Another Nissan Leaf question

Pfinn07

Hi All,

I am searching through threads and although this thread is over a year old there are similar situations to where I now find myself as I plan to travel to uk to purchase a 2013 Leaf in the next week or so, it is a flex with battery lease but the price makes it very attractive as I could pay 3 years at @£;70 per month and it will still be cheaper than the average asking price here in Ireland for similar cars.

Can anyone give me the benefit of their knowledge and experience of the best way to do this as I intend to fly over do the deal (all going well) and travel back by ferry that evening, I believe that there are charging facilities on the ferry but do I have to book this beforehand?

What is the best way to pay for car? my bank advised that online payment by bank transfer would be cheaper than bank draft.

If uk dealer can provide me with a temporary charging card will that work on this side as I have to travel from Dublin to Kerry? I contacted ESB but they need proof of purchase before issuing card.

Has anyone found the best cheap home charging unit yet?

From all that I can see there is no VRT to be paid but are there any other costs which I may have to pay starting with the nct/ reregistering?

Any other tips advice would be welcome.

Make sure you'll get a go ahead from Nissan UK for the battery lease to be used in Republic of Ireland before you travel! There is no Flex option here and I have a sneaking suspicion that could be deal breaker for you.

Pfinn07

samih wrote: »

Make sure you'll get a go ahead from Nissan UK for the battery lease to be used in Republic of Ireland before you travel! There is no Flex option here and I have a sneaking suspicion that could be deal breaker for you.

Thanks samih, I have been in touch with seller they are a uk Nissan dealer who has been checking that out, probably safer for me to double check with local Nissan dealer too maybe.

Yeah, make sure that you get a go ahead from Nissan UK. Problem is that the Flex is in essence an financial contract with Nissan and there maybe an issue if the proposer is not a resident.

If I remember correctly the car can be remotely disabled (maybe just charging?) to stop abuse of Flex.

Pfinn07

samih wrote: »

Yeah, make sure that you get a go ahead from Nissan UK. Problem is that the Flex is in essence an financial contract with Nissan and there maybe an issue if the proposer is not a resident.

If I remember correctly the car can be remotely disabled (maybe just charging?) to stop abuse of Flex.

Wow that is something to avoid.

I have just emailed dealer who said that from the information he has received that it should be ok but has requested my details so he can send a financial proposal with my info to see if it will accept Republic of Ireland address as a test without commitment as I would have to sign the proposal to be contracted, he says that warranty would be European not just uk.
I must admit I would be far more wary and sceptical if this was not a Nissan dealer.

DrPhilG

I was told by Nissan dealer in Derry that I could not buy a UK Flex and import it.

I don't think Flex can be transferred to Ireland just like the U.K Renault lease can;t be transferred but I could be wrong.

Nissan Ireland won't allow battery lease because they don't want the hassle of having to buy batteries, it will cost them a lot of money they're not prepared to have tied up for a few years.

NIMAN

Re: 2013 and the car getting improved battery with range/heating etc.

If you see a 2013 car with black upholstery, is that guaranteed to be the newer model?

DrPhilG

NIMAN wrote: »

Re: 2013 and the car getting improved battery with range/heating etc.

If you see a 2013 car with black upholstery, is that guaranteed to be the newer model?

Probable but not guaranteed as far as I recall. I think the foot/hand brake is the clearer giveaway. New model has a "handbrake" where your clutch would be. Old model has a button in the centre for the handbrake.

Another clue would the the boot floor (no hump on the newer model) and under the bonnet view where the new model have a "barbeque" instead of "rocker cover".

Check out my post from some time ago, it will show you the difference. Glad I saved it, this question comes up a lot.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=95910843#post95910843

NIMAN

Another question came to mind with these frosty mornings.

If I'm on night shift and its -2 outside, can I get the car to start warming itself up, say 15mins before I leave work, so that its not frozen over?

If so, is it easily done? Do you need to set it in advance, or can you just do it whenever?

NIMAN

NIMAN wrote: »

Another question came to mind with these frosty mornings.

