My only recent bummer was a busted quick charger. I drove lots of errands and went to stop at the Nissan dealership near my home to charge. I am trying to always keep my battery pack above 10% and this would have been close. (In other words, I would have made it home but it would have been below my goal of 10%.) When I got there - an ERROR message. (Some units seem more prone to this than others . . . )
Since it is private charger, (and FREE!) it does not go "green' on the ChargePoint app, it's always white. (With the other ones, you can tell if it's ready.) I did call ChargePoint so they could report it out of order. They did find another one 7.6 miles away - which is pretty close. But I live only 5 miles away from this charger. She was also quick to tell me that this other charger did have a $5 fee. (I love that you always get a knowledgeable human when you call ChargePoint.)
Luckily, the Nissan dealer also has the slower chargers (but faster than 110 V) right next door. They were charging up two 2015 Leafs. I unplugged one and used it for about 30 minutes. The kids and I walked around the parking lot, admired the sunset, and played on the parking curbs (a line of like 20 balance beams by empty parking spaces.) I went from 14% to 21%. Not bad! :) We left when they started getting fussy. (For me, 1% is equal to one mile in Eco mode.)
My husband actually went on n adventure last week in the Leaf, driving out to Union, MO on back roads. He hypermiled and brought up the overall average to 4.7 miles per KWh. The highest he could get consistently was 5.7 miles per KWh. (He forgot to take any photos.) Now the average I back down to 4.3 miles per KWh. What do other folks average? Post below!
I will try to post some videos of how it works with the kiddos. Such a GREAT family car. I used to think I could hold out for a hybrid minivan, now I might hold out for an electric one! Oh my!
National Drive Electric Week is coming up. Attend an event near you!!
Even thought I drive mostly highway to work, I have found ways to get nearly 5.0 miles/KWH. I take Highway 141 rather than I-270 to get to my work. That allows me to drive significantly slower which is much more efficient for my Leaf. Also I carpool, most days, with my wife that saves even more $$$. :-)
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