Love and Hate about our new Leaf 2018

[riniboo]

My wife and I have never had a Nissan before and of course this is our first EV. We got the top trim "SL" (Canadian version, not sure it is exactly the same in the States). After driving it for almost 1 month, it's time to express my feeling - there are some mixed feelings about this car. I am pretty sure not everyone agrees, but that's my own opinion.

Love:

• - Very smooth handling, acceleration and comfortable
  - Decent mileage to get around the city
  - Good size trunk space with folding back seats
  - 360 degree bird eye view, front side back camera
  - Comes with Level 2, 240V 30A 6.6 kwh charger, no need to buy charging station. I just ran 8/3 with 40A breaker on 14-50R, easy DIY.
  - Save a lot on money gas, we signed up a plan with Hydro and pay $0.02 CAD kwh (12AM-6AM)
  - Got $14K CAD rebate from government

Very Annoying:

• - Door lock/unlock buttons are not illuminated but mirror control does, WTF
  - When you open the charging lid in the DARK, that little light won't turn on (Similar problem as door buttons!!) It comes on when you plug it in or remove it. HAHAHA... If I am able to plug it in, I don't need the light by then.. So stupid.
  - Day light saving time need to set manually 2 times a year (WHAT?? in 2018 still?) It has a SIM card Carwings telematics system and you cannot connect to the NTP server? Seriously? Okay, Even without telematics, my Honda adjusts the clock automatically.
  - Charging timer "Full charge has priority" issue: Example: My timer is set to 12AM to 6AM (I pay $0.02 CAD only during that time) and I say my battery has 10% left at 8PM, now I plug it in. It starts charging RIGHT AWAY until full regardless of schedule.
  Suggestion on improvement: They need to have 2 options : (1) "Pre-timer for full charge" and (2) "Post-timer for full charge". If the timer cannot charge the battery to full during the period, it will either use the time BEFORE or AFTER based on my preference.
  My Workaround now? Disable the "full charge priority "
  - Glove box has opening on the sides?? I had driven many cars before, this is the FIRST car has openings on sides LOL
  - Nissan Leaf mobile app is so crappy, everyone agrees eh? Indeed I tried to use their REST API using Chrome advanced REST client and I was able to connect to my car successfully returning the JSON (there are tons of articles out there, you just need some I.T. skills, Python for token encryption). The bottle neck is actually you send a request, then you keep POLLING until your car responds. These guys are not IoT MQTT and software expert, they need to learn from Nest, Ecobee and other IoTs. This part is actually VERY disappointed. Furthermore, I wonder if similar hack can be done like Jeep Cherokee back in 2014. Google "Hackers Remotely Kill a Jeep on the Highway" on YouTube, fun to watch but something alarming.

Good to have (even I want to pay, there is no such option):

• - Side mirrors can be a little big bigger
  - No Power seat on passenger
  - No Power trunk (hmm.... maybe not necessary)
  - No Power folding mirrors
  - No spare tires (it includes a bottle of tire puncture sealant Hmmm..)
  - No backup/parking sensor (it has that "motion" sensor, but one beep warning??!!! It's useless)
  - The horn is a joke, so weak just like my kids' toy. my god, I have to upgrade that in summer time.

Money Wasted:

• - Bose system is crap, I was into serious car audio 2 decades ago, I had my JL12W6V3 in my old car. To be fair, I didn't expect Leaf would have a very powerful bass, however I have to say it's disappointed. I do love Bose as a brand personally because I have their bookshelf speakers long time ago and last year I got the SoundTouch 300 as home theater system and the bass is decent, but sorry I really have to say this Nissan subwoofer is garbage. Compare to the other car of mine - Honda (unknown audio brand??) the factory subwoofer beats Nissan hands down. You can actually hear slight distortion on Leaf when you play Russian hip-hop and Romanian club. Oh.. it also took some space of the trunk too. DON'T waste money on this Bose if you are into HipHop and dance music.

 

[RegGuheert]

Great review and welcome to the forum riniboo!

- Save a lot on money gas, we signed up a plan with Hydro and pay $0.02 CAD kwh (12AM-6AM)
- Got $14K CAD rebate from government

That part is especially nice!

 

[riniboo]

Thanks. 3 more things I forgot to say adding to my LOVE bucket:

• - I really LOVE the B-Mode regenerative braking system. Love love love, both my wife and I never use D-mode. For those who used to drive standard transmission, you will love it. It's like shifting down to 2nd gear without the need to brake. In many cases, I didn't even need to apply brake to turn.
  - e-Pedal is very good for traffic congestion
  - The car looks very cool, I just tinted the glass last week. It looks like a sport car (although I am a bit old for that)
  
  
  

 

[jake14mw]

Thanks for posting, very informative. It's very dissapointing to hear about the door locks still not being lit. I have had or Gen 1 for four months and still cannot find the door unlock button in the dark to let my son in when I pick him up. I find it INEXCUSABLE that the APP is still that bad for the 2018. How many years have they had to fix that?

