Opening the charger port could be easier

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ericsf

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 7, 2010
Messages
358
Location
San Francisco
I think that opening the access hatch to the charging ports should be MUCH easier since it's by far the most common "maintenance" thing you have to do with the LEAF. Placing it next to the engine compartment door release which we never should have to open (I am still looking for the oil dip stick) seem really wrong to me. With a LEAF you have to open this hatch at least 3 times more frequently than you'd need to open the gas hatch on a typical 300 mile range car so it should be 3 times easier right?

So far my experience is that everytime I walked out of to recharge I found myself standing in front of the car thinking "how come this thing is closed...oh duh.". I admit it's a bit my fault too: The same happened to me at the gas station many times in my previous life and I've only got the LEAF for 3 days so I probably need to get the new routine in my brain. But considering how often we'll have to open this thing don't you think it could be improved (like a button on the remote or something...)

What's the point of locking it anyway? It's not like people are going to be able to suck electricity from it right?

PS: That's the thing that bothers me the most so far so no need to tell how happy I am with this car!
 
planet4ever said:
I think it's so no one will try to pour sugar directly into your battery. I hear it makes the electrons very sticky. :lol: :lol:

OOH! Good one. Someone once (a long time ago) poured sugar into the gas tank of my 1959 Impala. BIG TROUBLE!! :eek: :eek: :eek:
 
turbo2ltr said:
I'd like to see a key-fob controlled actuator so I don't have to remember to pull the lever when I get out.
Exactly. Atleast they should have it on the inside of the driver door (like the trunk release of my old car).
 
I suppose it could have been designed in a way that it would be easier to open but to tell you the truth I don't even think about it now. The method I use is that I pull the release with my right hand after I get out of the car and standing between the open door and the car. I just reach in with my right hand and feel for the indent and pull.

Having the release available on the fob would certainly be cool but seems like another point of failure to me.

Now I do wish they put a light in there like I had on the Honda EV Plus and also add it to the door open indicator. Granted leaving the charge door open on the Leaf is not as critical as it was on the Honda EV Plus.
 
I vote for putting the lever next to the parking brake lever. Then we could set the brake and open the port in one move. I hate having to reach down for that lever every time I park at a charger.
 
I am only guessing at this, but perhaps Nissan wanted to place the latch to open the charge lid where a driver wouldn't release it by accident with an errant finger, coatsleeve, purse strap, etc. I would imagine that, if the hatch opened while driving at freeway speeds, the sudden force of the wind could damage or break it completely off --just like could happen with a car's hood. Come to think of it, I can't remember if the charge lid has a secondary "safety" latch under the lip like a hood. I hope so, because such accidents do happen, even when the primary latch is placed well out of the way.
 
I actually had a lengthy conversation about this with the Hyundai folks that were examining our LEAFs a few weeks ago. I mentioned that preparing the car to charge should be as effortless as possible (currently 5 separate steps if your on a timer). I think the most opportune decision to charge/not charge is done at the moment you hit the "Stop" button. The cover release/cap release should be electronic and together on one button AND another cover release/cap release/timer disable should be right next to it. These two button choices should be next to the Stop button and illuminate (in separate colors) after pressing to visually confirm your choice. Then charging would always just be two steps (button, plug in) no matter what choice you make and integrated with the normal shutdown flow. Hyundai took alot of notes on this. Since their new hybrid actually uses a Li-Poly pack, I think these guys are very serious about battery tech cars.
 
I just taught my six year old how to run around, open the drivers door and then
pull the lever to open the charge door.

Remote control opener for when I forget :D :D :D
 
Mx5racer said:
I just taught my six year old how to run around, open the drivers door and then
pull the lever to open the charge door.

Remote control opener for when I forget :D :D :D
Yep, that works great until they turn 9 or 10.
 
the Fob option would just add more expense, buttons, etc. i can live without that. remember, it can all be made much easier, but keep in mind, its a...a...

mechanical thing. and it practically stands alone. nearly everything else is controlled electronically. even the old standby; the Parking Brake is no longer mechanical. when you consider the location of the latch, i find it difficult to really put the release handle anywhere else. its preferable that the cable be in a relatively straight line and ya, i agree, if i lost 20 lbs, it would be a lot easier for me to bend down to pull that lever.

but as it stands, several dozen things could have been made easier and that will always be true. we can get into a left-hand/right-hand discussion as well (i am left-handed) now the charge port latch release is waaaay down my list. now if we want to talk about inconvenient, lets talk about ECO mode
 
We agree, this seems obvious to us if you spend anytime with the car at all, the cover on the port should be more conveniently opened. An easy solution seems to be a double latch. Push once to open and push again to close. Certainly one might wonder why anyone would have it any other way if it had come that way in the first place.
 
Because they didn't want anyone but the owner to be able to open the charging hatch.
The last thing I want to find in there is a lit cigarette, urine, or a beer.

Nope, if they can make a trunk pop remote from the fob, they can certainly put a solenoid latch on the charge port.

I'd pay money to convert my stupid Panic button into a charge-port release. Aftermarket alarm shops do this kind of thing all the time -- adding remote trunk pop and remote door unlock to older cars.
 
Now, that would be a good use for the "forgot where the car is" horn button on the remote.

I wonder how much we can hack into the alarm system, and whether that could be made to work (you'd need an actual servo/actuator to physically "pull" the release, I guess?)
 
GroundLoop said:
Because they didn't want anyone but the owner to be able to open the charging hatch.
The last thing I want to find in there is a lit cigarette, urine, or a beer.

I disagree. My Murano has a system like this (push to open, push to close) for the fuel door, and to prevent anyone from opening it, you can only open it when the car is unlocked. So if you LOCK the car, with the charging door closed, then nobody can open it. Unlock the doors, and anyone can open it. Very simple system. And Nissan does it already for the fuel door, even back when my 2005 Murano was made.
 
It's easier to pop the trunk on some cars, very sloppy design having the release low and almost touching the hood release. When the car is turned off the latch should unlock and be able to pop open with a push. I give Nissan a D- on thinking this one through, even a button on the dash would be better. I keep wondering if they tested this car with real people or robots, clean robots of course as they would mess up the seats. I bet they knew popped the hood once on accident.
 
blorg said:
GroundLoop said:
Because they didn't want anyone but the owner to be able to open the charging hatch.
The last thing I want to find in there is a lit cigarette, urine, or a beer.
I disagree. My Murano has a system like this (push to open, push to close) for the fuel door, and to prevent anyone from opening it, you can only open it when the car is unlocked. So if you LOCK the car, with the charging door closed, then nobody can open it.
Ah, good point. My Infiniti did this too. It was just fine.

Considering it's something I have to do multiple times a day, putting it down there with the Hood Release seems really out of touch.
 
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