Newbie Leaf Owner...

[LEVE]

Leaf Newbie here... I just purchased a 2024 Leaf SV last week. I've driven a Prius for the last, almost 20 years. I've had a few, a 2001, 2002 (x2), 2004, 2005 (x2), and now a 2018. They're a darned fine car. I planned on making the 2004 into a "Pruck", a Prius Pickup. But after two years of it sitting in the driveway, it went to a friend who could use it more than I. So, with all but the 2018 Priusi gone, it was time to look for another car. I love the Hybrid, but it was time to jump into the EV world.

I thought about a Tesla. Hertz has quite a few on the market, and the used prices are falling. I decided against buying used. With a Tesla, that's a huge risk. The cost of any repair on a Tesla is insane.

Of course, the Prius Prime crossed my mind. They're a mighty fine car, but new ones are unaffordable and it's still a hybrid. The used ones cost is very high, and their battery packs are aging. It would be paying a premium, again a risk I didn't want to take.

The Leaf fits my needs. I'm still suffering from range anxiety, and awaiting my Leaf-related purchases...

1) Spare tire and jack/tools
2) Level 2 Charger for the Garage

Hopefully, when I get the garage cleaned out I'll fab up an under-car holder for the spare. The commercial ones are pretty danged pricey.

My garage doesn't have a 240-volt outlet. I'll take care of that quickly.

I'm toying with the idea of a lift kit. I'm sure there are other modifications, tricks, tips, etc. that I have no idea about.

I am looking forward to hints/tips from more experienced Leaf owners. I've only put a couple of hundred miles on it the last two days... but I silently grin (to myself) as I pass the $5 gas stations up. It's a good feeling.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

Welcome!

Easiest way to improve efficiency is to move tires above 40psi.

Also, maintain momentum (rolling to stop lights rather than accelerate and break) whenever possible.

 

[Dooglas]

The Leaf fits my needs. I'm still suffering from range anxiety, and awaiting my Leaf-related purchases...

Congratulations on your new LEAF. I also own a LEAF (an SL+) and a Prius V. And I have a level 2 charger in the garage. This my third LEAF and I may have become blaise about range anxiety. However I can't help but ask - with about 200 miles of range for a daily drive and a Prius for any longer trips, what are you anxious about?

 

[LEVE]

Thanks for your reply, you ask "What am I worried about?"

That's a great question. I live in the middle of nowhere, in a rural area. The nearest Walmart is 26 miles away. I went shopping today with my wife for a 130-mile trip to Walmart, Costco, and a medical appointment. I started with a 78% charge. When I got home, I had about 30 miles left and was down to 12% battery charge. I'm glad to know I made it, but had I gone to one other stop I wanted to make, I may not have made it home. That's on me! I looked for listed chargers in the area, and they were not there. I needed to look for more on the list but chose not to. The trip would not have been so anxious if I'd started with a 98% charge. That's part of my learning curve. I need to grasp better where public chargers are, and how the car's % battery charge/mileage left coordinate. That will help me be less anxious and more confident in making decisions about running the car on a less-than-full charge. I drive 120 to 150-mile trips several times a month. I bought the Leaf to lessen the strain on my aging Prius, as well as decrease dependence on $5 per gallon gas. Installing the level 2 charger in the garage will decrease my range anxiety. The charge will be here in about a week and I'll be installing the 240VAC outlet this week.

 

[LEVE]

Welcome!

Easiest way to improve efficiency is to move tires above 40psi.

Also, maintain momentum (rolling to stop lights rather than accelerate and break) whenever possible.

Thanks for the welcome. Those are good suggestions. I have used each of them with my Prius to eke out every bit of mileage I could. The Prius is pretty nose-heavy. Increasing the front tires to 40psi does cause increased tire wear. Have you seen that issue on the Leaf when you increased tire pressure? Right now all four tires are at about 35psi.

 

[Joeaverage]

Thanks for your reply, you ask "What am I worried about?"

That's a great question. I live in the middle of nowhere, in a rural area. The nearest Walmart is 26 miles away. I went shopping today with my wife for a 130-mile trip to Walmart, Costco, and a medical appointment. I started with a 78% charge. When I got home, I had about 30 miles left and was down to 12% battery charge. I'm glad to know I made it, but had I gone to one other stop I wanted to make, I may not have made it home. That's on me! I looked for listed chargers in the area, and they were not there. I needed to look for more on the list but chose not to. The trip would not have been so anxious if I'd started with a 98% charge. That's part of my learning curve. I need to grasp better where public chargers are, and how the car's % battery charge/mileage left coordinate. That will help me be less anxious and more confident in making decisions about running the car on a less-than-full charge. I drive 120 to 150-mile trips several times a month. I bought the Leaf to lessen the strain on my aging Prius, as well as decrease dependence on $5 per gallon gas. Installing the level 2 charger in the garage will decrease my range anxiety. The charge will be here in about a week and I'll be installing the 240VAC outlet this week.

I did something similar last weekend. Left our rural home to visit the big city ~100 miles away with ~80% charge. Maiden voyage for our used EV. Along the way I received a call from my father requesting I stop by to help with something. Dropped my wife at her family's home and drove across the county and up the mtn to my parents' house. Did a couple of errands. Still had plenty of range for around town but now needed to charge before coming home over the mtns.

Surprise! No L3 chargers on that side of town after all. Had to drive 20 miles out of my way to charge at a fast charger near the interstate across town. Wife's family lives in a well to do area with a mall. Why doesn't the mall or one of the big box retailers have a fast charger? Aren't even any Rivian or Tesla chargers on that side of town.

