Just got my Leaf

I've been looking at both the Leaf and the MiEV for a while. Signed up for the Leaf test drive in Orlando back in January, and both my wife and I liked the car. Yesterday I went to Ocala Nissan to look at the only Leaf they had; a Black 2011, demo unit with 968 miles on it. It followed me home, and Ocala Nissan kept our -08 Sonata. Got about a hundred miles on it now, still learning.

We were planning on going to Gainesville today, 36 miles away, but even though we started out with 95 miles showing, a few miles up the road and we had only 75 miles, so we called it off. I was a bit upset. Then I learned that doing 65+ mph cuts your range quite a bit. We'll try again this coming Friday. Set the cruise at 50 and see what happens.

L1 charging only for now, looking into getting L2 at some point. But not the $1800.- installed unit from Nissan. I'll find something a bit less expensive. Looking forward to learning more about this car.

Congrats on your black beauty (I always like my black cars, just hate cleaning them).

We call that range meter the Guess O Meter, or GoM for short. Please check out this chart to help you plan better:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=101293#p101293" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Congrats, you'll love the driving experience and you'll start to get a feel for the range of the car in various driving conditions quite soon. As you've already found, you can do that 72 mile round trip just by driving more slowly.

TonyWilliams said:

Congrats on your black beauty (I always like my black cars, just hate cleaning them).

We call that range meter the Guess O Meter, or GoM for short. Please check out this chart to help you plan better:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=101293#p101293" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Click to expand...

Thanks. This chart will alleviate some anxiety, I'm sure.

As for the color, I would have preferred a lighter one, but this was what they got. I got the very first - and so far the only - one sold by Ocala Nissan, I may have the only one in town. And both my wife and I love the driving experience. I still keep waiting for it to shift up when we start out, and she can't believe how easy and "normal car like" it is to drive.

And we both love passing up the gas stations.

Congratulations! I noticed that you joined the mynissanleaf (MNL) forum and bought the car on April 1st. If this is true, the joke is on the oil companies. :lol:

Now you can enjoy the fact that you are fueling up with Electricity "Made in the U.S.A."

Also, don't know how much the dealer explained to you about the details on using the Leaf(mine spent almost an hour after I had purchased the car), but it can be overwhelming at first. If you look carefully there should be a DVD in the binder of your manual. If you watch the DVD it can be a good way to review what the dealer told you and learn some new things. Nice thing is you can select which items you are most interested in, watch those first, or just watch the whole thing.

Beauty is if you select the "Zero Emission" button to the right of the center screen (blue icon at the bottom of the roll of buttons) you can then set up your timer to charge during the night during the off peak period when the grid is under utilized - this helps reduce the need for new expensive power plants, better utilizes the existing infrastructure, and if you have a separate meter or smart meter can often have lower rates per kWh.

Enjoy!

Have you located any charging locations at the other end in Gainesville? That would help alleviate a lot of the range anxiety. As others have said, until you get more comfortable with that trip, try slowing down and stay in the right lane. I drove to Miami by staying to the right and doing 55 mph on Route 95. :shock:

OttoH,

Go Gators!!

To alleviate range anxiety, locate charging stations in Gainesville, do this on your smartphone:
- add the CarStations app.
- add the ChargePoint app (also get the RFID card that goes with it, so if you come across one that costs, you'll be prepared).
- add the PlugShare app (individuals willing to share their chargers).

coqui said:

- add the ChargePoint app (also get the RFID card that goes with it, so if you come across one that costs, you'll be prepared).

Click to expand...

You can get the RFID card for free (instead of the usual $4.95 fee) through the link in this post. Mine came in about a week. http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=8055#p178395" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I also ordered a Blink Network card, seems it's taking longer to arrive.

Also recommend the Recargo and Blink Network apps, although it seems that info is mostly duplicated among the different apps, so just pick your favorite. The ones that aren't affiliated with a particular network tend to allow user comments and photos, which can be helpful when going to a charging station for the first time.

baronvonshush said:

I also ordered a Blink Network card, seems it's taking longer to arrive.

Click to expand...

Eventually I had to CALL Blink to get my card: don't know why their system/process fails to issue cards. I have used both Blink and ChargePoint (where free) apps+chargers successfully.

Can't believe nobody told you about EVSE Upgrades yet. L-2 charging for WAY less $$$ than a normal L2 charger. Check out EVSEupgrades.com for details.

OttoH said:

...

We were planning on going to Gainesville today, 36 miles away, but even though we started out with 95 miles showing, a few miles up the road and we had only 75 miles, so we called it off. I was a bit upset. Then I learned that doing 65+ mph cuts your range quite a bit. We'll try again this coming Friday. Set the cruise at 50 and see what happens....

Click to expand...

