Gulping Power and Winter Math

Electra, my 2012 Nissan Leaf, is gulping. And her distance math is challenging my best geometry. Let me explain. Temperatures have dropped here in Denver, and I'm finding the many ways to warm myself in her presence. Of course, the more I warm myself, the faster the battery drains.

Electra has several ways to warm her passengers. There's the regular way--through the vents--and she also heats up her steering wheel, which I am finding an absolute pleasure. The third way is via the individual seat warmers, which can be turned on for each front seat and/or the rear bench seat.

The more heat I have on, the shorter the range. Whereas in the summer with the air conditioner on, Electra ranges about 90 miles. But in the winter with the vent and one or two seats on, her range is 68. But, I am not quite sure about her winter range. It is Leaf Math...and since I generally no longer drive a full range at once, I frankly am not sure if 68 really means 68. Regardless, there is a difference on winter range, and I cannot confidently state what is is.

I do positively want to state that Electra keeps me toasty. I can usually get by with just using the steering wheel heat and the vent directed at my feet. Occasionally, I turn on the seats. I'm still very happy with my Nissan Leaf, but I am wishing for a better indicator about range. In addition, I do wish the buttons to turn on the different heating options turned back to off when turning the car off. I often find that the rear seat is on unnecessarily because I did not manually turn it off from the last use, thus making Electra unnecessarily gulp precious battery time.

Electra Turns 1 Year Old!

8,977 miles. That's crazy. But, yes, on Electra's (my 2012 Nissan Leaf) first anniversary with me, she has a mere 8977 miles on her. If you have known me for a long time as someone who used to drive over 90,000 miles a year, driving 1/10th of it is, well, refreshing.

I thought now would be a great time to review my experience of being an electric vehicle driver, especially as we celebrate National Plugged-In Day. A year ago I was debating my driving needs, how my life would be changing over the coming year, and what type of vehicle I would need. After reviewing the Ford Escort, VW Golf TDI, Chevy Volt, Cooper Mini and the Nissan Leaf, I picked the Leaf. With fear. Would the fear of "turtle-ing" put me on the side of the highway without AAA to come and get me? How would my life style change with my electric vehicle? What wouldn't I be able to do?

Nothing.

Not one of these fears ever came true in my year of travelling. Electra has quickly, efficiently, and cleanly taken me every where I have wanted to go. She has hauled groceries, bikes, dogs, kids, co-workers, family, and synchronized swimmers all over Tampa and Denver. Her range has never been less than 85, and she has managed snow, ice, mountains, beaches, and highways with no trouble. She's heated me and chilled me. Her navigation got me un-lost, and her pep pulled me off the front-line faster than any car I've raced her against.

I have not one complaint about Electra. I would lease her again. I can't wait to see what Nissan brings for 2014.

I will complain about the lack of infrastructure in Denver to support electric vehicles. I really thought Colorado would be much better than Tampa, but I am finding Denver's charging stations and the presence of Charge Point minimal. The fact that the Denver aiport doesn't have an EV station is disheartening, although I give big shout outs to Canopy's off-site parking, which does.

A few things I thought I would do but haven't:

• I never upgraded my power in my house to support a higher charge for Electra. I have never felt I needed it, as the trickle charge is working just fine for me.
• I thought I would need to drive my husband's Prius many more times for "just in case" scenarios, but Electra's range is accurate and reliable.
• I thought I would lose weight because I wouldn't be buying as many snacks from stops at gas stations--I haven't been in a gas station in a year, but I still weigh the same.
• I thought people would ask me more questions about Electra, but they haven't.
• I thought I might run over someone because Electra is so quiet--I haven't, but the opportunity has presented itself way too many times.

I am thrilled with my first year as an electric vehicle owner. Still contemplating buying an electric vehicle? Do not hesitate. I love my Nissan Leaf. Email me if you want to discuss your decision!

