Nissan LEAF - It finally happened

[kubel]

After just two weeks of driving oil-free with my 2012 Nissan LEAF, it finally happened. I knew it would, but I didn't think it would be this soon. I hate to admit it, but I drained my battery and now my car is stranded on the side of the road.

I guess that's what I get for not even bothering to start my Crown Victoria for two weeks. I haven't needed to use it once since I got my LEAF. It's been parked in the street this whole time. Must have been the Eco-Meter I had plugged in.

Seriously- The battery did die on my gas car- I had to jump it last night. I laughed at the irony of my situation. I never once thought I would run out of electricity on my gas car but not my electric car. But anyway, the LEAF has been an excellent commuter / runabout. I commute around 55 miles per day plus a few miles here and there for lunch, errands, hanging out with friends after work, visiting family, shopping, etc...

My first love was the Volt. It sparked my interest into electric drive back in 2007. I guess I decided for a few reasons that it would be better to just take the plunge and go all electric. I've got almost 1000 miles on my LEAF. There are plenty of reasons to love it, but since this is a Volt forum, here's what I don't like about it:

1) The heated steering wheel turns off after 5 minutes making it a total tease when it's cold. By the time it reactivates, it's been cold for a long time. Yes, this is the biggest disappointment of the car because it has the potential to be one of the best features, especially in the winter.

2) Range suffers immensely when you try to heat the cabin air. The problem is compounded by cold battery temperature affecting range as well. Just yesterday it was in the 50's, and with an 80% charge I only managed about 53 miles before I got a Low Battery Warning. It could be worse, and I know it will be once winter gets here- but this was all known well before I got the car. Preheating slaps a band-aid on this and it's easy to set, but it's not a perfect solution. The heated seats are nice, and the heated steering wheel is really nice... for about 5 minutes. Hopefully the 2013 model will address this issue a little better with the new heater.

3) No remote charge port release. I suppose this isn't a huge deal, but there have been a number of times where I had to unlock the car, open the door, pull the release... just to charge it. It would be nice if the keyfob had a button, or it had a proximity unlock button thingy like all the doors and the hatch have.

4) I don't think the interior fabrics will last much longer before they start turning black. Me and a light interior, probably won't get along too well.

That's honestly all I can think of right now.

After I jump started my Crown Vic, I drove up to Taco Bell and back home and was amazed at how archaic, noisy, harsh with engine vibrations and transmission shifts, and lethargic that car is. It honestly never was before, it's very well maintained and runs like new! I'll never go back to gas. Electric drive is where it's at- whether or LEAF or a Volt or a Focus Electric or whatever.

Anyway, I hope to make a more thorough review after I've owned the car for a few months.

[DonC]

I feel your pain. When we got the Volt and the Leaf we were going to keep a larger ICE car for longer trips. It worked fine for about six months but then we started taking the Volt on some of those long trips, and, because we were using it less, the battery on the ICE kept going flat. Too much maintenance so we found a new home for it.

[MrEnergyCzar]

I wish they went with liquid cooled batteries like the Ford Focus, Volt and others... They have space to add more battery packs when they refresh it though...

MrEnergyCzar

[saghost]

I have that problem with my Eos. I'm kinda conflicted about it... I'm really not driving the Eos, but I really enjoyed having the convertible before. I don't know what I want to do - I guess I've been spoiled too much by my Volt.

[Carl S]

Sorry to hear about your LEAF stranding you. Hope you get a tow quick!

I had some misgivings about selling my Grand Prix GTP, but after a few months owning the Volt, it became more of a chore to keep up two cars. Still hated to see it drive off for the last time, but my Volt more than makes up for it.

Funny thing is, both cars request premium fuel to be used. I'm just using much, much less in the Volt.

[scottf200]

Bummer about the heated steering wheel. That is one think I really wish was on the Volt ... with a nice set of "duty cycles" like the Volt's heated seats.

Sorry to hear about your LEAF stranding you. Hope you get a tow quick!

"The battery did die on [his] gas car"

[DonC]

"The battery did die on [his] gas car"

Funny in a way. Lots of folks made fun of the Leaf and raised the specter of people being stranded by the road when the battery ran out of juice, but it seems like the Volt has had more dead batteries than the Leaf!

[2BeLivingGreen]

Kubel, good write up on the experience. The important thing is how we all are helping to reduce oil dependency with our electric or plug-in electric vehicles. While a Leaf would work for me for most of my daily driving I need the added range of taking cross state tips when I visit my kids.

It is very funny (well as a reader, as I was not there) on how your ICE car's battery was dead and how crude the ICE car feels after driving an electric car. Many cannot understand the crudeness of an ICE car after driving a LEAF or a VOLT. But when you no longer deal with seat and wheel vibrations due to the ICE, the added noise, the gear shifting, the response dwell to accelerate, and the constant need to always use so much hyd. braking for normal driving you realize how crude a conventional car really is.

[kubel]

Sorry to hear about your LEAF stranding you. Hope you get a tow quick!

Hehe- The LEAF is fine, it's my gas car that has the dead battery. But I was deliberately trying to trick people with my post. :P

Honestly, when people hear that my car is a pure electric, with no gas backup, and only ~70 miles of range in real world conditions- they look at me with a puzzled look and ask, "Well, what happens when your battery runs out?". In all the years and the hundreds of thousands of miles I put on gas cars, I've NEVER once run out of gas. Why? Because I have a good idea of how much gas I have left and I'm aware of my range to some degree.

Range anxiety was something I feared from the start. But after almost 1000 miles, I've not once been worried or anxious about whether or not I would get home. For me, range anxiety became range awareness. And just like with situational awareness (taught in self defense classes) it's not a constant state of worry, it's just a state of being simply aware.

Anyway, I had a guy at Kroger roll down his window and yell at me, "so, you're done with gas, huh!". I thought that was nice. The last random stranger comment was, "hey, your car is f***ing gay!". Not so nice, but I laughed as he drove away in his Cavalier. :P

[stuart22]

What can you say, it's live and learn with new things. You really ought to tell your story over at the LEAF forum (mynissanleaf.com). I bet there's a number of people over there who can identify with your messup and would share their own experiences and thoughts.