|
When we bought our 2012 Leaf it was on battery bar 10 ( I think ) . About a month there after , it dropped a battery bar .
The tires were pretty well worn , I ordered the Ecopia tires that came on it .
So the range was declining . ( I had read that new tires would drop the range until they " broke in " and almost worn out tires had less rubber flex so they gave better range .
We tried to keep it well charged while we were learning .
Well it got rear ended before the tires were " broke in " regained their range .
We charged the Leaf Level 1 only 1 time . Our house was guilt in the 1950's and all the original wiring is 2 wire Romex , no earth ground . The Leaf Level 1 EVSE would not work .
I had to run an extension cord from a new 3 wire receptacle in the kitchen ( which I had added ) , through the house & out the front door . That made the EVSE happy & we got the Leaf charged .
I kind of figured the EVSE would not work w/o an earth ground .
I ordered a GE WattStation , 40 amo 240 VAC input Level 2 EVSE . Ran a 6/2W Ground Romex & installed a 2 pole 40 amp circuit breaker .
From there on out , Level 2 all the rest of the time . Like taking the training wheels off . :-)
It had a DCFC port but no where to plug it in to . Closest DCFC was 120 miles & it was a Tesla Super Charger . Closest CHAdeMO was 320 miles . There may be an adapter to all the Leaf CHAdeMO to be charged from a Super Charger ?
We were showing 4.1 miles per KWH . Guessed it was saving about half the cost of the gasoline the Sonic burned ( less than $ 20 per week if we did not leave town ) . Which was not enough to justify the car .
But I knew it would be a toss up if it would drop the last battery bar to qualify for a warranty battery , before the warranty expired .
As to cold , I do not think cold permanently reduced the battery capacity . I think it has a battery heater . But cold does reduce the range at that time .
Nissan was offering very attractive leases on S model 2016 Leafs , shortly after ours was rear ended . But those appear to be gone .
I think the Leaf is a pretty good EV . The used ones can be had at a good price , if you do some work shopping . Get one with the most battery bars you can ( or if it is still in warranty , one about to drop below 9 battery bars ) .
Get a Level 2 EVSE . I shopped around on the internet and found the GE WattStation for $ 400 + about $ 36 shipping . You will probably have to pay for install , I did the work myself .
Ask if your electric utility offers reduced rare for off peak usage ( ours does not ) & if they do , set your timer to charge off peak as much as you can .
Check your tire pressure , many of us run at least 40 psi , to help increase range a little . Check the fluids periodically . It does have a 12 VDC lead acid battery ( under the hood ) . It will have to be replaced sooner or latter . Our 2012 appeared to be OEM .
I checked the brake rotors when the new tires were being installed . I could detect ZERO wear . The regenerative braking reduces wear on the friction brakes .
Caution , these cars have NO spare tire or jack . A 12 VDC air pump and a container of Goo . I was in the process of shopping for a Nissan donut spare when the Leaf was hit . Best I remember the Altama donut spare is suppose to fit . I took the jack from our dead Lumina and the 4 way lug wrench .
There are no fan belts . The rubber fluid hoses will need to be replaced , eventually . No oil & filter changes . As I have said , tires . Windshield wiper blades .
As I said , I liked the Leaf .
God bless
Wyr
|