Electra Gets Mile High

We have made it to Denver, and Electra, my 2012 Nissan Leaf, couldn't be happier. But it appears the higher altitude is messing with her range. (See my previous post about Leaf Math.) Let me explain.

We arrived in Denver on April 19 via our Prius through Texas, and Electra arrived on April 20 via a truck transport. She only had 13 miles range on her, so immediately I plugged her into Denver's power grid. By Monday, she was charged up and ready to go. My husband borrowed Electra on Monday to go to work, and she did just fine. On Tuesday, we were going to do a trial run of Electra's range in Denver. We woke up to a blanket of snow. and snow. and snow. and snow.

My daughter's school is only 19 miles from the hotel, or roundtrip 38 miles. I figured I'd take her to school, return to the hotel to work, charge Electra enough to do the afternoon round trip, and pick my dauther up as well. So much for plans! Electra, my daughter and I loaded up and headed to school. We inched our way to the interstate, where are 19 mile trip took over 90 minutes in the snow. Electra's seats were warm, the defroster was running, and the steering wheel was toasty. I dropped Kelly off at school with 22 miles of range left off an original 92.

I didn't think I'd make it back to the hotel, so my escape plan was to get to my husband's office and swap cars with him. Since Electra gobbled up so much range in the snow, I knew she wouldn't be able to get charged up enough in six hours for me to complete the round trip again. I swapped cars with my husband, picked up my daughter later that day, and my husband made it home with Electra that evening with 1 mile left.

I plugged Electra in to charge over night. I could see her from my hotel window, and I noticed that her first blue light was staying on for a very long time. I thought perhaps the amps at the hotel were lower, or perhaps she charged slower in the cold. I couldn't quite figure out why she didn't seem to be charging her normal way. But I went to bed, thinking everything would be fine in the morning.

The next day, the snow had stopped, it was still cold, and the roads were clear. Thinking that my original plan to drive my daughter both ways to school, while charging Electra mid day would work, we went down to Electra to start our commute. Strangely, her one blue light was still blinking. I opened the door and uncovered the problem. I had left Electra on overnight, and she was charging while "running!"

Need less to say, she did not have a full charge, and again, my husband and I automagically re-engineered our commute to get our daughter and him back and forth to school and work. Laughing about the fact that I had left Electra running all night, I soon realized I had a giant problem. I had no understanding of her range in Denver and what I could plan.

Here's the dilemma: the one snow day's travels had totally altered her range meter. We had run at 3-4 mph in the snow with the heat on, so when her range showed the next day, it only showed 60. Then, when I ran her all night, I had a range of 39. How could I plan a day of 76 miles with no idea of her range? But the good news was this. I trusted Electra, and I knew she could get me back and forth as I had planned, and I just had to blindly ignore her range meter until it worked itself out.

And it did. So, the Mile High City seems to have freaked Electra and me out, but now, we're doing okay. It does appear that Electra gets more range here--less air conditioning, lower speeds, more regeneration because of a lot of surface roads--whatever the reason, we're happy. Very happy. And the commute is going smoothingly. Let's hope the weather stays beautiful so our construction crew can finish up our house early!

Electra Gets a Lift

The big move has happened! My family and I have relocated to Denver, CO, and it's taken quite a lot of logistics to make it happen. Here are the details.

My husband went first via the plane...he had a conference in Dallas. Our stuff went next via PODS. If you have ever needed to move your household items, I can't recommend PODS more. They deliver a storage container to your house, you load it, they move it, they store it, you unload it. You only have to touch your stuff twice, and it's always in a safe and secure environment while it's in transit or storage. I have used PODS twice, and I would recommend them hands-down. I wish they were publicly traded, as I'd buy some stock!

Next went Electra, my 2012 Nissan Leaf. I bid her travel online with various truck brokers, and I was able to find her transport for $750. The truck driver picked her up and loaded her safely. I mentioned to the driver, Norman at TA Trucking, that I had three bikes that I'd be hanging off the back of my husband's Prius as my daughter and I drove across country. Norman didn't like this idea, and he offered to take the bikes for me. I didn't like the idea either, and I gladly let him take them...and tipped him an extra $100 for the courtesy. If you want Norman's number, let me know!