If I'm on night shift and its -2 outside, can I get the car to start warming itself up, say 15mins before I leave work, so that its not frozen over?

If so, is it easily done? Do you need to set it in advance, or can you just do it whenever?

Yes you can, just turn on the heat via the app on your phone or via the carwings app about 15-20 mins before you want to leave, It will use a lot of energy to preheat when not plugged in at these cold temps and the heat pump won't activate until the car is turned on , so it will use the resistive only part of the heater, having said that below 5 deg C the heat pump becomes less efficient and more so from 0 deg and below.

You can also set the heated seats if you have them to on before you get out of the car and they will be warm when you get in, the steering should be warm also.

You can also set the timer in the car to have it warm when you get in, this is the easiest way and guarantees activation, this way is different. With the timer set in the car itself you set the departure time, and the car will be fully warm at this time, the app sets the time to come on only at that time or you can set it to come on immediately.

Bear in mind there can be a 5 min delay to remote activate the heating.

NIMAN

Thats amazing, isn't technology great.

NIMAN

NIMAN wrote: »

Thats amazing, isn't technology great.

Sure is, if you haven't far to go then it's terrific. I didn't pre heat before I got the work charge point, it uses a lot of energy but it warms up very quickly. I would only activate the preheating remotely if the windscreen was frozen to make it defrost quicker but if the car timer is used then it can start to preheat about 30 mins before the set departure time, it does off the mains anyway and it knows by the temperature when to start the heater, pretty good alright !

Now I have the work charger I preheat off that.

NIMAN

See I wouldn't have a work charger to charge off, so just how sore would it be to preheat the car 15mins before you left work?
What % of the battery could it use?

I would have a drive of approx 25miles to home after work.

It depends how cold it actually is.

Hard to say maybe 3% could be more, just take not the first time you do it and not the temperature when you get in after preheating and record the battery %. and compare the battery % to when you got to work or wherever.

You may only need 10 mins or less to get the windscreen clear enough to drive.The car does warm up amazingly fast.

DrPhilG

If I'm charging at home I have a timer set to preheat.

If I'm not, I use the app (which now works thankfully) and set it while I'm getting dressed.

It uses 2-3% of the battery these days, and we've had a few -2 nights lately. Although I usually park in the garage if it's baltic, even if not charging.

stesaurus

Does it really take 5 mins to activate when done through carwings?
That's seems a lot.

DrPhilG

s.welstead wrote: »

Does it really take 5 mins to activate when done through carwings?
That's seems a lot.

Not in my experience.

With the old Carwings app it generally didn't work at all.

Now that it has changed to Nissan Connect I find it works within 30 seconds.

stesaurus

DrPhilG wrote: »

Not in my experience.

With the old Carwings app it generally didn't work at all.

Now that it has changed to Nissan Connect I find it works within 30 seconds.

Seems much more reasonable. 5 mins would be useless to me as I usually only think of it 5 mins before leaving.
Can you lock/unlock doors like the i3?

No you can't lock or unlock the doors, seems pointless ?

It can take up to 5 mins but it usually works a lot faster now on the newer system.

If you're working just set the timer "Departure" to 5 mins after you normally get into the car because it usually stops pretty close to this time. If it happens that you have enough range then I wouldn't bother using the remote app.

Again the app and the timer in the car are different.

The timer in the car sets the time you want to leave so it's warm, setting the timer in the app or carwings sets it to actually come on at that time and will take anything up to 25 mins to get warm depending on the temp.

Anyone buying 2nd hand leafs need to ensure the previous owner has deregistered the car from carwings. I don't know if main dealers do this.

Padraig Mor

The problem with preheating (as with the Climate 'Auto' setting) is that it only turns on the heating, not the air conditioning. So you get into a warm car - with fogged up windows! These can take several minutes to clear, meaning you've saved no time overall. A bizarre setup by Nissan.

Padraig Mor

Padraig Mor wrote: »

The problem with preheating (as with the Climate 'Auto' setting) is that it only turns on the heating, not the air conditioning. So you get into a warm car - with fogged up windows! These can take several minutes to clear, meaning you've saved no time overall. A bizarre setup by Nissan.

