I Want to buy a Leaf but...

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tricky98

Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2018
Messages
9
Location
UK
As the title says, I really want to buy a Leaf, I did an extended test drive last week and loved it. However I have two questions that I need to answer before I commit to buying one. I've had a look around the forum, and get a feeling the answers are positive, but if anyone can confirm it will be great.

Firstly, I leave for work early in the morning (0545-0600) and will need to park the car, nose in, on the driveway, directly infant of the bedroom window. The design of the bungalow means, that when stood in the bedroom, the car s bumper is at head hight.
The issue is, when I clicked the button to remove the charging cable, the car beeped loudly, waking my wife!
I asked the dealer if it was possible to disable this, and was told it was a safety feature and could not be turned off.
I have read about Leaf Spy, and the service menu which has options to disable various sounds, but want to confirm that if I buy a 2018 40kWh Leaf, I will be able to disable this particular beep.

The second question is about range and charging times. I have a daily commute of between 120-130 miles, with about 90 miles of this on the motorway. I completed this during the test drive without issue, averaging 4.5 miles per kWh.

I collected the car on Thursday afternoon, on way home from work. I had a drive around in the evening, and then plugged it into my 16A charger(EVSE?) for my A3 e-tron at about 2100, with 82% battery. The following morning, at 0600 I unplugged the car ( and woke the wife :? ) and found that the battery was charged to 98% after about 9 hours charging at about 3.7kW.

When I got home Friday evening, having driven about 130 miles, I had 11% battery, and about 30 miles remaining according to the car. I checked the display that indicated how long it would take to charge the battery at 6kW, and it said 7.5 Hrs to 75% and 11 Hrs to 100%.
The following day was a Saturday, and I when out to the car to return it at 0900 (15Hrs after I started to charge it) and the car reported it was 100% charged.
On a normal work day, I'm only going to be home for a maximum of 12 hours, and sometimes maybe 10 if I've had to pick the kids up on the way home. I've read that the charging process slows as the battery fills, so can someone give me an idea how long it would take to get my battery from 5% to 95%?
The answer to the first question about beeps is a show stopper - I don't want a grumpy wife! The second is less an issues, as if I need too, I can stop at one of the several rapid chargers on my route.

Thanks
 
With that long commute I would get a Bolt. That 30 miles extra will be gone and maybe negative on a cold rainy week.
Also I would be upgrading to at least 24 amps charging available.
 
I live in the UK, and the Bolt is not available :(
If the Leaf is not a fit, I would look at the i3 with the range extender, but could do with a bit more boot (trunk?) space.

If I do get it, I would get a 32Amp box fitted - I think there is currently an offer to get one fitted for free.
 
I'm not sure about the 2018 LEAF, but I think that with older models it's possible to disable the charging port opening beep, using LeafSpy Pro, by enabling the "Charge sounds" option:

Screenshot_20170904-164005.png


I've never tried that though, so it may not work. The "speaker" that emits the sound is in the front driver's side wheel well area and it would be fairly easy to muffle the sound considerably.
 
Is that the beep when opening the flap, or the one when you remove the cable?
(Or is it the same beep?)
 
Range would only be an issue if the OP is unwilling or unable to charge either en route or at work, when necessary.

For the first couple of years, that likely wouldn't be necessary except perhaps on very cold, very rainy, or snowy days during winter. If he/she is able to stop at a DCQC to charge for 15 mins on such days, that would make all the difference. There are way more DCQC stations in the UK, compared to here, so unless he/she lives in a very rural area and commutes to a smaller city, finding a DCQC en route should be easy. Anywhere within a 100 mile radius of London would be ideal.
 
My general advice is that a commute should be no more than 50% of the EPA range of a BEV.

Sure one can make higher percentages work but if one is prepared for that they won’t be asking “will it work” questions.
 
Thanks for the advice --
I am a little concerned about the range and how much it will drop over time - this would be my first EV, and on the morning of the test drive I did feel a little apprehensive as I set off, however:

I pass 5 Rapid DC chargers on the way home (on route) and know of another 4 within a 10 minute drive of my normal route.
I plan on leasing the car for 3 years, so hopefully it won't drop too much in that time (approx 90,000 miles) and I won't need to worry about trying to sell it afterwards.

I work on a large client site, so have little influence, but have been trying to persuade them to install chargers for over 3 years now - I keep getting positive sounds from them, so as more people move to EVs I hope they will finally invest - I'm aware of 3 EV's on site already, and a few PHEVs.

I guess the range question for me, is more about the cost - charging on a rapid DC charger is about 3 times more expensive than charging at home - however it is still a massive saving over running on petrol, so is not a big issue.

My main concern about getting the Leaf is the Beep - with it being a lease car, I don't want to/can't do anything too drastic to kill the sound (read about someone cutting the wire!?) - so anyone with knowledge on using Leaf Spy on the 2018 Leaf please let me know.

Thanks
 
Wait until 2019 when the "real" LEAF comes out with TMS. Everything 2018 and prior will be viewed as undesirable in the market, left to the dustbin of tech progress.

Or get a Bolt.
 
