New owner of a 2018 Leaf S

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billexium

Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2019
Messages
10
Location
Mesa, AZ
Hello all! This forum helped me learn quite a bit about the Nissan Leaf over the past couple months since I started looking into the vehicle so I thought it was about time to register and become part of the community. Especially since I finally pulled the trigger and bought the last 2018 Leaf S available new in the Phoenix metro area here in AZ! The deal was almost too good to pass up. I was originally looking at used Leafs because the prices were so tempting but this forum certainly helped me understand first gen Leaf batteries and the AZ heat. Quite valuable information!

As I am still new to the Leaf world I had a couple initial questions which are probably answered on this site somewhere but thought I would hopefully get some feedback all at once:

1. I was excited for the NissanConnect EV app and being able to start the AC before leaving here in the AZ summer, but although the dealership excitedly sold this feature to me, I have since learned the base S does not include the telematics unit which would make these features possible. Is there a work around for the base S? This brings up a side rant for me: Although the Leaf has many interesting features and I enjoy doing some detective work, the lack of knowledge from Nissan staff at dealerships regarding EVs in general and the Leaf in particular is annoying. Each dealership should have at least one Leaf "expert" who can answer simple questions regarding the vehicle.

2. One question I cannot find a clear answer on, even though it seems like such a basic thing especially here in AZ... is it possible to keep the AC/heat on and stay in the car while charging at a fast charging station? The dealership we purchased the Leaf from has a fast charger and we can charge for free but the one time we have tried this, with sleeping kids in the back seat, the charger would not work if the car was also on.

3. One of the main reasons I was looking into EVs is my employer offers free charging at work at I live only about 4 miles from the office. I was thinking I could almost never need to charge at home. But if I did need to charge at my house, I planned to "share" my electric dryer 240 outlet. But the connection on the Leaf charging cable is different than the three pronged dryer outlet. Is there an easy/cheap adapter or work around this issue?

I am sure I will have more questions as I enjoy the vehicle but thought I would start by asking the experts. Thanks again for all the helpful information I have already been able to learn through this community!

Billy Reid
Mesa, AZ
 
billexium said:
2. One question I cannot find a clear answer on, even though it seems like such a basic thing especially here in AZ... is it possible to keep the AC/heat on and stay in the car while charging at a fast charging station? The dealership we purchased the Leaf from has a fast charger and we can charge for free but the one time we have tried this, with sleeping kids in the back seat, the charger would not work if the car was also on.
I've run the cabin HVAC while charging (both DCQC and L2) often. It's usually been for heating, but that doesn't matter. The first time I did so, the car got a little confused and threw some error codes that thankfully cleared by just shutting the car off and then back on. The story I made up to explain this to myself is that the car doesn't like to transition from the states in which the accessories can run (the owners manual refers to these as "ON" and "Ready") into DC fast-charging. The initial problem may have been a sheer fluke, but ever since, I've taken care to follow this sequence for using HVAC:
  • Pull up to charger and shut car OFF
  • Connect to DC fast charger and start charging
  • Enter car and turn systems ON by pressing the start button twice (without brake pedal)
  • Operate HVAC as desired
Whenever possible, I try to turn the car OFF before exiting and terminating a DCQC session. On a couple occasions, a charging station has surprised me by hitting a session-timer limit and terminating the charge while the car was still ON (see #RAPIDGATE), though, and the car hasn't become flustered as a result.

billexium said:
3. One of the main reasons I was looking into EVs is my employer offers free charging at work at I live only about 4 miles from the office. I was thinking I could almost never need to charge at home. But if I did need to charge at my house, I planned to "share" my electric dryer 240 outlet. But the connection on the Leaf charging cable is different than the three pronged dryer outlet. Is there an easy/cheap adapter or work around this issue?
Only needing to drive ten miles a day, I'd be lazy enough to just plug into a 120V wall socket and avoid the regulatory issues of hacking together the kind of adapter you're talking about.
 
The S has, IIRC, a basic climate control timer that can be used if you know when you will need A/C. I'm sorry that the salescritters were such putz, er, dimwits.
 
It has two climate control timers actually. Useful if you have a different schedule during the week vs. weekends, etc.

