So, owners what range are you getting ?

[IBELEAF]

So, I'll be taking delivery of my Leaf at Northbay Nissan tomorrow, and driving it back to my home in Livermore. 77.5 miles. This sounds "do-able", but I was hoping that one of you old hands could advise me on what sort of freeway speeds I should aim for.

Can I get home at 60 MPH? Or do I need to aim even lower?

I just did a test run on the freeway with a some elevation gains and climate control eating about 1-1.5 kWh and got 68 miles before the warning light with 1 bar and 6 miles came on. I was driving on ECO with cruise control set at 62 mph and I was passed by 95% of the drivers. Your router is mostly flat, but there is some elevation which might take some range out.

 

[DaveNagy]

Thanks for that, IBELEAF. How/where did you get that elevation info?

It appears that I'll be right on the edge, if I make it at all. I certainly won't use any climate control, and it looks like I should keep it at 60 MPH or lower. Hopefully I will be able to find a slow truck to draft.

Now, to search the forum for instructions on how to get fresh "vent" air into the cabin, without running the fan....

 

[ERG4ALL]

I did a 70 mile round trip with some very large hills and 100% charge. I started at 45 mph and regenerated down the small hills and hypermiled down the large ones (i.e. put the car in neutral and coasted from 45 up to 65 mph). Midway through the trip I had enough charge left to set the cruise control on 55 and put it in neutral only for the largest hills (I reached 80 on one). We reached home with 19 miles to spare. This was before the software upgrade.

On one other trip I did 74 miles. The car started with 100% charge and then the wife had to run a 6 mile errand. So I think the range was closer to 80 miles. In this case I took surface streets. Because of approaching traffic lights carefully, the in town mileage is excellent and I didn't have to worry about frustrated drivers behind me.

My advice would be to of course start with 100% charge. Check with the dealer to make sure that they have just taken it off the charger at 100%. Take surface streets if possible even half the way and don't exceed 45 mph. When you are half way to your destination you can decide if you have enough charge to go faster, or even get on the freeway. HOWEVER, after running in town the range estimation will be way overly optimistic about your remaining range so keep that in mind. Once, on the freeway try not to exceed 60 mph and 55 if traffic permits. The energy difference between 60 and 65 is 17% even though the speed has only increased 8.3%.

I'm sure you'll make it okay if you keep the speed down. Once we got our LEAF we started running cautiously to all our regular destinations. As we gained confidence we were able to up the speed so that we had 10-15 miles reserve when we entered the garage. in many cases we were able to go the speed limit and sometimes above without "range anxiety".

 

[IBELEAF]

You can check elevation gains in your route with this link:

http://googlegeodevelopers.blogspot.com/2010/03/aint-no-mountain-high-enough.html

I agree keeping speeds at 60 mph might get you further, but today on my 405 driving it felt very uncomfortable driving even at 62-63 mph when everyone else zips by.

 

[DaveNagy]

Well, we'll just have to see how I do.

Surface streets really aren't an option for most of the route, but I'll check out the area around the dealership to see if there's anything to be gained up there.

I'll be at the dealer for at least a couple hours, so I'll make sure the car is hot off the charger.

Worst case, I can bail out about 7 miles short of my house and maybe get an L1 charge started at my workplace. My wife will just have to come and "rescue" me.

I think I'll make it though, through the power of positive thinking.

 

[Herm]

I agree keeping speeds at 60 mph might get you further, but today on my 405 driving it felt very uncomfortable driving even at 62-63 mph when everyone else zips by.

Its a fact, keeping it slower will get you farther.

Stay on the right lane and let them zip by, they wont hit you.. the speed differential is not that high, they have time to see you.

I wonder if there is a name for this fear, rear impact fear syndrome?

 

[1051]

Ok, first long weekend drive left with 110mile range drove 85 miles 85% freeway 15% stop and go in Hollywood, charged for 45 minutes while parked on 110v. Arrived back home with 20 miles left. Drove in Econ with AC on for 20 minutes 55-65 on the freeway

Love it!!