I'm confused about the beep question, when unplugging the charge handle of the EVSE. There is no beep...

Are you pressing the FOB charge port door open button? There's no need to do that, just unplug and close the charge port door - no noise...
 
alozzy said:
I'm confused about the beep question, when unplugging the charge handle of the EVSE. There is no beep...

Are you pressing the FOB charge port door open button? There's no need to do that, just unplug and close the charge port door - no noise...


I unlocked the car (it had comfort access, so I pressed the button on the door handle) and put my coat into the car, I then walked to the front and tried to remove the charging cable and it would not come out.

I then pressed the button (I can't remember if it was on the fob or the one in the car) and I heard the solenoid move to release the cable.
Was it simply that I waited too long between unlocking the car and removing the cable?
 
LTLFTcomposite said:
Wait until 2019 when the "real" LEAF comes out with TMS. Everything 2018 and prior will be viewed as undesirable in the market, left to the dustbin of tech progress.

Or get a Bolt.

I would love to, but my current car needs to be returned in September.

It seems that next year, there will be a lot of cars available with longer range, but I can't wait that long...

I'll be leasing the car, so don't have to worry about resale value.

As for the Bolt - I would love one - I've tried looking if it can be imported, but does not seem possible.
 
@tricky98

I then pressed the button (I can't remember if it was on the fob or the one in the car) and I heard the solenoid move to release the cable. Was it simply that I waited too long between unlocking the car and removing the cable?

You shouldn't need to press any buttons on the dash or on the FOB, unless you've engaged the auto-lock on the charger handle or there's been a change in design for the 2018 LEAF.

You should be able to simply press in the button on the top of the portable charger's (EVSE) handle and then unplug it - very minimal noise and no beeping (again, unless something has changed on the 2018 LEAF).
 
@tricky98 If you want to buy yourself some extra time, you could assume (takeover) someone else's lease (either an ICE or an EV if you are lucky) for a few months. That's what I would do in your shoes, if you think a better option will be available in the UK in a few months time.
 
Since your profile says UK, I wouldn't worry about temperature-induced battery degradation. Unless you're driving 30,000 mi/yr, you will be fine for years. More likely, calendar degradation will dominate, but that's not terrible. Plus, with all those chargers along the way, you could get a decade or more of useful life. However, the beeping and where you park........ well, that's another matter. Remember: Happy Wife = Happy Life ;)

EDIT: Oops, you are driving 30K+ mi/yr. Well, scratch that. You'll need a new one in 4-5 years. You could lease for 2 years, then switch to the 2019 Leaf with (presumably) 200+ mi range.
 
alozzy said:
@tricky98

I then pressed the button (I can't remember if it was on the fob or the one in the car) and I heard the solenoid move to release the cable. Was it simply that I waited too long between unlocking the car and removing the cable?

You shouldn't need to press any buttons on the dash or on the FOB, unless you've engaged the auto-lock on the charger handle or there's been a change in design for the 2018 LEAF.

You should be able to simply press in the button on the top of the portable charger's (EVSE) handle and then unplug it - very minimal noise and no beeping (again, unless something has changed on the 2018 LEAF).

I stopped at the Nissan dealer on the way home, and checked -
the connector gets locked in and can only be released by pressing the button inside the car or on the fob. They say this was the same on the old model.

Having read a few more forums - I found a post saying that in North America the cables don't get locked into he car while charging?

In the UK (& the rest of Europe I think) the cable is locked into the car when you start to charge, by a pin going through the hole at the top of the plug. This is the reason the button needs to be pressed.

(On my A3 e-tron, the pin is disengaged when the car is unlocked, and then reengages after about 30 seconds, if the cable has not been removed.)

So...
I've had a crazy idea - and wonder if anyone knows if it would work -
If I cut the top of the plug, so that the pin won't stop the cable pulling out, I could just pull it out in the morning. Not sure if the car would still think the cable was connected, as it does if you just disconnect the other end of the cable from the power.

However, if this is how it works in North America, it should be ok here too?
 
Reddy said:
Since your profile says UK, I wouldn't worry about temperature-induced battery degradation. Unless you're driving 30,000 mi/yr, you will be fine for years. More likely, calendar degradation will dominate, but that's not terrible. Plus, with all those chargers along the way, you could get a decade or more of useful life. However, the beeping and where you park........ well, that's another matter. Remember: Happy Wife = Happy Life ;)

EDIT: Oops, you are driving 30K+ mi/yr. Well, scratch that. You'll need a new one in 4-5 years. You could lease for 2 years, then switch to the 2019 Leaf with (presumably) 200+ mi range.


Yes -- 30,000 miles a year :)

Thats my plan - I will lease for 2-3 years and then get an improved one.
 
My 2011 did not have one, but my 2015 has a 3-position switch (lock, off, automatic) that locks the charging connector to the car all the time in the lock position, while actually charging in the automatic position, and never in the off position. You might want to check to see if the UK cars have a similar switch. If not, perhaps you could turn off the vehicle lock/unlock chime to prevent the noise when disconnecting the charging cable.
 
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