Heater Temperature in 2015 Leaf

We just got our 2015 Leaf about 3 weeks ago. I've noticed that the heater does not get very hot in the car. Even when i put it on 90 degrees it is not very hot at all. Is this normal???

gtdelt said:

We just got our 2015 Leaf about 3 weeks ago. I've noticed that the heater does not get very hot in the car. Even when i put it on 90 degrees it is not very hot at all. Is this normal???

Click to expand...

It gets warmer over the first few minutes, but yes. There is no waste heat to gather, so it does take a while for the heater to get going. And even when it does, it is not as hot as an ICE car. Search the forum for various heater discussions.

gtdelt said:

We just got our 2015 Leaf about 3 weeks ago. I've noticed that the heater does not get very hot in the car. Even when i put it on 90 degrees it is not very hot at all. Is this normal???

Click to expand...

how warm do you need it to be? 90º seems a "bit" excessive to me. you be better off wearing a coat or something.

gtdelt said:

We just got our 2015 Leaf about 3 weeks ago. I've noticed that the heater does not get very hot in the car. Even when i put it on 90 degrees it is not very hot at all. Is this normal???

Click to expand...

Try it in Drive mode and check your KW usage meter, if you run it in B or Eco Mode I believe it will only give you 1/2 power to the heater.

Going to go test mine now, rarely use my heat in San Diego.

Fred

OP, what trim level do you have? People here are making all sorts of statements w/o knowing whether the car has the resistance-only heater (S) vs. the hybrid heater w/heat pump on the '13+ SV/SL.

And, least one person has the crap slow water-block based resistance heater found on the pre-'13 Leafs. DaveinOlyWA had that crap heater on his '11. His current Leaf is an S w/o the hybrid heater.

On my '13 SV, if I turn on the heat, by the time I've backed out to my driveway, I already have warm air coming out the vents.

I do find that the heater behavior has some quirks where it seems like at some points (I almost NEVER use auto), it puts out little heat when set to somewhere between 73-ish and 83-ish... but it's intermittent and not easy to repro.

We actually tried it today in non-Eco mode and it was definitely warmer. We have the S trim in the 2015 model. I think maybe the Eco mode was not making it as warm as it should be.

gtdelt said:

We actually tried it today in non-Eco mode and it was definitely warmer. We have the S trim in the 2015 model. I think maybe the Eco mode was not making it as warm as it should be.

Click to expand...

That's it, if you go to your energy screen you will see that with "Eco" mode in Climate Control you draw around 1.5 KW and in "Drive" mode you draw 3.5. - 4 Kw, mine got hot fast.

Wennfred said:

gtdelt said:

We actually tried it today in non-Eco mode and it was definitely warmer. We have the S trim in the 2015 model. I think maybe the Eco mode was not making it as warm as it should be.

Click to expand...

That's it, if you go to your energy screen you will see that with "Eco" mode in Climate Control you draw around 1.5 KW and in "Drive" mode you draw 3.5. - 4 Kw, mine got hot fast.

Click to expand...

The OP has an S trim. It has no nav system and AFAIK, it also has no energy screen, as pointed out to be by at least 1 S trim driver (who had an '11 or '12 Leaf before, when the S trim didnt' exist).

To be clear to the OP, we're talking about the screen at http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showpost.php?p=395810&postcount=4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

gtdelt, where are you, how cold is it outside? In really cold weather, setting the heat at 90 with full fan on outside air seems to suck in air faster than it can be heated, with either heater, and I've had both, but even more so with the heat pump. Try using re-circulate first, on a lower fan speed, in D, then vary it to find the setting that suits you.

If you really want the heat to crank, put it into defrost mode

johnrhansen said:

If you really want the heat to crank, put it into defrost mode

Click to expand...

But that uses outside air. I think that the OP, with the S model resistance heater, would get best results by using the heater and recirculate in D mode. As he has discovered, Eco limits the power to the heater (one of the purposes of Eco, the other being to remap the accelerator pedal for more efficient driving). The reason defrost seems to heat up so quickly is because it overrides the Eco heater power limit (~1.5 kW on my car, IIRC). That's not an issue if D mode, instead of Eco, is used.

I get around all this by preheating before I go somewhere and getting into a warm car (my carpool partner loves it). But that can't be done remotely on the S model, only by using the CC timer while plugged-in (or by turning the car on and letting it heat while parked before leaving, which is a considerable nuisance).

