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lukati said:
It's almost time to do the 12 month battery check. Has someone done it in our area?
From the many post on the battery capacity issue everyone that takes there car in gets "5 stars". FYI, it did not appear to be very useful/truthful to those people losing bars in AZ, TX, CA.

You put this in google search to see some of them:
site:mynissanleaf.com "5 stars"
 
Hello, I am located near Naperville and am seriously considering leasing a LEAF. I drive a Sentra SR now and anjoy it very much. I am trying to determine how much gas I would save (I figured this one out) but is there a way to get a ball park figure of how much additional eleI will be paying for by charging a LEAF overnight with the 110V charger that is included?
 
tamelesstgr said:
Hello, I am located near Naperville and am seriously considering leasing a LEAF. I drive a Sentra SR now and anjoy it very much. I am trying to determine how much gas I would save (I figured this one out) but is there a way to get a ball park figure of how much additional eleI will be paying for by charging a LEAF overnight with the 110V charger that is included?
Naturally the answer depends on at least 3 parameters: 1] how many miles / year do you expect to drive ? 2] how efficiently do you drive ? 3] how much does a kWh cost you with your utility ?

VERY ROUGH BALL-PARK EXAMPLE: You drive 10,000 miles per year. You can achieve 3 miles per kWh (relatively easy, unless you always drive very fast). You pay $0.11 per kWh ( 11 cents is the national average ). The only final factor: efficiency of 120V charging: as bad as 75% (or as good as 80%), but let's skip the details.

10,000 miles/year divided by 3 miles/kwh gives 3,333 kWh/year. But at 75% efficiency that would be 4,444 kWh. This would cost you $489 per year :) Or 4.89 cents per mile.

The example above is very conservative, and (based on 10k miles) you should be able to do a lot better. Generally I advise 3 cents per mile, but that depends on your electric rates.

Have fun with that ... and we hope to welcome you soon to the EV grin :)
 
My round trip to and from work is 50 miles a day. I am a pretty conservative driver as I try to maximize my fuel economy. I use the cruise control a lot and mostly take the expressway for 50-60% of my commute. Average miles would be 12k a year.

$489/12 is about $40 a month versus the $240 I spend buying gas every month. Just need to figure out how much more my lease payment may go up.

Thanks for the breakdown!
 
tamelesstgr said:
My round trip to and from work is 50 miles a day. I am a pretty conservative driver as I try to maximize my fuel economy. I use the cruise control a lot and mostly take the expressway for 50-60% of my commute. Average miles would be 12k a year.

$489/12 is about $40 a month versus the $240 I spend buying gas every month. Just need to figure out how much more my lease payment may go up.

Thanks for the breakdown!
As a "conservative driver" who "maximize my fuel economy" ... this would mean limiting yourself to 62mph on the expressway. If you do that, and the other 40-50% is roads at 45mph, then you should be able to hit an annual average of at least 3.5 miles/kWh, possibly 4.0. ( The trouble is estimating your efficiency during cold months, but as an overall yearly average 3.5 - 4.0 should be doable with such conservative driving. )

Increasing the 10,000 miles per year to 12,000 and using the new 3.5 miles/kWh, at the same 75% charging efficiency and 11c/kWh: $503/year = $42/month.

( If you can achieve 4.0miles/kWh ... it just gets better :p like $37/month +++ )

Suggestion: if you currently drive a solid 12k/year ... you might want a lease with a 15k miles/year ceiling. Because I predict ... you'll have so much fun driving GAS-FREE, you'll be putting on more miles than before :D

Suggestion: double-check your utility bill, ensure that increased consumption does not move you into a higher pricing tier, and report back your expected actual cents-per-kWh.
 
tamelesstgr said:
I am a pretty conservative driver as I try to maximize my fuel economy. I use the cruise control a lot and mostly take the expressway for 50-60% of my commute. Average miles would be 12k a year.
I think you can do better than 3 mi/kWh. I routinely get ~5 mi/kWh in the Chicago area in terms of battery-to-wheels. Including charging inefficiencies into the calculation and you are at ~3.7 mi/kWh total. Also electricity is substantially cheaper here than at the West Coast. If you go back in this thread you will find some discussion about electricity rates and real time pricing. I charge during the night at anywhere from $0.03 to $0.05 per kWh. So my overall cost is just north of $0.01/mi. This means that the cost for driving the LEAF essentially disappears in terms of notable everyday expense.

Assuming an EPA rating of 30 mpg for your Sentra and a gasoline price of $3.50 in Naperville, you currently pay about $0.12/mi or $1400 per year.
 
I average 31-32 mpg for the entire tank. I based my gas usage off of how often I fill up. About every 5 days, typically a tank costs me $40 at 1/4 tank. 73 fillups a year at $40 = $2,920.00.

We drive to Indiana most every weekend in the summer, so I actually have 25k miles in 20 months on my lease. We would be using our other car for the weekend trips in the future as it is 90 miles one way, plus it's killing my lease miles.

I'll have to check my electric bill when I get home tonight, interesting stuff.
 
Just had 1st annual battery check-up.
No suprises.
11,300 miles since December 22, last year.
I did have to prompt the service department to print out the battery/charging report.
They had not done that when they first tried to give me my car back.
I might have been the first one for that technician.
Libertyville dealer.

Also very proud to say it has now been over one year since I have been to a gas station!!!
Not even for my mower! The dry summer kept mowing to next to nil.
Now that that milestone has been reached my wife will probably urge me to gas up her ICE vehicle again.

I have only driven an ICE auto 2 days while the Leaf had it's 7,500 service and a leaky tire attended to.

Year #2 starts on the 22nd.
Good luck to all!
 
OldQuadDog said:
Just had 1st annual battery check-up. No surprises.
Still working on mine. I didn't do the recall last spring, so my dealer needs to order the apron before I can have it done. Hopefully soon.
 
Mine will go in next Thursday, as noted in my sign' 12/23 is my LEAF anniversary, just a few miles under 9K for us. The joy of this car is only a tire rotation and of course the software / snow shield recall but otherwise totally trouble free as well not the typical oil changes, etc. of an ICE. On another note, I saw IL electric vehicle plate '340 EL' on a black Th!nk car over in Buffalo Grove a few days ago. Have seen a few C-Max hybrids on the road but no plug-in Energi's yet, also one 'rare' plug-in Prius (at least in the Midwest).
 
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.
 
lipower said:
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. :D

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.
 
lipower said:
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. :D

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:

nissan%20leaf%20navi.jpg
 
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!!! :eek: 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. :oops: 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?

***********************

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.
 
bigtlb said:
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.
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!
 
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