AC won't come on at very low temps in most cars I believe. I could be wrong.

If you set the timer in the car then there will be no fogged up windows. I never have fogged up windows after the timer preheat, I will have fogged up windows if I set the heat to come on via the app and don't give it enough time.

The car timer is the best way for preheating to work because it knows the proper time to switch on and off.

Padraig Mor

Deleted User wrote: »

AC won't come on at very low temps in most cars I believe. I could be wrong.

Always came on in my previous cars AFAIR.

set the timer in the car then there will be no fogged up windows. I never have fogged up windows after the timer preheat, I will have fogged up windows if I set the heat to come on via the app and don't give it enough time.

The car timer is the best way for preheating to work because it knows the proper time to switch on and off.

Interesting - so does the timer turn on A/C, whereas the app doesn't? I use the app rather than timer as depending on what time I leave in the morning, the weather, and how much charge I have, I prefer to just choose whether to run it on the morning itself.

Still can't believe the climate 'auto' setting (i.e. when you're actually driving) turns off the A/C - what a strange way to set it up!

Padraig Mor

Padraig Mor wrote: »

Always came on in my previous cars AFAIR.

Interesting - so does the timer turn on A/C, whereas the app doesn't? I use the app rather than timer as depending on what time I leave in the morning, the weather, and how much charge I have, I prefer to just choose whether to run it on the morning itself.

Still can't believe the climate 'auto' setting (i.e. when you're actually driving) turns off the A/C - what a strange way to set it up!

I know on my old 2003 Audi A4 and 2002 Passat the manual stated the AC compressor won't come on at temps below 5 deg C.

I don't know at what point the Leaf turns on the AC, as far as the ac light, that only comes on when the weather is warm and even at that it't not very good in Auto, I tend to have to turn it down way lower and use manual. Another trick is to make sure Eco isn't pressed which limits heat and ac output. But I don;t think it effects preheating.

A2020

Jaybor wrote: »

OK we are getting the leaf.
Myself and the family are flying over to the UK on Tuesday morning and getting the ferry back that night for our little adventure.
Im not entirely convinced but my brother says if we dont like it he'll buy it off us, so we dont have anything to worry about.
First I tried to buy one in the Nissan dealers in Ireland, but I really get the impression they dont want to sell them to you. Lots of little lie and tricks in there.
Then I looked at 2nd hand ones in the Nisaan dealers and online in Ireland and they are almost the same price as a new one for a two year old one.
And the few Nissan dealers I went to, I had a look at their fast chargers. They would be impossible to get a car in to to charge. They are surrounded by parked second hand cars you would have to move them all out of the way to get a charge.

I decided on a 2011 Leaf with 11,000 miles on the clock advertised for £11000 in a main dealer and got him down from £11000 to £8500 and a bottle of whiskey.
It comes with the granny cable and the fast charger is installed.
I still havent found out how much the ESB will charge to install the charge point at home.
The car doesnt come with a 6KW charger. It would be nice if I could go into a Nissan dealer and get them to add a 6KW charger into it. They probably wont though, but i'll check.

There is a whole heap of stuff i havent figured out too.
I also have to buy a cable to be able to use the standard chargers. I think its called a type 1 to type 2 cable.
I dont know if I can charge it without a card in the UK or if i could even get a uk card before having the car.
I dont know how to get a charging card in Ireland yet.
I dont know if I can call Nissan if I run out of juice and how much it will cost.
I dont know if the AA can charge me up if I called them.
Im not too sure if the warranty transfers to Ireland but I think it will.
I dont know if carwings will work or if I can turn the heating on and off etc with my phone on a uk car when it comes to Ireland.
I am just assuming that there is an option to switch it all from miles to Km in the controls.

Its the weekend now so i cant find out about anything really.

I'll come back and post how i got on next week.

How did you get the dealer down in price we are looking to buy one from uk just looking them up online. How did the trip go and the registering the car after

BoatMad

riginally Posted by Jaybor

I still havent found out how much the ESB will charge to install the charge point at home.