 

[LeftieBiker]

If the charge port light only comes on after the car is plugged in, that is a serious flaw. The light in my 2013 comes on when the port door is opened. It doesn't stay on as long as I'd like, but at least it's functional for most situations.

 

[ElectricEddy]

Spare tire lots of threads including this one:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=14081&start=30#p323607
The first thing I purchased when I had my 13SL it also fits the 16SL I now drive and should fit the 18 unless they changed the hub size which I doubt.
Ontario is pretty generous with their rebates.

 

[jjeff]

Nice review, sad to hear so many shortcomings of the Leaf 1.0 or even 1.1 are carried forwarded, the '18 sounds more like a 1.3 :?
No door unlock button light :x
Does it still require setting 2 clocks that are not tied to each other?
My '12 and '13 horn is also a joke, I mean major joke!
Yes the stereos in a Leaf leave lots to be desired, luckily for me I hardly turn it on as I enjoy the silence
Have they managed to fix the steering wheel heater thats HOT then COLD? That issue has also been around since Leaf 1.0
Does the trunk area still have those stupid shock towers that severely protrude towards the middle? Worst part is they could be seriously cut back, the shocks don't actually come out as far as the plastic would indicate :x
Major bug if it's true about the charge port light, agree that no need to turn on after you plug in or unplug, should turn on when you open the charge port and stay on for at least 5 min, like both my Leafs do!
Oh, does it still require you to double shift EVERYTIME you turn off the car to get it back in B mode and what about the NAV, do you still have to acknowledge it EVERYTIME you start up the car?

 

[LeftieBiker]

I looked at a 2018 Leaf in person recently. The shock tower enclosures are still there, but are now smaller. The cargo area is larger, but not a lot larger.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Your charge door light is defective. Mine works exactly as it should

Can't remember the last time I heard about an audiophile who was happy with OEM stereo equipment

DST not standard everywhere so better to have option to set or not set.

Priority charging setting; the "why" is almost as easy as the process to say "not for me". Should we have more options? Oh course we should! more options for EVERYTHING!

Dont understand the glove box comment although I as surprised at how deep mine is... Not sure if that is a good thing. I have actually had to work hard to reach small items in the back of the box...

E-pedal should be REQUIRED on every EV. It is a Godsend!

Although rarely used, I would love a "Hatch popper" button on the dash

 

[OrientExpress]

Glad you are enjoying your new LEAF.

here are some tips for some of your aggravations.

1. The horn on the NA LEAFs is specified as the JDM City horn which also is used on the Nissan Clown in Japan. There are several DIYs out there on how to upgrade it to a full throated horn. I prefer the 110db Hella Supertone horns that are pretty much PnP. They are about $50 on amazon.

2. The little doors inside the glove box are to facilitate changing the cabin airfilter in the HVAC stack in the center of the dash.

3. Spare tires are pretty much an artifact of the 20th century, but there are a few DIYs on adding a spare under the rear cargo area.

4. Your charging problem may be that you simply do not have the timer programmed correctly. Each timing session has to be activated in the set up menu.

I personally don't like the lack of height adjustment in the passenger seat, but that is a Nissan thing across all models not just the LEAF.

The lack of lighted buttons on the driver window control is also a thing across most economy models not just the LEAF.

 

[alozzy]

With respect to the charge port light, I think if you first pop open the port door and then use the FOB to lock the car doors, the light goes off.

Try reversing that order - lock the doors with the FOB first, then use the FOB to open the charge port door and see if the light stays on.

 

[riniboo]

Sorry guys.. regarding to the charging port light. I tried it again last night using the normal procedure, the light DID light up. However, I swear to God, it did happen to me once (I don't know what is the steps to reproduce it) that I had to find the charging port in the dark!! Maybe my bad my bad....

 

[LeaferSutherland]

Agree with many of your observations. Here’s my abbreviated list-

Love- agree with what you love except we don’t really use the “b” mode. I like coasting, feels like good coasting will save more energy than regen gives back. I could be wrong on this.

Also on the love it side- my wife and I just love the electric vehicle. Not sure how else to put this. Almost intangible but basically my truck that I used to love now feels like a Model T or some other outdated mode of transportation. And this is true of any ICE we’ve ridden in since owning this car which is our first EV. Press accelerator and it just “goes” and it’s just so precise. When I drive my truck now I sometimes have odd jack rabbit starts because I get used to pressing pedal and having something happen. Now I think I press it and the slight delay makes me think I didn’t press it far enough so I keep pressing harder. Leaf is just so much smoother, predictable and responsive to drive than anything else I’ve driven or ridden in.

Hates- our main complaints are same - paid extra for Bose because had that in our old Altima and it was really nice for a factory system. Thought it would be as good or better as that 14 year old system. Nope! I suspect it’s because they’re trying to save energy. I also can’t find the door locks in the dark and our app doesn’t work most of the time which has been our biggest disappointment.

