2018 Leaf Thread

miguel_elote said:
Thanks to all for providing their range numbers. I'm in the market for a Leaf. Can you help relieve my range anxiety?
Summary: Driving 40mph (65kph) for 3 hours on flat ground at 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 C), will I consistently get at least 120 miles (200km) range?

Detail: I live in Key West, Florida. The Leaf meets all my needs for driving in the Florida Keys. Every month or two, I drive to Miami and back, a 300-mile round trip. There are many level 2 chargers in the Keys, but the closest DC fast charger is in Homestead, Florida, 120 miles from my home.

The road out of the Keys varies from a 30mph speed limit to 50mph speed limit, with an 18 mile stretch where everybody drives 80 to get through it. Overall, it takes 2.5-3 hours to cover the 120 miles. There are traffic lights and occasional traffic jams. The road is very flat, and the temperature ranges from 75-95 degrees.

A typical trip might be: Drive 120 miles from home to the DC charger. Charge up to 80% in 40 minutes. Drive around town as needed. Stop at the same DC charger on the way home. Drive 120 miles back home.

I've never owned an EV, and I understand range varies radically based on driving style, speed, temperature, etc. Given the description above, do you think I'd consistently make the 120 miles from charger to home?
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Hi I'm no expert as I've only had my MY2018 Leaf for 5 months. I live in Toronto, Canada area.

In your use case, the current 40kWh Leaf should do the job. You will for sure have to Rapid Charge at least once on the Miami trip. Maybe a second time, but with your driving stats you've explained, you should be ok with one rapid per leg. The issue is of speed as the faster you go, the more energy you use. 40kWh Leaf is EPA'd for 150 miles, but in warmer temps people are getting over 160 miles.

Now, for the daily use. 40mph is a low enough speed that this should not impact range very much, and the higher temps won't impact it either. Only on the fast charging where the BMS will throttle the amount of input rate based on temps. Since your daily is nearing the max range of the 40kWh Leaf and you are stating you will be daily DC charging, I personally don't think this version of the Leaf is your best bet. With that kind of daily use, I think it will stress out the batteries too much over time and lead to faster capacity loss than normal. So you can do it every day, however the loss of capacity may be quicker than a more easier use case.

My personal advise is to look at a Bolt, Model 3 SR or Kona (if you can wait for the Model 3 or Kona) for all BEV desire, or a PHEV Volt if you don't mind some gasoline use. The Bolt will give you your daily range no problem and allow for more consistent DCFC ing speeds, as well as maintain battery temps (with it's Active Thermal Management) to a more level state thereby prolonging capacity life. I am guessing that if you are considering the Leaf, that you are somewhat budget-minded. I understand the Bolt and these others will cost more than the Leaf and in your case, this would probably be better money spent.

Your use case seems to be right on the bubble of the Leaf's capabilities and for a long-term investment, I would lean away from the 40kWh Leaf. You can also wait for the 60kWh Leaf to come out if you are not in a rush, as we expect this to not only have 220 or so mile range, but have Active TM features as well. Not sure what the platform will be or look like, but I'm guessing at this point it will look the same as today's 40kWh Leaf.

Hope this helps. If you are only looking to lease a Leaf, say for 3-4 years, then it can make sense for you since you won't really care about any capacity loss since you are returning the car in a shorter time. However, the throttling for Fast Charging will most likely increase your travel times somewhat, since you will get the batteries nice and hot with your daily use and they won't cool down too much overnight since your ambient temps are still relatively high.
 
You'll definitely get 120 miles, probably at least 150 miles or more depending on AC use. The only problem I see is with back to back DC charging. The 2nd DC charge may be much slower than the 1st charge. Contact your local dealer and see if they will let you test drive one to drive it to the DC charger and back. Make sure you sign up for an account with that DC charger first.
 
Thanks for the replies. I was pretty sure I could make the run, but it's good to hear from people who own the Leaf.

Kenneth Bokor, I make this trip to Miami only once a month, sometimes every other month. On a daily basis, I plan to use the level 2 chargers in Key West (or even level 1).
 
miguel_elote said:
Thanks for the replies. I was pretty sure I could make the run, but it's good to hear from people who own the Leaf.