The Esb have nothing to do with second hand installs, you can buy the EVSE yourself and get any competent RECI electrician to install it

The car doesnt come with a 6KW charger. It would be nice if I could go into a Nissan dealer and get them to add a 6KW charger into it. They probably wont though, but i'll check.

cant be retrofitted

There is a whole heap of stuff i havent figured out too.

I also have to buy a cable to be able to use the standard chargers. I think its called a type 1 to type 2 cable.

yes , many places on the internet to buy one

I dont know if I can charge it without a card in the UK or if i could even get a uk card before having the car.

cant answer that, but in general you need a a card

I dont know how to get a charging card in Ireland yet.

Apply to the ESB with proof of registration

I dont know if I can call Nissan if I run out of juice and how much it will cost.

european wide freed three year roadside assit

I dont know if the AA can charge me up if I called them.

they will

Im not too sure if the warranty transfers to Ireland but I think it will.

yes it will

I dont know if carwings will work or if I can turn the heating on and off etc with my phone on a uk car when it comes to Ireland.
I am just assuming that there is an option to switch it all from miles to Km in the controls.

make sure the old user deletes the account and contact nissan , they can reset it to work in Ireland

MJ434

How many units of electricityc does a leaf 24kwh use to charge fully?

air

MJ434 wrote: »

How many units of electricityc does a leaf 24kwh use to charge fully?

Probably about 24!
Not being smart, the usable capacity is about 22kWh so allowing for charger inefficiency it probably takes about 24kWh to fill it from empty.

MJ434

air wrote: »

Probably about 24!
Not being smart, the usable capacity is about 22kWh so allowing for charger inefficiency it probably takes about 24kWh to fill it from empty.

Would people recommend to install a night saving meter ? Currently pay 14c inc VAT per unit

oinkely

It depends on how empty the battery is when you plug it in. I think a rough guestimate would be to add 10% to the KW to allow for charging inefficiencies. So if you plug it in at 0% you can assume it will need around 27kw to get it back up to 100%. At night rate leccy you are looking at approximately €2 for that.

Bear in mind that you will very rarely plug it in at 0%.

My leaf tells me that I am averaging 15.4 kw/hr per 100 km for the past 5500 km. I calculate that to be 15.4*110%(to allow for charging inefficiencies) = 17 kw/hr per 100 km @ €0.08 per kw/hr (my night rate unit cost) giving me about €1.40 per 100 km.

5500/100*1.4= €77 odd euro. That is if i pay for all of the leccy myself. At the moment i don't as i use a public standard charger almost daily while in work. Won't last forever but nice while it does.

The same 5500 km in my van would have cost me 5.5 tanks of diesel at around €100 a pop, so pretty much €550 euro.

A2020

Does the old user have to delete from nissan connect a/c or is there something else they need to delete from.

oinkely

i would recommend installing a night rate meter if you can move about half of your usage to take advantage of the cheaper unit cost. We did before we got the leaf(s) and started running the dishwasher, washing machine and bread maker at night. Since February we have used 700 day units and 1100 night units. Big savings for us, even after paying the increased standing charge.

Our night rate is €0.08 per unit and i think the day rate is €0.16 per unit including vat (IIRC)

slicedpanman

A2020 wrote: »

Does the old user have to delete from nissan connect a/c or is there something else they need to delete from.

Yes they do... We had this problem when we got ours - couldn't setup an account as the previous owner was still registered.

You can call Nissan customer services and they'll talk you through getting it changed. IIRC they'll need you to email a copy of your licence and the registration cert of the car with your details on it

The Leaf has about 21 Kwh of usable energy max. + 10% because the charger is a pretty good 90% efficient.

So if 0 Kwh dead pushing into the driveway then that would be 23.1 Kwh for a 0-100% charge and this is on a good healthy battery.

My night rate costs 8.4 C/Kwh, that would cost 1.93 for a 100% charge getting about 110-130 kms. If you don't need a full charge then use the "charge to 80%" function in the timer which will help extend battery life long term, batteries don't like to sit at 100% charge or near.

The night meter costs 50 Euro extra a year but I run the washing machine at night and use the immersion in the warmer weather when I don't need the heating.

