Electric Car Nissan LEAF 2011 New Owner Tips and Review
I thought this could be a running blog posting on random thoughts on the Nissan LEAF 2011 we just brought home this past Saturday July 23.
We purchased our 2011 Nissan LEAF after placing the reservation last year, back in May 2010, 05/17/2010. We placed a $99 deposit on the vehicle. which I am on the phone with Nissan LEAF trying to figure out how to get the refunded, apparently the refunds are processed as soon as you take delivery and it should be back on your card within 7-10 business days, at least that is what I was told by pre-sales.
Our Cayenne Red Nissan LEAF is 6023 in sequence off the production line. In case you wondered about this, you can get this from the VIN, last six digits.
Friday July 22, we received the call from Danny at Fontana Nissan that our LEAF was ready for pickup.
I went with Fontana Nissan because they offered a credit of $1000 and seemed like a good dealership. I was right, the process yesterday in picking up the car was low pressure and Danny or rep was very detailed and efficient.
Couple of areas to discuss on the LEAF 2011.
1. You have to pay really close attention to charging, very much like gas fuel autos, your charge is your fuel. So pay close attention. The trickle 110v charge is pretty much useless, unless you plan to leave it plugged in for a day and don’t have access to the 220v charger.
2. We purchased the Clipper Creek LCS25, and connected with William with Sustainable Consultants, had it installed on Friday AM.
The charger cost about $1000, a little more than the AV and SPX, but it is available and made in the US. I would still like to get a charger that is plug-in, not hard wired, that will come down the road.
3. The rebates/credits process is somewhat confusing, with the state of California there’s a rebate with the feds its a credit on your return…
4. We are excited to be getting the HOV sticker, and parking privileges in Santa Monica and Los Angeles Airport, LAX. More cities should have programs for EV, electric vehicles to encourage their adoption. Pasadena that I know of has no incentives or charging stations.
5. Charging stations – this is a area contention, you are not supposed to DC Fast charge more than once per day, because of overheating or damage to the batteries,
6. We are looking for seat covers.
7. HomeLink getting that to work with the garage door
8. XM Radio – works well, you get 3 or 6 months
9. Insurance, we will find out how much more or less the insurance
10. The trickle charger has a Charge LED that doesn’t light up, the Power LED blinks, which I can’t tell if that means it is charging and when it is fully charged the Charge led goes solid.
11. Carwings, iPhone App, sort of useless, as the communication is done over the AT&T network, which lacks in many areas. I try to communicate with the car and it is hit and miss. You get Carwings for 3 years as part of the purchase.
12. Battery Inspection, every year you must take your LEAF to a dealer for the batteries to remain in current warranty.
13. There is a modification you can do to the level 1 charger that comes with the Nissan LEAF that allows you to charge quicker, it cost about $250. Go to EVSEUpgrade.com for more info.
14. David Cowan did a story for TechCrunch on buying an electric car, read more
16. A little over a week and I have seen about one leaf per day, a black one this morning. They are becoming more prevalent, we know that there are over 11,000 in the field and if production keeps increasing we should see well over 20,000 this year. Go Nissan.
17. Battery Issues: Has anyone experienced any issues with the battery charging?
18. Carwings and charging schedule: I am not impressed with the carwings app. Pretty much useless. Most of the time it doesn’t even work, AT&T network. The LEAF should operate on WIFI as well, cellular or it should be smart enough to select.
19. A good feature would be to allow a way to roll down all the windows with the remote, perhaps a press down on the remote or a way to roll down windows from app?
20. Has anyone found any research about venting the chemical smell from the new car?
21. Still looking for some good seat covers and/or protectant for the seats, as they are cloth, they will most likely get dirty pretty quick. Light color.
The 2012 LEAF has already been announced and on Monday July 25, 2011, you can get on the list, new states have been added.
The LEAF was intended to replace our Ford Taurus, the dealer only offered us $1000, so we decided to keep it in case we need it for a family member or long trip.
On July 28, 2011 we received a call from Nissan Congratulating us on the purchase of the LEAF. That’s a nice touch.
Today I also saw a Nissan LEAF with the plates and stickers that will allow access to the HOV lane as a single driver.
