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.