Newbie - Help - Covid - Leaf only gets 40mi - need to drive to work

Unfortunately, when the SOH is only 62%, there's no silver bullet to increase range significantly. You have maybe 12 kWh of useable pack capacity. If you average 4 miles per kWh (about as good as you'll get during winter months), your range is 48 miles tops. Without any heat, you'll find the windshield will fog up frequently.

I would suggest you push the defrost button and then turn off both heat and A/C:



When the windshield fogs up, turn on both heat and A/C until it clears and then turn them both off again - repeat as needed...

48 mi is so close- as round trip commute = 50.3 miles

What model/trim Leaf is this?

Base Model. Also, I just checked and I bought it July 2013

So a Leaf S... The date of manufacture is on the driver's door sill manufacturer's sticker. I'll bet dollars to donuts that it was built before April of 2013. When Nissan refreshed the Leaf and added the S trim in 2013, they used the same terrible battery chemistry as the 2011/2012 cars, through March of that year. From April on, the batteries were much better. That really sucks.

cgott42 said:

I filled up my tires (except one which I could only fill part way - I'll need to refill that)
...
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0A430KvDkk1h3O6GpRNrYZMFg

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In that last picture, it shows your tires as 36/36/36/25. My humble suggestion is to make them 42 all around.

jlv said:

cgott42 said:

I filled up my tires (except one which I could only fill part way - I'll need to refill that)
...
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0A430KvDkk1h3O6GpRNrYZMFg

Click to expand...

In that last picture, it shows your tires as 36/36/36/25. My humble suggestion is to make them 42 all around.

Click to expand...

Definitely! 25psi is unsafe, and 32psi, even though it's the "recommended" pressure, is too low for a Leaf. If you worry about 40-42psi, then do 38psi.

I just checked and it says mfg date = 01/13
Model: FSDALB9ZE0 BUA

Yes, you got one of the 2013 Leafs made with the old, bad battery chemistry. My condolences.

I routinely completed my 52-mile round trip (26 miles each way) with my 2011 after it dropped to 8 capacity bars. I used my heated motorcycle gloves and jacket to avoid using the heater (heated coolant system was used in 2011 and 2012 models). Your 2013 should have heated seats and steering wheel so get a heated jacket or vest to minimize cabin heat needs. Power draw of the radio is negligible so there is no need to drive in silence. It looks like traction battery cell balance is reasonable, but your tire pressures are too low for optimum range. Assuming the tires are rated at 44 psi cold (tire manufacturer information on sidewall), you should try at least 42 psi, preferable 44 psi when cold

Currently my tires are whatever the Mechanic put on
How many more miles per charge would I get If I bought efficient tires recommended for the leaf?

The difference in tires depends upon what you have now. I have seen as much as 15% or 20% difference in range between sport/performance tires and low rolling resistance tires.

Thinking through my options
(a) sell/ buy new car - prices are very high
(b) efficient tires - perhaps that is enough to make the trip
(c) find a charging station along the route

re: (c) - how many miles charged / minute of charging - trying to see what the "time cost" would be to add 10 or 20 miles of charge?

cgott42 said:

re: (c) - how many miles charged / minute of charging - trying to see what the "time cost" would be to add 10 or 20 miles of charge?

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If you drive carefully, have decent tyres that are well inflated, and avoid much cabin AC then expect 4 - 5 miles per kWh
A kWh means ONE kW for one hour. So e.g., a 6 kW charge for 15 minutes would add 6*0.25 = 1.5 kWh

Didn't you say you have L1 at work ?

I thought they had a charger. But I asked this week and they said they don’t
It sounds like to stop at a charging station would be 30 minutes just to add 10 miles. Yuchhhh

cgott42 said:

I thought they had a charger. But I asked this week and they said they don’t

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That may have been the wrong question. Ask if you can use a regular household outlet or a 240v outlet

Or you can get creative and find a business or home nearby that will 'rent' you their outlet + electricity. The first step would be to check plugshare.

I thought they had a charger. But I asked this week and they said they don’t
It sounds like to stop at a charging station would be 30 minutes just to add 10 miles. Yuchhhh

Click to expand...

A few years ago my wife had a hip replacement and we were able to talk the hospital into letting us use their outdoor receptacles (good cause, good PR, you are the face of the future!). These were only 120V but it adds up....

This is why I made sure to buy a LEAF SV with the charge package, as when the pack gets down to 60% SOH the CHADEMO charging capability becomes essential for anything more than short trips.

Driving in ECO all the time, with no heat on and 40 psi tires, is a stop gap measure. By next winter, this car will no longer work for the OP.

Having spent so much already, the OP could consider a 24 kWh pack swap, if one can be found that's closer to 80% SOH for a reasonable price. It's not something one would normally consider, but in this case, having just bought the car, the OP is in deep with no good options.

A more radical option would be to find an EV specialty shop to retrofit DCFC charging, if that's going to cost less than $2500 - very unlikely:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kyR5omOQu8

Personally, I would sell the car now for whatever I could get for it and consider it an expensive lesson on doing your homework before buying an EV. The battery condition is everything...

You bought the car new and have almost 60,000 miles now so it has done well up to this point. If you can use a 120-volt receptacle at work, it will make your commute for quite a while yet. If not, then I would consider selling it and replacing it with an EV that has more initial range and a longer battery warranty. As noted in my previous replies, there are a few things you can do to improve efficiency such as increasing tire pressure and using heated clothing to maximize your existing range.