An Old Argument Settled

About five years ago I read an online conversation at plugincars.com between some SoCal folks about the Leaf's range.  A person called "ex-EV1 driver" guesstimated that after seven years the Leaf could get as low as a 27-38 mile range.  You can see the whole conversation here.

Many others disagreed with ex-EV1 driver and criticized both his analysis and him personally.  His critics said his estimate was way too low.  If only they had had a time machine to settle the argument...

Thanks to the inexorable forward motion of time, we can look back on that argument with the wisdom of experience.  My 2011 Leaf is approaching that seven year mark, so I thought it would be fun to compare this gentleman's prediction with my reality up here in Helena, Montana.

In a nutshell, he's right. 

I'm down to nine capacity bars and I typically charge to 80%.  Montana has cold winters and my town has hills and Mountain passes that lurk on nearby highways and Interstates.  I always drive in ECO mode and I am pretty gentle on the accelerator. 

Last winter I documented one trip wherein I went 26 miles before my LBW.  It was really cold; around zero degrees.  I ran the heater about 50% of the time.  My feet were cold. 

Two weeks ago I drove out to Winston (48 miles round-trip) and back on slightly less than 100% charge.  I drove at 65mph because going much slower than that is too slow.  I had a LBW about eight miles from my house but made it home just fine.  Actually I made it to Starbucks and bought myself an overpriced latte. 

Five years ago ex-EV1 driver suggested that prospective owners be told that a seven-year-old Leaf would get 30-40 miles, and he took a lot of heat for his opinion.  Experience shows he was right on the money. 

The TCU Works!

After a second trip over to Missoula the TCU works, hurray!  Both Nissan and the Nissan dealership were helpful; Nissan made good on its promise to reimburse transportation cost and the dealership refunded my brake software update.  

Because Nissan refused to put its promise in writing, I was skeptical it would deliver, leaving me to pay almost $500 to transport my Leaf to the nearest dealership.  Nissan's motive is obvious-- stay in control and be able to deny promises.  Thankfully Nissan was inclined to honor this promise!  For that I am pleased but let me be clear: it is shady to make verbal promises and then refuse to put it in writing.

On the brake software issue, I was polite but clear with my request for a refund.  What's the expression, "you catch more flies with honey than vinegar"?  I took as much responsibility as I felt I fairly could by acknowledging that I should have asked in advance about any potential cost for the upgrade and I think the service manager respected that.  It's not the brakes are ridiculously bad...it's that zone after the hydraulic brakes kick in that could be a little smoother.  

Missoula Nissan Hyundai and Leaf Brakes

Not my car, but can happen with abrupt braking!

Many Leaf owners report that their brakes feel "grabby" at low speeds.  That it to say that the brakes either 1)don't act strongly enough or 2)act too forcefully relative to the amount of pressure applied to the pedal.  It's like you're either slamming on the brakes or barely touching them.  It can make your driving less smooth and potentially exposes the Leaf driver to a rear-ending.  It can also result in your passenger's latte ending up outside the cup.

Nissan has recognized this and has a few service bulletins out to correct it.  Because it's a recognized problem affecting the brakes, I assumed the software update would be no cost for Leaf owners.  Safety first, right?

Yeah, we'll charge for that.

Missoula Nissan Hyundai does not agree and charged me $112 for the service.  Yes, I know, I should have at least had verbal confirmation of the cost before I consented to the work.  Or better yet had it in writing.  But I didn't.  My belief is that two parties doing business can both act reasonably.

I haven't noticed an improvement in brake performance, so I called Missoula Nissan Hyundai today and expressed my desire to return the software for a full refund.  I don't know if the service person took me seriously.  It seems reasonable to me that if a customer pays for some benefit and doesn't receive it, he ought not pay.  I believe attorneys say "no conferred benefit, no consideration."

I'm surprised that Missoula Nissan Hyundai even charged for a brake-related software update...it creates the appearance that it cares more about its bottom line than the safety of its customers.  It is quick to tell me that my brake update was "not a recall", but rather an optional performance upgrade to the brakes.

I might remind Nissan that it's cheaper to put safety first, and that it ought to oblige its dealers to do anything remotely safety-related at no cost.  I don't think anyone outside of Missoula Nissan Hyundai believes that correcting a braking defect is an optional upgrade.

