touching the metal.

 

[TimLee]

When I first got the LEAF I got shocked every time I got out - but no one else in the family did. Eventually the electroshock therapy worked. I subconsciously learned to get a foot on the ground before touching the metal.

Just getting foot on the ground doesn't solve the problem for me.
I've managed to be already out of the car standing in the garage with two feet on the ground, and then get a significant shock while closing the door.
It does seem to vary a lot between different people. Maybe the clothing they're wearing?
I'm going to try the grounding strap. Just a matter of locating place to mount it that is far enough up under the car that people won't always be asking about it, and getting it electrically tied to the chassis.
Does anyone know if some of the plastic bottom cover retaining bolts screw into the battery metal frame?

 

[UkrainianKozak]

I think the best way to attach this grounding strip is to tie it to the metal tow hook (or whatever it is called, the thing you supposed to use to yank the car from the ditch)
It is a metal part coming out of plastic cover on the right side behind the rear bumper.
It is electrically connected to the body, so it is the perfect place to attach the grounding strip:

http://i565.photobucket.com/albums/ss92/TonyWilliams/Nissan%20LEAF/IMG_0669.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The screws that hold plastic cover are usually attached to another plastic pieces, especially at the very rear - they are just hooked into plastic bumper cover.

 

[rumpole]

my iPhone connects to the blue tooth every time--automatically when i start the car. it is often connected before i can hit the I DO button.
not sure what is happening in your car.

If you have multiple bluetooth drivers it won't automatically select whoever is there - it will look for the last bluetooth phone and if not there will give up until you intervene.

Same here. It's not a good design.

Exactly. If you have only one device it's great. Including the fact that what you're listening to automatically gets paused when you turn off the car, and restarted when you start again. That's really nice. But with several devices, it's a pain...

 

[ebill3]

Thing that annoy me:
-I can never quite get comfortable in the seat, for some reason.

Likewise. That is, until I read and implemented this mod:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=9051

Made a world of difference for me.

 

[greenleaf]

my iPhone connects to the blue tooth every time--automatically when i start the car. it is often connected before i can hit the I DO button.
not sure what is happening in your car.

If you have multiple bluetooth drivers it won't automatically select whoever is there - it will look for the last bluetooth phone and if not there will give up until you intervene.

Same here. It's not a good design.

I too am disappointed with this implementation.

On my other vehicles (Toyotas), the bluetooth will connect to a previously-paired device; it need not be the last one.

 

[thehelix112]

Yeah that's really annoying. Thankfully my wife's phone will autopair, so it keeps her happy.

Dave

 

[Deleted member 3147]

3) I will not buy another car that shocks me every time I get out. Makes you wonder why they stopped there; why not add a poke with a sharp stick as well.

Very strange. I live ~8 miles from you in San Jose, so same climate, and I can't think of one time I've been shocked getting out of my Leaf in the 1.5 years of ownership.

Maybe the type of clothing you wear?

 

[Luft]

There are probably many out there -- here is one : http://www.amazon.com/Mitzer-Vehicle-Ground-Strap/dp/B0005I3F0O" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

From the product description: "... this type of discharge causes serious injury when it occurs at the gas pump. Every year, this seemingly innocent spark occurs at the wrong place and the wrong time: igniting gasoline vapors while fueling the vehicle."
I must now rush out and buy one so I can safely hang out at gas pumps! :lol:

 

[TomT]

Marketing hyperbole. As Mythbusters proved, it is actually very difficult to get gasoline vapors to explode or even combust under such conditions...

[From the product description: "... this type of discharge causes serious injury when it occurs at the gas pump. Every year, this seemingly innocent spark occurs at the wrong place and the wrong time: igniting gasoline vapors while fueling the vehicle."
I must now rush out and buy one so I can safely hang out at gas pumps! :lol:

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I really considered not participating in this thread because of what I have to say but the one real thing I learned after driving the LEAF is that Nissan pretty much did everything the best way they could. Not saying they did it the "right" way. No one has done that yet. Right now, the various EV manufacturers are all going in different directions.

Leading; They were the first to market for a mass produced car with wide distribution. They are also pushing the envelop and driving prices down with attractive lease rates. Cant help but think that if Nissan had not cut prices and lease rates, none one else would have either.

Environmentally Friendly; well, its electric and ya, those recycled floor mats dont take long to look pretty ragged and my car takes a lot of abuse in that department. They lost their "new, unfettered" look very quickly but have seemed to have settled down into a "well-worn" look. At first, I kinda thought they would deteriorate into dust after a few years. That has not happened.

Affordable It doesnt have a big battery. it does not have TMS, it does have a lot of plastic. But it is affordable. Instead of a big battery, they put in Chademo. I am lucky in two ways. for the first 22 months of my lease, I only used up 24,000 of my 45,000 mile lease. I worked locally, so drove locally. We shifted as much driving to the LEAF as was possible but it just was not that convenient for some of the trips we normally make. Then I got this temporary job that requires constant travel. Granted most of it is in company vehicles but I drive the LEAF to many jobs now. All this has become possible from the addition of public charging, namely fast charging. The gasser in the family has only made 2 family trips in the past 8 months. Without fast charging, many of those trips would not have been in the LEAF. The family simply wouldnt have tolerated it. I quickly realized that an EV that would have worked for us would have been one I could not afford.
I see a lot of complaints about why Nissan didnt do this and that but I for am grateful. I am not poor by any means. I just have a lot of financial demands. My transportation budget could not afford a bigger battery.

