Air Conditioning in Arizona Heat

[DaveinOlyWA]

I know this might seem strange but my A/C does not seem to perform consistently. For a while, it seemed like it wouldn't get real cold until I was at highway speeds. This I really noticed when parked charging with A/C on. It wouldn't cool off unless I dropped the thermostat way down and that is not how A/C really works.

But then sometimes it would pump out cool air right away. I am still puzzled at the inconsistencies but it does work and very well, although sometimes it takes a bit longer to get going. But my being spoiled means a bit longer is one minute instead of 15 seconds...

[GerryAZ]

Did the cars you test drove have tinted windows? With all the heat related degradation issues the Bolt and I3 have active cooling to better tolerate the AZ heat.

FWIW, just the other day, 2 Vegas i3 folks were encountering their i3 severely limiting output to the point of losing power or being unable to move.

Seems like folks those folks need to run the AC to cool the battery while sitting for awhile or preconditioning to cool down the battery. One of them showed an OAT of 122 F (https://www.facebook.com/groups/BMWi3/p ... 828105706/).

https://www.facebook.com/groups/BMWi3/p ... 008107788/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/BMWi3/p ... 438104745/ - mentioned 113 F

I cannot read the posts because I am not part of the Facebook group, but if the i3 reduces power in the heat I am really glad I have the Leaf. I have had the Leaf limit maximum power to the traction motor when battery temperature got really high after quick charge (11 temperature bars or higher), but even then the A/C worked fine and the car would accelerate and run highway speed (acceleration was just much slower than normal).

[cwerdna]

I cannot read the posts because I am not part of the Facebook group, but if the i3 reduces power in the heat I am really glad I have the Leaf. I have had the Leaf limit maximum power to the traction motor when battery temperature got really high after quick charge (11 temperature bars or higher), but even then the A/C worked fine and the car would accelerate and run highway speed (acceleration was just much slower than normal).

One of those i3 drivers said they couldn't move and showed a pic of their dash w/little showing on the ePower side.

The other said "So hot car lost all power and safety systems shut down. Had to exit freeway. " His had 1 more ePower bar.

[azmikemiller]

Describe your typical driving patterns and I will give you some recommendations as to whether a Leaf would be suitable for your needs in Phoenix.

I'd like to take you up on this offer, since I am debating canceling my Tesla 3 reservation and getting a '17 Leaf using the SRP discount right now.

Live in Metro Phoenix. Daily roundtrip commute is 12 miles, half of which is freeway. Most errands I need to run are within 5 miles of my house. The furthest my friends/family live is 30mi one way, but the most common I see are 10 and 20mi one way. I'm not into hypermiling and doubt I'd drive the car in anything like an Eco mode. For out of town day trips I'd likely rent an ICE.

I own my house and the car would be in the garage (normally at same temp as outside ambient air) when I am at home and under covered parking at work. I'll have a 220v charger installed in my garage and will be able to charge it every night if needed.

Thanks for any advice or insight.

[GerryAZ]

Describe your typical driving patterns and I will give you some recommendations as to whether a Leaf would be suitable for your needs in Phoenix.

I'd like to take you up on this offer, since I am debating canceling my Tesla 3 reservation and getting a '17 Leaf using the SRP discount right now.

Live in Metro Phoenix. Daily roundtrip commute is 12 miles, half of which is freeway. Most errands I need to run are within 5 miles of my house. The furthest my friends/family live is 30mi one way, but the most common I see are 10 and 20mi one way. I'm not into hypermiling and doubt I'd drive the car in anything like an Eco mode. For out of town day trips I'd likely rent an ICE.

I own my house and the car would be in the garage (normally at same temp as outside ambient air) when I am at home and under covered parking at work. I'll have a 220v charger installed in my garage and will be able to charge it every night if needed.

Thanks for any advice or insight.