On charging, I think the timer charge is supposed to work as you described. Mine also has same problem you are having and I just haven’t taken the time to dig into it to solve it. I think what’s happening is that there is a charge timer and then there is also a “charge now” mode that is on by default so you can program the timer all you want but when you get out and go to plug it in you see that listed but also on screen it says “charge now” so I think that over rides the timer. Which is stupid because why would I set a timer if I wanted it to charge as soon as I plugged in? I did set up the preference where charge timer only works when at home and not away so you don’t have to worry that it won’t charge at a remote location when you plug it in because it’s still waiting for the timer. Wondering if that is it? Not sure if it’s using my exact gps location for my garage to determine if I’m “home” or if it’s using my address which it has programmed. If it’s address it might think I’m not home because my address on a map doesn’t correspond well to where I actually live with some digital maps. Other more simple and I think likely explaination is that we have to somehow turn off the “charge now” mode before plugging in. I do see a button on left side dash that says something about not charging or stop charging. Not sure what that is used or needed for yet.

Lastly, for anyone reading this you could see all the complaints and get the very wrong impression that we don’t love this car overall. Nothing could be further from truth! Coincidentally while typing this my wife just said out of the blue- “I love this car, it’s frigging awesome!” Just bringing up areas that could improve.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I coast a lot too. In fact I was coasting down the hill from North Bend on Highway 18 up to around 80 mph and shifting back to B mode (I am normally in E Pedal) to slow to 65ish then repeat. I was regenning at 167 amps (60 KW!!)

 

[daw37]

About a month and a half into my '18 SV. I like it for the most part. (had a 2011 and 2016 before.)

Love:
-Adaptive cruise control
-blind spot warning
-cross traffic warning in reverse (only experienced it once so far)
-Stronger B mode
-improved acceleration

Hate:
-The 4 blind spots on the corners. (The A pilar can hide an entire car at an intersection. I've gotten use to looking around it in my previous LEAFs, but it can be dangerous. I heard Nissan planned to change it, but I guess in the rush to get a Gen 2 out the door, that improvement got dropped.
-The center console has sides that flare out reducing knee room, and contact my knee at the top edge while driving. They serve no purpose unless it is for crash protection. I wish I could take it out. My '11 & '16 were more comfortable. I didn't notice it in my test drive, but I guess I'd have got the car anyway.

Other comments:
I have found that lane keeping mode has to be watched very closely. It does some crazy things sometimes. Works ok under perfect conditions, but not so good when lane markings are weak, or when the right line follows an exit. Also, It kind of drifts back and forth in the lane. Don't rely on it, but ok as a backup if you are tired or distracted.

My charge port light comes on when I open the lid (I usually open from the dash button). You might check with the dealer on that.

ePedal is interesting, but I probably won't use it much except in stop 'n go traffic as mentioned. (be ready to use the brake in quick stop situations though)

I've had the same experience with priority to full charge. Would rather have the old timer where you just turn off the stop time. (I prefer to charge after midnight)

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

About a month and a half into my '18 SV. I like it for the most part. (had a 2011 and 2016 before.)

Love:
-Adaptive cruise control
-blind spot warning
-cross traffic warning in reverse (only experienced it once so far)
-Stronger B mode
-improved acceleration

Hate:
-The 4 blind spots on the corners. (The A pilar can hide an entire car at an intersection. I've gotten use to looking around it in my previous LEAFs, but it can be dangerous. I heard Nissan planned to change it, but I guess in the rush to get a Gen 2 out the door, that improvement got dropped.
-The center console has sides that flare out reducing knee room, and contact my knee at the top edge while driving. They serve no purpose unless it is for crash protection. I wish I could take it out. My '11 & '16 were more comfortable. I didn't notice it in my test drive, but I guess I'd have got the car anyway.

Other comments:
I have found that lane keeping mode has to be watched very closely. It does some crazy things sometimes. Works ok under perfect conditions, but not so good when lane markings are weak, or when the right line follows an exit. Also, It kind of drifts back and forth in the lane. Don't rely on it, but ok as a backup if you are tired or distracted.

My charge port light comes on when I open the lid (I usually open from the dash button). You might check with the dealer on that.

ePedal is interesting, but I probably won't use it much except in stop 'n go traffic as mentioned. (be ready to use the brake in quick stop situations though)

I've had the same experience with priority to full charge. Would rather have the old timer where you just turn off the stop time. (I prefer to charge after midnight)

sooooo.... you like the stronger regen in B mode AND have already put E Pedal in the drawer?

 

[LeftieBiker]

I like coasting, feels like good coasting will save more energy than regen gives back. I could be wrong on this.

If circumstances allow it safely, coasting is always much more efficient than regen.

About the Bose stereo: did the people who dislike it adjust the sound through the menu? It sounds very mediocre off the lot, but much better when adjusted for personal tastes.

 

[Nubo]

The problem I see with the Bose, is the ridiculously huge amplifier usurping the floor of the cargo area.
How is it in practice?

 

[LeftieBiker]

When I installed my spare tire the subwoofer ended up slightly below the rest of the false floor level, so no problem for me.

 

[LeaferSutherland]

The problem I see with the Bose, is the ridiculously huge amplifier usurping the floor of the cargo area.
How is it in practice?

Ours came with a storage organizer tub thing that we sort of half filled with things we just keep in the car so the top of that sits above the audio stuff. Haven’t really noticed it at all.