Once the meter guessed 75, you already had taken some miles off of your 72-mile trip, so you'd probably be ok. Of course, slowing down does give a better margin and you might be surprised at how little extra time it takes. And then there's the time you save by fueling at home and not having to pull into petrol stations .

As far as reduced speed, it's a nice way to rediscover the so-called "Blue Highways". Depending on your needs, something like rte 441 might fit the bill, where you can travel at 45mph and not be considered a slowpoke. Might add a few miles, but there is a major range bump at 45 compared to 65 or 70.

rawhog said:

Can't believe nobody told you about EVSE Upgrades yet. L-2 charging for WAY less $$$ than a normal L2 charger. Check out EVSEupgrades.com for details.

Click to expand...

Well, they have now

Actually, I did see a link yesterday. I'm currently pondering getting my charger upgraded or just buying a second one. I got several 240V outlets in my garage.

keydiver said:

Have you located any charging locations at the other end in Gainesville?

Click to expand...

Go Gators indeed! It looks like the University of Florida has charging stations installed back in 2009:

"The University of Florida has three charging stations in the parking garage that opened in the fall of 2009 at Gale Lemerand Drive and Mallory Road and can add 15 more as use demands," according to the Gainesville Sun.

eHelmholtz said:

keydiver said:

Have you located any charging locations at the other end in Gainesville?

Click to expand...

Go Gators indeed! It looks like the University of Florida has charging stations installed back in 2009:

"The University of Florida has three charging stations in the parking garage that opened in the fall of 2009 at Gale Lemerand Drive and Mallory Road and can add 15 more as use demands," according to the Gainesville Sun.

Click to expand...

The only one I saw on the GPS was Gainesville Nissan. But I'll keep the UF stations in mind.

Another question;
I just got around to looking around in the trunk. I got tools to remove the wheel, and the compressor/slime package, but no jack. Is that correct?

OttoH said:

Another question;
I just got around to looking around in the trunk. I got tools to remove the wheel, and the compressor/slime package, but no jack. Is that correct?

Click to expand...

Yes, we Americans don't get a jack. :|

OttoH said:

rawhog said:

Can't believe nobody told you about EVSE Upgrades yet. L-2 charging for WAY less $$$ than a normal L2 charger. Check out EVSEupgrades.com for details.

Click to expand...

Well, they have now

Actually, I did see a link yesterday. I'm currently pondering getting my charger upgraded or just buying a second one. I got several 240V outlets in my garage.

Click to expand...

One year of ownership later and my EVSE upgrade has served me well. I had no L2 for the first year, but I just moved into a house with a 240V dryer outlet, and can't believe how much faster it is. Get the upgrade - you won't regret it.

Tip: Bring up the power use screen while driving. Blue menu button, lower right, then select it from the menu. It will show you where you are using, and gaining power. Figure you have 20KWH of power to use - so plan starting with that, not the number the car gives you. If you are using 20KW for an hour, you will run out. If you are using 80KW, it is likley you have flat tires and are driving through mud uphill, but even then you will have 15 minutes of power. If it is cold, figure 18KWH, if it is cold and raining, figure 15KWH just to be on the safe side of things.

Caracalover said:

Tip: Bring up the power use screen while driving. Blue menu button, lower right, then select it from the menu. It will show you where you are using, and gaining power. Figure you have 20KWH of power to use - so plan starting with that, not the number the car gives you. If you are using 20KW for an hour, you will run out. If you are using 80KW, it is likley you have flat tires and are driving through mud uphill, but even then you will have 15 minutes of power. If it is cold, figure 18KWH, if it is cold and raining, figure 15KWH just to be on the safe side of things.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I will keep this in mind.

Give it some time. You'll get to know the idiosyncrosies of the GoM (it does tend to drop the miles off rapidly at the beginning, and then tend to underestimate the miles remaining at the low end). Just pay more attention to the battery bars and you'll get to know how many bars it takes to get to your common destinations.

Plus, you'll probably be able to improve your driving technique as well.

The first week or two we had the LEAF I too was surprised at how quickly the mileage dropped. But now after 4 months I have all the confidence I need in the car. It definitely has met our needs (and more).

lpickup said:

Give it some time. You'll get to know the idiosyncrosies of the GoM (it does tend to drop the miles off rapidly at the beginning, and then tend to underestimate the miles remaining at the low end). Just pay more attention to the battery bars and you'll get to know how many bars it takes to get to your common destinations.

Click to expand...

Better yet, get the upcoming Leafscan from Ingineer. I have the Gid-o-meter which shows the percent usable SOC remaining and never even look at the Guess-o-meter. Much better than going by the number of bars. Many of us are chomping at the bit to get the Leafscan as soon as it available:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=8251" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;