mad about averaging only 67 miles per charge in last 27trips

[amtoro]

I think we are all wasting our time on this post; if the OP has not replied and this was his/her first post (allegedly has had the car for 6 months), I could safely assume that this is just an attempt to do bad press.

These posts show up in google search results after all.

 

[abasile]

People ask me all the time how many miles of range my LEAF gets. I tell them I can get 100 miles out of it if I drive really gently, or roughly 70 miles at "normal" freeway speeds. In terms of range, driving 55 mph on the freeway seems only a tad worse than careful stop and go city driving. "Normal" stop and go (with jackrabbit starts and hard braking) might only yield ~ 70 miles.

 

[tbleakne]

As my Leaf delivery date slowly approached, the results from the first owners discussed on this forum clearly showed me that I was not going to be able to reliably achieve 100 mile range. I was disappointed, but I bought the car anyway, and I am very glad I did.

With about 4K miles on my Leaf, I have gradually been able to improve my range by careful driving. My best so far is 83 miles from 100% (actually 98.2% as measured by SOC meter), with part of 1 red bar remaining, about 90% on the freeway. I get this driving 54-62 mph depending upon the traffic conditions. I used .7 kW of A/C one-way for the above drive, but at freeway speeds this penalty is acceptable to me. I don't know how much farther I could go before Turtle, and I don't really want to find out, because I want my battery to last as long as possible. Based upon others' experience, I am confident I can now go 88-90 miles if absolutely necessary, provided the route has no major grades.

The most important improvement for me was to concentrate on keeping the power meter as close as possible to the neutral circle. I could probably do somewhat better by watching the power dial on the center console, but for me that is too far off my line of vision for frequent reference.

Getting 100 miles on 80% charge for 38 mph city driving, as LEAFfan reports, is not going to happen for me. I assume "city driving" is surface streets, because in my area it is unsafe to drive at 38 mph on freeways. I try to time lights on streets, but I get surprised by the light timing too often. I don't drive in neutral. I get significantly better results on the freeway than surface streets driving as described above.

 

[Volusiano]

It makes a tremendous difference when you use 'N' and or regen vs. neither.

Instead of using N, wouldn't feathering the gas pedal such that no energy use is shown on the energy meter be the same thing? That way, you don't have to constantly be switching in and out of N.

I think feathering the gas pedal for 0 energy use is a faster and easier way to control and get in and out of pulse & glide & regen, unless you have very long stretches of city road without too many lights, where N can help relieve the attention needed for feathering the pedal.

But my best measured record so far is an average of 6.3 kw/m based on about 50 miles of city driving round trip, going at the average of about 40 miles. Maybe if I keep the avg speed down to around 35, it can be better.

 

[surfingslovak]

Not withstanding the marketing statements of real world 100 miles (that are clearly wrong), Nissan and the US government agency that requires that big sticker on the window (the Monroney sticker) make sure the consumer knows the energy efficiency of the product they are buying.

Agreed. Unfortunately, Nissan continues to market the Leaf as a 100-miles vehicle and I would not be surprised if the four pages of legal disclosures grew longer over time. Given my personal experience with the car, I think that it would be a much more honest approach to market it as an 80-miles vehicle, which can go farther in the right circumstances. And while the car is fun to drive, it might be helpful to educate prospects and new owners on efficient driving techniques as well.

Telling folks that they can drive 100 miles, while not saying that this implies squeezing the last ounce of energy out of the battery, which the instrumentation in the car will make both unpleasant and scary, might not be the best approach.

 

[smkettner]

The 100 miles has always had the LA4 test listed as a source. Maybe the LA4 test should be called out rather than Nissan.

 

[surfingslovak]

The 100 miles has always had the LA4 test listed as a source. Maybe the LA4 test should be called out rather than Nissan.

Perhaps, and if the Leaf passes this test with flying colors, then more power to them. It should absolutely be advertised.

My criticism is two-fold: the usability of the instrument panel is inadequate. Revision of the guessometer or the inclusion of an SOC meter would go a long way. Nissan could also take a note and publish an official range chart. Stoaty's guide to efficient driving is excellent as well.

But more importantly, Nissan has plenty of real-world data courtesy of CARWINGS now. They know what median range Leaf owners are getting, they know. The EPA rating aside for a moment, there should be no reason to hide behind the LA4 test when telling prospects what Leaf's real-world range was.

 

[LEAFfan]

Instead of using N, wouldn't feathering the gas pedal such that no energy use is shown on the energy meter be the same thing? That way, you don't have to constantly be switching in and out of N.
I think feathering the gas pedal for 0 energy use is a faster and easier way to control and get in and out of pulse & glide & regen, unless you have very long stretches of city road without too many lights, where N can help relieve the attention needed for feathering the pedal.

The only way you're going to use zero energy by feathering the accelerator is at a very low speed...under 15. Just watch your energy screen on the console. When you put it in 'N', no matter what speed, it will always show zero, but the neutral bubble still uses energy so it isn't as efficient as 'N'. And it's very easy to slip it into 'N' from 38mph or any speed 7mph or higher...just push it into 'R'.

 

[Volusiano]

And it's very easy to slip it into 'N' from 38mph or any speed 7mph or higher...just push it into 'R'.

And the reason to slip it into R is so that it goes to N right away instead of having to take a second or two in the case of putting it to N the normal way?

 

[Volusiano]

Instead of using N, wouldn't feathering the gas pedal such that no energy use is shown on the energy meter be the same thing? That way, you don't have to constantly be switching in and out of N.
I think feathering the gas pedal for 0 energy use is a faster and easier way to control and get in and out of pulse & glide & regen, unless you have very long stretches of city road without too many lights, where N can help relieve the attention needed for feathering the pedal.

