Nissan Leaf Test Drive Tour Reports (Oct 1-3)

[mwalsh]

Here is a link to the KABC piece from the event:

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/video?id=7701730

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

i have been involved in many of these types of "throw together" events and none have run smoothly or for that matter; very well. they all had hiccups, the time schedules for events was a joke, etc.

what always happens here, is that way more people show up then the event planners have support people to handle. information is handed down from various people; none of which has previous experience with that information so all will "edit" the info a bit.

my guess is that Nissan will travel with 40-50 people, half of which will be the "info" people and bring in locals for support. unless you are talking with one of the travel people; some, part or most of the info you hear will be wrong

 

[sparky]

As a working person I can't take 4 hours off of work for a 5 to 8 minute test drive. I had to leave without a test drive. I talked to a manager about returning tomorrow morning at 9:00am when they open. Maybe I will get in since this is the first session.
Has anyone else had this experence???

Yeah, I was a 9am appt. Couldn't stay too long. When my name didn't come up with the 9:15 call I just asked the next tour guide if I could go with her group. She saw I had a wristband and said "sure no problem". Later, I saw a guy all stressed about running late and getting straight to the test drive and they let him slide through as well. They're gonna be snowed today, and they should be a bit more accommodating to the registered folks but I appreciate that they weren't too nuts about sequencing. Hey, I am glad people are franticly trying to get into an EV!

 

[jlaw99]

In our CUV we've removed the headrests for better visibilty. That is what I'll do in Leaf, if it is a problem.

fyi - One function of the "headrests" is to reduce the risk of serious neck damage (whiplash) if you are in an accident. I would think twice before removing them....!

 

[EVDRIVER]

In our CUV we've removed the headrests for better visibilty. That is what I'll do in Leaf, if it is a problem.

fyi - One function of the "headrests" is to reduce the risk of serious neck damage (whiplash) if you are in an accident. I would think twice before removing them....!

Yes- I would never remove mine, you don't want to be hit from behind without one.

 

[JPVLeaf]

Other thoughts from 6 hours at Alt Car Expo today. In no particular order.
(text omitted)
- Talked with Aerovironment about some specific questions I had about my EVSE install. Not helpful because they guy didn't know anything about the Leaf EVSE assessments or specifics, or the AV guy, Marty, who I've been dealing with. I asked how much their EVSE would be if I wanted to buy it and he said "$2200 installed". I asked how much it would be if I had a 40 Amp, 240V circuit in the exact right spot for the EVSE. He said "$2200 installed". I asked him if he could see why that doesn't make sense and he said "No, we have some installations that are very long cable runs and require trenching." I asked if he was saying that the first guy has to pay part of the second guy's costs and he basically said yes. INCREDIBLE!

Wow, getting a little testy are they? Wonder why? That last comment goes a long way. I woulda had to pick my jaw up off the floor.

 

[mwalsh]

It should have started already today.....looking forward to the reports! I know Mallory is driving today, who else? If I had the time, I think I'd just go back and hang out. They have free muffins and coffee!

 

[EVDRIVER]

It should have started already today.....looking forward to the reports! I know Mallory is driving today, who else? If I had the time, I think I'd just go back and hang out. They have free muffins and coffee!

Free muffins, that's worth waiting another two hours alone

 

[Jimmydreams]

So "Carlos" came and tried the shifter and it just worked ?

I'll have to look at the video again. But either we shut it off and he just started it again and it worked, or he shut it off and restarted it and it worked. One or the other.

I heard it was a "ctl-alt-del" reboot. Or in the Leaf's case, you have to hold "econ-vol-find charging station" buttons to effect the reboot.

 

[mitch672]

I am 3,000 miles away, but it sounds like Nissan is using the same "smartkey" technology as Toyota uses on the Prius. If I press the "Start" button, without keeping the brake pedal depressed, the Prius will go into "accessory" mode ( for using the radio, etc), and won't go into 'start' mode (car cannot be put in gear). Sounds like many where having the same issue with the Leaf (not going into gear when just the "start" button is pressed without depressing the brake pedal when pushing start)

 

[EVDRIVER]

I am 3,000 miles away, but it sounds like Nissan is using the same "smartkey" technology as Toyota uses on the Prius. If I press the "Start" button, without keeping the brake pedal depressed, the Prius will go into "accessory" mode ( for using the radio, etc), and won't go into 'start' mode (car cannot be put in gear). Sounds like many where having the same issue with the Leaf (not going into gear when just the "start" button is pressed without depressing the brake pedal when pushing start)

That is logical, when I was in the car I guessed the sequence and started it in 2 seconds, easy. Most EVs require a foot on the brake first. People will need to get used to the parking brake as it does not give a visual indication it is on or off, like the position of the lever but that is a quick learning curve.

 

[garygid]

The back-seat headrests in my 2010 Prius have a "fold-forward-and-down" feature, for better visibility when nobody is riding back there.

Does the LEAF have some similar feature, perhaps easy to remove and replace?

 

[Boomer23]

I am disappointed with the way this event was handled. There was no presidence given to reservations, appointments or car buyers.

I agree that there should have been preference given to Leaf reservation holders and those who had reserved time slots online. That was poorly done. They had a slick-looking system with three people at check-in, wristbands, color coded groups, screens to show who was next and some of the staff had iPad type tablets to update whom was next. But the whole thing slowed to a crawl around mid-day.

I had a 2:30 appointment but I was there by 11:15 and I checked in early, thinking I might drive early if there was room. I backed off and waited until my appointment time when it was obvious there was a supply/demand problem.

I'm so sorry to hear that some of us who need to drive the cars and who followed Nissan's instructions had to leave without driving the car. They did have high level people there from Nissan, so I think that an appeal to one of the staff to escalate the issue for a reservation holder would have done some good. If you find yourself in that situation today, I suggest that you find the highest level person you can find with a Nissan shirt on and explain your status and the issue. They do have the power to change the schedules.

 

[garygid]

Two different features, being "shifted" into "P" (Park), and having the "Parking Brake" ON.

The Parking Brake lever has a small LED on it, presumably to indicate brake ON or OFF?

To start up, getting out of the accessory mode, being "shifted" into Park, pressing the foot-brake, not pressing the go-faster, having a working RFID (or the "key" from one), and pressing the "Start" button (perpaps only a momentary press) might all be necessary?

 

[evnow]

Is this software also written by CM ?

 

[garygid]

Let's start another thread for each day's drive reports?
Otherwise, the thread gets TOO long.

 

[TRONZ]

As a final note, all the Nissan and Drive Event staff were very friendly and professional. Pretty much showing up as just an observer Fri. (just wanted to see the cars in action) I feel lucky that my wife and I each got a presentation and test drive with the kids (two BIG thumbs up from them BTW). The staff were clearly doing the best they could with a very glitchy software "system". It would seem that the problem escalates as the day wears on. Early is better if you are in a hurry... or hungry. No muffins or cookies left by the time we got done (4:45) It is all a very good start and the scale of the Leaf Drive facility is impressive. It will get faster as the staff/organizers gain event experience.

 

[Skywagon]

The car did away with LED headlights and had HID bulbs instead (or so it appeared).

Has this been verified by anyone else? The FAQ section on the Leaf site still lists them as LED.

 

[LEAFer]

And THIS is what LEAFguy says ... and he's normally pretty well informed. But additional verbal confirmation closer to Nissan would be appreciated.

 

[mwalsh]

A last note from me on yesterday....sorry if anyone's question(s) went unanswered from yesterday. I did manage to grab a few people from Nissan, but the knowledge range was from minimal to very good but not particularly interested in what I was trying to do there in terms of the live Q&A.