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Pushed my battery to the limit this morning, running errands. I KNEW it would be close...

But basically I learned that the "Battery Charge" percentage won't show you a number under 6%, it just blanks... And the "Miles Left on this Charge" Guess-o-meter won't show you a number less than 9, it also blanks.

Did approximately 100 miles of driving. I may map the route later to get an exact number.

Also, I had the car on "EcoMode" all morning, it keeps you from doing zippy accelerations, and also may steal more power from your tires when you decelerate... It seemed to be slowing down harder when approaching red lights. Just a guess.

Maybe 85 miles, according to adding the distances between all the points. But half was 50+ MPH roads, with few stop signs, and that runs down the battery faster.

So far still loving it. And the other day I made three trips to the school, with charging in between, and still got home with 15 miles on the battery. On my 110 outlet charger, it charges 5-6 miles every hour.

I keep reading how winter temps kill the range... I'm thinking about putting a 220 outlet in the garage so between commutes it will charge twice as fast. I will if it turns out I need it in the winter.

There's a cllimate control timer... It's starting to get chilly in the mornings, so I'm messing with that. It will turn the heater on 20 minutes before we leave, so it draws power from the charger instead of the battery. There are also seat and steering wheel warmers. Not sure if they go off that timer, or not.

I'd get that 220 installed. 15 miles doesn't seem like that much leeway. Especially with the cold lowering the range and heat. Because you are also assuming the computer is good at estimating. Do you trust the accuracy of the computer? My car/truck computer seems to over estimate. It counts down the miles it can go faster than I'm driving them. When I'm low on gas and the car says it can go another 35 miles, I don't trust that it actually will. I already know it lies about the gas mileage I'm getting. When I manually track it, it's ALWAYS 1-2 miles over what I actually got. At least my Ford did. I haven't tracked the RAM yet.

Does the cold slow down the charging?

I would get the 220 as well, without waiting.

Don't know yet about cold charging. The saleswoman wasn't exactly completely knowledgeable about the Leaf, and I didn't yet know the correct questions to ask. Even today I spent about 10 minutes in the manual trying to figure some things out.

The community calls the "Miles Left On This Charge" the "Guess-O-Meter." I've personally had mine down to... 3 miles? Not really sure, because at 9 miles it stops telling you how many miles are left, and I went about 5 miles, after that. I was testing limits, that day. I almost went another .5 miles to the post office... but decided to not push my luck, and not push my car when it goes dead.

So, I feel good about having 15 miles on the Guess-O-Meter when I pull into my driveway, but also I don't normally drive to the school 3 times in one day. AND.... I still have my truck, so if something comes up, I don't need to worry about always being charged up.

TheCatt wrote: I would get the 220 as well, without waiting.

The cost to install the plug itself will be about $50, and then the 220 charger is $250 for the low-end model, up to $550 for the nice ones. So... it's an expense. So I'm waiting and watching performance.

Also, every day during my commutes I still appreciate that I'm not burning gas. The only real maintenance costs on this car is a brake line flush every XX thousand miles. Tires, when needed. It's nice. Everyone with a moderate commute, and a place to plug it in overnight, should have an electric car. Used Leafs are super cheap, $10k-ish, if you can find one. I think people sell them when they get a new job (or whatever) and suddenly need more range.

But I've also learned that a couple of the model years, you don't want, because the batteries weren't as good. 2015s are good. Not 2014s. Everyone is waiting for the new 60w batteries in the 2019s, but then you're spending $30k, new. Do your homework, there.

GORDON wrote: Also, every day during my commutes I still appreciate that I'm not burning gas. The only real maintenance costs on this car is a brake line flush every XX thousand miles. Tires, when needed. It's nice.

I read about a taxi service that was using Teslas. The # of days of maintenance for those cars vs their mechanical cars was dramatic, like 4 days vs 40 for 200k miles

TheCatt wrote:I read about a taxi service that was using Teslas. The # of days of maintenance for those cars vs their mechanical cars was dramatic, like 4 days vs 40 for 200k miles

I'd think actual down time would be more relevant. Is an oil change considered a maintenance day? Also, were they charging the Tesla, or doing some sort of in-house battery swap? Because you can get three oil changes in the time it takes to charge one to 100% even with the supercharge station (from what I've been reading). Not saying they aren't cheaper maintenance wise, but would be interested in seeing an "in service" (making money) per 200k mile comparison. That would be interesting.

There's a lot less stuff to break, in an electric car. Only thing it adds is the regenerative systems at the tires... But no exhaust system, cooling system, gas.lines, oil leaks, radiator, etc.

Vince wrote:

TheCatt wrote:I read about a taxi service that was using Teslas. The # of days of maintenance for those cars vs their mechanical cars was dramatic, like 4 days vs 40 for 200k miles

I'd think actual down time would be more relevant. Is an oil change considered a maintenance day? Also, were they charging the Tesla, or doing some sort of in-house battery swap? Because you can get three oil changes in the time it takes to charge one to 100% even with the supercharge station (from what I've been reading). Not saying they aren't cheaper maintenance wise, but would be interested in seeing an "in service" (making money) per 200k mile comparison. That would be interesting.

Dunno, here's their summary

Tesloop’s eHawk has racked up a total of $10,492 in combined maintenance and fuel costs, and has spent 12 days in the shop. Of these costs, $6,900 represented scheduled maintenance and $3,500 went to repair the headlights, which were damaged by driving through deep water. Tesloop estimates that, for the same number of miles, a Mercedes S class would have cost around $86,000 ($52,000 maintenance and $36,000 fuel), and a Lincoln Town Car $70,000 ($28,000 maintenance and $42,000 fuel). Both cars would have spent over 100 days in the shop.

And here's their detailed article: https://www.tesloop.com/blog/2017/8/30/ ... ance-costs

Got to be carefuller on wet roads. The Leaf is so light, and has so much torque, that I easily spin the front wheels accelerating off a red light. I might as well put the car into Eco mode on rainy days, use less electricity, and reduce power to the wheels.

GORDON wrote: But I've also learned that a couple of the model years, you don't want, because the batteries weren't as good. 2015s are good. Not 2014s.

What year did you get?

2015. Lucky.

Just ordered this for $219 because it went on sale.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B8W9SYV

Looks like I have to install a 220 outlet.

GORDON wrote: Just ordered this for $219 because it went on sale.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B8W9SYV

Looks like I have to install a 220 outlet.

Sweet. Gonna do it yourself? Can you video it if so? I've been thinking about an electric car, and if you made a video, and died, I might make enough $$$ to get one.

A video of installing the 220 plug? All I'm going to do is put a new, big breaker in the fuse box, run the line, wire it to the plug, and viola. Not really much to video.

GORDON wrote: A video of installing the 220 plug? All I'm going to do is put a new, big breaker in the fuse box, run the line, wire it to the plug, and viola. Not really much to video.

Don't die.

Always good advice.

I wired up my basement, including installing a new subpanel. Have installed various plugs here and there. I hardly ever die doing it.