The only way you're going to use zero energy by feathering the accelerator is at a very low speed...under 15. Just watch your energy screen on the console. When you put it in 'N', no matter what speed, it will always show zero, but the neutral bubble still uses energy so it isn't as efficient as 'N'. And it's very easy to slip it into 'N' from 38mph or any speed 7mph or higher...just push it into 'R'.

Feathering the pedal may not be 100% as N, but if you get good at it, it can be very close to 0 most of the time. I still think it's much easier feathering the pedal than constantly going in and out of N all the times. That gear knob is not designed to be switched back and forth that often while you drive. But the pedal is designed for constant fluctuation without worrying about wearing it down.

 

[garygid]

Gear knob not designed for frequent use?
Please, where did you get that, or is it just a guess?

 

[garygid]

Since the SOC-Meter can sit on the shelf above the Nav screen, it can
be located in easy view as the driver keeps the "eyes on the road".

Since the SOC-Meter now shows (what we think is) Battery Pack Amps
(and Power as nn.n kW), it can be used instead of the rather coarse
"Bubble" gauge, or the Motor Power "dial" on the Energy screen.

The SOC-Meter (Kit or Built) now comes with 4 sets of velcro squares,
so the meter can be used in several locations, as desired.

 

[Stoaty]

Looks like a "drive by" post, with no response from the OP.

 

[Spies]

With about 4K miles on my Leaf, I have gradually been able to improve my range by careful driving. My best so far is 83 miles from 100% (actually 98.2% as measured by SOC meter), with part of 1 red bar remaining, about 90% on the freeway. I get this driving 54-62 mph depending upon the traffic conditions. I used .7 kW of A/C one-way for the above drive, but at freeway speeds this penalty is acceptable to me. I don't know how much farther I could go before Turtle, and I don't really want to find out, because I want my battery to last as long as possible. Based upon others' experience, I am confident I can now go 88-90 miles if absolutely necessary, provided the route has no major grades.

Part of 1 red bar remaining? I assume you mean the last bar of the 12 bars illuminated. I always thought the red bars are part of the battery condition gauge and has nothing to do with available charge. Did the first of the low battery waring come on for you? I have recently driven 2 over 80 mile trips on a full charge that were mostly freeway and had 3 bars illuminated when I got home both times. I did keep my speeds at or below 60 for the entire trip and only used the fan and I had an adult passenger with me both times. Granted both trips did not gain much in the way of elevation. Oh and I am still on the original firmware.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I have recently driven 2 over 80 mile trips on a full charge that were mostly freeway and had 3 bars illuminated when I got home... Oh and I am still on the original firmware.

A very important distinction, since relatively few cars have the original firmware. If you had a post April 2011 car, you probably would have had a single fuel bar when you got home.

 

[thankyouOB]

That gear knob is not designed to be switched back and forth that often while you drive. But the pedal is designed for constant fluctuation without worrying about wearing it down.

what is the basis for this statement?
reverse engineering or just supposition?
please to know.

 

[Volusiano]

That gear knob is not designed to be switched back and forth that often while you drive. But the pedal is designed for constant fluctuation without worrying about wearing it down.

what is the basis for this statement?
reverse engineering or just supposition?
please to know.

Just an obvious educated guess. If you look at it, I'm sure Nissan doesn't design the gear knob in mind with the intended purpose of having it switched back and forth by the user every minute or less, possibly hundreds of times in a trip. They design the gear knob with the intended purpose of it being used only a few times a trip, in the beginning and end, and maybe just a couple of times during a trip.

On the other hand, the gas pedal is designed to be used hundreds of times a trip, if not thousands of times, with smooth seamless transitioning up and down the range, not clunky up and down motion like the gear knob.

Do you think Nissan ever tested the gear knob in your mode of operation (switching to neutral at least dozens if not hundreds of times back and forth in a trip) to make sure that it doesn't wear out after ten years of use? I'll bet money that Nissan never tested or even considered this scenario. I'm sure Nissan's intended frequency of use for the gear knob is for just a few times each trip and they would test it accordingly at this frequency only.

So I'm just using common sense on my guess. You don't need to have Nissan's documented of disapproval to avoid doing something not intended for that kind of use in the first place. And if Nissan had known many users may resort to using the gear box in this mode, I wouldn't be surprised that they would have documented their disapproval of such mode of operation.

 

[LEAFfan]

And it's very easy to slip it into 'N' from 38mph or any speed 7mph or higher...just push it into 'R'.

And the reason to slip it into R is so that it goes to N right away instead of having to take a second or two in the case of putting it to N the normal way?

Exactly! It's much easier and quicker to put it in 'R' than hold it for two-three seconds to the left.
As I've said before, putting it in the neutral bubble does use less energy, BUT it is never zero like 'N' unless you are going a very slow speed. Feathering the accelerator as you suggest doesn't work when you want to coast to a stoplight a 1/4 of a mile away. I use the neutral bubble/feathering all the time when I'm driving, except when I see the light is going to change to red, then it's 'N'. How do you think I've been achieving such high m/kW h all the time?

 

[cwerdna]

Looks like a "drive by" post, with no response from the OP.

Agreed. I don't think anyone should spend any more time here trying to help until he responds to the questions asked.

 

[Volusiano]

Looks like a "drive by" post, with no response from the OP.

Agreed. I don't think anyone should spend anymore time here trying to help until he responds to the questions already.

That's OK. I think as long as we're having an interesting discussion about the topic at hand brought up by the OP, I couldn't care less whether we get a response from the OP or not.