The Best, Least-Known Tips & Tricks

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
HerdingElectrons said:
Did you know that at least on a 2018 you don't have to manually release the parking brake?

If you begin to accelerate it auto releases.

Good tip! I never thought to try it. Does it release when you shift out of Park or when you step on the Go pedal?
 
LeftieBiker said:
HerdingElectrons said:
Did you know that at least on a 2018 you don't have to manually release the parking brake?

If you begin to accelerate it auto releases.

Good tip! I never thought to try it. Does it release when you shift out of Park or when you step on the Go pedal?

Doesn't work for me but I have an S...
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
LeftieBiker said:
HerdingElectrons said:
Did you know that at least on a 2018 you don't have to manually release the parking brake?

If you begin to accelerate it auto releases.

Good tip! I never thought to try it. Does it release when you shift out of Park or when you step on the Go pedal?

Doesn't work for me but I have an S...

This only works if you have an electronic parking brake. This is common for any model with an electronic parking brake.
 
LeftieBiker said:
HerdingElectrons said:
Did you know that at least on a 2018 you don't have to manually release the parking brake?

If you begin to accelerate it auto releases.

Good tip! I never thought to try it. Does it release when you shift out of Park or when you step on the Go pedal?

E-Pedal off & in D or B & begin pressing the go pedal and if accelerating slowly you can hear that very distinctive parking brake release motor sound. If accelerating faster then it's less audible but the same net effect.
 
*Ice Park Wiper Mode. At least on the 2013+ Leaf, the wipers can be "parked" automatically so they are vertical on the windshield, instead of horizontal at the base of it. This allows for much easier de-icing of the blades, and also prevents a lot of ice and snow buildup during Winter Storms. Turn the car off as usual, and then within 30 seconds, pull the wiper stalk toward you and release it, as if to activate the washer function. With the car off, the wipers will instead move into vertical position and stop.

The above is of course from LeftieBiker and the original post in the thread. It is an opportune time to draw attention to this in particular, with my story being that last night I was racking my brain trying to remember this tip (I ended up just manually putting up the wiper arms, disgracefully low-tech), and just now I was going in reverse through the thread looking for it, and there it was in the first post. Ha.

I am wondering, though (even though I certainly can and will find out for myself): Does this maneuver lock the arms in position until the car is started again? The winds last night made wonder if they were going to blow the wipers back down. (They didn't.)
 
I am wondering, though (even though I certainly can and will find out for myself): Does this maneuver lock the arms in position until the car is started again? The winds last night made wonder if they were going to blow the wipers back down. (They didn't.)

Yes, the wipers offer as much resistance to moving as they do when parked in the normal position.

A reminder: all of the info should be contained in the first post. If I forgot to add something, let me know and I'll edit it.
 
*Ice Park Wiper Mode. At least on the 2013+ Leaf, the wipers can be "parked" automatically so they are vertical on the windshield, instead of horizontal at the base of it. This allows for much easier de-icing of the blades, and also prevents a lot of ice and snow buildup during Winter Storms. Turn the car off as usual, and then within 30 seconds, pull the wiper stalk toward you and release it, as if to activate the washer function. With the car off, the wipers will instead move into vertical position and stop.

Oh, I completely misunderstood this tip. I though it was about raising the wipers right off the windshield, not merely putting them in a vertical position on the windshield, which I (apologies) am not impressed with.
 
Yeah, it's a good tip, even if wasn't what I'd hoped it was. I just had to be a smartass. I noticed later that it is actually in the 2018 owners manual, too. I still like the idea of a "trick" to getting the wipers off the windshield and locked up so they don't blown down, though. I hate chiseling them free in any position. While Nissan is working on this they can throw in windshield wiper warmers, too.
 
Just read the FAQ. Great stuff! -about the 12v battery maintainers. Is it safe to keep one connected to the Leaf while driving? If I understand correctly, the Leaf model with the solar panel uses that panel purely as a 12v battery maintainer. My leaf doesn't have a solar panel but if I could accomplish the same with a panel from eBay that would be pretty neat.
 
There is literally no need to do that, because while the car is in Ready mode (including being driven) the DC-DC converter is maintaining system voltage at 13+ volts, doing just what a battery maintainer would be doing. Any good maintainer would shut off the charge at that voltage.
 
I didn't see the parking brake tip, but to add.

If you have the electronic parking brake (not the manual one), it will always auto-release in drive or reverse mode the moment you lightly press the accelerator. I found that one out by accident today and to think all this time wasting precious seconds pressing the button since I have to park on a hill at home. :mrgreen:
 
* The Default 80% Charge Setting (2011-2013 only). Set the main charge timer to both start and end at the same time every day, every day of the week. It doesn't matter what the time is, as long as it's identical for both the start and end of charge. Set the timer charge limit to 80%. On the 2013 only, then set the car's (not the timer's) charge limit to 100%. Now whenever you plug the car in, it will immediately charge to 80% and stop. If you want to charge to 100% instead, just press the Timer Off button in the cluster of buttons with the charge port release, steering wheel heater switch, etc.
I'm a bit lost when trying to set this up for my 2013, in the "charge timer" menu there's no start/end option, only see a "To" option. Regardless if I the "charge time" is enable or not, pressing on the timer button doesn't do anything.

(If you have a post-2013 Leaf, you have to calculate when to end the charge, either manually by unplugging the car, or by setting an end timer. Keep in mind that the car's estimate for charge times is pessimistic. The easiest way to charge to a specific percentage is via L-1 charging, which adds a reliable 5% charge per hour - 6% if the battery has lost significant capacity. The percentage is of course lower with the 30 and 40kwh packs, with the latter adding roughly 3% per hour on L-1)
After reading this 2nd paragraph (post-2013) , I wonder if my 2013 is part of the post-2013. It's either that or perhaps I'm missing a software upgrade?
 
Back
Top