I'm using about 50% or a bit less of my electricity at night, I even run AC in the bedroom when it's warm and humid all night.

If we could only get paid a grant for installing solar PV and get paid for the electricity to the grid it would save so much energy. Solar PV has a lot of potential in Ireland.

MJ434

When i try to update nearest charging stations , it appears NO SERVICE . Anyone have a fix for this?

air

It will do the return trip at that speed but even a slow speed EVSE charge while you're at work would make it a lot more comfortable.

air

I think you'd need to drop your speed to 110kph or a little less to be comfortable in winter.
See the top line on this page (Addendum: For the 30kWh LEAF)
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=101293

You don't need a charge point but even if you could manage to convince them to install an outdoor 13A socket you'd be sorted.
Even a 24kWh leaf would be plenty if you had that.

Deedsie

Deedsie wrote: »

Hi,

I am considering getting an Electric car, possibly moving to a new office soon which will require a daily 140 - 150 km round trip commute along the M7 at 120 km/h motorway speeds. 98% of the journey is along the M7.

I like the idea of the 30kwh Nissan Leaf SVE but I am unsure if it has the range required for my needs?

Anyone here any recommendations?

In the 30 Kwh you'd have to reduce your speed to maybe 100-110 kph, at 120 Kph you won't make it.

At 120 Kph expect to get 127 Kms range to stopping on the road. This would be an efficiency of around 21-22 Kwh/100 kms or 5.44 Kms per Kwh, there is 28 Kwh usable in the battery.

Reducing to 100-105 Kph should get 5.74 Kms per Kwh or 17.5 Kwh/100 kms or 159 Kms.

If you warm up the car without connecting to the mains it will use more battery, lots of surface water and very stormy headwinds.

A 10 min fast charge will make a lot of difference. The 30 Kwh charges faster too and it's not a ideal thing to run the battery to 10% and below daily. But if you have to you have to and I wouldn't worry too much about it, keeping the battery topped up is always best if you can.

Work charging would be ideal, all you need is a 13 amp out door socket and a granny lead and the correct term for this is (portable EVSE)

BoatMad

I have a 30 kwh 2016 leaf, and do a 130 Km round trip daily that is 90% motorway, if your commute is genuinely 150km, you will not reliably make that in the 30 Kwh, typical motorways hills tend to consume about 10km of range for every 1Km actually travelled in my experience , hence unless its dead flat , you have no surface water, reasonable ambients and no adverse wind, and you keep to 100kmph , well its a maybe , and you'll never be comfortable

wait a year or two

If you can manage fast charging you'll be fine.

BoatMad

[Deleted User] wrote: »

If you can manage fast charging you'll be fine.

I would not recommend any EV at present where you must fast charge to complete your daily commute. You will experience delays and could be compromised if that charger goes out of action.

For longer occasional ( 1-2 times a week) "'leisure " journeys , ie where travel time is not critical, then using the fast charger network is fine

Your requirements means waiting a year or two, unless you can avail of workplace charging , which could be as simple as a extension lead out a window !

Deedsie

Deedsie wrote: »

@Mad Lad @Boatmad

Thanks for the replies, unfortunately I may accept that I won't be owning an EV for a while. The commute is just that bit too long... Won't be moving to the new office until September 2017 at the earliest so who knows what will have changed in the EV world between now and then. There might be a very reasonably priced EV released January 2018 that has a 300km range at 120km/h speeds :-)

I'll keep an eye on this forum anyway as I find the subject very interesting and informative.

At 120 Kph speeds in a 60 Kwh EV you might get 277 kms at about 22 Kwh/100 kms efficiency however how much of your commute is actually at 120 kph ?

A lot of the M7 from the M9/M7 merger crawls or at best goes at about 80 Km/h then it speeds up again from the big ball a little then stops starts all the way to Newlands Cross. So you may be quiet surprised how far you can actually travel in the 30 Kwh in commuter traffic. Electrics love traffic, while you're consuming very little energy ICE engines are working at their most inefficient.

The same applies coming home, the traffic on the N7/M7 is horrible.

