My wife suggested I just check with Leaf support so I just chatted with Leaf support. Boils down to L1 charging is slower and Nissan doesn't want people to get stuck but L1 does no harm and is allowed and they are going to talk to the dealer and make sure they understand.
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paul s: Thank you for contacting Nissan LEAF Customer Support, my name is paul s. How may I help you today John?
John Simon: I was wondering if using L1 charging for normal charging was allowed.
paul s: Okay, John... that is actually a great question!
paul s: The Leaf Owner's manual does not recommend using the "trickle" charge as your sole means of charging, however...
paul s: The reason for this is not due to any potential harm to your Nissan Leaf..
John Simon: what is the reason?
paul s: Essentially, due to the signifcantly greater time required to charge, Nissan does recommend relying on trickle charge alone..
paul s: However, there is less heat involved in the trickle charge...
John Simon: The reason I ask is I have a Nissan Leaf and I took it in for service and the dealer is telling me I should not be using L1 charging as it is for emergencies and they are saying I am harming my car
paul s: So, can you tell me which dealership you are using for your Leaf servicing?
John Simon: Nissan of McKinney
paul s: Excellent! I can get in touch with the EV specialist at that location and give them a more practical perspective on the situation...
John Simon: thank you
paul s: In short, many customers are driving 50 or 60 miles a day and at that rate, they would not be able to fully re-charge by mid-week... leaving them in a bind to be able to use their Leaf..
John Simon: That makes sense from a range perspective but I typically don't drive that much so L1 meets my needs now. If I do start driving or my power company offers time of use I would switch to L2
John Simon: I mean driving greater distance
paul s: For the smaller percentage of customers who may only drive ten miles a day, there is no reason that they cannot recharge at the end of every week and never be in a position to use the vehicle
John Simon: cool, this answers my questions. I appreciate the information and thank you for contacting the EV specialist at my dealer
