You heard it here first. Nissan is selling too many Leafs. And Nissan needs to step up and install chargers.
I live in Marin County, CA, and I drive 2x week to Palo Alto, CA (45.1mi). I can make it down, and about 1/2 way back on a full battery, so I make a policy to arrange at least 4 hours of meetings, then I charge in one of the three downtown parking garages that provide Level II charging. In the last week, my strategy has collapsed. Every charger has been occupied by a Leaf (one Volt) at every garage. I was almost stranded! Even my backup plan, a Level III charger at a VW office building in Belmont, failed when the Blink charger there was on the fritz - three Leafs and their owners spent 20 minutes trying to get someone to bring it back online in desperation. We were saved only by a new Level III charger that came on line a bit south of here.
Nissan, please take note. We, loyal Leaf-ers, took the risk, and we have endured the pain of range anxiety on behalf of building a better future for our country and hopefully for Nissan. Now it is your turn: INSTALL LEVEL III CHARGERS!
It is unreasonable that there are not at least 1 Level III charger at every Nissan dealership that sells Leafs. Not Level II, Level III. Level II is fine if I am parking for the day for work, but if I can't find a location near where I am working, then I need a 20 minute charge, not a 6 hour one.
We are in a critical time now. Nissan and Tesla have proven that electric cars are real cars. But my own experience is that I would not recommend a Leaf to anyone simply because sometimes you need to recharge on the road, and the charging networks are simply not adequately developed. I am on the verge of selling my Leaf simply because it is too disruptive. Nissan could go a long way by providing emergency level III charging, and maybe even find a way to connect with their unique network of forward-thinking customers.
I live in Marin County, CA, and I drive 2x week to Palo Alto, CA (45.1mi). I can make it down, and about 1/2 way back on a full battery, so I make a policy to arrange at least 4 hours of meetings, then I charge in one of the three downtown parking garages that provide Level II charging. In the last week, my strategy has collapsed. Every charger has been occupied by a Leaf (one Volt) at every garage. I was almost stranded! Even my backup plan, a Level III charger at a VW office building in Belmont, failed when the Blink charger there was on the fritz - three Leafs and their owners spent 20 minutes trying to get someone to bring it back online in desperation. We were saved only by a new Level III charger that came on line a bit south of here.
Nissan, please take note. We, loyal Leaf-ers, took the risk, and we have endured the pain of range anxiety on behalf of building a better future for our country and hopefully for Nissan. Now it is your turn: INSTALL LEVEL III CHARGERS!
It is unreasonable that there are not at least 1 Level III charger at every Nissan dealership that sells Leafs. Not Level II, Level III. Level II is fine if I am parking for the day for work, but if I can't find a location near where I am working, then I need a 20 minute charge, not a 6 hour one.
We are in a critical time now. Nissan and Tesla have proven that electric cars are real cars. But my own experience is that I would not recommend a Leaf to anyone simply because sometimes you need to recharge on the road, and the charging networks are simply not adequately developed. I am on the verge of selling my Leaf simply because it is too disruptive. Nissan could go a long way by providing emergency level III charging, and maybe even find a way to connect with their unique network of forward-thinking customers.