How often do you take 'long trips' in the Leaf?

[smkettner]

I frequently drive more than the total range. At least twice a week lately. I charge at work or at other destination as needed.

Single point to point 60+ mile trip to destination then 4+ hours of charging to return maybe four times in two years.

 

[JeremyW]

I've done about half a dozen 300 mile in a day trips using between 4-6 quick charges and L2. Folsom to Cupertino and Pasadena to San Diego. Note that this sort of abuse on the battery is not recommended.

Come to think of it, all my long distance trips in the leaf have been to see other leafers! I do 100+ mile days at least a few times a month to see family. The leaf is my only car. If I need to go further I fly.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I routinely drive my Leaf "long" distances. I've gone over 100 miles on a charge. Always a thrill to hear that oh so helpful lady telling me my battery charge is low and again when it's really low. (...)

If you often get below the first range warning, you are probably shortening your battery life. If you regularly get to the second warning, you are shortening your pack life.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

In 16 months with the Leaf, I have only once exceeded its single-charge range. I took advantage of a friend's EVSE to top off on the way out, and LeBrun Nissan in Auburn on the return. I planned the first stop to coincide with lunch, and the second with dinner.

It must be nice out west with QCs everywhere, especially in OR/WA. In upstate NY, we have zero, and probably will continue to have zero for a few more years.

I take trips of 250+ miles each way about once a month. For those, I take the hybrid. Even with QC, you'd have to be very dedicated to driving electric to solely use a Leaf.

 

[TomT]

Again, there is no evidence, even anecdotally, that this is true... Certainly not for LBW...

If you often get below the first range warning, you are probably shortening your battery life. If you regularly get to the second warning, you are shortening your pack life.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

In these first seven months, we've driven to only two 60 mile away destinations, charged and returned.

In that same period we've taken the Accord on only three trips when we weren't confident of EVSE availability, unsure of milage or route, or just didn't want to bother with it.

So, while we're not big travelers, it looks like it'll be a while before we can give up the ICE. :|

 

[CayenneSJLEAFy]

I tend to go between 110 to 140 miles (per day) on the weekends. The most I have done is 190. In the SF Bay Area, this is do-able, especially with the growing infrastructure of L2s and L3s. Of course more L2s and L3s would be better! As long as I can check on the Recargo/Plugshare and Blink apps to ensure the chargers are available, I'll be ok. I also use my upgraded EVSE to charge at a relative's house. Kind of explains how I have 36K miles now in just 22.5 months. While I've lost 1 capacity bar recently, having more L2s and L3s around now (versus 2 years ago) still make it viable to travel throughout the SF Bay Area.

 

[abasile]

We just did 153 miles yesterday. Getting to our destination was easy, as it's 5300' lower in elevation than our home.

We started with around 70% SOC (had to keep it low enough for regen going down the mountain), drove 70 miles and arrived with about 35% SOC, and used our upgraded EVSE on a 240 V outlet to fully recharge. Our destination charging was interspersed with driving around near our destination to do a few errands.

On the way home, we did a bit over one hour of L2 charging at a Walgreens ($2/hour) while shopping at Trader Joe's across the road. (We left with a full cart!) Our next stop was a Nissan dealer, where we planned on QC'ing up to about 80% SOC for the climb up our mountain. Unfortunately, the Nissan/Sumitomo QC unit was down, with a "temperature fault". So we hung out for a bit over an hour and used L2.

I was sure glad that we played it safe and took advantage of the opportunity to charge while shopping; otherwise, that one hour at the dealership could have been two hours! (At 3.3 kW of course, not 6.0 kW as could be done with a 2013 LEAF.) Alternatively, we could have driven 8-10 miles extra and used a different QC, but that would have required us to QC up to more like 90% SOC, and we would have been chancing it there as well.

Relying on QC can sometimes be dicey, particular with a 3.3 kW onboard charger. There's often little or no redundancy in case a QC unit goes down. Things should improve as more units get deployed. It's nice to see Tesla leading the way with multiple Superchargers at each of their locations.

