New Leaf Owner

Hello fellow leaf owners.

I just purchased my used (yet very new) leaf on Saturday. The previous owner had the car for 1 month and traded it in. Then the car sat on the dealership lot for over 6 months. Lets just say I got a total STEAL on this car.

I am totally blown away by this car. I came from a 2007 Chevy Cobalt (the recalled pieces of trash) and I cannot believe how nice this new car handles and drives. I actually think this car is quicker getting out into traffic.

I've been using the included 120 volt charger and the level 3 quick charger at the dealership right up the street. I think I may actually be able to get by without buying an EVSE for the car. My commutes are 35 miles each way. When I get to the office I plug into a 120 volt outlet and on the way home I hit the level 3 charger. When I get home I plug in the 120 volt charger and top it the rest off the rest of the way. The best part of this arrangement is that I'm not using very much electricity at home for charging.

I would assume that using the Level 3 charger in this way isn't a huge deal since its not very dead (actually right around a half charge) when I'm coming home from work. The level 3 charger takes it all the way up to 80% in ~20 minutes.

Any thoughts on continuing to do this?

Edit: The level 3 charger is totally free to use!!!

I would use the level 3 and work charger and save the 25 bucks a month while you can, vs using home power.

As long as you avoid using the QC in hot weather, you should be fine. What year and model is your Leaf?

Now for terminology: the charger is actually built into the car. The QC unit, IIRC, actually bypasses the charger, but everything that plugs into the smaller port is an EVSE - even the 120 volt unit that came with the car. The EVSE, whether 120 or 240 volt, supplies AC power to the charger in the car, which charges the battery pack. You can call the car's portable EVSE a "charging cable" if you like.

DougWantsALeaf said:

I would use the level 3 and work charger and save the 25 bucks a month while you can, vs using home power.

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Thats what I was thinking. I was a little concerned about the continuous use of Level 3 and the battery life of the car. Is it risky for the battery health to do this?

I also noticed that since the battery isn't even close to dead it charges it to 90% before it shuts off.

LeftieBiker said:

As long as you avoid using the QC in hot weather, you should be fine. What year and model is your Leaf?

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The car is a 2012 Leaf SV. My question is what is considered "hot". I live in the Tampa, Florida area. During the summer its 92 degrees nearly every day. It never really goes over 94 (very rarely). Typically if it goes above 92 it rains and cools off.

Also thanks for the corrections on the terminology.

That is definitely considered hot in Leaf Land! I'm also get Leaf Spy and check what your actual battery condition currently is... Your car already has some significant calendar time on the battery...
And if the dealer was stupid enough to keep it charged at 100% all the time, well...

Travis said:

The car is a 2012 Leaf SV. My question is what is considered "hot". I live in the Tampa, Florida area. During the summer its 92 degrees nearly every day. It never really goes over 94 (very rarely). Typically if it goes above 92 it rains and cools off.

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TomT said:

That is definitely considered hot in Leaf Land! I'm also get Leaf Spy and check what your actual battery condition currently is... Your car already has some significant calendar time on the battery...
And if the dealer was stupid enough to keep it charged at 100% all the time, well...

Click to expand...

I didn't know about that app. Thanks for the heads up.

I'm going to have to purchase the OBD2 bluetooth adapter and give this a try. It looks like the perfect app for me.

I don't know how they kept it on the lot however I still have all 12 bars. I'm hoping that someone there knew what they were doing and didn't damage the battery.

Now onto the temperature thing. At what temperature should I start getting concerned?

Edit: OBD2 adapter ordered and fingers crossed for good results.

Edit2: Luckily it was on the lot during the cool part of the year. Hopefully heat related damage isn't an issue

With a 70 mile round trip commute, you are setting yourself up for failure big time if you are relying on a public QC station to make the car work for your commute.

What if you get to the dealership and there is a line for the QC? Or worse, it's broken?

What if the outlet at work stops working one day, ends up being used by someone (or something) else, or worse your boss suddenly says they don't want you plugging in?

You will get much more satisfaction from the car if you get a 240 volt EVSE for the home (whether a dedicated unit, or having the one in the car converted by EVSE Upgrade for dual voltage). If your electric utility offers off-peak rates, just set the charge timers to charge in the middle of the night. My commute is short enough (less than 20 miles/day) to let me get away with 120 volt charging, and I did that for the first 9 months, but installing a 240 volt EVSE has made life with the car much, much easier.