LeftieBiker said:
The S has, IIRC, a basic climate control timer that can be used if you know when you will need A/C. I'm sorry that the salescritters were such putz, er, dimwits.
 
billexium said:
Hello all! This forum helped me learn quite a bit about the Nissan Leaf over the past couple months since I started looking into the vehicle so I thought it was about time to register and become part of the community. Especially since I finally pulled the trigger and bought the last 2018 Leaf S available new in the Phoenix metro area here in AZ! The deal was almost too good to pass up. I was originally looking at used Leafs because the prices were so tempting but this forum certainly helped me understand first gen Leaf batteries and the AZ heat. Quite valuable information!

As I am still new to the Leaf world I had a couple initial questions which are probably answered on this site somewhere but thought I would hopefully get some feedback all at once:

1. I was excited for the NissanConnect EV app and being able to start the AC before leaving here in the AZ summer, but although the dealership excitedly sold this feature to me, I have since learned the base S does not include the telematics unit which would make these features possible. Is there a work around for the base S? This brings up a side rant for me: Although the Leaf has many interesting features and I enjoy doing some detective work, the lack of knowledge from Nissan staff at dealerships regarding EVs in general and the Leaf in particular is annoying. Each dealership should have at least one Leaf "expert" who can answer simple questions regarding the vehicle.

2. One question I cannot find a clear answer on, even though it seems like such a basic thing especially here in AZ... is it possible to keep the AC/heat on and stay in the car while charging at a fast charging station? The dealership we purchased the Leaf from has a fast charger and we can charge for free but the one time we have tried this, with sleeping kids in the back seat, the charger would not work if the car was also on.

3. One of the main reasons I was looking into EVs is my employer offers free charging at work at I live only about 4 miles from the office. I was thinking I could almost never need to charge at home. But if I did need to charge at my house, I planned to "share" my electric dryer 240 outlet. But the connection on the Leaf charging cable is different than the three pronged dryer outlet. Is there an easy/cheap adapter or work around this issue?

I am sure I will have more questions as I enjoy the vehicle but thought I would start by asking the experts. Thanks again for all the helpful information I have already been able to learn through this community!

Billy Reid
Mesa, AZ

1) No

Its interesting you mention the value of this forum but chose to take the word of a salesman?

2) Yes. After the charge begins, start your car as you normally would. Turn on A/C. Done. FYI; you don't have to stay with the car. I leave my car on all the time while charging. You can still exit vehicle and lock it with door button.

3) Adapters are all over the net for under $50
 
Another thing to consider is to purchase a smart charger like a JuiceBox or similar. It will allow you to use your phone to set the battery charge to a desired level (like 80%). You can also schedule/monitor a charge session or stop/start charging remotely. Gives you back a little functionality that you lose with the Leaf S trim level as opposed to the SV and SL with the telematics.
 
billexium said:
3. ... But if I did need to charge at my house, I planned to "share" my electric dryer 240 outlet. But the connection on the Leaf charging cable is different than the three pronged dryer outlet. Is there an easy/cheap adapter or work around this issue?
If your dryer circuit is only 30 amps, you would not want to use it, regardless of the availability of an adapter. The LEAF will draw 27.5 amps at 240 volts, and for a long-term (not sure what the criterion is, but charging for an hour or more would surely qualify) draw, you don't want to exceed 80% of the circuit's rating. Neither the LEAF nor Nissan's EVSE can be configured to limit the current to 30*.8=24 amps.
 
The Lostpetrol is right. Nissan goofed badly by making a portable EVSE that charges at full current on L-2, so they could boast about faster charging times. That means that even though they have mentioned dryer outlets, IIRC, you can't safely USE a dryer outlet. A good dryer circuit might be safe enough for a one hour charge, but I wouldn't do that as a matter of course, and I won't suggest doing it.
 
No problem. The app can also be used to charge to a specific amount of kWh, or even miles as well. The catch is you have to tell the app the starting value with in terms of battery % charge since the EVSE has no way of knowing that. It's not a perfect science and the EVSE can be off a couple of % either way when completed (set the app for say 80% and the car winds up at 78%). You can dial a bit of this error out by tweaking the EVSE efficiency parameter in the app. I found it to be pretty good at the default parameter though but you might find otherwise depending on climate, battery condition, etc.

When I do occasionally have to charge to 100% its neat to see the charging graph on the app that shows the charge taper and cell balancing.