Norman loaded Electra up on a Sunday evening, and she arrived in Denver on Friday morning. When I met Norman to unload Electra and the bikes, I have to say that I had missed her! Although my daughter and I had a fun time driving the Prius across country, reuniting with Electra was like finding my lost friend. I really had missed her!

Lastly, my daughter and I left Tampa. We routed through Pensacola and then Shreveport, Dallas, Sperling, and then Denver. The wind hit us from the northeast for three days at 22 mph. Need less to say, I was glad we didn't have the bikes off the back of the car! We enjoyed a trip through the JFK Museum in Dallas, a stop at Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, and a quick snow ball fight in Raton, NM.

We are super glad to be in Denver. While we wait for our house to finish being built, we are enjoying a stay at the Towne Place Suites. And guess what! They've accommodated Electra! We have a special parking spot for her so I can plug her in each night! We're right at home.

Getting the Round-Around Makes Me Frustrated

The drama about my cell phone not working with my Nissan Leaf 2012, Electra, is excelerating. Here's the latest.

I received the customary survey phone call last week from Nissan about my latest trip to the dealer regarding my blue tooth issue. If you'll recall, Electra is not properly answering my calls. When I answer the phone via the console, the radio continues to play and the caller cannot hear me. Electra spent two days at the dealer last week, and when the dealer returned her to me, it stated that Nissan doesn't support Sprint as a carrier. I was out of luck and needed to wait until an upgrade. Thus, in the survey, although I mentioned the service the dealer provided was excellent, I was not happy that my problem is not resolved.

A few days later, I received an electronic survey. I repeated my responses in the electronic survey as well. Today, I got a call from "Mike at Nissan." He left his cell phone number for me, which is a local number for me here in Tampa. I'm not sure of Mike's position, but he called expresssing concern about my phone issue. I called him back, repeated the problem, and he asked me to call 1-800 Nissan1. Being in customer experience myself, I understand the need to report issues to a global reporting tool so the issue can be tracked. Mike said he'd do his own investigating and call me back.

I agreed to call Nissan. They answered promptly after I pressed a few buttons. Finally, I got the blue tooth expert, Patrick, on the phone. I explained my issue again. He asked what kind of testing the dealer did, which I don't know. I suggested to him that he contact the dealer to find out what they did. He said he's not allowed to contact the dealer, and he asked me if I would contact the dealer on his behalf. He asked me to ask the dealer to call. He then suggested that I get a different phone and do my own testing and report back to him what I found.

Does anyone else see an issue here? Why have I become the communication venue for 1-800-Nissan1 to communicate with its dealer network, and why have I become the tester to their blue tooth issue? And, why is Nissan suggesting I get a new phone, in particular, an iPhone 5? I said good bye to Patrick as I was clearly not getting anywhere I wanted to go.

And now, I await Mike's call.

From Blue to Really Blue

After two days at the shop, Electra, my 2012 Nissan Leaf, has returned home.

The dealer graciously fixed two of three things; he replaced the seal on the driver's side door, thus eliminating the wind noise. He also redirected the windshield wiper sprayers so that they actually spray the window. But alas, I have left Nissan a bit disappointed.

The dealer was unable to fix my third problem, my blue tooth issue. Here's the situation. My blue tooth for my phone works beautifully in the following three scenarios:
1. The radio is on, the phone rings, and I successfully answer it by pressing the display's Answer button.
2. The radio is off, the phone rings, and I successfully answer it by pressing the display's Answer button.
3. The radio is off, the phone rinigs, and I successfully answer it by pressing the Answer button on the phone.
But,
4. When the radio is on, the phone rings, I cannot successfully answer it on the phone. When I answer, the phone shows that the call is being routed through the headset, but Electra's radio stays on and I cannot hear the caller. They can hear me and the radio.

