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I won’t pretend to be a witty or funny as Jeff Foxworthy, with his “...you might be a redneck.” line, but I’m pretty sure anybody who has ever owned a Nissan LEAF will know what I’m talking about!
If you’re always squinting to see how many bars of battery capacity remain… you might be a LEAF owner.
Yes, Nissan, I’m talking about one of the oddities of the digital dash design. When the battery is full, it’s easy to compare the 12 charge bars to the 12 capacity bars. It’s simple in-the-head subtraction. But once your battery gets under half or so, it’s tough to see how many bars of capacity remain. Is it still 12? Did I lose one more? Am I eligible for a warranty replacement yet? Will it get to 8 bars before the warranty expires?
If you know how to read various screens from LeafSpy... you might be a LEAF owner.
Bat Sts. mV. GIDs. Shunts. Blue bars. Red bars. When somebody posts a screenshot from their LeafSpy app, you know what it means. And you know how to help. Or to opine. Or to do something other than be confused like the rest of the people on the planet.
If you think range anxiety is a neurosis... you might be LEAF owner.
People just don’t know how useful a 70-110 mile range can really be. You know how far it is to various places in town. You know what stores have a charging spot. You know that the seemingly small range covers 90+% of your driving needs, or more if you’re willing to take the time to charge. Other drivers, particular of gas powered cars, talk about range anxiety, but you know better.
If you have a love-hate relationship with your local dealer... you might be a LEAF owner.
When you bought the car, they were the only ones around selling one. They were great...until you realized the salesmen and half of the service department knew less than you did. After the sale, you figured you’d stop by for a charge up… only to find one of the used department’s F250 pickups parked in front of the EVSE.
If you know what an EVHole and Gashole is...you might be a LEAF owner.
The charging woes don’t end at the dealer. Pretty much any place you might charge has the same problem. Other people park there, blocking access. You might manage to get plugged in, and the poetic justice of blocking them into the space can be sweet. But other times, not so much--the plug won’t reach. Other times, there’s an EV parked in front of the charger, which is normally a good thing, but instead they’re blocking you out while not charging.
What other things might make you a LEAF owner? Tell us about them in the comments!
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Comments
Well done! We don't own, but
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Well done! We don't own, but we have been leasing Leafs since 2011. Currently driving a 2017 SL. The most relevant parts of this for me were first, the LeafSpy, my wife laughed out loud.
Second, Range Anxiety. None of our friends understand how we can be so calm and anxiety free driving an EV. They constantly offer to loan us a 'real car' to get somewhere or make other aggravating remarks. We average 1,500-1,600 miles a month. Most of them don't drive nearly that much.
Third was Gasholes / ICEholes / EVholes. YES! By far the number one problem we have where we live. There are no laws or parking ordinances in our area to protect charging stations from idiots.
Finally, I've talked with a lot of other Leaf drivers over the years. The Love/Hate relationship with most dealers is very real. However, my local dealer has always been awesome. Knock on wood, but we've never had any issues. They are always eager to help with whatever. I don't want to say who they are because I don't want to get them in trouble, but often we skip the line in the service bay. When we take the car in for scheduled maintenance, they usually just put somebody right on it. After all, changing air filters and rotating the tires is a pretty quick process. I'm usually at the dealer about as long as it takes to run an ICE through your local quick oil-change vendor.
Great article. Thanks!