I never hyper mile unless I misjudge distance to a charging station and end up cutting it really close. I believe in using all 80 kW off the stop lights and all 30 kW of regeneration when slowing down! At almost 30 months and 44,500 miles I would need to hold my speed down to 65 on the freeway or find a charging station to make a 60-mile round trip because my battery is down to 11 capacity bars and I have sport performance tires (lost about 15% of range when I put the new tires on, but worth it for handling and wet/dry traction). You should have no trouble making a 60-mile round trip at full freeway speed with A/C blasting since you will have the 30 kWh battery with a 2017. I recommend an SV or SL to get remote climate control through EV Connect, the heat pump system, and 17-inch wheels (although the 16-inch OEM Bridgestone Ecopias that came on my 2011 were far better tires than the 17-inch OEM Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires that came on my 2015).

Look at all of the incentives being offered. The SRP rebate is a good deal, but it is off MSRP so interest free financing and Nissan cash rebates combined may be a better deal (depending upon circumstances). I needed to make a quick trip across town a few weeks ago and stopped in to use my dealer's DCQC. I bought both of my Leafs at Pinnacle Nissan so the salesman insisted on putting numbers together for trading my 2015 for a new 2017. We were talking for 30 minutes or so while my car charged and I was surprised by all of the incentives that were available at that time. I have 6-year, no interest Nissan financing on my 2015 and there is nothing wrong with it so I respectfully declined to trade, but the numbers were actually much better than I expected considering the depreciation of my 2015. As you probably know, the VLT and registration fees for alternative fuel vehicles in AZ are much lower than conventional cars (and you get HOV lane access).

[LeftieBiker]

If you could air condition that garage to keep the temp below 80F, and to cool it further overnight, it would help.

[GerryAZ]

If you could air condition that garage to keep the temp below 80F, and to cool it further overnight, it would help.

It might make the battery last a little longer, but at even $100 per month average to air condition that big space with big doors that let a bunch of heat in when you open them, I am money ahead by saving that money for a future replacement battery purchase (if needed). The 2017 30 kWh battery has an 8-year, 100,000-mile defect warranty and capacity warranty. My 2015 24 kWh battery has the 5-year, 60,000-mile capacity warranty and 8-year, 100,000-mile defect warranty. The "lizard" battery in the 2015 is doing so much better than the original and replacement batteries in the 2011 that there is virtually no chance for me to collect on the capacity warranty this time around.

[azmikemiller]

*snip*
Look at all of the incentives being offered. The SRP rebate is a good deal, but it is off MSRP so interest free financing and Nissan cash rebates combined may be a better deal (depending upon circumstances).

Thanks for getting back to me. Looks like the SRP rebate was such a good deal, the '17 Leaf is basically sold out in AZ. And what few are left are in a sellers market, so it looks like I'm waiting to get the '18 Leaf or the Model 3.

[mamarley]

Edited to add: The A/C compressor reaches full output once vehicle is moving above 18 mi/hr, but it starts ramping up above about 12 mi/hr. According to the energy use display on the navigation screen, it draws a maximum of 1.5 kW while stopped and it can approach 4.5 kW on an extremely hot day after being parked in the sun when moving above 18 mi/hr until it cools down the interior (power fluctuates to match cooling needs).

Are these numbers for before or after you had the dealer change the settings?

[GerryAZ]

Edited to add: The A/C compressor reaches full output once vehicle is moving above 18 mi/hr, but it starts ramping up above about 12 mi/hr. According to the energy use display on the navigation screen, it draws a maximum of 1.5 kW while stopped and it can approach 4.5 kW on an extremely hot day after being parked in the sun when moving above 18 mi/hr until it cools down the interior (power fluctuates to match cooling needs).

Are these numbers for before or after you had the dealer change the settings?

These numbers are recent observations so after the setting changes. The 12-volt battery was completely discharged in January (sat for a few days) due to telematics upgrade so I don't know if the settings reverted to default. The settings only affect the energy use while stopped or below 12 mi/hr. The ramping and cooling capability above 18 mi/hr are not affected by the settings.