My Nissan Leaf Forum

Well I was able to test out Nissan's roadside assistance last night. My wife and I took a trip down to the Glen for dinner and knew that we would need a fill-up on the ride home to complete the trip. With 4 miles left we pulled into the O'hare oasis for some juice only to find out the charger was not operational. I called NRSA and talked to someone who had no idea what an electric car was. He setup the call as a "battery jump" which would work great if there were 440 generators on the service vehicles. He did call back to verify whether i needed a jump or a tow. The flatbed showed up a little after one hour.

I have since found a few references that none of the tollway chargers are operational. I am curious why none of these are working. 350green has a high speed charger in the city that I used a few months ago that worked great. I hope their reason for not turning these on isn't an effort to save money especially after getting state grants that basically paid for them.

I also received a 5 star rating on my battery test last week. 17,100 miles after one year.

Sorry to hear you got stuck ... can still remember dropping my son off at O'hare last year when we had just had our LEAF for a few days and it was cold outside and we hadn't yet learned about using the ECO selection and were in regular Drive mode --- we got back home with about 12 miles to spare (no LBW) and wasn't sure why it had used so much juice (44 miles R/T); live and learn. I go in for the battery check on 12/27 ... just passed 9K.

My wife just pointed out I made a mistake in my post. It was the north bound Lake Forest Oasis, not the o'hare one.

I just checked 350green's website and it no longer shows the oasis as having the charger. What really sucks is there was a charger 5 miles from where we were at 501 Dundee Rd., Northbrook, IL. Anyone know how often the charging sites are updated in the car? It showed the LFO but I don't remember seeing the Dundee location, but then again I was kind of focused on only hitting the LFO station.

It should update the stations periodically (I've seen that message on mine a few times but nothing recently, I'm sure if you go outside your normal area it would do that) but you can also select 'update stations' from the blue 'charger' button menu as well:

Sadly, none of the L3 chargers in Chicagoland appear to be working despite the fact that they show up in the Carwings system. 350Green is a joke, fly-by-night operation. They delivered less than 20% of what they were supposed to after eating through 80% of the city contract funds.

Had my one year 'free' battery check done today, no surprises as expected 5 stars all the way; around 9,200 miles -- the 'free' in quotes was indeed a bit of a surprise to the service writer as that authorization sheet you sign when they take your car in had $129 in inspection fees listed but after some minor clarifications (as well as getting the service/warranty LEAF manual out which clearly states that Nissan pays for it) was quickly resolved --- don't blame the writer as he wasn't familiar with LEAF's much but still --- passed on the brake fluid replacement and can handle the in-cabin air filter, already rotated the tires at 7,500 with someone else; am trying the Rain-X window treatment to see if that helps with the wiper blades --- have used this trick on my trip cars but should have thought of that one. They've pretty much streaked after the first month so we'll see how others have done with other mfg replacements and go from there. It's a shame though, no LEAF's at all in the new car show room but saw a dealer demo with a big 10K off on the windshield; assume it was the fed tax credit + IL EPA rebate but was over on the used car lot side so didn't bother to check further. It could very well be that they're 'sold out' with the recent lease deals but was in fairly early so didn't chat with any sales guys. Our 2012 has performed quite well over this last year -- as I'm off all week due to the holidays we've been going out mornings and later in the afternoon or nights doing two charging sessions in the garage due to the cold temps so it's getting more of a workout; without an L2 in the garage that simply wouldn't be possible.

On a side note -- saw two, yes two ! Ford C-Max cars at the Target on Dundee in Palatine yesterday, a white regular hybrid and a nice shade of gray Energi plug-in. Also, over the weekend saw someone in my neighborhood (or possibly just visiting) who had a white Tesla S sedan with yellow IL temporary tags on it only a few blocks away from our house --- it had to be something later than the early release cars as these temp tags are only good for 90 days as well as doubtful it was a dealer demo or would have had those blue/green demo tags. This one had the full pano/solar roof? as it was distinctive with a white car.

Lastly, as an update to my sign' indicates, we're on the waiting list for a smart electric drive, possibly available (to order) in February; gave up on a plug-in SUV/crossover for our other car but this should work for the wife and I'll get our LEAF 'full time' as my commuter and the annual mileage will go up accordingly --- as it is, it serves us well (most) weekends ... the cold still kills the range but we've adjusted fairly well with trip planning. Our 'official' year two started on Christmas Eve and hope that year two is as uneventful (and low cost) as year one --- waiting to see what my current electricity reseller will offer after our 6.6 cents/kWh expires 03/11/2013; a possibility is our village but have to think that ComEd themselves may do something, we'll see. Getting a flat rate again will help as if/when we get our 2nd EV, one will be charged mid to late afternoons and one later at night so no time limit, etc. would help. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all ... Chicago again spared from most of the snow that surrounds us and you'll hear no complaints from me !

I also have taken my LEAF in for the 12 month computer check up. 11,500 miles and all five stars. Libertyville Nissan understood the checkup was free, and only upsold the brake fluid, cabin filter and tire rotation. They also found a rodent's nest under the front hood!!! I park in the back of my condo, next to the back porch system, which gets lots of squirrels. I am telling myself that's what it was. Anyway they removed it at no charge and suggested I put a stocking full of mothballs under the hood, to keep whatever it is out.... Don't want something chewing on wiring.

I am sorry to hear that 350 Green has shutdown the LFO L3 chargers. I have used the Northbound one in the past to go to Prime Outlets mall in Pleasant Prairie, WI from downtown Chicago.

Any idea if 350 Green has totally gone under, and I have lost the remaining charge credits I have paid for. Or, is this just a problem with their DC chargers at the Oases?

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Finally, I am happy to hear that Nissan is retroactively modifying their warranty to address capacity. http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=11043

I decided to investigate the L3 station at the Southbound Lake Forest Toll Oasis, since I work nearby and have a Charjit card I got just to allow me to use these chargers.

It is most definitely dark, nothing on the screen.

I called the number to ask them if they knew what was wrong. The lady at first tried to tell me they were having network issues, the manufacturer had been notified and they were looking into it. I then asked her if this had anything to do with the company being acquired, and she said, "well yes, that too."

She said the stations should all get fixed once the acquisition is complete, which should be sometime by the end of January. I told her I had a Charjit card, and asked if my balance would still work after the acquisition, she said yes.

Thanks for following up on the status of this bigtlb.

I highly doubt her story. You probably spoke to Mariana Gerzanych; now their only employee?
I've been hearing that same BS from Charjit for 6 months. They're a disgrace. The L3's in the NW suburbs are not functional.
They sold cards for $25?, knowing full well their map was inaccurate, little to no support and hardly anywhere to use the card, at least in Illinois.
I-90 East doesn't work. Schaumburg never has. Ditto Palatine (2).
I was told the buyout would be complete in November and have emailed since with no replies.
I personally don't care - I charge up at home ever night and it's fine. Once every six months a quick "fill up" would be handy but otherwise love the car, simply do not rely on public charging!