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HI All! I bought my first EV a couple weeks ago. 2019 Leaf SV with 50k miles. The car itself I love, the public charging issues are becoming quite the bummer. Before I take it back to the dealership for repair (it's certified pre-owned from a Nissan dealership in CA), is it common that at least half the chargers out there, both J1772 and CHAdeMO, aren't working? Or do the contacts maybe need to be cleaned or something? Would LeafSpy help diagnose?

Thanks, and if there's a better forum topic for this, please direct me :)

Todd
 
I bought a 50,000mi 2017 Leaf S trim a couple of days ago. The vehicle feels nice and solid. It looks nice. It's quite a stripped-down trim, but I just needed a daily commuter. Either I will drive it 46 miles RT to work, or my spouse will use it as a kid delivery wagon. Spouse doesn't care, but the kids love our monstrous PacHy (Pacifica Hybrid) Limited, and I'd feel a bit guilty driving the luxury van to work (lie) plus I'd rather do my longer drive on all electric because I'm cheap (truth), and the PacHy will only go 30ish on the battery before the ICE kicks on.

I'm having a bit of range anxiety with the Leaf as a work commuter because I've got the 30kWh battery pack with only 8 bars left. Leafspy says the SOH is 59% with about 16.5kWh after a full (level 1) charge. I calculate that I should be able to do the work commute with 14 to 16 kWh assuming that I get 2.5 mi/kWh on the freeway (65-70mph), 3.0 mi/kWh on the highway (45-55mph), and 3.5 mi/kWh on surface streets (<40mph). I could slow TF down, but I'm always late, so it's tough for me to do the speed limit (or below). I suppose it's tougher to walk home, though.

I hope my estimates are conservative. I did 50 miles on a nearly-full charge driving home. That was a one-shot that was 95% freeway at very high speeds >70mph almost the whole way. The dashboard Guess-O-Meter (GOM) started out at 68 but I only had 9 miles left on the GOM at the end of 50. Didn't have leafspy plugged in. I also drafted the heck out of my spouse, who was driving the PacHy (like a maniac at nearly 80mph sometimes), so I have no idea what my real-world range is going to be, when I can't find a minivan or Amazon delivery guy to annoy by tailgating. After a full level-1 charge, the GOM tells me I've got 70 miles, and leafspy says I can go a zillion miles (at 4.0mi/kWh). When I turn it down to 3.0mi/kWh, Leafspy says I'm going to get the LBW chime every day, which will probably give me some sort of Pavlovian complex around my Leaf.

Spouse does 40 total miles daily; 20 miles surface streets twice a day with a nice long charging interval midday when electrons are cheap. So, it makes sense for her to drive the Leaf, but--again, I'd rather all our miles be electric, since that gets the vehicles "paid for" sooner.

Anyway, thanks for reading! Anybody drive a 2017 on a similar commute? My least efficient commute totals: 36 freeway (~65mph) and 10 highway (~50mph), with just 3-ish miles of surface streets. Wanna chime in with what sort of mi/kWh you're getting?
 
SpaceCadet said:
I bought a 50,000mi 2017 Leaf S trim a couple of days ago. The vehicle feels nice and solid. It looks nice. It's quite a stripped-down trim, but I just needed a daily commuter. Either I will drive it 46 miles RT to work, or my spouse will use it as a kid delivery wagon. Spouse doesn't care, but the kids love our monstrous PacHy (Pacifica Hybrid) Limited, and I'd feel a bit guilty driving the luxury van to work (lie) plus I'd rather do my longer drive on all electric because I'm cheap (truth), and the PacHy will only go 30ish on the battery before the ICE kicks on.

I'm having a bit of range anxiety with the Leaf as a work commuter because I've got the 30kWh battery pack with only 8 bars left. Leafspy says the SOH is 59% with about 16.5kWh after a full (level 1) charge. I calculate that I should be able to do the work commute with 14 to 16 kWh assuming that I get 2.5 mi/kWh on the freeway (65-70mph), 3.0 mi/kWh on the highway (45-55mph), and 3.5 mi/kWh on surface streets (<40mph). I could slow TF down, but I'm always late, so it's tough for me to do the speed limit (or below). I suppose it's tougher to walk home, though.

I hope my estimates are conservative. I did 50 miles on a nearly-full charge driving home. That was a one-shot that was 95% freeway at very high speeds >70mph almost the whole way. The dashboard Guess-O-Meter (GOM) started out at 68 but I only had 9 miles left on the GOM at the end of 50. Didn't have leafspy plugged in. I also drafted the heck out of my spouse, who was driving the PacHy (like a maniac at nearly 80mph sometimes), so I have no idea what my real-world range is going to be, when I can't find a minivan or Amazon delivery guy to annoy by tailgating. After a full level-1 charge, the GOM tells me I've got 70 miles, and leafspy says I can go a zillion miles (at 4.0mi/kWh). When I turn it down to 3.0mi/kWh, Leafspy says I'm going to get the LBW chime every day, which will probably give me some sort of Pavlovian complex around my Leaf.