Hyundai tried a similar argument when a barely-defective steering knuckle failure resulted in Trevor Olson's Hyundai Tiburon veering into oncoming traffic on highway 93.  The 19-year-old Olson and his younger cousin died in that accident, and the jury was angered to hear Hyundai try to blame the Olsons for the fatal crash.  The result was a lot of bad publicity and a $150 million-dollar judgement against Hyundai.

Upgrading a stereo or adding comfort features are optional, sure.  But brake performance?  Come on, that's safety.

The bottom line is don't give excuses, just fix it.

TCU Upgrade

SIM ID?  We don't need no stinking SIM...

On Thursday, July 28, Missoula Nissan Hyundai performed the TCU upgrade to my 2011 Leaf.  The cost was $199.

Unfortunately the new TCU doesn't work!  According to Nissan technical support, the TCU is missing critical information such as the SIM ID.  Anyone who's used a cellphone knows that, without a valid SIM, the phone won't work.  Technical support said that this information was supposed to be entered at the time of installation, suggesting the technician may have missed it.

I contacted Missoula Nissan Hyundai, and the service department assures me that it did everything per the instructions, so the error must be elsewhere.  I don't care too much where the error is, I just want a working TCU or my $199 back!

I'm frequently asked, "Isn't there a Nissan dealership here in town?  Why aren't you using it?" so allow me to answer that question.

Nissan dealerships don't all work on Nissan Leafs...due to the independent nature of dealerships they can simply choose to opt out, leaving Leaf owners in a lurch with no service center (another reason to end the dealership racket and instead support direct sales ala Tesla).  So even though I have a Nissan dealership in my town (Robert Allen Nissan), I have to go 118 miles away over a mountain pass to get service in Missoula.  Guess who pays to transport the Leaf?  I'll give you a hint: it wasn't the dealership!

Adding insult to injury, Nissan wants me to return the Leaf to Missoula so the dealership and Nissan can correct their error.  Missoula Nissan Hyundai offered no assistance nor did it take any responsibility, but to Nissan's credit it has offered to reimburse transportation expenses.  Being a savvy consumer, I asked Nissan to put that promise in writing.

"Ah, sorry sir, we're incapable of doing that."

Well-played, Nissan!  Now after I pay a second time to transport the Leaf you can deny having made any promises!  I can hear it now...

"Reimbursement?  No you must have talked to the wrong person, we can't do that.  Let me transfer you, and by 'transfer' I mean 'hang up'.  Have a nice day!"

So for the record, I did talk to someone named Jeffrey Cruise on Friday, July 28, and received a case number,  27880601.  During the conversation Mr. Cruise was explicit: if I pay to tow my Leaf to Missoula and back, Nissan will reimburse me.  I called back today, July 31, and spoke to a different customer service rep who confirmed that Mr. Cruise made the promise to reimburse the entirety of the round-trip transportation costs between Helena and Missoula.  I asked if I had to use a particular transportation company and the rep said no.  Mr. Cruise recommended Nissan Roadside Assistance-- they quoted me $476 one-way, so about $1k for the round trip.

If Nissan makes good on its promise, they will have paid $1,000 because of their own internal error-- ouch.  I remember a woodworker once telling me, "I'm a lazy man, I take my time and do the job right the first time."  That wisdom seems to have been missed here.  As I already mentioned, it's an excellent reason to allow car makers to simply own their own stores.  It boggles my mind that Nissan is willing to spend a grand because my local dealership, Robert Allen Nissan, is unwilling to service the Nissan Leaf.  What a waste of money, fuel, and time.

Helena to Missoula

Ok, I didn't drive my Leaf to Missoula-- I towed it using a borrowed Nissan Frontier and a rented U-haul tow-dolly.

The trip went well.  My brother-in-law persuaded me to just borrow his truck instead of trying to drive it from the top of the pass.

I had Missoula Nissan Hyundai Inc perform the TCU upgrade and returned to Helena the same day.  More on that in the next blog post.

Helena to Missoula?

A 116-mile trip.  Not possible for a humble 2011 Leaf with only 10 capacity bars.

Or is it?

