New Leaf Owner : Is the ride bumpy or is it just me?

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jvivrekar

New member
Joined
Sep 12, 2016
Messages
1
Hello All,

One month Certified Pre-Owned Nissan owner. Had 10k miles when purchased, drove 1.2k miles in one month. Happy about efficiency and overall usage but the ride is BUMPY. My leaf has Michelin Energy Save tires inflated to 36 psi as specified.

Getting 4.5 mi /kWh total 40 miles commute every workday. Any pointers folks? Does anyone else think the headrest is too stiff? My 14 year old V6 Camry still floats on the road more smoothly.

Thanks
 
My 2011 LEAF has never been very smooth on concrete pavement with expansion joints.

Once I raised the Ecopia tires to 40 to 44 psig which is necessary to get better tire life on the LEAF the roughness / bounce is worse.

The LEAF is pretty heavy and the suspension tuning needed a lot more work.

Nissan was in a big hurry with the first generation LEAF.
 
What is a nimble ride to some is a bumpy ride to another, just like a smooth ride can be viewed as sloppy ride to another... Doesn't sound like there is anything wrong. With so many of these cars around, with no real complaints... You will get used to the all-electrical vehicle. Personally, I think that it drives and handles great!!
 
to me, the ride of 2016, oh yes brand new, is bumpy. i hope it to be firm and confidence. Instead, leaf's suspension is stiff, but a little bit under-damped. When go over a bump or dip on highway (hwy 237, hwy 85, ), the car goes "up/down and bounce once more". i hope it will go just up/down, with minimal bouncing. (like a porsche :twisted: ) In certain section of hwy 101, the car goes like riding on off centered wheel. Probably bumpy-ness of that section of road matches the resonance of the suspension. . .

the head rest surface is too stiff. i do not rest head on the head rest on this car, to avoid brain damage from constant shaking. :D . i may tie a thin pillow over the head rest. . . .
 
jvivrekar said:
Hello All,

One month Certified Pre-Owned Nissan owner. Had 10k miles when purchased, drove 1.2k miles in one month. Happy about efficiency and overall usage but the ride is BUMPY. My leaf has Michelin Energy Save tires inflated to 36 psi as specified.

Getting 4.5 mi /kWh total 40 miles commute every workday. Any pointers folks? Does anyone else think the headrest is too stiff? My 14 year old V6 Camry still floats on the road more smoothly.

Thanks

Hmmm. No opinion on the headrest. I'm surprised to learn that anybody actually "rests" their head on them. To me it makes for an awkward driving position, unless I'm maybe trying to keep a golf ball between my chin and my chest. :lol:
 
When I got my 2016 SV I was very disappointed with the ride quality. It's way too bouncy over bumps almost like a bucking bronco! I actually called the dealer to complain about it and was told I was the first customer to complain about the ride quality of the Leaf. The Chevy Volt I traded in for this car rode so much better/smoother and had way better performance in my opinion. Plus the Volt took corners and turns like a champ, not so much for my Leaf! Oh well it was a trade off for me as I wanted more AER and I wanted to go all electric.
 
My 2011 LEAF with its low center of gravity actually handles better than my 2009 Altima SL.
Can safely take turns at 10 mph faster than the Altima SL.
Have to be careful in turns when driving the Altima SL :shock: :D

But the suspension damping is poor. Far more bounciness than the Altima SL.
 
With 3,256 lbs curb weight compared to 2,414 lbs for something like the Versa the Leaf due to its battery is pretty heavy for its size.

The OEM LRR tires it rides on while a bit stiff do offer some of the best braking and handling among LRR tires while still being a true LRR tire so its all part of the compromises made to balance comfort, ride and handling. Some have noted a noticeable drop in range when switching to an LRR tire thats less harsh so there is a reason for it.

Compared to my 1978 124 Spider the Leaf floats luxuriously down the road but that's a whole other driving experience with no computers, power steering, AC, etc.
 
It's not just you. I never noticed that my former '13 SV w/both packages was bumpy until I rode along with another guy in his 13+ S. After that, now that I drive a used '13 SV w/premium, I do notice it's kinda bumpy.

For me, in terms of ride smoothness of cars I've semi-recently owned, I'd say it's something like this in terms of decreasing order of smoothness.

'02 Maxima > '13 Leaf > '06 Prius >> 04 350Z (pretty harsh ride and very bouncy, get tossed around a lot)

I had the Maxima alongside the Z and Maxima was "Lexus-like" in smoothness. They were night and day in terms of ride but also handling and brakes. Handling and brakes on my Maxima sucked compared to the Z.
 
SV will have the 17 inch aluminum rims while the S should have the 16 inch steel rims. I feel that my 2014 S with the 16 inch steel rims rides better than either 2015 SV or 2016 SV with the 17 in rims that I took for test drives.
 
My 2011 SL drove a lot more solid than my 2002 Prius, but my wife who easily gets car sick did complain so when my OEM tires needed replacing I tried the Michelin Premier. With the new tires and my more careful driving my wife does not seem to get car sick now when she rides in the car. I did lose about 10% in efficiency though. Thought about the Michelin Energy Savers, but main goal was a smother ride for the wife. I do have to slow down when going over speed bumps.

On the headrest I actually had to turn it around backward when my wife first was driving my Leaf as she is shorter and it would push against her head and felt very ackward. You might try reversing the head rest. Later my wife would use a cushion to raise her up in the seat and also a back support, then we didn't need to reverse the headrest.
 
My 12 SL with 30K was smooth but my 15 S with 20k doens't take small bumps/variations well. As with others I can't lean my head on the headrest with bouncing.
 
I have a 2013 I just bought in January. The car is a bit of a floater, yes.

But bumps themselves are muted and absorbed quite well. For the price I paid, I can't complain much.
 
Did most Leaf owners used to own Cadillac's? The Leaf is the smoothest car I've ever owned! Much better than my 1951 Plymouth Cranbrook, my 1972 VW Super Beetle and my 1984 VW Golf diesel.
 
Dont know about yours but my Leaf is very soft. I hate soft cars :)

Yet again, my previous car list includes Lexus IS300h, Lexus NX300h, Toyota Supra (550rwhp), Porsche 911, Porsche 911s, so my opinion can be a bit biased :D Yet again, i find it extremely smooth, comfortable and probably adjusted to old people (old people like smooth and soft rides :))
 
LeftieBiker said:
The headrest is indeed terrible. I used to rest my head on those things, but now I avoid it unless I'm wearing a thick hood.

+1. if not for the risk of being rear ended, I would remove mine.

on ride quality; never liked the floating ride on any car. I'd rather know what kind of road I am driving on. I know this seems counter-intuitive, but I would pump some more air into those tires. Other than that, I don't find the LEAFs ride to be harsh at all and if a smoother ride sacrifices cornering stability then I have to say "lets go bouncing!"
 
The Leaf is more solid and controllable than most small cars that size. I don't understand peoples' complaints.

I have heard that the higher trim 17" rims are bumpier due to less rubber between the car and the road.
 
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