I haven't read this whole thread but if you truly have a '12 then I'd really suggest Leafspy and maybe even a old unused Android you could leave in the vehicle all the time. The '12's lacked the very useful(to me anyway) SOC% gauge so you could know the approximate charge of the battery, without it you are only relying on the woefully inaccurate GOM, Leafspy with a cell phone gives you an instantaneous SOC% meter. I use my SOC% meter all the time to tell me if I have enough charge to get back home. If I leave for a destination with say 80% I figure I really need a minimum of 40% to get back home, preferably 45% for a buffer. Of course, this is assuming similar driving conditions to and from, if it's all uphill to your destination then getting back will require quite a bit less SOC%, same goes for speed and other factors but all the same you'll need roughly half your charge to get back home.DARaynor said:
Another thing to think about would be a $25 + labor switch so you can disable the heat and still use the fan, only from '13 and on did Nissan make this standard for the Leaf. If you live in a hot dry climate it might not be such a big deal but if you live in a cooler or humid climate it can give you a fair amount more range being able to run just the fan in cooler temps.
FWIW I've never changed the cabin filter in my '13 or used '12. Not that I think less about someone who does it regularly but I just don't feel it's necessary, at least in my area that doesn't have gravel roads and has pretty clean air. I do regularly check my PSI and generally keep it at max pressure or about 45 PSI. We also basically leave our Leaf in ECO, just don't like how jumpy it is with ECO off. Oh and on the '12 it ALWAYS reverts to ECO OFF after a shutdown :x they fixed that in the '13 and on and also on the newer Leafs you don't get that DAMN! nag warning screen about using the nav EVERYTIME you shut the car down :x