If you are in your car and plugged in to charge you can't also operate the heater?! Why? (2017)

I just read in my manual something to the effect that if you are plugged in to charge, you can ventilate the car but not heat or cool it at the same time. I would like to be able to get the car to the temperature I like while I am inside it! Surely it is better to do the climate control while plugged in? Do I have to change the climate control timer so it is set to just after I plug in each time?

It should work. I've used the heater and/or AC while charging many times before. If it were an e-Golf, you wouldn't be able to.

Make sure you put your foot on the brake pedal when you power on the LEAF, as otherwise the heater doesn't work.

Does it charge in ready mode? I'm used to the Prius Plugin that will stop charging if you put your foot on the brake and press the power button. That was my one big annoyance with that car ... baking in the 100-degree heat or freezing to death on a winter night while trying to get a power nap in during a top off.

IIRC, you can't go into READY mode (green car w/arrows) when plugged in. That prevents driving away w/the cord plugged in. That said, yeah, you gotta put your foot on the brake and press power while plugged in to get the heater or AC to work.

For clarity sake, the sequence is:
.

• Plug in J1772 or CHADEMO connector and start the charging cycle
• Sit in the driver's seat and depress the brake pedal
• Press the ON button
• Turn up the heat!
• Before disconnecting from the EVSE/charger, turn off the LEAF

alozzy said:

For clarity sake, the sequence is:
.

• Plug in J1772 or CHADEMO connector and start the charging cycle
• Sit in the driver's seat and depress the brake pedal
• Press the ON button
• Turn up the heat!
• Before disconnecting from the EVSE/charger, turn off the LEAF

Click to expand...

I thought that that is what would work. And it is what I have tried in the past, but In this instance, only the fan goes on, not the heater. Moreover, after a while, even that turns off and you have to switch the car on again.

Please confirm that you are depressing the brake fully. The HVAC fan will turn on, but heat or A/C will not activate if the brake is not depressed when turning the car on. I have used HVAC while charging (mostly A/C, occasionally heat) in 2011, 2015, and 2019--they all work the same. Note that the state of charge must be above about 25% before the heater or A/C compressor will operate, although the fan will run.

GerryAZ said:

Note that the state of charge must be above about 25% before the heater or A/C compressor will operate, although the fan will run.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I ran into that quirk before when I was low on juice and L2 charging publicly... Was weird.

drbrake said:

I thought that that is what would work. And it is what I have tried in the past, but In this instance, only the fan goes on, not the heater. Moreover, after a while, even that turns off and you have to switch the car on again.

Click to expand...

With the battery at 100%, this happened to me once. To get the heat on, I turn the car off, unplugged and then turned the car on.

The heat will also stop if the charging ceases. You have to then turn on the car to re-enable the heat.