Kenneth Bokor, I make this trip to Miami only once a month, sometimes every other month. On a daily basis, I plan to use the level 2 chargers in Key West (or even level 1).
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Hi great. I misread your daily runs. If using L1/2, then you will be fine for charging. From 0 takes about 7 hours or so on L2. L1 pulls about 1.4kW per hour and L2 provides 6.6kW per hour. So you can do the math on a 40kWh pack.

For quicker capacity loss, then with more L1/L2 charging than L3, you would be ok and more back in the normal use/wear range. Good thing is Nissan has the 8-Year pack warranty for a reason.
 
Thanks. To give some more information about me:

I currently drive a 2015 Mazda3 hatchback. I'm looking at the Bolt and the Leaf.

Leaf: Meets all my needs. Same size as my Mazda3. Amazing price ($449/mo, $0 down, 3yr/36k lease, 2 years free charging with EVGo).
Bolt: Meets all my needs, but more expensive with an ugly interior. No special financing or lease deals from Chevy.
Kona: Very intriguing. But who knows when it will appear in Florida. And it will probably be out of my price range ($30k-$40k).
Model 3: It's a great $50k car. I think they will have to cut too many corners to get the price down to $35k.

I'll test drive two Bolts and a Leaf this Sunday. I'm leaning heavily toward the Leaf.
 
Nice Miguel, you are now well informed and can make a good decision. Best of luck and let us know what you decide.

I do love my Leaf and if you check out my YouTube Channel (EV Revolution Show), you will see some stuff about my Leaf.
 
Kenneth Bokor said:
Nice Miguel, you are now well informed and can make a good decision. Best of luck and let us know what you decide.

I do love my Leaf and if you check out my YouTube Channel (EV Revolution Show), you will see some stuff about my Leaf.
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I'm looking to get a Leaf next summer/fall. The dealership will owe this site in general, and Ken in particular, a royalty check :D
 
I bought a 2019 Leaf (traded in my 2012) and reading through the owner's manual it keeps saying "Li-ion battery warmer (if so equipped)". Cold Weather is coming. How can I tell if my Leaf is equipped with a battery warmer? I thought they were standard on all Leafs these days?
 
SilverNewt said:
I bought a 2019 Leaf (traded in my 2012) and reading through the owner's manual it keeps saying "Li-ion battery warmer (if so equipped)". Cold Weather is coming. How can I tell if my Leaf is equipped with a battery warmer? I thought they were standard on all Leafs these days?
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I'm under the information that the battery warmer is standard in all cold-weather area sold Leafs. You should check with your dealer or contact Nissan HQ (USA, UK or Canada or other) with the VIN to confirm.
 
My old Leaf never got down to the blue bars even unplugged on the coldest winter days. The coldest my new Leaf has experienced was -19C but the battery still stayed above the blue. The trick is to keep the car plugged in if it's going to be idle for days at a time. When not plugged in it uses it's own power to keep warm and over several days this would stop and the battery will "brick" until it's warmed up. If it's going to be idle for several days avoid over charging by using your charging timer to just charge enough each day to compensate for the battery heater consumption. I believe that battery heater uses around 300 watts so that would work out to 7.2kwh hrs to replace every day.

I strongly recommend that you learn to use your car's charging timer. That way you can plug your car in when you get home and forget about it. We have time of use pricing in Ontario and 7pm to 7am rates are the cheapest. I set my finish time for 6am in the summer and 7am in the winter so that there is some residual heat from charging leftover when I start my work day. I set my start time according to how much I expect to need the next day. I try to avoid charging to 100% unless heading out of town. The consensus seems to be that the pack will last longer if not charged to 100% all the time. You will learn from experience how much time to give it to target a given percentage.

When driving the car the current draw will actually warm the battery even more so you don't need to worry about that. While there has been some criticism of the Leaf's suitability for hot climates I can tell you it's a real trouper in the cold. Just get in and go. And if you get lots of snow where you are get some winter tires. And be mindful that LI batteries lose some range in the cold along with heating, winter tires and colder air being more dense to plow through you can expect a range loss of about 40% from your best summer time range. Enjoy!
 
I saw my 2012 with no blue bars a few times. Last winter after Christmas we had a week with lows below 0F. Attached picture was January 2nd 2018 at -11F according to the Weather man, - 4F according to the dash (dropped to - 6F when I got on the road) . I do not have a garage. IMG_20180102_073321.webp

Given Kenneth's response I will assume the new car has a battery heater. I bought it in Massachusetts, they know how cold it gets here.
 

