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.