Travis said:

The car is a 2012 Leaf SV.

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The 2012 Leaf SV does NOT come with a QC port, even as an option. I know, because I have one. For MY 2012, if you wanted QC, you had to pay an extra $2k and step up to the SL model.

You either have a 2012 Leaf SL, or yours is a 2013 SV with the optional QC port. Easiest way to tell if it's a 2012 or 2013 is if there are turn signal repeaters in the front fenders; 2012's had these, 2013's for the US/Canadian market don't. The 2012 SL will also have a backup camera and fog lamps, which the 2012 SV will also lack.

RonDawg said:

Travis said:

The car is a 2012 Leaf SV.

Click to expand...

The 2012 Leaf SV does NOT come with a QC port, even as an option.

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Oops.. It must be an SL. Mine has the backup camera. It also has the solar panel (not that its going to do much)

Your point about relying on the public QC is a good one. I hadn't really thought of it breaking or being unavailable. If I had no choice I could make it home easily.. However the next day I wouldn't have enough charge from 120volt



Thats my car charging on the QC.

The solar panel definitely pegs it as an SL.

RonDawg said:

The solar panel definitely pegs it as an SL.

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And the wheels lets us know it is not a MY2013.

Congrats on your new car. I am sure you will love it.

I did a 70 mile commute for a couple of years in my new Leaf using L1 charging at work (sometimes) and L2 at home. I only rarely used L3 when running additional errands or in the winter months. You car may have enough range to make the commute without any L3 especially if you always plug it in at work and at home. I am thinking you may not be using its full potential?

Of course your situation may be different. Here the land is flat and the traffic keeps the highway speeds around 60 or less so I usually had a reliable range of around 75 miles without any charging during the day. And that was my new Leaf. Now with 2 bars down on the capacity gauge that same trip would probably make the L1 charging at work no longer optional.

Anyway, the point is I think you may not need the L3 if it breaks or it's inconvenient some days.

Hello Leaf Family...

Have just had my new 2014 Leaf-S for 3 weeks and Love it so far. I was charging with the 110 that come with the Leaf and recently had electrician install service with 50 AMP circuit breaker for my Clipper Creek HCS-40P 30 AMP 240 V NEMA 6-50 Plug with 25 foot cord so I can charge from home or garage which usually charge my Leaf in 3-4 hours. I set timer so it charges at night when rates are lower. So far I usually get around 94-100 miles per day. They say it is better in the manual to charge with level 2 for the batteries although I have heard of others that have used only the 110 cable that come with the Leaf. The car drives very smoothly so far and use this for my main transportation needs in town. Is it true that Nissan is working on a Leaf with extended capability of up to 300 miles in the next couple years? This would be great for short trips. I would suggest looking at PlugShare and Chargepoint to find areas that have charging stations near your location also. I live in an area that has only one so far. I was very glad to find this forum to share ideas about my Leaf with others. Any suggestions are welcome. The PlugShare has private individuals that allow you to charge if you are running low if you call in advance. Please feel free to share any ideas. Check out ClipperCreek I am very pleased with my portable charging unit.

There may be a 300 mile Leaf somewhere in the future, but it won't be in the next couple of years. The short-term goal for a longer-range Leaf seems to be about 130 miles.

RonDawg said:

With a 70 mile round trip commute, you are setting yourself up for failure big time if you are relying on a public QC station to make the car work for your commute.

What if you get to the dealership and there is a line for the QC? Or worse, it's broken?

What if the outlet at work stops working one day, ends up being used by someone (or something) else, or worse your boss suddenly says they don't want you plugging in?

You will get much more satisfaction from the car if you get a 240 volt EVSE for the home (whether a dedicated unit, or having the one in the car converted by EVSE Upgrade for dual voltage). If your electric utility offers off-peak rates, just set the charge timers to charge in the middle of the night. My commute is short enough (less than 20 miles/day) to let me get away with 120 volt charging, and I did that for the first 9 months, but installing a 240 volt EVSE has made life with the car much, much easier.

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Well it looks like you are correct, you cannot rely on L3 charging at all. The quick charger has been broken for twenty (20!!!) days thus far. I was waiting to see how long it took them to fix it before I posted but it appears they are NEVER going to fix it. Whats the point of them even installing these chargers if they don't even really work? A real idiot must have designed these units. It appears a thermostat error is impossible to fix.