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SilverNewt said:
I saw my 2012 with no blue bars a few times. Last winter after Christmas we had a week with lows below 0F. Attached picture was January 2nd 2018 at -11F according to the Weather man, - 4F according to the dash (dropped to - 6F when I got on the road) . I do not have a garage. View attachment 3112

Given Kenneth's response I will assume the new car has a battery heater. I bought it in Massachusetts, they know how cold it gets here.
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Quite clearly this car either doesn't have a battery heater or it wasn't working. Would the car even move in this state?
 
Oh yeah, she ran fine. The dash was a little slow to light up (half a second, not super slow) but no other symptoms. No turtle light on the dash to indicate reduced power. The car just WORKED. A testament to the hardiness of EVs. And I think it did have a battery heater, the temperature gauge on the 2012 was probably just calibrated differently than later years. *shrug* It's all software after all. I took a whole series of pictures and screen captures that day but sadly no LeafSpy. When I got to work (17 miles and 30 minutes later) the car said the exterior temp was 0F, the battery temp was up to 1 blue bar, and the battery gauge showed 3 bars remaining/14 miles. I charged at work.

I bought the new Leaf so I don't have to charge at work on cold days. The 2012's battery had dropped to 8 capacity bars after 72,000 miles. Maybe the cold hastened that. The ball joints were loose so the lower control arms needed to be replaced (dealer estimate $1040) and she needed new summer tires in the spring. Rather than sink money into that it was time for new and improved. Such an improvement!
 
Hi All,

I bought my 2018 Leaf SV in April. And use it to commute from my home in Pickering to my job in Peterborough, about 100km(60 miles) each way. All of it divided high speed highway. The thing I noticed right away is that speed matters. The speed limit is 100km/h(60 miles/h). If I set ProPilot to 100 km/h, I can get to work and still have 55% left to get home. If I set the PP to 110km/h(65 miles/h), I only have 45% and can't make it home without charging. 120km/h(70 miles/h) drops me to 40%. Winter drops everything. At 120 and -5c(25f) I pull into work at 30% with my new winter tires.

My work has put in a range/stove (nema 14/50) plug for me. At first I thought it didn't work. Everytime I plugged my Nissan cord in, it would fault out. I found out that industrial buildings have 3 phase power that make 208 volts, not the 240 volts like at home. The Nissan plug won't work with anything but 240 volt. Luckly the Juicebox Pro 40 will accept the lower voltage and that's what I use at work now.

I bought it in May and submitted my paperwork to get my 50%($500) back. I just got my cheque from the Ontario government on December 15. I had given up ever seeing the money. Now I'm trying to decide if I want to use the money to get another Juicebox for home since it's timers are way easier to use, or a Tesla Tap so I can use all the Tesla destination chargers that seem to be plentiful in cottage country and in the wine region. Any thoughts are appreciated.

Ken, we have seen each other at the Scarborough EV Society.

I now have 32 000km(20 000ish miles) and Nissan says I have all my bars......Leaf Spy Pro says I have 95%. I have to charge to 100% twice a day to make it to and from work(especially in the cold). I also rapid charge once or twice a month.

I used to drive a Passat. It was costing me $400-500 a month in gas. I now pay $60-100 in electricity. The difference pays my car payment, so I figure even if I wear it out, I'm getting it for close to free. And the ProPilot is worth it's weight in gold on my commute.

I will happily answer any questions since I will be hitting mile stones long before most of you. Interestingly I haven't had any problems with rapid gate since I rarely rapid charge and almost never twice in the same day. I would like to try Florida over 3 days. Just to see if you can control it.
 
Jake Branch said:
Hi All,

I bought my 2018 Leaf SV in April. And use it to commute from my home in Pickering to my job in Peterborough, about 100km(60 miles) each way. All of it divided high speed highway. The thing I noticed right away is that speed matters. The speed limit is 100km/h(60 miles/h). If I set ProPilot to 100 km/h, I can get to work

You will indeed be an interesting test case. That's a lot of deep cycling which tends to wear batteries down faster. Looks like you're going to be doing 45,000 to 50,000km a year. That's about twice my current usage. Please do keep us posted how your battery capacity holds up as the miles pile up.
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