 

[apvbguy]

In these first seven months, we've driven to only two 60 mile away destinations, charged and returned.

In that same period we've taken the Accord on only three trips when we weren't confident of EVSE availability, unsure of milage or route, or just didn't want to bother with it.

So, while we're not big travelers, it looks like it'll be a while before we can give up the ICE. :|

what many people need to do is assess their own situations and decide when and if they can live without an ICE, in your situation you might be wise to consider not owning the ICE and renting one as needed.

 

[cgaydos]

Great to hear you got a Leaf. I can empathize with the above. It was wierd for me at first. It does take 20-30 mins longer to get there taking the country roads... but I have found there is almost NO TRAFFIC on them! It makes for a great 'sunday drive' with the windows down. I kind of like that. I found myself traveling on two lane highways I never traveld before despite living in this state my entire life - which has been fun so far.

That's especially true where you live. In the '80s I lived in Ann Arbor and did daily trips to see clients in Flint and Lansing - sometimes both cities on same day. After many months boredom (plus the atrocious state of the highways at that time) drove me to find alternate routes when I had extra time. There are many, many wonderful side routes and small towns in lower Michigan that most people who live in the cities there have no knowledge of.

Back in the present day: I've taken a LEAF on a few journeys that required a mid-trip charge. They key is to locate a charging station and ideally two backups on the return trip, and to have something to occupy my time during the return charge. I'm a trail runner so generally this involves finding new (to me) trail routes near a Walgreens or Nissan dealership and getting changed into running clothes in the restroom.

 

[EVerlasting]

I just had a road trip in my 2012 Nissan Leaf SL. I drove about a 120 miles from Waterbury, CT to Morristown, NJ. Travelled through three states, CT, NY, and NJ. Although it sounds like a small distance, it was quite a challenge because there are no quick chargers (Fast Chargers) anywhere in the entire North Eastern United States. I had no other option but to charge my Leaf at two Nissan Dealerships. After about 40 minutes of driving I took an exit near Danbury, CT for the nearest charging station. It took me to Bruce Bennett Nissan. There were two Level 2 charging spots. One spot had a gasoline car parked there and the other had a Leaf parked but not connected to the charger. Luckily it was day time so I went in and requested them to move a car so that I can charge. They immediately moved the gas car and I charged there for 3.5 hours. The staff there were very polite and helpful. After another hour's drive I reached Rockland Nissan in NY. Wow! What a huge Nissan dealership. These guys are definitely EV friendly. They have three Level 2 charging stations, at two locations and all were available. They even have a Leaf kiosk inside the dealership. They have an electrical panel on the wall which needs to be turned on to energize the chargers. This time it took me more than 3.5 hours to charge to 100%. I reached my destination with about 4 bars. I have come up with a few personal rules of charging in Nissan Dealerships.

• 1-Call them and inform them you are coming. I did that and it sort of helped.
  2-When done charging, make sure to wind the cable properly on the charger arm, even if it was not wound properly when you got there.
  3-If there is an Electrical Panel which powers the charger, make sure to turn it off before leaving. Its saves the dealership quite a lot of phantom energy loss.
  4-After successfully charging there, send them a 'Thank You' card and mentioning that you are a Leaf owner and how you appreciate them leaving the charger spot available. This will encourage them to leave spots open for other EVs.
  5-Mention that the lack of Quick Charger infrastructure makes Non-Tesla-EV road trips on the East Coast almost impossible. Although it takes a long time to charge on Level 2, its better than no options to charge at all.
  6-Find a forum topic where people list EV friendly Nissan Dealerships and remember to mention the ones which were good or bad.

I look forward to a time when quick chargers are widespread with affordable charging fees. Road trips will be fun with EVs. We need them here on the East Coast very badly. There should be quick chargers at least every 40-50 miles on every highway.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I make one 3500 mile trip in my EV over two weeks, once per year.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

I just had a road trip in my 2012 Nissan Leaf SL. I drove about a 120 miles from Waterbury, CT to Morristown, NJ. Travelled through three states, CT, NY, and NJ. Although it sounds like a small distance, it was quite a challenge because there are no quick chargers (Fast Chargers) anywhere in the entire North Eastern United States. I had no other option but to charge my Leaf at two Nissan Dealerships.

