New guy, first EV

Hello everyone, just wanted to introduce myself. I just took delivery of a 2022 Nissan SL Plus hatchback. I was originally going in a different direction as the media hasn't been real kind with the Leaf, but as I was previously driving a 2021 Nissan Titan, I knew that I wouldn't get much trade in allowance for my Titan. I was given a good $3000 more on my Titan trade-in, and given MSRP pricing on the Leaf so I figured if I was going to substantially downgrade while dipping my toe int the EV world, I'd better act now (didn't hurt that I have a few days left in the year to nab a rebate, if they're still available).

I have so many questions on this Leaf, as I only started thinking about stepping down from a full sized truck to an EV. First impression is that the infrastructure is pretty spotty, sure I can charge my Nissan at a Nissan dealership, but I'm finding the supporting apps/infrastructure to be a little sluggish and not well conceived. I'm also trying to make sure that I get as much tax benefit from going with an EV. I hope that this community has enough foot traffic for me to learn from its members, but I am a little skeptical as the Nissan Titan forums were also a little low with traffic. Here's to hoping I can find everything I need from what I hope is a great community!

Welcome New Guy. You've found a good forum with knowledgeable and helpful people (just understand the difference between kWh and kW before posting). The Leaf is a great commuter car, it wasn't designed to take long trips. You'll miss going to gas stations to fill up and getting oil changes regularly, Not!

Are you able to charge at home or work? How much do you pay per kWh of electricity?

Triggerhappy007 said:

Welcome New Guy. You've found a good forum with knowledgeable and helpful people (just understand the difference between kWh and kW before posting). The Leaf is a great commuter car, it wasn't designed to take long trips. You'll miss going to gas stations to fill up and getting oil changes regularly, Not!

Are you able to charge at home or work? How much do you pay per kWh of electricity?

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Thanks. My other car is a gas hog but it's not getting daily work so I'll "get to" enjoy the gas stations and oil changes. My complex charges $1 per hour for the first 4 hours and $2 for hours after 4. I'm going to try and drive the car as much as possible in between charges, as I'm a bit "old school" when it comes to batteries. I figure if I charge as infrequently as possible, I can hopefully prolong the life of the battery. First thing I'm trying to get used to is how quiet things are. I may take it out later this week to test the one-pedal setting although I understand some people really don't like it. As for my rate, it's 11.8 ¢ per kWh. not sure how that stacks up nationally.

I'm going to try and drive the car as much as possible in between charges, as I'm a bit "old school" when it comes to batteries. I figure if I charge as infrequently as possible, I can hopefully prolong the life of the battery.

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Just try to keep the State Of Charge (SOC) between 25% and 75%, with 40-60% being optimum, and you'll be fine. The newest batteries from Nissan are much, MUCH better than the first generation, and much better than the second generation.

BeyondBeLeaf said:

My complex charges $1 per hour for the first 4 hours

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I'd like to hear more about this -- it is not so common that Apt complexes offer charging facilities.

I would recommend downloading PlugShare if you haven't. That should give you a good overview of all the chargers in your area and the rates associated with them. Depending on your usage and traffic there might be some free L2 charging around some of your errands areas you could snag some charge from.

BeyondBeLeaf said:

I figure if I charge as infrequently as possible, I can hopefully prolong the life of the battery.

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Sort of the reverse of that.

Li ion batteries, like the main traction battery in the LEAF, last longest if kept near the center of charge range. Frequent small charges are better than infrequent large charges.

SageBrush said:

BeyondBeLeaf said:

My complex charges $1 per hour for the first 4 hours

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I'd like to hear more about this -- it is not so common that Apt complexes offer charging facilities.

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I'll see if I can grab a picture as I didn't see anything online. Below are the amenities. Although, it doesn't help that it's a good house payment in rent. But, there's no way I'm getting back into a house now with the market what it is in the Dallas area.

On-Site Services
Maintenance on site
On-Site Retail
Package Service
Property Manager on Site
Trash Pickup - Door to Door
Pet Play Area
Car Charging Station

LeftieBiker said:

I'm going to try and drive the car as much as possible in between charges, as I'm a bit "old school" when it comes to batteries. I figure if I charge as infrequently as possible, I can hopefully prolong the life of the battery.

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Just try to keep the State Of Charge (SOC) between 25% and 75%, with 40-60% being optimum, and you'll be fine. The newest batteries from Nissan are much, MUCH better than the first generation, and much better than the second generation.