The dealer tried in vain to fix for number 4, but I received my car unfixed. The dealer claims that Nissan doesn't support Sprint as a carrier. I'm a bit suspicious, and I don't recall reading anything in my signed documents about proper carriers and the support of them. They promise it will be fixed sometime soon as Nissan catches up. I'm not happy with this response.

I am happy that 3 of 4 options work, and I can regularly use my phone. But trust me, this could have been a deal breaker back at deal making time. Now, we'll see how it plays out.

Oh so Blue...

Electra, my 2012 Nissan Leaf, and I just turned over 5000 miles. To celebrate, I decided to take her back to the dealer to get her tires rotated and a few others things, including a complaint about wind noise and an issue with my blue tooth. It's nice that I don't have to get an oil change!

I thought I'd be at the dealer for just a few hours, but it's two days later and I don't have Electra back. The dealer was nice enough to lend me Electra's cousin, a black 2012 Leaf named Bolt. So Bolt and I have been traversing the Tampa highways just fine as we await Electra's repair.

The dealer just called and said they will replace the seal around the driver door, which should take care of the wind noise. But the blue tooth issue is a bit more of a challenge. Here's the issue:

When I get a call and the radio is on, if I answer the call from my phone, the radio continues to play, the call is answered, but the caller cannot hear me and I cannot hear the caller. If the radio is on and I answer the phone from the display, the radio mutes and the caller can hear me, no problem. We've been able to recreate the problem on both Electra and Bolt. Is anyone else having this problem?

I have a Samsung Galaxy 3s on Sprint. The dealer is telling me the issue is the carrier....

More to follow. Hopefully I'll get Electra back tomorrow. But if you're having blue tooth issues, please let me know!

My Range Anxiety

When researching an electric vehicle, there is much discussion about "Range Anxiety." What is this? It's the fear of running out of "fuel" and being stuck on the side of the road in your electric vehicle. In the case of my 2102 Nissan Leaf, Electra, she ranges out at about 80 miles, based on  my average driving pattern which includes about 50 miles of interstate driving.

It's hard to put this in perspective to a ICE-driver, but let me put it this way. Let's say I were driving a "regular" gas-powered vehicle. Upon fill-up, I would have around 300-400 miles to go on a tank of gas. At the point that the fuel gauge drops to the yellow zone (or near the Empty) on the fuel gauge, I would need to look for a place to fill my tank. Some folks are comfortable being in the yellow zone and will drive the car until they know they are barely on fumes. Other folks can't stand to be in the yellow zone, and they'll fill their cars up, "just in case."

Driving an electric vehicle is like always being in the yellow zone. If you're comfortable knowing that you have about 60 miles left of fuel, and you're willing to keep driving until you know you're about to run out, that's the life of a Leaf driver. But if you're a no-yellow zone type of person, a Leaf might not be comfortable for you. You'll suffer range anxiety the entire time you own the car.

Me, I don't suffer at all. I know how far I drive, I know Electra will get me there and back, and I don't worry about "being on fumes", or at the tail end of my range. I know at some point, Electra will show me her turtle--that's the warning light that tells me she's about to turn off--but until then, I trust my range gauge and know I'll make it to the next charging station safely. Which, by the way, is usually my home.

Front-row parking and other benefits

Besides cheaper fuel, a cleaner tail pipe, and nicer car, there are other benefits of owning a Nissan Leaf like my 2012, Electra. I am starting to take these things for granted, but yesterday's example reiterated how fun owning an electric vehicle can be.

Down the street from my house is the main power plant for TECO, our local power company here in Tampa. Although it's one of the dirtiest power plants in the state, it's got a great PR campaign. Part of its campaign is to draw folks to its official Manatee Viewing Area. What used to be just a little deck that visitors could stand to view over 100 manatees as they come to over-winter on the warm run-off spewed from the power plant, has now become a giant tourist destination. They have an environmental center, gift shop, elevated walkway, viewing area, and snack bar. And a huge parking lot.

