The official "I got my Leaf" thread

Reddy said:

Wow! Congratulations and good to see lots of gas miles being converted to electric! Watch out Steve, here's another high mileage Leafer on your tail :lol:

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Well, so far so good.
I've been getting more and more confident with how "low" I can go. (Never too low.. ;-) )
Initially, the GOM did have me convinced I might not be able to make some things (even tho I had read on here all about how off it is, but still when it starts to drop... ) that now I know I can make easily.
(Using Leaf Spy Pro to watch the SoC% )

So yes, I can make it one way so far without issue..
There are some hills, but they really aren't that bad (The "pass" is under 1000 feet).

Without heat (haven't tested the effect the heater has yet very much; then again, it hasn't been too cold here since i got the car (we had some 20's before I got it)), I know I can make it from a nearish full charge to work or to home with 20+ miles to spare (driving nicely).
I'll start trying to add a bit more speed (I don't want to fly, but when someone's behind me, I like to be polite.. ) and throw in some more heat here and there..

I know that will go down over time, but so far, so good.

The only bummer is that there is no good charging option at work. ;-(
I work for "the State" and while Oregon has been pretty good for the public (of which I'm a proud member!) with the chargers and such, there isn't much incentive for EVers as employees.
That means I can make it there easily, but charging while at work is tricky.

There are a few quick chargers, but that's still 30 minutes to 75%-80%. I can do that on my lunch if someone isn't already charging, but not something I relish needing to do every day.
And if I want to get closer to 100% to make it all the way home, that's nearer an hour.

A level 2 charge would work (I've got the 3.3 charger), but it would take most of the day.
And I don't want to spend the money blink charges every day.
(That said, I've used the Blinks a few times here, and that's how I know I can make it back to home easily.)
And my work isn't going to put in a Level 2 for me.. ;-)
Too bad they don't even have a viable trickle charge option at work, because I bet that would get me back to the mid-point. Then I would just have to be charged at home, drive to work. Trickle for 9 hours and that should get me to the mid-point with the fast charger. 20 minutes would then get me back home. Oh well..

Just means I have to be a bit more flexible, but so far it's no problem.

That said, the wife and I love the Leaf so far.

desiv

desiv said:

...There are some hills, but they really aren't that bad (The "pass" is under 1000 feet)...

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It's all relative:

LOL :lol:

desiv

Just picked up my Second Leaf. I sold my first one and picked up a brand new 2015 Steel Grey with Black Leather Interior. I got all the bells and whistles as I did on my first 2011 Leaf. Grand total of 52 miles right now. I did not like the battery pack life but love the Leaf. This time I leased the Leaf so I have an opportunity to just hand it back or upgrade in 3 years. Im hoping for a much improved design by the time the Lease is over. I know the vehicle will do what I need for that time. I know I will go over the mileage limits but not buy much. So just had to post my new purchase today.

Pete

electricvw said:

Just picked up my Second Leaf. I sold my first one and picked up a brand new 2015 Steel Grey with Black Leather Interior. I got all the bells and whistles as I did on my first 2011 Leaf. Grand total of 52 miles right now. I did not like the battery pack life but love the Leaf. This time I leased the Leaf so I have an opportunity to just hand it back or upgrade in 3 years. Im hoping for a much improved design by the time the Lease is over. I know the vehicle will do what I need for that time. I know I will go over the mileage limits but not buy much. So just had to post my new purchase today.

Pete

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Congrats. There's often a lot of negativity from early adopters so it's nice to see when someone is willing to give the Leaf another chance despite their experiences with the car and/or Nissan USA.

hi! i'm super new here so hopefully i'm following the right protocol

i just got my Leaf, a gunmetal gray 2015 S, this past Monday 2/16. i got it with the fast charger option. i'm very happy so far, and this is also my first EV after driving a 2010 Prius hybrid for the past 5 years.

so far this forum is a really great resource! that's all for now

thanks!

jason

The Prius seems to be the number one "Gateway Car" to the Leaf. When it doesn't lead to Leaf ownership it often leads to the acquisition of a Prius PHEV...

Welcome, Jason. I've got the "exact" same car, and love it -- for two reasons in particular:

1. The two-year "No Charge to Charge" program that was offered in my area, which I hope you received as well*. I quick charge quite frequently and have save a LOT of money in doing so for free.
2. If you use cruise control with any regularity, you'll be happy to know that 2015 is the first model year that it was offered on the S.