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Thanks for the heads up. I think I'm near 58% now. I was actually going to let it drop to near 20% and then do a full charge. Like I said, I'm a little old school when it comes to batteries. I remember that was how it was recommended that you use them. I know that current batteries are much different.

gcrouse said:

I would recommend downloading PlugShare if you haven't. That should give you a good overview of all the chargers in your area and the rates associated with them. Depending on your usage and traffic there might be some free L2 charging around some of your errands areas you could snag some charge from.

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Thanks, I was told by my complex to download SemaConnect, but that app has been acting weird ever since I tried to install it. It's almost as buggy as the Leaf's Nissan Connect app, which I'm also having issues with. Hoping these bumps in the road are just temporary as I like the idea of not buying anymore gas.

BeyondBeLeaf said:

gcrouse said:

I would recommend downloading PlugShare if you haven't. That should give you a good overview of all the chargers in your area and the rates associated with them. Depending on your usage and traffic there might be some free L2 charging around some of your errands areas you could snag some charge from.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I was told by my complex to download SemaConnect, but that app has been acting weird ever since I tried to install it. It's almost as buggy as the Leaf's Nissan Connect app, which I'm also having issues with. Hoping these bumps in the road are just temporary as I like the idea of not buying anymore gas.

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SemaConnect is a single charging station network. You need their app to use their charging stations. There are many other charging station networks.

And there are many independent EVSEs scattered all over the place, not affiliated with a network.

That's the value in PlugShare: it shows all of these charging stations (across all networks, or those not associated with any).

jlv said:

SemaConnect is a single charging station network. You need their app to use their charging stations.

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Either the App or an NFC card; some networks offer both while others only offer the App. I try to get the NFC card if offered because it tends to be a little more reliable than my phone.

The phone itself can do the same as the NFC card if the phone has that functionality, or it can 'phone home' via the internet. The latter way is the least reliable

Addendum: I looked at SemaConnect. I think they only offer the phone App

Congrats on the car. Keep the tires at 40psi to edge out a little additional range.

A year and a half ago we sold our minivan for a second Leaf Plus. We don't do too much road tripping (though the Leaf can do distance with a little planning).

jlv said:

BeyondBeLeaf said:

gcrouse said:

I would recommend downloading PlugShare if you haven't. That should give you a good overview of all the chargers in your area and the rates associated with them. Depending on your usage and traffic there might be some free L2 charging around some of your errands areas you could snag some charge from.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I was told by my complex to download SemaConnect, but that app has been acting weird ever since I tried to install it. It's almost as buggy as the Leaf's Nissan Connect app, which I'm also having issues with. Hoping these bumps in the road are just temporary as I like the idea of not buying anymore gas.

Click to expand...

SemaConnect is a single charging station network. You need their app to use their charging stations. There are many other charging station networks.

And there are many independent EVSEs scattered all over the place, not affiliated with a network.

That's the value in PlugShare: it shows all of these charging stations (across all networks, or those not associated with any).

Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up. And I'm already starting to deal with Jack holes that have decided to park their vehicles at charging stations. Fortunately, our complex has a towing service. I don't like the idea of putting someone in a bind, but if they have no problem putting me in a bind by parking at a charging station in a non-EV, so beit. Kind of wish I had my truck so I could drag the vehicle out of the spot.

BeyondBeLeaf said:

And I'm already starting to deal with Jack holes that have decided to park their vehicles at charging stations.

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Agitate for a mandatory fine, along the lines of a tenant parking in another tenant's space

SageBrush said:

BeyondBeLeaf said:

And I'm already starting to deal with Jack holes that have decided to park their vehicles at charging stations.

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Agitate for a mandatory fine, along the lines of a tenant parking in another tenant's space

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That might be something I'll ask the leasing office about, although I have to be honest, I kind of like the hardline approach as it will condition some of these derps to follow the rules. I found it a little annoying to hear that willfully blocking charging stations was actually a thing. I'm trying to understand how something like this can be justified by someone doing it. I'm looking forward to the truck segment opening up the EV market as I suspect a person driving a truck with the excuse to drag another vehicle out of the way to charge theirs may come into play.

BeyondBeLeaf said:

SageBrush said:

BeyondBeLeaf said:

And I'm already starting to deal with Jack holes that have decided to park their vehicles at charging stations.

