My Nissan Leaf does not go as far as promised

[alembic42]

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[mtndrew1]

I should point out I've been back and forth with these people for a LONG time. They have blown me off and I can't get phone calls returned and on and on. I wouldn't go there at all for a long time because I was honestly scared of what I might do when I got there. But when I did arrive, over six months ago, they treated me like such crap that I really do absolutely hate these people they are so evil and corrupt. They will not return phone calls. They lie about everything big small and in between. I knew they were lying about all kinds of stuff when I bought the car but I didn't know they were lying about the range.

Okay, so IMO it's time to accept your circumstance as it is. The dealer clearly doesn't care and you clearly didn't do your research before buying the car. The dealer is likely under absolutely no obligation to do anything for you and it's pretty obvious they don't want to. No use ever darkening their door again. The biggest hurt you can put on them is to not buy another car from them in the future.

So you have yourself a 60ish mile (EPA-rated) Leaf. That's not going to change unless you sell the car and buy something else or buy a brand new $6,000 Nissan battery for your car and get back up to the original 73 miles (EPA).

If you're keeping your car, it's in your best interest to adopt the tools to get the most out of it. You said you do two 10-minute stints at 75 MPH every day which consumes a crazy amount of energy. The energy required for a given speed doesn't increase linearly, and going from 70 to 75 MPH is not the same difference in consumption as going from 60-65 MPH. It's the cube of it!

So the options are:

1. Keep it, get Leafspy, learn as best you can to get the best range out of what you've got.
2. Spend $6,000 on a new battery pack to recover the lost 16% range.
3. Sell it and move on with your life.

Which appeals most to you?

[alembic42]

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[cwerdna]

73 miles is not represented as an ideal figure. It's called an average.

As I said in my earlier response, 73 miles represents the range the vehicle received on the EPA test cycles.

On a new battery, here's Tony's range chart: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=4295. There are ones further down to cover vehicles w/some capacity bars gone. If you drive slower, you'll have better range and as you discovered, the heater is a power pig.

At 35 mph on level ground w/no HVAC usage, a Leaf w/new battery should be able to achieve 132 miles (it'd need to achieve 6.3 miles/kWh in the process) until the battery's dead. Edmunds did exactly that at http://www.edmunds.com/nissan/leaf/2011 ... r-end.html. At 75 mph, it'd be only 62 miles.

Obviously, your car's battery has degraded so it has less range autonomy. I will write more later, when I have the time.

FWIW, I've been on MNL since 2011 and test drpve Leafs in Nov 2010, before they were available for sale. I leased a '13 Leaf for 2 years. I returned it at end of lease and bought a used '13 for cheap ($9,325 + tax and license for a '13 SV w/premium built 5/2013 with under 24K miles on it and all 12 capacity bars, which it still has over a year later). My commute's only ~12-13 miles each way and I have free level 1 and 2 charging at work. Car works great for almost all my driving.

[AntronX]

We knew the limitations of this car BEFORE buying it. For example, I knew that with this car and 80% battery health I will just barely make it 30 miles to work and back on one full charge on flat road, no heat and under 60 mph. I knew that it would never save me money if I bought this car brand new. That's why I got it used at a price that would work for me.

[alembic42]

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[Zythryn]

Mtndrew1, I find your approachdepressing . Like basically you're saying it's fine for these people to lie lie lie lie, like there's nothing criminal there. Like there's nothing wildly immoral and abusive there. Why do you act like there's nothing wrong ...

I completely get your frustration, I am sorry you ran into this.
That said, not everyone has the same experiences with EV or Leafs.
I know of people that are still using their 2011 Leafs and getting all the range they need.
I have also heard of others whose batteries degraded to worthlessness in no time at all.

The dealer did a #@$ awful job of educating you about the Leaf, sounds like they also did a #@$% poor job of educating themselves on it.

If you really want to strike back at them, contact your state attorney general, as well as your state representatives and tell them how abusing and fraudulent the dealer treated you. Tell them that you hope they don't support laws that give the dealer business model the monopoly it has.

Once dealers have to start competing for business, the dealer experience will improve, or they will go out of business.

[cwerdna]

Oh and just so there's no question that the dealers are telling a lie about the range, in the time since i posted this i've asked some dealers currently selling my year and model of car (more than one, scroll down), both answered 100 miles and one said it took 2 hours to charge, the other said it goes at least 75 miles even in the winter:

Besides dealers lying/making things up just to make a sale, others say things out of ignorance because they themselves don't drive an EV and/or haven't driven a Leaf themselves the distance they claim on a single charge.

[LeftieBiker]

I almost leased an S in 2013, which would have resulted in me not having enough Winter range to make by 43 mile RT commute in sub-freezing temps. The only thing that saved me was my need for cruise control, which wasn't available on the S in 2013. The thing is, I don't think the dealership was deliberately withholding the information about the heatpump system. It was new then, and the people selling the Leaf knew only a little more about it than I did. Now it's maybe a little different, but many people selling Leafs still don't understand that the heatpump is a must for drivers in colder climates with longer commutes. As for the 73 mile EPA range, no that isn't an average in the way that you mean. It's more like an ideal number for mixed driving, just as their fuel economy figures tend to be at the high end of what people really get in the real world.

The interstate part of your commute, if it requires that you drive 75MPH (what's the posted limit? 65?), is killing your range. An alternate route would be best, followed by you trying to stay behind (but not right behind) tractor-trailer trucks, including slowing with them on the hills.

[alembic42]

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