I'm also glad to see that you moved up ;-) from a Prius. I'm upset with Toyota for not producing a pure battery EV (or BEV). We could be so much further along had they put their muscle into it. But that's another (and "off-topic") story!

Hope you learn a lot here and enjoy your years with the LEAF.

* The only part of the protocol you're missing is entering your location into your profile so people don't need to repeatedly ask or figure it out. You might also wish to add a signature while you're there.

topoisomerase said:

hi! i'm super new here so hopefully i'm following the right protocol

i just got my Leaf, a gunmetal gray 2015 S, this past Monday 2/16. i got it with the fast charger option. i'm very happy so far, and this is also my first EV after driving a 2010 Prius hybrid for the past 5 years.

so far this forum is a really great resource! that's all for now

thanks!

jason

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yep, i did get the NC2C program, which is great. i've already used the QC location closest to my home. my commute is not terribly long at 22 mi. each way. i have L2 charging at work so i only need to plug in for ~1:15 to go from ~65%-100% (based on this week's driving habits, temperature, etc). i then charge at home using my upgraded EVSE with an L6-20 outlet i already had in my garage.

i've learned a lot already and am sure that will only continue!

thanks for the tip. i upgraded my location and added a signature.
-j

mbender said:

Welcome, Jason. I've got the "exact" same car, and love it -- for two reasons in particular:

1. The two-year "No Charge to Charge" program that was offered in my area, which I hope you received as well*. I quick charge quite frequently and have save a LOT of money in doing so for free.
2. If you use cruise control with any regularity, you'll be happy to know that 2015 is the first model year that it was offered on the S.

I'm also glad to see that you moved up ;-) from a Prius. I'm upset with Toyota for not producing a pure battery EV (or BEV). We could be so much further along had they put their muscle into it. But that's another (and "off-topic") story!

Hope you learn a lot here and enjoy your years with the LEAF.

* The only part of the protocol you're missing is entering your location into your profile so people don't need to repeatedly ask or figure it out. You might also wish to add a signature while you're there.

topoisomerase said:

hi! i'm super new here so hopefully i'm following the right protocol

i just got my Leaf, a gunmetal gray 2015 S, this past Monday 2/16. i got it with the fast charger option. i'm very happy so far, and this is also my first EV after driving a 2010 Prius hybrid for the past 5 years.

so far this forum is a really great resource! that's all for now

thanks!

jason

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electricvw said:

Just picked up my Second Leaf. I sold my first one and picked up a brand new 2015 Steel Grey with Black Leather Interior. I got all the bells and whistles as I did on my first 2011 Leaf. Grand total of 52 miles right now. I did not like the battery pack life but love the Leaf. This time I leased the Leaf so I have an opportunity to just hand it back or upgrade in 3 years. Im hoping for a much improved design by the time the Lease is over. I know the vehicle will do what I need for that time. I know I will go over the mileage limits but not buy much. So just had to post my new purchase today.

Pete

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Congrats Pete

In the other thread on range you said the following:

electricvw said:

My Leaf has crappy range and I did not buy a nice vehicle with heat and air just to keep them off so I can drive the car. If I wanted a car without heat or air I would have purchased an old VW Bus.

...

My car is ready for its 48 month check up. I want to be armed with MY information before taking it into the dealer. The dealer is 45 miles away. Think I will make it? I don't. I hope I have to call for a tow. I'll post the results.

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Did you make it to the dealer or did it have to be towed to the dealer to trade it in for the new car?

Or did they swap it for you in your driveway.

My 2011 was delivered to my driveway.
Interesting way to get a new car.

I bet you really like the heat pump heater

Just got my 2015 Leaf SV last week! I never test drove or even went to look at one before I bought it.. I just knew I wanted to save gas on my hour commute to work everyday. The online reviews were good enough to convince me on my decision to get one.

One very strange thing happened my first night charging the car though. Using the OEM EVSE, plugged into a standard 110-volt outlet, my Leaf miraculously charged back to full in 5 hours! I had 53% battery left at the time too, having just driven home from work.. so I'd just driven about 35 miles in my Leaf.