Calaveras said:
I have a Juicebox and did not realize I can set it to charge to a percent rather than guess the time I plan to leave the house. I just set it to 85%.
Thanks nrvous
 
TheLostPetrol said:
billexium said:
3. ... But if I did need to charge at my house, I planned to "share" my electric dryer 240 outlet. But the connection on the Leaf charging cable is different than the three pronged dryer outlet. Is there an easy/cheap adapter or work around this issue?
If your dryer circuit is only 30 amps, you would not want to use it, regardless of the availability of an adapter. The LEAF will draw 27.5 amps at 240 volts, and for a long-term (not sure what the criterion is, but charging for an hour or more would surely qualify) draw, you don't want to exceed 80% of the circuit's rating. Neither the LEAF nor Nissan's EVSE can be configured to limit the current to 30*.8=24 amps.

Yikes, I hadn't looked into the 240 outlet situation in depth before purchasing as I plan to do almost all my charging at the office. But the new EV spaces aren't opening until next Monday. I guess I will just keep trickle charging until then! Thanks to everyone for all the feedback.

I will look into the AC timer option. My wife and I will be sharing the car as she really likes the e-pedal feature and has a gas sucking SUV, so the app would have been nice for us both to be able to access whenever. Lesson learned! But so far the AC blows quite cold quickly so it really isn't a huge deal. Hopefully the same holds true tomorrow and Thursday with a high of 109! :eek:
 
You can get a 24 amp or lower 240 volt EVSE that will work fine with the dryer outlet. You can also get one that adjusts amperage (manually) in case you ever upgrade the circuit.
 
LeftieBiker said:
You can get a 24 amp or lower 240 volt EVSE that will work fine with the dryer outlet. You can also get one that adjusts amperage (manually) in case you ever upgrade the circuit.

That is the road I took. FYI; 24 amp EVSEs are cheap and TBT, its a question of finishing a charge at 4 AM over 3 AM... Like I really care? Besides, my panel is garbage so pushing its limits is not really something I am comfortable with.
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
LeftieBiker said:
You can get a 24 amp or lower 240 volt EVSE that will work fine with the dryer outlet. You can also get one that adjusts amperage (manually) in case you ever upgrade the circuit.

That is the road I took. FYI; 24 amp EVSEs are cheap and TBT, its a question of finishing a charge at 4 AM over 3 AM... Like I really care? Besides, my panel is garbage so pushing its limits is not really something I am comfortable with.

I have an electrician coming on Thursday to give me a quote on putting in a dedicated 240 outlet at 40 amps. My thought is with my breaker panel on the outside of the garage wall it would be a pretty straightforward job. I believe my panel box is "full" so I may need to adjust and have a dual 120 breaker, but that also should not be huge project.

But would it be beneficial instead to invest in a charger and share the dryer outlet? Outside of adjustable power output what additional benefits would a EVSE offer? I can set overnight charging times/schedules on the LEAF itself correct? My utility company offers an EV plan with cheap charging from 11 pm to 5 am. Sharing the outlet wouldn't be an issue with demand as we never use the dryer overnight, but to run the cable to the garage the door would need to be cracked, which would not be great in the AZ summer or for security.
 
billexium said:
But would it be beneficial instead to invest in a charger and share the dryer outlet? Outside of adjustable power output what additional benefits would a EVSE offer? I can set overnight charging times/schedules on the LEAF itself correct? My utility company offers an EV plan with cheap charging from 11 pm to 5 am. Sharing the outlet wouldn't be an issue with demand as we never use the dryer overnight, but to run the cable to the garage the door would need to be cracked, which would not be great in the AZ summer or for security.

Do it right, don't hack it.

You will sleep better with correct wiring.
 
I bought a 2018 Leaf S last year from a dealer who was raving about Nissan Connect. So, I didn't realize that the Model S wasn't compatible until I called tech support to find out why it wouldn't connect.

I really don't understand how a Nissan dealer can be that uninformed. If I worked in sales for a dealer I'd make sure I knew as much as possible about all models and trims so I don't look stupid.
 
Tortoisehead77 said:
I bought a 2018 Leaf S last year from a dealer who was raving about Nissan Connect. So, I didn't realize that the Model S wasn't compatible until I called tech support to find out why it wouldn't connect.

I really don't understand how a Nissan dealer can be that uninformed. If I worked in sales for a dealer I'd make sure I knew as much as possible about all models and trims so I don't look stupid.

What, pray tell, were they raving about? Its extra load on the 12 volt battery is a likely reason so many have 12 volt battery issues. Granted likely one of a dozen things wrong including poor battery management on Nissan's part.

Now, if you said the salesman was a raving.... well, yeah I would believe that.

FYI; I park in a garage that never gets cold. Lowest I've seen it was the mid 40's but its generally in the mid 50's all winter long.
 
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