My Nissan Leaf does not go as far as promised

[alembic42]

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[rosier9]

You've had this car for a year and a half and now your mad?

[alembic42]

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[vwDavid]

Buyer beware I guess. This will happen more and more with used Leafs out there...it could create a second wave of angst against Nissan.

[edatoakrun]

*I never had a gasoline car whose MPG went down by half when conditions weren't "ideal"...

Well, that's the point, you did not buy a gasoline car.

BEVs have highly variable range, and every BEV will get about twice the range (or more) in favorable conditions than unfavorable.

You did not mention when you get the Low and Very low battery warnings, just the miles remaining display, which I'd suggest you learn to ignore.

My nine-capacity bar 2011 with ~49k miles now has (on average) almost a third of its total capacity (~5.3-5.6 kWh) below the Low battery warning.

And it still has about 120 mile of total range, driving at slow speed on a hot day, and less than half that range driving at freeway speeds in the winter.

[LeftieBiker]

We understand your anger, but the way you are expressing it isn't going to do anything but hurt your case. Try to express yourself calmly even if you don't feel that way...

Now. A 2012 SL with what sounds like barely 11 bars of capacity should be able to go more than 40 miles in warm weather. 40 miles does sound about right for typical Winter weather, with less range if frigid outside. Here are some things you can do to increase your range:

* Inflate the tires to 40-42psi. The factory label suggests 36, but this is far too low.

* Use Eco Mode. I believe that this is activated via the shifter on your car - others will confirm or correct that. Eco mode, combined with gentler acceleration, will increase your range a bit.

* Don't drive faster than 60MPH unless you have to, and can afford to take a hit on range. The Leaf isn't very aerodynamic at highway speeds, and the faster you go, the worse your range gets. If you can drive 55MPH, do it.

We also suggest that you get the LeafSpy app, plus a bluetooth wireless error code reader that is compatible with your car - someone else can give you that info. This will let you read the car's actual capacity, and it will even estimate real world range for you. The 'Guess O Meter' on the dash isn't much help, and your Leaf doesn't have the State Of Charge display that later years have. Being able to see your actual state of charge and actual (estimated) range will help avoid you getting stranded again. You may also want to get a 240 volt charging station, as the car does charge only at the rate of 5% per hour on 120 volts.

That dealership sounds horrible, but not, unfortunately, unusually bad.

[jlv]

Rick,

You might get a better response if you edit all the F***ING out of your post. Really, we don't need to be subjected to that.

[jlv]

Hi,
*I drive as fast as everybody else on the freeway. Just like I always have in my gasoline cars.
*I never had a gasoline car whose MPG went down by half when conditions weren't "ideal".

You can't drive it like a gasoline car. If you do, you will not be happy. If you haven't figured that out after 15K miles, you really should sell it and move on.

I do not find it a stretch that the dealership might have lead you astray by either telling you falsehoods or misinformation. Buying a used LEAF is the perfect example of caveat emptor.

[alembic42]

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[Durandal]

Rule #1 of Dealership Club:
Expect the dealer to lie to you
Rule #2 of Dealership Club:
Expect the dealer to lie to you
Rule #3 of Dealership Club....

It's a lesson we all eventually learn. When I bought my 2012 Leaf, the dealership lied to me as well, saying I could get 100 miles out of the car per charge. It told them there was no way it would get 100 miles a charge. I can squeeze about 65 miles out of mine if I'm driving quite conservatively and 50 miles at 62mph.

Car salesmen are like mini-politicians, they will tell you anything to make it through election day (the sale) after which, they completely forget who you are until it is election day again.