I wanted to monitor my first few charges just because I'm paranoid something would go wrong.. so I checked on it every 2 hours. Meaning, I unplugged the EVSE & turned on my Leaf to see how much the % of battery went up. It basically went up 10% every hour (that first night).. after 2 hours, it was exactly at 73%. I know it probably isn't good practice to do this, but I only did this the first few nights.

The following 2 nights (and every night after that), it took about 10 hours to recharge from about 50% battery (which is usually the % left when I get home from work). But that first night still leaves me scratching my head..

I'm ordering a 240-volt EVSE by the way.. I'm just using the 110-volt outlet in the meantime.

reeves said:

I wanted to monitor my first few charges just because I'm paranoid something would go wrong.. so I checked on it every 2 hours. Meaning, I unplugged the EVSE & turned on my Leaf to see how much the % of battery went up. It basically went up 10% every hour (that first night).. after 2 hours, it was exactly at 73%. I know it probably isn't good practice to do this, but I only did this the first few nights.

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Congratulations on your purchase. BTW the above was not necessary...assuming it was set up, and you have AT&T cellular service at your house, CarWings would have given you this info. CarWings will also let you turn on the climate control remotely. The lights on the top of the dash will (somewhat) let you know of the charging progress as well.

You can also don't need to stop the process. You can still turn on the dash and see the current charge level while charging is in progress.

The wife and I picked up a (leased) 2015 SV yesterday.

Brilliant Silver with the Light Grey (looks tan to me) interior.

Trip from the dealership to home (71 miles) is probably the furthest we'll ever drive it between charges, so that was a tad bit exciting for the 1st drive. Took it easy on the highway and no climate control - made it home with 14 miles to spare.

Plan to trickle charge it almost exclusively and use it for work/pick up the kid from school commuter.

Love everything about it for the 1st 24 hours of possession.

lonestarv said:

...
Plan to trickle charge it almost exclusively ...

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Congratulations on the new LEAF
Be sure the 120V outlet and circuit are properly inspected.

TimLee said:

lonestarv said:

...
Plan to trickle charge it almost exclusively ...

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Congratulations on the new LEAF
Be sure the 120V outlet and circuit are properly inspected.

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Thanks!

All set on the proper 120V outlet and charging well.

As an aside... is it normal for the dealership to give the complimentary L2 charger with a lease? I think I'm getting one (I signed the form for it), so I might change my mind on the trickle charging thing if we aren't keeping up.

lonestarv said:

...As an aside... is it normal for the dealership to give the complimentary L2 charger with a lease? I think I'm getting one (I signed the form for it), so I might change my mind on the trickle charging thing if we aren't keeping up.

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Different cities have had a free L2 EVSE (the charger is on the LEAF) at various points usually for a limited period of time.
You may have gotten lucky

You will definitely be much happier and less risk with L2 EVSE. Also more efficient. A few less $ to the power company.

240 volt EVSE's have come down in price so much (they can be had for as little as $400) that it's not a big stretch to include one as part of the deal. I believe Honda included one as part of the lease on the Fit EV (which you cannot purchase, only lease).

The "gotcha" is that installation may not be included, since that is so variable. I recall someone here getting a 30 amp EVSE thrown in as part of the deal but could not use it. It would cost a lot of money to install as the existing infrastructure would require an upgrade, but that a 16 amp one would work.

Leased a silver 2015 SV from Nissan of Cool Springs on March 2 to supplement and keep city miles off of our Cadillac SRX and Chrysler convertible. What a surprise :!: The Leaf is so much fun to drive that we have not touched either one of our other cars since we got it. The lease is for 36 months with a cap cost of $22,777 based on MSRP of $33,450. Still using trickle charge, but getting level2 installed soon. The age old question: If you had to do it over again, would you still buy it? Answer: you bet we would

wiperman said:

Leased a silver 2015 SV from Nissan of Cool Springs on March 2 to supplement and keep city miles off of our Cadillac SRX and Chrysler convertible. What a surprise :!: The Leaf is so much fun to drive that we have not touched either one of our other cars since we got it. The lease is for 36 months with a cap cost of $22,777 based on MSRP of $33,450. Still using trickle charge, but getting level2 installed soon. The age old question: If you had to do it over again, would you still buy it? Answer: you bet we would

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Wow. First post and already a gold member? Glad you like it. Welcome to the future.