Came home, ordered a 220V portable charger to keep in the car. At least I can charge off of parents' dryer/welder outlets. I'll happily pay them for the electricity and we visit for much of a day or overnight. Plenty time to L2 charge. If we drive to my parent's place or her parent's place only, and my son isn't driving us (lead foot) then we have plenty of range on the initial charge. Our son has a heavier foot than I do when climbing the mtns between us and our destination.

 

[LEVE]

I did something similar last weekend. Left our rural home to visit the big city ~100 miles away with ~80% charge. Maiden voyage for our used EV. Along the way I received a call from my father requesting I stop by to help with something. Dropped my wife at her family's home and drove across the county and up the mtn to my parents' house. Did a couple of errands. Still had plenty of range for around town but now needed to charge before coming home over the mtns.

Surprise! No L3 chargers on that side of town after all. Had to drive 20 miles out of my way to charge at a fast charger near the interstate across town. Wife's family lives in a well to do area with a mall. Why doesn't the mall or one of the big box retailers have a fast charger? Aren't even any Rivian or Tesla chargers on that side of town.

Came home, ordered a 220V portable charger to keep in the car. At least I can charge off of parents' dryer/welder outlets. I'll happily pay them for the electricity and we visit for much of a day or overnight. Plenty time to L2 charge. If we drive to my parent's place or her parent's place only, and my son isn't driving us (lead foot) then we have plenty of range on the initial charge. Our son has a heavier foot than I do when climbing the mtns between us and our destination.

I did something similar last weekend. Left our rural home to visit the big city ~100 miles away with ~80% charge. Maiden voyage for our used EV. Along the way I received a call from my father requesting I stop by to help with something. Dropped my wife at her family's home and drove across the county and up the mtn to my parents' house. Did a couple of errands. Still had plenty of range for around town but now needed to charge before coming home over the mtns.

Surprise! No L3 chargers on that side of town after all. Had to drive 20 miles out of my way to charge at a fast charger near the interstate across town. Wife's family lives in a well to do area with a mall. Why doesn't the mall or one of the big box retailers have a fast charger? Aren't even any Rivian or Tesla chargers on that side of town.

Came home, ordered a 220V portable charger to keep in the car. At least I can charge off of parents' dryer/welder outlets. I'll happily pay them for the electricity and we visit for much of a day or overnight. Plenty time to L2 charge. If we drive to my parent's place or her parent's place only, and my son isn't driving us (lead foot) then we have plenty of range on the initial charge. Our son has a heavier foot than I do when climbing the mtns between us and our destin

 

[LeafNissan1]

Thanks for the welcome. Those are good suggestions. I have used each of them with my Prius to eke out every bit of mileage I could. The Prius is pretty nose-heavy. Increasing the front tires to 40psi does cause increased tire wear. Have you seen that issue on the Leaf when you increased tire pressure? Right now all four tires are at about 35psi.

I too am a former Prius driver and a big fan of those cars. I've owned a 2013, 2016 and 2019 Prius Prime. Then bought a 2020 Honda Clarity and then purchased a new 2022 Leaf SV (40kWh), a new 2023 Leaf S and a used 2022 SV (40kWh) to replace the original 2022 when it was totaled in a accident, after being hit from behind while stopped at a light. I purchased a new EV every year for the tax break and found that I could, at the worst, break-even when I sold the car with ultra-low miles, and with the Clarity (also a great car), I made a large profit on it's sale.

Since my first Prius, I've employed hypermiling techniques and was able to get fantastic miles per gallon with all of those cars, in the 70+mpg neighborhood. With all of my vehicles over the past 50 years, which includes motorcycles/scooters, motorhomes, 5th wheels, SUV's and passenger cars, I've kept my tires inflated at least 10% above the recommended level and often much more than that. In the old days, over-inflating tires could lead to uneven tread wear, with the center of the tire wearing prematurely. However, since the advent of belted radial tires, I've never found this to be a problem, even in the least bit. The main disadvantage is a rougher ride and counter-intuitively, under-inflated tires are more likely to hydroplane in wet conditions. In answer your question, I've seen no increased wear running all of my tires on the Leafs at 44psi.

You mentioned that your new 2024 was a SV trim level, so I assume you have the 60kWh battery in that car. When you started with a 78% charge indicated, what range was it showing? With my 40kWh Leaf and a 78% of charge showing, my range shows 130mi, so was curious on what the difference is between the 2 cars in this regard.

 

[LEVE]

"When you started with a 78% charge indicated, what range was it showing? With my 40kWh Leaf and a 78% of charge showing, my range shows 130mi, so was curious on what the difference is between the 2 cars in this regard."

As an example, right now the Leaf shows 67% charge with a 145 to 147-mile range.

 

[marshallinwash]

Consulate Plugshare for a list of the L2 and DC chargers. You can download the app to your phone or use your computer. Can you charge at the Olympia dealership when you are on your Costco run?

https://www.plugshare.com/

 

[LEVE]

Can you charge at the Olympia dealership when you are on your Costco run?

https://www.plugshare.com/

Yes, that's the plan. I have a daughter who lives just a couple of blocks from the Olympia Nissan Dealer. I plan on charging at the dealer if the charger is open. I'm also going to install a 240VAC outlet in her garage for "home" charging. Going to Astoria Oregon is another matter. It's on the ragged edge of anxiety. I'll also be installing a 240VAC outlet in my Astoria Daughters home. Now I'm also looking into a CHAdeMO to CSS adapter (Sticker Shock! ), as well as a Tesla adapter. I'm looking for as many options as possible. Right now I'm just researching and trying to educate myself.