The dealership is about as interested in fixing it as I am at discovering a new cheese.

Luckily I purchased a modified EVSE and installed my own outlet in the garage. I also installed an outlet at work so I'm charging at both ends of my trip. I also made a universal 30/50 amp 10 foot adapter to plug into dryer/range outlets. Its been working FANTASTIC.

http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/1741" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; <-- That is the location AutoNation Nissan Brandon

I already reported to chargepoint & the dealership.

Edit: This makes me think that its a money thing. That the dealership is giving away free electricity so they feel "we will fix it when WE want to because it costs us money when it works." I am pretty sure that is what it boils down to.

So what this means to me is that if I have a long trip that requires L3 charging I cannot rely on it. I have to add 4 hours into EVERY long trip because I can never be sure if the L3 charger will work when I show up. Lotta good L3 charging is

I could be wrong, but I thought that Nissan dealerships had an agreement with Nissan that they would only be allowed to sell Leafs if they had public chargers available.

Can anyone confirm this?

If true, you should be able to contact Nissan Leaf support and ask them politely to work with that dealer to get their charger repaired because it's leaving you at risk.

Bob

[begin rant]
I told them that I had seen on other L3 charger reviews that power cycling the charger generally fixes the thermostat error. (at least as I see reported on plugshare). They were unwilling to even power cycle the unit. It very well could have been down ALL this time simply needing a power cycle. From what I can see its all money driven. They are not making anything off the L3 charger so if it sits there broken they don't give a crap.

The dealer employee owned cars park in all the L2 charging spots to make sure NO ONE can possibly use them (even when L3 is broken). The same employees park there every single day. They don't move the cars once they are charged. Half the time they are not even plugged in they are just sitting there in the way. They treat those spots as their own personal parking spots. I suppose that if I walked in and begged someone that they would move a car for me but why should I have to beg?

Needless to say I'm not impressed. The car still works for me even without L3 charging most of the time however it would be nice to be able to drive further than L2 can get me.

My hope is that maybe when KIA starts selling their new Soul EV that there may be more L3 charging options.
[/end rant]

Travis said:

The dealer employee owned cars park in all the L2 charging spots to make sure NO ONE can possibly use them (even when L3 is broken). The same employees park there every single day. They don't move the cars once they are charged. Half the time they are not even plugged in they are just sitting there in the way. They treat those spots as their own personal parking spots. I suppose that if I walked in and begged someone that they would move a car for me but why should I have to beg?

Needless to say I'm not impressed. The car still works for me even without L3 charging most of the time however it would be nice to be able to drive further than L2 can get me.

[/end rant]

Click to expand...

It might be worth politely asking. I found out that dealers in my area commonly ICE these spots with their own vehicles to keep unknowing customers from blocking them. Was told by my dealer to ask inside or just block them in and charge if needed. Sounds like you made the more reliable choice by installing the necessary L2 hardware at home. Most likely your 70 miles is more than workable on a single charge if necessary. My daily commutes are in the 73-84 mile range which has me returning home with 17-19% remaining on most days. But, like many have commented, likely set up for failure eventually without being able to trickle charge at work.

Travis said:

Hello fellow leaf owners.

I just purchased my used (yet very new) leaf on Saturday. The previous owner had the car for 1 month and traded it in. Then the car sat on the dealership lot for over 6 months. Lets just say I got a total STEAL on this car.

I am totally blown away by this car. I came from a 2007 Chevy Cobalt (the recalled pieces of trash) and I cannot believe how nice this new car handles and drives. I actually think this car is quicker getting out into traffic.

I've been using the included 120 volt charger and the level 3 quick charger at the dealership right up the street. I think I may actually be able to get by without buying an EVSE for the car. My commutes are 35 miles each way. When I get to the office I plug into a 120 volt outlet and on the way home I hit the level 3 charger. When I get home I plug in the 120 volt charger and top it the rest off the rest of the way. The best part of this arrangement is that I'm not using very much electricity at home for charging.

I would assume that using the Level 3 charger in this way isn't a huge deal since its not very dead (actually right around a half charge) when I'm coming home from work. The level 3 charger takes it all the way up to 80% in ~20 minutes.

Any thoughts on continuing to do this?

Edit: The level 3 charger is totally free to use!!!

Click to expand...

Try this..
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=16948" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;