Family See above. My SO and Son's birthday are the 4th and 5th of April. We all took off work. Drove to Seattle. Visited the Pacific Science Center. Saw a laser show, ate pathetically rich food at the Cheesecake Factory and had a great time. Our transportation cost was VERY high (parking was over $40 for 3 different parking lots) but we got there on free electricity, refueled on free electricity so $18 in gas was not part of the equation.

For 20+ years, I had a truck. felt like it should be an essential part of anyone's transportation repertoire and it was used. I found things to haul in it. But got rid of the truck about 3 years ago. Now, I haul stuff in the LEAF...or on the LEAF. It is not an inconvenience. Its a challenge, a fun challenge.

I think after two years, I no longer look forward to mapping out 100+ mile trips anymore. It has become routine. But driving electric still gets my heart pumping.

Sometimes when the adrenaline is not as high as it normally is, I take a drive in the gasser (I am the ONLY person who takes it to the gas station which has dropped to every 28-32 days) and it only takes a minute (a long tortuous one!) for me to realize that after two years I still have not fully learned just how cool driving electric is!

 

[TimLee]

+1 Dave. Excellent summary.
Like many, I may gripe a bit about the few rough spots of the 2011 LEAF {recycled fabric cloth seat covering, high energy use and slowness of heat, shortcomings of navigation system (although all the Nissan vehicles have navigation systems that are very deficient)}.
But overall they did a brilliant job of what they set out to do: Building the LEADING ENVIRONMENTAL AFFORDABLE FAMILY car. Aka LEAF.
Although in the past I had my wife and sister-in-law hauling sheetrock and plywood on top of my 1988 Merkur Scorpio luxury vehicle, so far I haven't hauled anything on top of the 2011 LEAF.
I too had a 1991 Ford Ranger truck for 18 years, till it came to an untimely run-in with the crusher due to Cash for Clunkers. If Nissan had just made more Altima Hybrids my 2009 Altima would be a hybrid, but unfortunately they didn't.
If Nissan was building an Altima that was electric with range extension (preferably natural gas), I would trade in the 2009 in a heartbeat to buy one. Same would be the case for an electric range extension Volkswagen Passat. The Volt is a very good car, but just too compact for us.
Till someone makes one of these, my wife and I will remain VERY HAPPY with the 2011 LEAF (best car I have ever owned). Although I loved the 1988 Merkur Scorpio, the 2011 LEAF beats it.
Now if I just had a pristine 1988 Merkur Scorpio with a 2011 LEAF drivetrain, now that would be one heck of a car.

 

[TimLee]

Marketing hyperbole. As Mythbusters proved, it is actually very difficult to get gasoline vapors to explode or even combust under such conditions...

[From the product description: "... this type of discharge causes serious injury when it occurs at the gas pump. Every year, this seemingly innocent spark occurs at the wrong place and the wrong time: igniting gasoline vapors while fueling the vehicle."
I must now rush out and buy one so I can safely hang out at gas pumps! :lol:

Difficult does not mean impossible.
There are still a few people that go up in flames every year.
Most of the risk is getting back into the vehicle while the vehicle is filling with gasoline.
Happens more to women due to the static generated by nylon hose.
But a man wearing a nylon winter coat can have similar risk.
Don't ever get back in your vehicle while gasoline is filling your vehicle.
The risk when you go back to hang up the hose is just too high.
May be 1 in a million. But a 1 in a million chance of a gasoline vapor explosion is not worth the risk.

 

[Publius]

Snopes covered claims regarding gas station fires here, http://www.snopes.com/autos/hazards/static.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I wonder if NBC did a story about the dangers of gasoline powered cars the way they did for EVs a few weeks ago (warning that EVs and hybrids pose an electrocution risk to operators and first responders in the event of an accident, but not actually citing an example of any such injury).

One thing I've learned since I got my LEAF, besides it being the best car I've ever owned/leased, is that many people don't understand EVs and are oddly hostile to the idea. If the range doesn't fit your needs, that is one thing, but the number of people who cite the environmental impact of the battery (you know, it's not actually better for the environment, bla bla bla), describe the LEAF as dangerous, call it an "Obama car" (but don't seem to draw any connection between the money spent on oil subsidies, etc. and the gasoline they use), or compare it to a golf cart or lawn equipment is surprising to me.

 

[TimLee]

One thing I've learned since I got my LEAF ... is that many people don't understand EVs and are oddly hostile to the idea.

This is baffling to me too.
I post gas prices on the GasBuddy web site, and they had a news topic last week about the 2013 LEAF, which was fairly correct, only a bit off on its assertions of increased range for the 2013.
But the comments back on that topic were over 90% negative.
With about 5% of that near crazy negative.
It is hard to see how an on line community that has one main driving factor of wanting to save people $ in their transportation requirements could be that negative on electric vehicles. :? :? :?

 

[apvbguy]

One thing I've learned since I got my LEAF ... is that many people don't understand EVs and are oddly hostile to the idea.

This is baffling to me too.
I post gas prices on the GasBuddy web site, and they had a news topic last week about the 2013 LEAF, which was fairly correct, only a bit off on its assertions of increased range for the 2013.
But the comments back on that topic were over 90% negative.
With about 5% of that near crazy negative.
It is hard to see how an on line community that has one main driving factor of wanting to save people $ in their transportation requirements could be that negative on electric vehicles. :? :? :?

people are reluctant to accept new things that challenge everything they've ever been taught or lived with, arrogance, belligerence, and crazy verbalization of idiotic psycho babble are common among the ignorant masses. some of them can be reasoned with and with the rest, all you can do is smile and assure them that everything will be fine.

 

[LUXMAN]

-having emergency back-up power available. I hooked up a 1000W inverter to be able to run my fridge for three days.


OK. How do you do that???