From CR-Z to SL-Plus

[duncan-s]

Hi all. I've been driving a stick-shift Honda CR-Z hybrid for the last few years, thinking vaguely all along about the plugin route. A friend who loves his new Hyundai Ioniq 5 convinced me it was time to shop in earnest even though I didn't particularly connect with the 5, it being a little too utilitarian-feeling for my taste. My wife and I test drove an Ioniq 6 which was more fun but still not what I was looking for. We tried out an Ariya, a new SV Plus and then an older SL, and agreed we liked the SL interior and the bigger battery; so I narrowed down the search to recent-ish SL Plus cars. Those are hard to find around here but I ended up ordering a 2021 car for delivery on Carvana, which I gotta say was dangerously easy. All anticipation now! Assuming it arrives in the advertised condition we'll be happy campers and I'll post a picture.

This forum has already been of use on a few occasions while I was shopping, so I thought I'd hang out an avatar and say hello and thanks to everybody.

I expect to be kinda sad letting go of what a neighbor calls my little batmobile, but I know someone who wants it, and I'm ready to be done burning gas.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

Congrats. Post your adventures

 

[duncan-s]

An update - my black SL Plus has arrived I've been making excuses constantly to drive it around. Took it to the local Nissan dealer for an inspection this morning, as it seemed a good idea to get another set of eyes on the vehicle while it was still within the 7-day free return period, and it passed that with flying colors. Trickle charging at home is easy enough, and there are numerous chargepoint stations around town, but an electrician is coming next week to supply 50A / 240V to our garage.

Gratifyingly, the wife, who at first was thinking of this purchase as just my car, now wants it to be OUR car so she can drive it to her office when I have work-from-home days.

Good stuff!

 

[cornbinder89]

Glad your happy. I am with my 2015. I put in a 50 amp outlet before I had purchased my Leaf. The speed of charging can be nice, but unlike you I have a early one with a 24 Kwh pack so slow vs. fast isn't that great. I could likely live with only the 120 volt line for a long time.
My used 2015 came with a Primecom EVSE, which I have been plying with charge times and current. Yours being a Plus model, the faster charging will cut the charge time when the big battery is deeply discharged.
In the cold, I can not make two back to back trips into town without a charge in between, so I don't drop much below 30% and try not to charge to 100%.
Having the dedicated 50 amp outlet is also future proofing for what may come next.

 

[pjacobsma]

I love my SL Plus. I think you'll find when you have to switch back to driving an ICE car it feels really laggy after the super-responsive EV. I don't usually drive all that many miles a day so I just charge mine from a 110-volt outlet and that's been perfectly adequate. I think it's probably a little better for the battery pack too.

 

[duncan-s]

Just took a trip of 80 miles by myself and used the stereo extensively for the first time. There's an issue with the right channel coming and going. Once it dropped out when I hit a little bump in the road. Poorly connected wire? Bad solder joint in the infotainment unit? Might seem like a small thing but I listen to a lot of music and won't be able to tolerate intermittent audio.

So as much as I love everything else about this car I'm afraid I'll be calling Carvana to come pick it up. (Unless someone here recognizes the audio symptom and knows a simple fix!)

Then it's back to Leaf shopping. I know it's the car I want; hopefully I'll find another SL Plus that might work out better.

 

[Banger]

A buggy speaker is a bit of a silly reason to disqualify an otherwise well-liked Leaf.

Get to a good car audio professional if you're not inclined to research the symptoms. But if you can get the door panel off you can check out the speaker and the connection yourself pretty easily. Jiggle the connection a bit and see if the speaker cuts out/comes back with that movement. If so, you've got a short in that connection. Could be as easy as cleaning the connection and reattaching it. Worst case scenario, you need speaker wire or a new speaker. A good set of aftermarket door speakers can be had for $50-75 a pair and are a decent investment in an older car whose stereo setup is showing its age.

 

[duncan-s]

@Banger, I used to work in audio repair. R.I.P. Circuit City

Listening some more this afternoon, I am 80% sure it is an amplifier problem. The channel doesn't go out completely, it drops some 20-30 dB and turns fuzzy. Tapping just around the affected speaker area does nothing, but goosing the volume brings it back temporarily. If I had the amp on the repair bench I'd be looking for a bad gain stage or cracked solder.

Anyway, this has to be decided by Tuesday afternoon. If I dig into it myself, success is by no means certain, and I'll miss the return window. Nor would I expect the local dealer's shop to get into circuit-board level work, they aren't trained for it. Carvana is unlikely to agree to a solution that means replacing the head unit or the power amp, wherever that lives in the car (though I do plan to talk to both carvana and the local shop when Monday rolls around). The only outcome I see happening is carvana peddling the car to someone who deems it "silly" to let bad audio get in the way of a transaction.

Two afterthoughts:

1: I could also ask if infotainment is still under the original factory warranty (2021). That seems unlikely too.

2: Where does the power amp actually live in this car? Is it accessible without getting into the dashboard?

 

[Banger]

@Banger, I used to work in audio repair. R.I.P. Circuit City

Listening some more this afternoon, I am 80% sure it is an amplifier problem. The channel doesn't go out completely, it drops some 20-30 dB and turns fuzzy. Tapping just around the affected speaker area does nothing, but goosing the volume brings it back temporarily. If I had the amp on the repair bench I'd be looking for a bad gain stage or cracked solder.

Anyway, this has to be decided by Tuesday afternoon.

Does it?

How comfortable would you be with sourcing another head unit and installing it? If you're up to the job -- it sounds like you certainly have the skill -- you still may come out of this with an otherwise great little car with just a little more expense on the backside of the transaction.

Two afterthoughts:

1: I could also ask if infotainment is still under the original factory warranty (2021). That seems unlikely too.

Call a dealer and give them your VIN. It's definitely worth asking this question.

2: Where does the power amp actually live in this car? Is it accessible without getting into the dashboard?

Bose Leafs have the amp in the right-rear suspension turret in the cargo area, says this thread.

 

[duncan-s]

Update. Tech at local dealer said the car was still under bumper-to-bumper coverage but not for long, and Nissan doesn't actually do the repairs to the infotainment systems but farms them out to someone else. Since the problem was intermittent there was a good chance there would be one or more failed service attempts where they would either not observe the problem or incorrectly think they'd fixed it. Since I'm the one who paid Good Money™ for the car, why volunteer for that scenario.

So I exchanged for another '21 SL Plus, this one with the warm "pearl white" exterior color and a little under 17k miles. It passed tech inspection, made an extended trip last night with no issues audio or otherwise, feels generally tighter and newer than the first one, and was even priced slightly lower so I get a pocketful of money back. It's looking like a keeper and a win all around.

Also the electricians have been to visit and we've got our nice fat 240v supply in the garage, yay!

 

[Bombastinator2]

Congrats. Post your adventures

I find serious advantages and disadvantages. The biggest advantage is fuel price. The biggest disadvantage is range. I’ve got an SV (no plus) which is 140mi in the apron/summer/fall and 100mi in the winter. I found I could commute with it fine in the winter. If you’ve got a home charger, even if it’s just a standard 110v socket, you can charge it overnight so it arguably more convenient than gasoline. You kinda need a charger though which leaves a lot of apartment owners or people who have to park in the street out in the cold though. Range is an issue. Multi state trips are difficult. You basically have to hop from Nissan dealer to Nissan dealer to take advantage of their chademo superchargers. Also while it will tow pretty well, it won’t tow terribly far, because towing eats range.