Spouse does 40 total miles daily; 20 miles surface streets twice a day with a nice long charging interval midday when electrons are cheap. So, it makes sense for her to drive the Leaf, but--again, I'd rather all our miles be electric, since that gets the vehicles "paid for" sooner.

Anyway, thanks for reading! Anybody drive a 2017 on a similar commute? My least efficient commute totals: 36 freeway (~65mph) and 10 highway (~50mph), with just 3-ish miles of surface streets. Wanna chime in with what sort of mi/kWh you're getting?

Welcome! But aside from LeftieBiker's tips, are you aware that there's a firmware update to reset the BMS on your Leaf? Also, it still qualifies for a warranty replacement of the main battery pack! There's a whole thread about this: https://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=23606&start=2240

The BMS reset (if it wasn't done yet) should give you a temporary boost to your range, while the warranty replacement is a permanent boost (at least for the next 100,000 miles or so).
 
Thanks for the tips! My tires are around 33/34psi and leafspy was beeping at me. I guess that's why. Is there any risk or additional wear-and-tear to be expected from inflating to 40psi?

Welcome! But aside from LeftieBiker's tips, are you aware that there's a firmware update to reset the BMS on your Leaf? Also, it still qualifies for a warranty replacement of the main battery pack! There's a whole thread about this: https://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=23606&start=2240

The BMS reset (if it wasn't done yet) should give you a temporary boost to your range, while the warranty replacement is a permanent boost (at least for the next 100,000 miles or so).

Yes, I have read all about it in the other topic, and that was VERY helpful when I was car shopping.

I was aware of the firmware update and checked to make sure the Leaf had it completed prior to purchase. My first trip with the Leaf was to a Nissan dealer to apply for the replacement. I got word from the dealer today that a 40kWh battery pack has been approved and is on-order. However, as often happens, there's no ETA, and I would guess it will be at least 2-3 months, and possibly many more, before it arrives and I get bumped up in range.

So, in the meanwhile, I'll pump up the tires and try to keep the lead out of my feet. :D
 
I previously owned a 2013 SV. Its battery degraded over the years and in fact, I didn't baby it. So when it came time for an upgrade the only thing Nissan was offering was like for like for $6000, and 3rd party pack swaps weren't a thing yet. That put me back into the market and I got a CPO Tesla Model S which I've kept since.

Now I'm in the process of getting a 2013 SL through EV Rides in Portland with a 62 kWh battery. I'm going to modernize the SL further with OVMS and a 30kWh headunit swap for Xanavi/Carplay. I'm replacing the dorky antenna with a Visual Garage shark fin. I've always liked the Leaf's headlights but I've always thought that antenna looked dorky. The antenna shaft is yours for $10 shipping or free in the Bay Area.

When the 12V wears out, I'm getting an Ohmmu. I put an Ohmmu on the S and I've never thought about it since.

Any other low/mid hanging fruit I should be aware of?
 
I'm not sure that anyone ever came up with an easy, inexpensive fix for the mediocre low beam headlights, so you may want to see where the market is in terms of drop-in upgraded bulbs. Personally, I never minded the halogen low beams - it was the halogen high beams on the SV trim that were terrible. I believe the SL has LED High and halogen Low beams. Or maybe it's the other way round? I hope not!
 
I had the LED/QC package on the SV and I'm pretty sure it's the other way around. I'm going to look at the fog lights and they'll probably get LEDs for use as DRLs. Since the SL has high beam assist, I'll be looking at LEDs for the high beams as well.

However, there appear to be a lot of LED threads with very useful information.
 
Bought a 2018 Leaf SV model, Pearl White with 32000 miles. Drove 200 miles to Denton, TX to get it, then had it shipped (I wasn't trading in my other vehicle so I had to do that).
I've been really happy with it. It's not Tesla fast but does have good acceleration. It's weird to not hear the engine rev up when punching it.
Currently doing the e-Pedal driving in D mode.
 
Strolled into Platt Auto the first of last month noticing they had quite a stock of Chevy Bolts on the lot. Chatted with one of the fellows. In the course of the discussion about what was available, he mentioned they had a '19 LEAF SL Plus in their inventory which only had 562 miles on the clock. That caught my interest. I looked it over carefully and test drove it. Talked to them about price and a possible trade in of my '16 S30. We ended up with numbers I felt doable. I thought about it for a day and I am now the proud owner of a '19 SL Plus. What a treat to have enough battery that I don't worry about using A/C when I wish. or taking an unplanned trip around town. Now, I will have to train myself up on the many electronic features of the SL. I am discovering a new one every day.
 
Picked up my 2015 SL yesterday, Dollied it home from the twin cities to rural western Iowa. Dolly was a pain unloaded on the ride up, but road like a dream on the way back with the Leaf on it!
90K on the odometer but still plenty of battery life.
 