 

[bowthom]

Hello,
I can not figure out what is going on with my car. Ever since the update The car seems to be using a lot of juice or something weird is going on. On Wednesday we drove 40.6 miles with carwings showing 11.6 kWh consumed, HOWEVER, the blink recorded 18.6 kWh for the same day. I swear sometimes I loose bars when it is parked. Thursday was a standard commute. 9.7 miles into work, consumed 1 bar (start 10, end 9). When I came out to drive home the SOC was at 7 bars and it took 2 bars to get home as usual. So now I'm at 5 bars for 22 miles (different route home). That's 2.2 miles/kWh.
Today same commute: 22 miles + 6.4 miles of errands.
start 10 bars, drive in end @ 8 bars
drive home 8 to 6 bars
ran errands 6 to 4 bars
6 bars 12 kWh for 28.4 miles = 2.4 m/kWh
Ok, so the 12 kWh is an estimate of the 6 bars, I'll know for sure when it finishes charging tonight. [EDIT: Blink reported 8.2 kWh - carwings reported 28.3 miles]


One day after getting a "charging stopped @ 10 of 12 bars" email, I went out to the car a few hours later and it showed 9 bars.

ON EDIT: My range calc drops twice as fast as the miles I'm driving. Today, for example, I started out with 80 miles est. After driving 28.4 miles it showed 34 miles remaining. I did not use lights, CC or even the radio. I did use the wipers of course, I am in Oregon :roll:

 

[santamonicajane]

NEW RANGE ANXIETY
i did an 80% charge resulting in a stated range of 78 miles. i was carrying 1 sm passanger and about 40 # cargo. all driving was in eco mode. exterior temp mild and no ac on. my energy economy is 3.8. i left home and did 2 local errands of about 5 mi each then went on freeway for 34 miles most of the time at +/- 70 mph but about 30 min of stop and go. 1 more short errand of 3 miles for a total of 43 actual miles driven and had a 3 miles left in my range!!!! what am i doing wrong? :?

 

[IBELEAF]

NEW RANGE ANXIETY
i did an 80% charge resulting in a stated range of 78 miles. i was carrying 1 sm passanger and about 40 # cargo. all driving was in eco mode. exterior temp mild and no ac on. my energy economy is 3.8. i left home and did 2 local errands of about 5 mi each then went on freeway for 34 miles most of the time at +/- 70 mph but about 30 min of stop and go. 1 more short errand of 3 miles for a total of 43 actual miles driven and had a 3 miles left in my range!!!! what am i doing wrong? :?

Yes it sucks, but not surprising. Extra weight, 70 MPH and if you have hills in your route will not get you far. I am dealing with similar results but I keep speed at 60 MPH and with CC on.

 

[ERG4ALL]

I get consistently 4.5 m/kWh shown on the dashboard. In case you haven't tried using the best feedback, press the ECO physical button to the lower right of the touchscreen. Then press the "Energy Info" virtual button, then "Energy Economy" virtual button. Glance at this occasionally while driving and you can see by the state of the histogram whether you're getting 8 miles per kWh or 2 miles per kWh and it will give you the accumulated average since you last reset it. I also use the "Energy Info" display to see where the energy is going, AC motor, Climate Control, or Internal pumps and fans in the engine compartment. Any way this is just a way to get feedback on your driving habits so you'll know if you should be driving at 55, 60, 65 or 70 to get the range you desire for that particular trip.

 

[planet4ever]

I swear sometimes I lose bars when it is parked.

I'm seeing this, too. I suspect that the calculations are different at boot-up time than the continuous ones while you are driving. I have no idea whether this is the bar-count algorithm, which we know is different for charging and discharging, or something deeper. Perhaps SoC computation is different for a battery which hasn't been used for a while? Change in battery temperature? Some actual time-based loss in battery charge? Vampire usage while the car is turned off?

Ray

 

[evnow]

With the new firmware, this is what I got today.

Charge : 100%
Miles : 45 miles
Miles Left : 37 miles
Total Range (est) : 82 miles
Bars left : 5
Economy : 4.2 m/kwh
Temperature : 57 (& Sunny !), no climate control
Trip Type : 1/2 on roads around 40 mph, rest on freeway @ 65 mph.

update : Elevation changes of 150 m, 30 m, 100 m, 0 m, and a few 50 m hills. And then back the same way.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Now its only been a few days and I spent all day yesterday at Lacey Alt. Fuel Fair but I have not really noticed a huge difference in the estimated range

 

[waiting4leaf]

So, I'll be taking delivery of my Leaf at Northbay Nissan tomorrow, and driving it back to my home in Livermore. 77.5 miles, according to Google Maps. This sounds "do-able", but I was hoping that one of you old hands could advise me on what sort of freeway speeds I should aim for.