I'm going to try it, but I'm going to cheat a little.  I'm not going to charge on the way because there are no EV stations...just an RV place that wants to charge about fifteen times the fair market value for its electricity.  (A three-hour charge costs about $1 in electricity but the RV place wants $15).  No, my only cheat will be to pull the Leaf to the top of MacDonald pass.  After that it will be a slow, 38mph drive to the authorized Leaf dealer in Missoula.

I am going to have the TCU upgrade in order to restore the NissanConnect EV (formerly CarWings). I'm also going to ask for software update to make my brakes smoother, although I'm not sure if it exists for the 2011.  And maybe a brake fluid exchange.

Why am I driving to Missoula when there's a perfectly good Nissan dealership in my town?  My dealership is not authorized to service the Leaf.  So even though Nissan did not engineer the Leaf to travel to Missoula, they require me to take it to that dealer for service.  Thanks for nothing, Nissan.  And I really do mean nothing, as Nissan is offering zero support, zero compensation for the extra hassle.

Is it illegal to drive 38mph on I-90?  No, there is no speed minimum.  However, it's not terribly safe.  The kids are not invited on this trip.

Missoula or bust!

Back and Forth Over MacDonald Pass on a Single Charge

Today I crossed back and forth over Macdonald Pass on a single 100% charge. Climbing mountain passes is not the forte of the limited-capacity Leaf battery, so I took it at 35mph on the uphill legs.  Local drivers are accustomed to semi tractor trailers creeping over the pass at 15mph, so my 35mph with hazard lights was perhaps less dangerous in this context.  At least that's my justification.

On the downhill legs I did around 60mph and got plenty of regen.  In other areas I just followed the speed limit.

The round trip is 52 miles, and I returned home with three bars and a range guesstimate of 16 miles remaining. The Leaf very much likes that 35mph speed, but if I had traveled at the posted speed limit I bet I still would have arrived home (with a VLBW).  

My Leaf is a 2011 and has lost two capacity bars.  A 52-mile trip back and forth over a mountain pass is at or just beyond its range.

Oh no a mountain pass!

Tires!

Bridgestone Ecopias on my Leaf

The winter studded snow tires came off in late March and wow what a difference.  I replaced the old Mastercraft all-seasons with some Bridgestone Ecopia ep422 pluses.  I've added maybe 5-10 miles of range just by getting low rolling resistance tires.

I bought them from Costco and asked them to inflate to 41psi.  They reluctantly did so, explaining that I was violating the recommended psi.

I was reading a post from last summer when I went to Canyon Ferry Lake (a 42 mile round trip) on a full charge.  I returned home with the LBW (low battery warning) and something like 2-4 miles on the guess-o-meter.  Same trip three weeks ago with a lower temperature, but only 80% charge to begin the trip.  I came back with two solid bars (just lost the third) and 9-10 miles on the guess-o-meter.  

The moral of the story: tires and inflation pressure make a big difference.

The NEV Dream Realized

I had a realization a few months ago-- the Leaf is the fulfillment of the Neighborhood Electric Vehicle.

 I know, I know-- the neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV) is a 25-mph golf cart with limited practicality, whereas the Leaf is a real car that can drive 80-mph on the interstate.   But what's in a name?

A true NEV is misnamed-- it does not get you around your neighborhood.  It's nothing more than a nice golf cart.

"Neighborhood" is a word that implies those places close to home.  Nearby places like the grocery store or the soccer field or my kids' school.  For most people a true NEV will not work in those places.  I'm thinking of my friend in Phoenix, and how the local grocery store requires a mile or two down a 50-mph surface street; illegal and unsafe in an NEV.   Or picking up my kids in sub-zero temperatures; totally impractical and/or unsafe.  But the Leaf does all of those things.

The Leaf can get me to work and back, to pick up my kids after school, to the grocery store, and to the movies.  It is perfectly sized for Helena, Montana (Population 30,000 plus surroundings).

In other words, it gets me around my neighborhood.  No, I can't leave my neighborhood and drive to other nearby cities like Great Falls or Missoula, but that's not the purpose of a 1st generation Leaf.  Its purpose is to get me around my neighborhood.

Capacity Embarrassment

A confession-- I did not know how to read my capacity meter until just a few weeks ago.  I normally don't admit to my own stupidity in a public fashion, but it's already out there.

I only have ten capacity bars.  I had been only looking at the state of charge bars, counted twelve, and patted myself on the back.  Education is a good thing.