Month in and still loving it. Yes, it has limited range, I knew that going in, but for what we use a car for, daily (or almost daily) trips to town, it costs us around $1.50 in electricity( some days more, some less), and would cost us more than double in gasoline. The smooth quiet of the ride is a change from the old high mileage econo-boxes I normally drive. It is a 10 mile or more trip to the outskirts of town at 55 Mph and the same returning. With an IC car, it isn't up to operating temp until 1/2 way there and the fuel usage suffers because of it. A little better on the return trip because it starts at low speed and ramps up to high after the engine has a chance to warm. The Leaf doesn't seam to mind at all.
I have 3 other vehicles and haven't bought gas in about a month!
Like all, I wish I had more range for the very infrequent longer trips, I wish it could be my only car. That said, the fact I have not visited a gas station in a month, proves it was a good fit for most of our trips.
Still a lot to learn about optimizing all the settings and features, and will likely cut back on the charger time "window" so it charges to less than full.
It came with a "Primecom" adjustable current charger. P/O had it set to 32 amps (more than the 6 Kw charger can use) and I dialed back to 24 amps (around 5.75 Kw), next variable is charge time, currently set for 4 hr starting after midnight, will dial that back an hr at a time and see how the range is on the GOM.
So far we always arrive home with mid to upper 20's or low 30's of range left on the GOM, so room to curtail the charge and not run out.
 
cornbinder89 said:
Month in and still loving it. Yes, it has limited range, I knew that going in, but for what we use a car for, daily (or almost daily) trips to town, it costs us around $1.50 in electricity( some days more, some less), and would cost us more than double in gasoline. The smooth quiet of the ride is a change from the old high mileage econo-boxes I normally drive. It is a 10 mile or more trip to the outskirts of town at 55 Mph and the same returning. With an IC car, it isn't up to operating temp until 1/2 way there and the fuel usage suffers because of it. A little better on the return trip because it starts at low speed and ramps up to high after the engine has a chance to warm. The Leaf doesn't seam to mind at all.
I have 3 other vehicles and haven't bought gas in about a month!
Like all, I wish I had more range for the very infrequent longer trips, I wish it could be my only car. That said, the fact I have not visited a gas station in a month, proves it was a good fit for most of our trips.
Still a lot to learn about optimizing all the settings and features, and will likely cut back on the charger time "window" so it charges to less than full.
It came with a "Primecom" adjustable current charger. P/O had it set to 32 amps (more than the 6 Kw charger can use) and I dialed back to 24 amps (around 5.75 Kw), next variable is charge time, currently set for 4 hr starting after midnight, will dial that back an hr at a time and see how the range is on the GOM.
So far we always arrive home with mid to upper 20's or low 30's of range left on the GOM, so room to curtail the charge and not run out.

While you're optimizing your charging time, you should double-check your utility's TOU (Time Of Use) rate schedule. SCE changed ours this year to be lowest (only during the summer months) between 8am-4pm (because of all the rooftop solar systems installed). If your utility had as well, then you would save more money by charging according to their new schedule.

Welcome to the community!
 
Hello! My 2015 S was totaled in an accident recently when the other driver roared through a red light, took off my front end, and ran into a house--sooo glad we weren't t-boned! I looked at other used electrics and no other brands\models came close in my budget range. I bought a 2018 S with 30k miles for $12k this week and so far am very happy.

Couple of questions:
1. Will I be able to use the "Nissan Connect EV and Services" app to monitor\control charging, turn on climate control remotely, etc.?
2. The dash shows the battery state of health at 100%, but LeafSpy shows 85%. Any idea why? Assuming it will take some time for the range estimates to sync up with my driving habits, but the dash is currently saying it's 132 miles with a full charge.
3. Any efficiency or other benefits to using "E-Pedal" mode?
4. Dash shows the car has around 30k of miles, but LEAFSpy says it's 18k. Is that normal?
5. No owners manual came with it--any idea if I can get a free printed one from Nissan?
6. Any software updates, recalls, etc. I should ask the dealer about? (I've got a great one.)

Attaching two LEAFSpy photos--Anything look weird\concerning?
The first is while driving. The second is while stationary.
Thank you!!
IMG_5966.PNG

IMG_5968.PNG
 
Welcome. First, the bad news. No Leaf S has remote connectivity. It does have a climate control timer, though. As for the rest: I'm not sure if we are talking about the same thing, but if your S has the same cylindrical battery icon SOH display as the SV and SL, then your Battery Management System may have been rebooted, either for a harmless reason or to hide a lost capacity bar. I wouldn't expect it to have lost one at 85%, though.

ePedal is very handy for driving in Stop & G traffic. Not so much on the highway.

The battery histograms show a battery that looks very good, balance wise.
 
I'm not sure why Nissan did it this way but the bars display is not proportional to battery health percentage. In other words 100%/12bars = 8.33% per bar. But you would loose the first bar at around 85% not 91.67%. So you would probably see a bar go soon? See this table here for example:

SoH & bars
 
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