My efficiency varies in commuter traffic from about 15.5 Kwh/100 kms to 18 max.

My Average since buying the car is 17.5 Kwh/100 kms.

So if you were to get 17.5 Kwh/100 kms you'd get 159 Kms but that's the absolute max and very cold weather, high winds and surface water will increase that a lot.

If you were to reduce your speeds a bit it can make a difference.

What I'd do if I were you is get a test drive in the 30 Kwh for a few days, at least to get the feel for EV driving. As I said previously, the 30 Kwh charges a good bit faster at the fast chargers.

A 40 Kwh battery at 22 Kwh/100 kms and say 38 Kwh usable would give you 177 kms to empty. Again, how much of that commute is actually at 120 Kph ?

cros13

I commute from Portlaoise to Kilmainham on the M7 everyday.
Energy consumption in an i3 is 10-11kWh on the way in and 13-14kWh on the way back. My total commute is 187km door-to-door.

Elevation change is 70-80 meters. At 120km/h in an i3 on a flat road the energy consumption is 19-20kWh/100km.
It does better below 90km/h than the Leaf and worse above due to the aerodynamic differences.

I usually set the traffic assist cruise to 130km/h and leave work early so I hit less traffic. Though I do occasionally exceed 150km/h if the traffic conditions allow.

A2020

Hi I have my vrt inspection at nct tomorrow I have the original uk log book but no certificate of permanent export will I still be able to get it done. I see the section 4 on v5c form is still attached as the guy at uk nissan told me that was just for a tax refund.

batman2000

Looking at getting a 2012 Leaf from a Irish Nissan dealer.
How do I know if it's a 24Kwh/30Kwh or what the charger is 3Kw or 6Kw?
Trying to do a lot of reading on this, it's all new !

Thanks,

batman2000

batman2000 wrote: »

Looking at getting a 2012 Leaf from a Irish Nissan dealer.
How do I know if it's a 24Kwh/30Kwh or what the charger is 3Kw or 6Kw?
Trying to do a lot of reading on this, it's all new !

Thanks,

IN 2012 the Leaf was only available with the 24 Kwh battery and 3.3 kw charger.

The upgraded model came in late 2013 but some Gen I leafs were still registered in that time.

Easy to tell, the upgraded Leaf had mostly the darker interior and the upgraded leaf Climate control panel had a separate Heat and AC button, the original had only an AC button.

If your budget can stretch then I highly advise a 2014 which has a much improved battery, heat pump heater which is much more efficient and the option of a 6.6 Kw charger, you might be lucky to get the 6.6 on a 2nd hand 2014. It's highly useful at non fast chargers, these are the green icons on the esb charge point map, has saved me many trips to a fast charger , not to mention the time waiting.

IN the menu on the dash where it gives the charge times, it shows the estimated charge times for the 3.3 and 6.6 kw, if it has not got the 6.6 kw then it just shows the estimated time.

Best of luck, EV motoring is really great, I'll never go back to ICE as my main car ever again !

This is how you know the Leaf (2014 + ) has the 6.6 Kw charger. In the menu you'll see this. Which is obviously for the 30 Kwh battery given by the charge time.

MicraBoy

So we are looking at consolidating are car position. We currently have an economical 131 Fiat 500 and an uneconomical 2000 Honda Accord Coupe. A friend suggested I look at the Nissan Leaf as we had been talking about the Juke. I'm totally on board with EV and hybrid, but we are financially hamstrung and realistically need whatever we can get for the Fiat to fund the new car. I noticed Nissan have a good scrappage offer of €4000 for new models, which I could probably use the Honda against and then private sale the Fiat for cash, but that still leaves us well short. Is it possible to get any kind of similar deal on older Leafs?

Our current usage of the cars is minimal actually. I do a 15km commute, tend to use the Luas, but require the car every now and then for early start and late finish. Charging at work is not an option, but at home is. The other half is also taking the bus as working in town. So its more a weekender car/popping up to gym/shopping etc. Ideally we want something not older than the Fiat. The economy with the Leaf is a no brainer, but is the compromise for older Leaf worth it?