Defrost AND Recirc

[IssacZachary]

Step 1: preheat the Leaf nice and warm.

Step 2: don't crank up the heat as you drive.

Step 3: use the Auto button. (Then chose what fan speed you want.)

Step 4: If the Auto button selected defrost automatically, you can now use recirculation. This normally only works on very cold days.

[LeftieBiker]

Great! No luck nailing down an approximate temp range?

[IssacZachary]

The highest outside temp that I was able to do this at was 5*F. The inside temp has to be, I think, within 10 degrees of the set temperature. I really don't know about the inside temp as I never got a thermometer.

[LeftieBiker]

The highest outside temp that I was able to do this at was 5*F. The inside temp has to be, I think, within 10 degrees of the set temperature. I really don't know about the inside temp as I never got a thermometer.

The outside temp may be a reliable enough indicator. I'll think about wording for the Tips & Tricks post.

[jjeff]

...
Step 3: use the Auto button. (Then chose what fan speed you want.)
...

But whenever I manually select the fan speed while in auto, my auto light goes out and I assume this also turns off AUTO, is this not a correct assumption?
Looking at your photo I also see the AUTO light is off, again doesn't this mean AUTO has been turned off?

[IssacZachary]

...
Step 3: use the Auto button. (Then chose what fan speed you want.)
...

But whenever I manually select the fan speed while in auto, my auto light goes out and I assume this also turns off AUTO, is this not a correct assumption?
Looking at your photo I also see the AUTO light is off, again doesn't this mean AUTO has been turned off?

I don't know about all models, I suppose this might be different on the 2011 and 2012 Leafs. But when you push any other button and the Auto light turns off it's still partially in Auto.

Auto does mainly two things: it chooses the fan speed and the vents, and may also choose a third thing: how much outside air it wants to use. If you mess with any of those things the Auto light goes out but the other functions will still automatically keep choosing themselves.

For an example: You press Auto, then you press fan speed. The Auto light goes out and the fan speed stops being chosen automatically. But the vents will still be chosen automatically.

Or: You press Auto, then you select a different vent. The Auto light goes out and the vents stop being chosen automatically. But the fan speed will keep being chosen automatically. (You can turn the heat up or down and the fan speed will change with it just like when the Auto light is on.

What we want to do here is to get the defrost and floor to come on automatically. If you can do that you can then use the recirculation mode and get them to work together. This is the only way, because if you choose the defrost and floor mode manually and then try to use recirculation it won't let you.

[jjeff]

^^^ interesting, I just assumed when the AUTO light went out, I was totally in manual mode. I'll have to play with a bit, if it does truly stay in auto on everything other than fan speed(which I DON'T like auto as auto wants too high of a fan speed for my preference) I might find myself using AUTO more, I'll give it a try

[IssacZachary]

^^^ interesting, I just assumed when the AUTO light went out, I was totally in manual mode. I'll have to play with a bit, if it does truly stay in auto on everything other than fan speed(which I DON'T like auto as auto wants too high of a fan speed for my preference) I might find myself using AUTO more, I'll give it a try

When I first got my Leaf 4 months ago I was always fiddling with the climate controls, trying to get the minimum amount of necessary comfort and windshield defrosting. But the more I drive around the more I just stick it in Auto and let it do it's thing. I've found that if I preheat the car to 70°F, then get in and leave it at 60°F all day, it usually doesn't use much energy on Auto, unless it gets dark and the temperature drops way below zero, at which point there's not much point in turning down the climate control because at full blast it's barely doing what I need it to do as far as windshield defrosting goes. It would have been nice to have had the option to bring it clear down to 50°F for those really cold days when everyone is dressed like esquimos, and on those days I do fidget with the climate controls more. But now that things are warming up, usually reaching as hot as 35°F outside we now are putting on just sweaters, and I find that leaving it at 60°F on Auto seems to work just fine for this kind of weather.

I've been paying attention to my energy use now that I've figured out how. If I get into the car when it's cold and turn on the CC to Auto, the power draw from the CC goes clear up past 3kW. But as it warms up that power use goes down. After half an hour or so it can be as low as 1/2kW. In fact, with a little sunshine I've seen the CC turn off power draw completely. On the other hand, had I tried to keep the fan down low, someone usually would start complaining that it's cold, and I end up turning the CC up to what Auto would do anyway.

This is what I do.

1. Dress well for the winter, and encourage my passengers to do the same.
2. I preheat off of charging power whenever I can.
3. I set the climate control to 60°F Auto and leave it there, unless I need to defrost.
4. I turn on all the heated seats before loading passengers.
5. I put the warm-blooded passenger in the front so he isn't tempted to turn off all three heated seats in the rear.
6. If all the passengers start to turn their heated seats down or off I just turn off the climate control.

That seems to be the best balance between comfort and range for me.