Can I get home at 60 MPH? Or do I need to aim even lower?

Lower. Go 50.

 

[DaveNagy]

I just wanted to let everyone know that I made it home safely on my maiden voyage from the dealership. About 78 miles, I think. Mostly freeway. I had 5 miles showing on the guess-a-meter when I pulled into my garage.

Whew. Very stressful. I spent most of the last half of my drive with the Navigation lady telling me that I might not have the range to reach my destination. "Push the button for details." I never did figure out what button she was referring to. Oh well, probably not important.

waiting4leaf: I ended up trying to stay in the 57 MPH range. I couldn't figure out how to get the cruise-control to work, so I spent the entire drive staring at the speedometer. My accelerator leg was getting pretty cramped too, what with the constant tiny adjustments I was doing. Yeah, it was pretty fun. I'm going to go drink something now.... :shock:

 

[DarkStar]

I just wanted to let everyone know that I made it home safely on my maiden voyage from the dealership. About 78 miles, I think. Mostly freeway. I had 5 miles showing on the guess-a-meter when I pulled into my garage.

Whew. Very stressful. I spent most of the last half of my drive with the Navigation lady telling me that I might not have the range to reach my destination. "Push the button for details." I never did figure out what button she was referring to. Oh well, probably not important.

waiting4leaf: I ended up trying to stay in the 57 MPH range. I couldn't figure out how to get the cruise-control to work, so I spent the entire drive staring at the speedometer. My accelerator leg was getting pretty cramped too, what with the constant tiny adjustments I was doing. Yeah, it was pretty fun. I'm going to go drink something now.... :shock:

The button is the one on the steering wheel that just looks like an up arrow on the left. Also, not using cruise control probably "bettered" your range a bit, yep makes the leg tired, but I'll take the extra range any day!

 

[IBELEAF]

How I made 68 mile trip from 12 bars to 1 bar in 6:30 minutes

 

[Fishleafer]

Took a trip from Cupertino to Gilroy Outlet today with 4 adults and 1 kid in the car (fully loaded!). Started out with SOC 100% and 111 miles estimated, all the way on EOC and back. 95% highway at 55 miles/hr. made it back with 1 bar left and 10 miles est on the DB after this 80 miles round trip. Not bad, but I sure hope that Gilroy outlet mall has a charge station installed, so that I won't worry about whether I can make it on my way back

 

[bowthom]

Hello,
Today's trip, Multnomah Falls from SE Portland. Distance is 55.9 miles round trip, very flat, all freeway 55 ~ 60 mph, started with 100% charge @ 108 est miles. Outside temp 50* going, 46* return trip. Wipers both ways, lights on the return trip. Cruise control set both ways.
Lost first SOC bar at 2.4 miles, lost the second at 7.8 miles. Estimated range dropped to 80.
Arrived destination with 7 bars, distance = 28.2 miles (5.6 miles/bar)
Arrived back home with 2 bars & 14 est miles, distance = 55.9 miles (5.6 miles/bar) :?

As soon as the blink reports kWh I'll edit/add it to the post.
ON EDIT:
carwings = 54.6 miles | odometer = 55.9 miles
carwings = 13.8 kWh | blink = 18.7 kWh <<<<< this kind of discrepancy in carwings started after the update
carwings = 4.0 m/kWh | range est @ 83% = 64 miles

10 SOC bars (20 kWh) @ 4.0 m/kWh = 80 mile est range but the range est is 64 miles = 3.2 m/kWh.
My "wall to wheels" = 3.0 m/kWh for this trip.

Carwings thinks I used 60% of the battery for the trip when in reality I used 80%. This figures to 70 miles total range when driving on the freeway......
OR ........ my battery has ~17 % less capacity and 10 SOC bars = 16.6 kWh.
Let's see, 18.7 kWh x .87 eff = 16.3 kWh into the battery, hmmmmmmmm.................

I was very conservative, I drove 55 mph in the 55 zone and 60 mph in the 65 zone with cars zipping by. I felt if I drove any faster I would not make it there and back.

Errors in reporting for May:
Carwings = 20.1 miles short of odometer = -10%
Blink network = 1.5 kWh short of screen readout = -2%.