Hello! I have just joined the ranks of Leaf owners by placing a deposit on a 2022 Black SL Plus. A lot of this is on faith as I just placed a deposit without having the slightest clue what the cost of the car will be as Canada has not yet released its pricing. I am expecting to get delivery by late October - early November depending on how the Nissan runes line up. I traded in a 2 year old Pathfinder so I am perfectly comfortable with Nissan quality and my local service department. No worries there.
I am in British Columbia which is probably the only place in the world that is considering cancelling both words in its name. We will likely be known from now on as Placey McPlaceface.
I've never even as much as touched an electric vehicle (if you don't count my kid's ride-on toy) so the newbieness is palpable. I will try not to ask questions that are too stupid.
Here they come!
1. I have a clothes dryer in the garage with (what I think is) a NEMA 14-30 socket on 30A. From what I have read on this forum that is perfectly suitable for Level 2 charging. If worse comes to worse I can live with Level 1 through my 110V sockets in the garage. I almost never go 200 miles in one day unless I'm travelling (and use a car rented by my company). We also own another ICE car and an ICE pickup. Where I am totally confused is in the charging cable. It seems to be clear in the literature that the Leaf comes with its own charging cable, but then I see an accessory cable that costs about two grand for 110/220V. Is that required or will the Leaf have everything required upon delivery?
2. Since I have two ICE vehicles I will never ever need the back seats. Since they don't fold flat, is there a possibility to remove the seat bottoms to get the seat backs to obtain a flat surface?
3. Our climate here is rainforest similar to Seattle. However, if you've been watching the news you know that this summer it's closer to Tucson. No rain in 3 months and much of the flora is either dying or dead. What I'm getting at is that winters too will now become unpredictable. We traditionally get very little snow and extreme cold but the last few winters have been a crapshoot. Some winters we get one dump of snow that's gone in 3 days and some winters we see a month of snowcover with temperatures approaching -20C (-4F). The Leaf will live in my heated garage but my concerns are of course range and traction. So... What happens to range when the heater is on LAVA mode all day?
3a. I live at the top of the steepest road in town and some icy/snowy days have had trouble getting up and down the street in my Pathfinder's 4WD LOCK mode. Do the 215/50R17s on the Leaf come with an M&S rating or will it be necessary to swap out to Winter Tires?
4. I am a big guy (around the waist, not in height) so I am a bit concerned about the non-telescoping wheel. I love to sit straight up in a car but I am concerned that I will have to place the seat so far back that my short little stubby legs won't reach the pedals. Is there any adjustability in the position of the brake and accel pedal?
5. Although the SL Plus comes with the Bose audio system that seems to get reasonable reviews one of the biggest drawbacks to my Pathfinder SV is that the audio sucks. Nissan puts speakers in the Pathfinder made out of gossamer paper that are non-standard size to boot which makes upgrades necessary but difficult: A $50,000 SUV with 50 cent speakers. I'm not an extreme audiophile but dang it whether I play Pavarotti or Bruno Mars I want to really feel the music. Do current owners of that Bose system find it adequate or am I looking at an expensive visit to my local car audio shop for an overhaul?
6. My favorite feature on my Pathfinder is that there is no seat belt dinging from Hades if I am moving the car around the driveway etc. without my seat belt on. Is the Leaf the same and/or is there a way to defeat that horrid dinging?
7. A disconcerting feature of the Pathfinder is that the adaptive cruise works phenomenally under all conditions except when coming up to a stoplight where the vehicle in front is already stopped. If it's moving even at 1 mph the SUV slows down normally. If it's fully stopped it only reacts at the very last second in a panic brake. Then in stop and go traffic it disengages after 3 seconds of being stopped so needs to be reset. Please tell me that the ProPilot is more advanced than this.
8. Where is the fuel tank filler door? (OK, just kidding about that one)...
Thanks in advance for your replies and glad to be here!
I am in British Columbia which is probably the only place in the world that is considering cancelling both words in its name. We will likely be known from now on as Placey McPlaceface.
I've never even as much as touched an electric vehicle (if you don't count my kid's ride-on toy) so the newbieness is palpable. I will try not to ask questions that are too stupid.
Here they come!
1. I have a clothes dryer in the garage with (what I think is) a NEMA 14-30 socket on 30A. From what I have read on this forum that is perfectly suitable for Level 2 charging. If worse comes to worse I can live with Level 1 through my 110V sockets in the garage. I almost never go 200 miles in one day unless I'm travelling (and use a car rented by my company). We also own another ICE car and an ICE pickup. Where I am totally confused is in the charging cable. It seems to be clear in the literature that the Leaf comes with its own charging cable, but then I see an accessory cable that costs about two grand for 110/220V. Is that required or will the Leaf have everything required upon delivery?
2. Since I have two ICE vehicles I will never ever need the back seats. Since they don't fold flat, is there a possibility to remove the seat bottoms to get the seat backs to obtain a flat surface?
3. Our climate here is rainforest similar to Seattle. However, if you've been watching the news you know that this summer it's closer to Tucson. No rain in 3 months and much of the flora is either dying or dead. What I'm getting at is that winters too will now become unpredictable. We traditionally get very little snow and extreme cold but the last few winters have been a crapshoot. Some winters we get one dump of snow that's gone in 3 days and some winters we see a month of snowcover with temperatures approaching -20C (-4F). The Leaf will live in my heated garage but my concerns are of course range and traction. So... What happens to range when the heater is on LAVA mode all day?
3a. I live at the top of the steepest road in town and some icy/snowy days have had trouble getting up and down the street in my Pathfinder's 4WD LOCK mode. Do the 215/50R17s on the Leaf come with an M&S rating or will it be necessary to swap out to Winter Tires?
4. I am a big guy (around the waist, not in height) so I am a bit concerned about the non-telescoping wheel. I love to sit straight up in a car but I am concerned that I will have to place the seat so far back that my short little stubby legs won't reach the pedals. Is there any adjustability in the position of the brake and accel pedal?
5. Although the SL Plus comes with the Bose audio system that seems to get reasonable reviews one of the biggest drawbacks to my Pathfinder SV is that the audio sucks. Nissan puts speakers in the Pathfinder made out of gossamer paper that are non-standard size to boot which makes upgrades necessary but difficult: A $50,000 SUV with 50 cent speakers. I'm not an extreme audiophile but dang it whether I play Pavarotti or Bruno Mars I want to really feel the music. Do current owners of that Bose system find it adequate or am I looking at an expensive visit to my local car audio shop for an overhaul?
6. My favorite feature on my Pathfinder is that there is no seat belt dinging from Hades if I am moving the car around the driveway etc. without my seat belt on. Is the Leaf the same and/or is there a way to defeat that horrid dinging?
7. A disconcerting feature of the Pathfinder is that the adaptive cruise works phenomenally under all conditions except when coming up to a stoplight where the vehicle in front is already stopped. If it's moving even at 1 mph the SUV slows down normally. If it's fully stopped it only reacts at the very last second in a panic brake. Then in stop and go traffic it disengages after 3 seconds of being stopped so needs to be reset. Please tell me that the ProPilot is more advanced than this.
8. Where is the fuel tank filler door? (OK, just kidding about that one)...
Thanks in advance for your replies and glad to be here!