Click to expand...

Agitate for a mandatory fine, along the lines of a tenant parking in another tenant's space

Click to expand...

That might be something I'll ask the leasing office about, although I have to be honest, I kind of like the hardline approach as it will condition some of these derps to follow the rules. I found it a little annoying to hear that willfully blocking charging stations was actually a thing. I'm trying to understand how something like this can be justified by someone doing it. I'm looking forward to the truck segment opening up the EV market as I suspect a person driving a truck with the excuse to drag another vehicle out of the way to charge theirs may come into play.

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While 'ICEing' is a thing, I've seen many cases of drivers being clueless rather than malignant. Or shades of self-centered behavior. Does that happen in Texas ? :shock:

I'm suggesting you do not jump directly to confrontation mode. The complex should DEFINITELY put up very visible signage that the spot is reserved for charging EVs only, and I think it helps to paint the ground. You have to give people a reason to pay attention.

SageBrush said:

BeyondBeLeaf said:

SageBrush said:

Agitate for a mandatory fine, along the lines of a tenant parking in another tenant's space

Click to expand...

That might be something I'll ask the leasing office about, although I have to be honest, I kind of like the hardline approach as it will condition some of these derps to follow the rules. I found it a little annoying to hear that willfully blocking charging stations was actually a thing. I'm trying to understand how something like this can be justified by someone doing it. I'm looking forward to the truck segment opening up the EV market as I suspect a person driving a truck with the excuse to drag another vehicle out of the way to charge theirs may come into play.

Click to expand...

While 'ICEing' is a thing, I've seen many cases of drivers being clueless rather than malignant. Or shades of self-centered behavior. Does that happen in Texas ? :shock:

I'm suggesting you do not jump directly to confrontation mode. The complex should DEFINITELY put up very visible signage that the spot is reserved for charging EVs only, and I think it helps to paint the ground. You have to give people a reason to pay attention.

Click to expand...

I would like to believe that my neighbors are just ignorant, but I've already met some bad examples. Everything from them parking in a fire zone to grab their mail when the mail parking is wide opened, to cigarette butts thrown around (non-smoking complex). This is the first time I've been living in Apartment Complex life in at least 20 years, and I'm already longing to move back into a house.

i like your choice of user name, very clever. Kinda like that big-box store Bed, Bath and Behind.

nlspace said:

i like your choice of user name, very clever. Kinda like that big-box store Bed, Bath and Behind.

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Lol, thanks. I think I picked DisBeLeaf elsewhere.


I was a little disappointed with my first attempt at charging. Plugged it in for 30 minutes hoping it would've at least given it some charge. I left it at 53% but then came back and it was still at 53%. As I was sitting at the charging station, a guy in a Tesla pulled up and I started wondering about charging etiquette. Has anyone ever has someone unplug their car so they could charge their own? And given how some derps are into "ICE-ing", anyone had their cars vandalized while sitting at a charging station? I may go ahead and install my dashcam just as a deterent but I hate that it essentially means that I'll have less range. Maybe I got into EVs too soon....

BeyondBeLeaf said:

As I was sitting at the charging station, a guy in a Tesla pulled up and I started wondering about charging etiquette. Has anyone ever has someone unplug their car so they could charge their own? And given how some derps are into "ICE-ing", anyone had their cars vandalized while sitting at a charging station? I may go ahead and install my dashcam just as a deterent but I hate that it essentially means that I'll have less range. Maybe I got into EVs too soon....

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Oh, that is another can of worms and the responses will vary a lot here.
The etiquette I follow is:
Shared, public (free) charging. Park next to the person charging, leave your charge door open. When they leave or finish, they can plug you in. Follow the same if you are charging and someone parks next to you and leaves their charge door open. Plug them in when you leave.

Paid charging, check the EVSE to make sure it is actually "finished", then you should be able to unplug the other EV and get a charging session started for your EV. I usually *gently* close up the charge port, doors for the other EV as a courtesy as I've had others do it for me too.

Quick Charging, same as the L2, check if the session is finished before paying for your session if the cable can reach your EV.

Overall, newbies will do a double take when they come out and see the charge cable missing and the door closed, but when they get in the EV and see they have 100% (or whatever they set it at if driving a Tesla or Bolt for example), you see a smile and they probably "get it" at that point.

It varies from person to person, but most will figure it out.