DNAinaGoodWay said:

gtdelt, where are you, how cold is it outside? In really cold weather, setting the heat at 90 with full fan on outside air seems to suck in air faster than it can be heated, with either heater, and I've had both, but even more so with the heat pump. Try using re-circulate first, on a lower fan speed, in D, then vary it to find the setting that suits you.

Click to expand...

I'm in north Georgia where cold temps are only around 32-38 right now in the morning. Based on the responses and what I found the other day, it seems like taking the car out of Eco mode will heat things up faster. I appreciate all the responses!

I drive an s. I'm here to tell you.. when you first start the car going, it heats up faster for me in def. The fan goes on full force and it gets HOT quick. especially when the heat is turned to 90. Even out of eco mode, the heat is slow to work in just the auto mode. once the car gets warm if its a dry day I'll put it into auto. Otherwise def is best in soggy Seattle.. I have real bad results with fogging if I put it in recirc, even on those really dry sub freezing days.. I guess I'm not just full of hot air, I'm full of damp hot air!

I never use the heater. I find that turning the seat warmer to high does me just fine. Of course here in Tucson it just gets down into the 40s. I use the steering wheel heater as well, but I turn it off quickly as it gets really hot.

Wennfred said:

gtdelt said:

We actually tried it today in non-Eco mode and it was definitely warmer. We have the S trim in the 2015 model. I think maybe the Eco mode was not making it as warm as it should be.

Click to expand...

That's it, if you go to your energy screen you will see that with "Eco" mode in Climate Control you draw around 1.5 KW and in "Drive" mode you draw 3.5. - 4 Kw, mine got hot fast.

Click to expand...

Exactly. Eco Mode means you get either the temperature you asked for, or the temperature that continuous 1.5kW* will get you, whichever is lower.


*or thereabouts.

The bottom line here is that a 2015S has the same crappy heater that the 2011 and 2012s had. The difference is that in the 2011 and 2012s, we can turn on the heater remotely and have the car fully warmed *before* we get into the car.

...and that benefit will only exist for another 15 days, IIUC.

Edit: Correction: The Carwings benefit should last for another 1 year and 16 days.

I too have a 2015Leaf S and can confirm a noticeable difference in the heater performance while in ECO mode. I guess I'm cold natured but I am fine with just the seat heat and steering wheel heat unless the temp is in the 30s or below. 40s and above the air is off for me.

edit: I love love love the Leaf. My first electric and definitely not the last.

bestbuyguy21 said:

I too have a 2015Leaf S and can confirm a noticeable difference in the heater performance while in ECO mode. I guess I'm cold natured but I am fine with just the seat heat and steering wheel heat unless the temp is in the 30s or below. 40s and above the air is off for me.

edit: I love love love the Leaf. My first electric and definitely not the last.

Click to expand...

We love ours as well!!

I am almost ready to buy a 2015 Leaf, and I feel well-informed due to this forum!

I have one last question: For $3,000, I can step up from the S to the SV. The major advantages for us are (a) "remote control" via CARWINGS, and (b) the hybrid heater, heat pump.

Does anyone have any advice about this? Is the better HVAC system work much better? (Note our climate is generally mild, but we have a couple of hot months in the summer.)

(Also, CARWINGS looks really handy, but is it worth the extra bucks? Can anyone who uses this system weigh in?)

THANKS!

Martin

MartinChico said:

I am almost ready to buy a 2015 Leaf, and I feel well-informed due to this forum!

I have one last question: For $3,000, I can step up from the S to the SV. The major advantages for us are (a) "remote control" via CARWINGS, and (b) the hybrid heater, heat pump.

Does anyone have any advice about this? Is the better HVAC system work much better? (Note our climate is generally mild, but we have a couple of hot months in the summer.)

(Also, CARWINGS looks really handy, but is it worth the extra bucks? Can anyone who uses this system weigh in?)

THANKS!

Martin

Click to expand...

I got an S despite being in a much colder climate and have no regrets. it may not be as good as a heat exchanger but the 2013 heater works much better than my 2011 did. without a power meter to look at, can't tell you how the power use profile compares but in your case with your weather, I would make do with seat heater/steering wheel and a coat.