But alas, the giant parking lot is not giant enough. Yesterday was a cold Tampa day (around 45 degrees), which is perfect for manatee viewing. The colder Tampa Bay is, the more the manatees want to enjoy TECO's hot tub. My family and I decided to go see the manatees one last time before the water warms up, so Electra and the family headed to the viewing area. There was no place to park. Cars were double and tripled parked in the parking lot, and they overflowed to the main street leading up the viewing center.

Yet, right up front, closest to the manatees were two, green-painted parking spots for electric vehicles and accompanying Chargepoint chargers. Granted, one spot was ICED, but the other welcomed Electra and my family. We parked, plugged, and participated in the viewing while others circled the parking lot hoping for a spot. It was a treat not to have to wait for a spot and trudge through the packed parking lot.

Although Florida doesn't have many EV benefits as a state, there are other states that do. These benefits include acccess to HOV lanes and free tolls. I'm looking forward to taking advantage of these other benefits. But for now, I'll enjoy my front-row parking. Thank you TECO.

An Engine versus a Motor

This weekend I flew home from Boston, and I had the joy of sitting on the plane next to a Mechanical Engineer who specializes in solar, Ken. A truly interesting man who volunteers teaching Boys and Girls Club kids how to build robots, our conversation eventually turned to Electra, my 2012 Nissan Leaf. Ken, who lives in San Diego, was the first person whom I've talked to that actually knew a bit about the car. But he had questions.

How does the A/C pull from the battery and does it use Freon? I don't know.
What is the heater set up? Well, I know that there are heaters in the seats to keep from having to use the car's heater to drain the battery.
What is the voltage of the super charger? I don't know.
How do the lights pull power from the battery? Well, I know there's a solar panel.
How big is the solar panel? I raise my hands and hold them up to form a 12x6" rectangle, and state, "about that big."

Being the Mechanical Engineer that he is, my answers clearly weren't the level of detail he wanted, and I apologize for that, Ken! But I did get one question of mine answered, which I had asked a few folks prior to meeting Ken. Does my car have an engine or a motor?

After a dissertaion on the difference between engines and motors (chemical vs mechanical charges within the components), Ken advised me that Electra has a motor, and I should thus refer to her hood's privates as such.  So, thanks Ken, for clarifying that for me...and I'm sorry my answers to you were insufficient. It was super to meet you though!

Sirius seriousness..unbeLEAFable pricing

When buying a 2012 Nissan Leaf, I received a three-month free subscription to satellite radio. Since Electra's stereo had an XM button, there was no need to port over my existing subscription from my old car, which has a portable XM receiver. Thus, I gave my old receiver to my husband to enjoy Sirius on my paid subscription while I enjoyed my new temporary subscription in Electra.

Yet, a funny thing happened. My paid subscription was due to expire a day before my free 3-month trial. I had decided I would not renew either one due to the limited amount of time I spend in Electra and how I didn't see value I underwriting the cost. When I am in Electra, it is not for many miles, and I generally listen to easily found NPR. In the meantime, my husband whom drives many more miles than me, enjoyed his new found treat.

And then, I got the call. "Hi, this is Sirius XM radio. Would you like to renew your subscription?" I said no thank and that I found $200+ a year for the service didn't seem justifiable any more due to my lower mileage. After we sorted out which of my subscriptions she was actually calling about, the trial one with Electra or my husband's, she stated that I could renew for $30+tax for six months.

A bit shocked at the drastic price drop, I confirmed that I would get the same service I had been paying for at 1/4 the price. Confirmed! So she punched a few keys, killed Electra's service and coninued my husband's at the new price. Moral to the story: don't take Sirius' first offer to extend your trial. Go for the $30 for six months and enjoy XM for a bit longer.