Congratulations on your trip!

A minor correction - there are two CHAdeMO quick chargers in NYC. One is in Flushing, the other in Manhattan. Of course this would be a ways out of your way, but given the 7 hours of L2 charging you did, it might have saved you time in the end.

I completely agree that the Northeast is woefully behind the times. It's embarrassing how much worse our infrastructure is than the west coast.

 

[apvbguy]

7+ hours of charging for less than 90 minutes of driving?

maybe another mode of transport should be found

 

[EVerlasting]

I just had a road trip in my 2012 Nissan Leaf SL. I drove about a 120 miles from Waterbury, CT to Morristown, NJ. Travelled through three states, CT, NY, and NJ. Although it sounds like a small distance, it was quite a challenge because there are no quick chargers (Fast Chargers) anywhere in the entire North Eastern United States. I had no other option but to charge my Leaf at two Nissan Dealerships.

Congratulations on your trip!

A minor correction - there are two CHAdeMO quick chargers in NYC. One is in Flushing, the other in Manhattan. Of course this would be a ways out of your way, but given the 7 hours of L2 charging you did, it might have saved you time in the end.

I completely agree that the Northeast is woefully behind the times. It's embarrassing how much worse our infrastructure is than the west coast.

Thanks for the info about the L3 chargers in NYC. I didn't see them in all the maps when I was planning my trip, including Chargepoint map. If they are there on those maps, then I may have overlooked.

 

[EVerlasting]

7+ hours of charging for less than 90 minutes of driving?

maybe another mode of transport should be found

Transportation is just fine. It is the lack of QCDC-L3 charging infrastructure thats making long distance trips almost impossible.

 

[Nubo]

I routinely drive my Leaf "long" distances. I've gone over 100 miles on a charge. Always a thrill to hear that oh so helpful lady telling me my battery charge is low and again when it's really low. (...)

If you often get below the first range warning, you are probably shortening your battery life. If you regularly get to the second warning, you are shortening your pack life.

Press Button to check.... :lol:

 

[BiosDude]

BiosDude - you live in an environment of hills and mountains. How do you go 100 miles on a single charge? :shock:

I've done it once. Went 102.5 miles on a 100% charge. It was on back roads doing 45ish, ECO, climate control off, B mode, 4.8 Miles/kWh. It's doable, but not my normal driving style.

 

[BiosDude]

I routinely drive my Leaf "long" distances. I've gone over 100 miles on a charge. Always a thrill to hear that oh so helpful lady telling me my battery charge is low and again when it's really low. (...)

If you often get below the first range warning, you are probably shortening your battery life. If you regularly get to the second warning, you are shortening your pack life.

Since I'm on a 2 year lease and have no intention of buying it at the end, I'm not real concerned about hitting LBW every so often.

 

[EVerlasting]

BiosDude - you live in an environment of hills and mountains. How do you go 100 miles on a single charge? :shock:

I've done it once. Went 102.5 miles on a 100% charge. It was on back roads doing 45ish, ECO, climate control off, B mode, 4.8 Miles/kWh. It's doable, but not my normal driving style.

102.5 miles, wow! I'm planning a drive from Morristown, NJ to West New York, NJ and back. Its about 45 miles each way. Instead of taking I-80 (from Parsippany to Wayne), I'm thinking of taking RT46 which has a lower speed limit of 50mph. So I can drive at 45mph without pissing off the notoriously impatient and rude NJ drivers. (Well, not all NJ driver are like that but a good portion of them are). Although it sounds like you are driving the slightly better 2013, since you mentioned B mode, I think I can make it back. If it looks like I'm going to run short of reaching back, I will stop at the Totowa Nissan on RT46 on the way back to recharge on their L2.