Monday, June 16, 2014

Thirty Months and Thirty Seven Thousand Electric Leaf Miles

Well since we've out for awhile, let discuss the Nissan Leaf at 37k miles.

Big items first.  The vehicle is routinely showing a little less battery range. I'd guess between 5 and 10 miles. I was routinely able to get 82-83 new if you count that I rarely use the final part of that. I almost never hit VLBW (Very Low Battery Warning) although I often hit LBW when I hit a single digit of range left. Maryland is pretty moderate so no big drops due to heat like Phoenix owners. Now maybe 76-78 in mild temps. I would not be surprised to see the first range bar loss soon.

Still I expected range loss with time and it appears the vehicle will be sufficient for my use into retirement.

Next tire wear. I'm not a racing driver but I do love the fast start the Leaf has. That and the weight of the vehicle is now showing in worn tires. One tire is also having trouble maintaining more then about 28 lbs of air pressure vs the 40 I normally keep them at - over a week or so its back down to 28.  So they are going to be replaced this summer - stay tuned. Remember the stock ecotopias are considered a pretty low grade tire, so I may have better luck if I move up to Michellins.

Finally in the very cold temps the drivers side window has trouble moving. It's fine now but I should have been more proactive and taken it in to the dealer under warranty. Trouble is it was only happening in single digit weather so bringing it in was not convenient. This appears to be a common Nissan problem not limited to electrics.

A little fabric wear inside but still looking good and very little brake wear due to regen braking. Still handling great

Man, even today, not paying for gas never gets old. The Leaf has saved me paying an easy four thousand ($4,000) in gas. That and the low level of maintenance on brakes and oil is very helpful as I bought the Leaf early before the big price cuts. Kevin is driving the Th!nk happy as a working student that he doesn't have a big gas bill.

The goofy electric grin survives even this last harsh winter!




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