Leaf owners: What ONE thing do you most dislike about it?

[Jimmydreams]

Bingo, we have a winner! I find it fatiguing and distracting. It should not be necessary with any car of any type at any price. I don't know if it is over-boost of the power steering, poor suspension design, an attempt to eek a few more tenths of a mile of range out of the car, or something else entirely, but it is definitely something that detracts from the experience every time I drive it.

But when on the highway, it does not have a natural center point. You can "dial in" a slight turn and it will stay there. I find this behavior puts undue stress on the driver as you constantly have to adjust for straight.

I'm not sure it's my biggest complaint, but its certainly in the top 3.

This is all subject to personal preference. I had a BMW 330 ZHP which had the M3 suspension/steering/brakes. It was VERY tight. I didn't love it or hate it. I similarly don't love or hate the Leaf steering. The Leaf is my commuter car, not a $45K BMW luxury/performance car. YMMV.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

The only thing I don't like is the level of regen. The Prius has a much smaller battery pack but can regen a lot more by feathering the brakes which is s omething the see the Leaf being pretty minimal on

 

[garygid]

In my LEAF test drive (seems a long time ago), the wheel seemed to self-center well after making a 90 degree turn.

Maybe there is a "dead zone" in the center, or the feedback/gain on yours is not adjusted properly?

 

[TRONZ]

After 2100 miles, I am going to "modify" my position on the steering issue. Like before, I think the steering is fine and very relaxing for typical daily driving habits. However, the LEAF is capable of generating torque and G Forces that make more steering dampening desirable. EX; If you floor it while still in a turn on undulating pavement, you have to isometrically death grip the steering wheel perfectly still to prevent unintended inputs. If it were my sportbike I would just crank up the Ohlins steering damper = problem solved. In a nutshell, the LEAF steering is fine BUT the car and motor are capable of much more performance than the steering wants to cooperate with. Simple solution; don't drive it like that? ... Ya Right!

 

[evnow]

My gripe is (will be) the incomplete Nav maps.
There is no good technical reason for that poor choice.

I thought that was because of Navteq. Are there any examples of Leaf not having details that Navteq has ?

 

[evnow]

I'm a two week owner, and my pet peeve is the cold air that comes out of the fan when you turn on the heater. There needs to be a way to get the heater warmed up before turning on the fans! I know, someone will tell me I should pre-heat. But I never know quite what time I finish at night, so a pre-set just isn't working.

I have tried to start pre-heating 10 or 15 minutes before I leave (using the website). That works well.

 

[TomT]

It actually gets worse with speed. At slow speed and sharp turns there is a moderate amount of self centering (but still very little on center feel), at higher speeds (freeway), the self centering is further reduced (with almost no on center feel). It feels exactly like all the test vehicles I drove so I have to assume that it is designed in. Car magazine testers have commented negatively on this as well...

In my LEAF test drive (seems a long time ago), the wheel seemed to self-center well after making a 90 degree turn.

Maybe there is a "dead zone" in the center, or the feedback/gain on yours is not adjusted properly?

 

[Adrian]

I don't like the fact that the default setting for when the climate control is off brings in cold air from the outside. I know I can close every vent inside the car, but "off" should be off. I don't want to waste precious battery so I generally have the climate control in the "off" setting. In the morning, when it's cold (ok, CA cold) I don't want more cold air from the outside. Recirculation seems to run the fan, wasting battery when all I want is a true "off" setting.

 

[Fabio]

without a doubt, the most annoying "feature" for me are the recessed safety belt locks on the rear right side.
Both their position and their "recessed" design make it really hard for a kid to use them -- and even as an adult I have trouble contorting my body over the child seat to get the belt to lock. Who dreamed of this recessed design, I wonder...

 

[twingo]

For me, the seat material feels like it will last about one year. I like the idea of it being recycled/able, but aren't there better solutions?

 

[garygid]

Nav data seems to be essentially 100% coverage in handheld GPS Nav units that use "the same" original Navteq source of Map data.

However, the data in the Prius (7.5 GB) is MUCH bigger than the roughly 1 to 2 GB that includes all the streets in "little" GPS units.

True, the Leaf/Prius map data might include more information (like the "exact" location of every street address), but some significant amount of the land area is not "in the data" well enough to do routing, or (in some cases) even display the streets.

The Prius fails to have "full coverage" over something like (guessing) 40 or 50% of the USA's area, mostly the less-populated areas.

I can understand that the secondary map supplier has not "translated" all the USA data into their "propriatary" format, and could be running a few years behind, but they apparently also "pruned" the data to fit an 8GB (dual-layer DVD) limit.

So, with over 20 GPS units, I think that Navteq has the data, but that this Nissan/Toyota Nav-System's OEM-program does not use that format, and the data, and the updates are ... quite lacking.

 

[davewill]

I think the worst thing will be...no more free car washes with a fill up.

 

[Andy]

Since I never go to the gas station anymore...need to clean the windshield at home.

I also had a gripe with the non-leather steering wheel, although it is a soft, grippy and chunky plastic. I have never had a car with a non-leather steering wheel. So I fixed that with a Wheelskins leather wrap. Sand color matches quite well.

 

[LEAFfan]

For me, the seat material feels like it will last about one year. I like the idea of it being recycled/able, but aren't there better solutions?

That's why I'm planning on using seat 'cushions'. They cover the seats AND the headrests.

 

[Jimmydreams]

I just realized this morning....one of my biggest gripes is that the car is simply TOO quiet!!

I mean, I can hear the little rattle if a pen is leaning against any hard plastic. In an ICE, you'd never hear that. I can also hear the climate control fans even on low (granted, that's only when I'm driving 10-20mph, but still....) A whisper quiet interior means you can hear.....(wait for it) A WHISPER!
:lol:

 

[Smidge204]

Well making your car louder is easy to fix at least! Maybe you could try playing this to cover up the rattling pens and road noise. And passengers. And anything else...

(Warning - lower your volume before clicking! Link is work-safe but only at low volumes. :lol: )

My only complaint with the LEAF so far is they aren't selling them in my area... so I guess that precludes me from this topic. :|
=Smidge=

 

[Ready2plugin]

Not knowing about the 100% vs. 80% charging rule prior to purchase day....then not having the ability to charge at 90% which would be perfect for my 60 mile commute.

 

[twingo]

Not knowing about the 100% vs. 80% charging rule prior to purchase day....then not having the ability to charge at 90% which would be perfect for my 60 mile commute.

Pardon my ignorance, but what is this rule?

 

[Ready2plugin]

Not knowing about the 100% vs. 80% charging rule prior to purchase day....then not having the ability to charge at 90% which would be perfect for my 60 mile commute.

Pardon my ignorance, but what is this rule?

There are a few threads on this, but in a nutshell that the battery will degrade faster at 100% charging vs. 80% charging, so Nissan recommends you charge at 80%. The difference between the two is unknown. I would love to have user control on the percentage of charge so these are not our only two options.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I can hear the pedestrian alert when driving thru the alley even with all the windows shut!!