Charging stations installed at Westfield Carindale Shopping Centre

Westfield Carindale Shopping Centre has installed new charging stations (in addition to the Tesla destination chargers). These are compatible with J1772 cars. On the bottom floor, creek road entry (Aldi etc.). You will need a charge point card or use the charge point smart phone application. Thanks to Gary Crighton for the pictures. Not sure when it is officially opened, but fingers crossed it is soon.

LEAF Battery Repair

Unfortunately, my LEAF suddenly lost 30km of range (122km on a full charge, down to 90km) and regen was disabled until there was about 4 bars remaining. About September 2016, my 8th bar disappeared. Also, I noticed the energy usage increased, which is probably due to regen not working.

I took my LEAF back to the dealer and they found three modules were lower than others. The modules were removed along with the modules either side and run through the machine (cycles the module). The nine modules took five hours each. The modules were put back into the pack, which was then cycled twice (full to empty).

On further inspection, another five modules were found to be lower than the others. So the five and their neighbours (another ten) were removed and run through the machine, which took almost three weeks. The modules were put back into the pack, which was then cycled twice, but they did not raise their level to the others. Nissan replaced the five modules, which took two months to arrive from the U.S.A.

Once the new modules arrived, they were installed and the pack was cycled twice. Unfortunately it did not bring back my range, but it did fix the regen. My LEAF had been at the dealer for six months, so I had the 3G TCU upgrade installed and also replaced the front struts (had rusted).

Nissan ordered me a replacement battery, which will take approximately two months to arrive. So I can drive my LEAF in the mean time. Which is good, because the dealer has very limited space in the service department, and I miss driving electric. I was quite surprised how much I missed my LEAF. The old N16 pulsar still drives nicely, but the engine noise causes the radio to sound distorted, even when I play with the settings. Also the transmission of an I.C.E. car really annoys me, especially at round abouts. Petrol is very expensive and there is always a long line at the service station near me, especially if the price is low. Insert more whinging here. I definitely will never purchase an I.C.E. car again.

100,000 km travelled and still rolling along happily

After 100,000km, my LEAF still drives like it did when it was new (but not as far on a single charge). I had the tyres replaced, a few air conditioner filters and two brake flushes. I thought the eight capacity bar would go before I could travel 100,000km, but it never did. So the battery capacity fade really does slow as the battery is used.

100,000km travelled, still 9 bars of capacity

My electricity price changed twice, once when the carbon tax was introduced and another when it was abolished (tariff 11 pricing). The price never returned to the pre carbon tax price :(   I only record the cost per kWh, not the daily connection fee, which also increased.

kWh / 100km

$ AUD / 100km

After 100,000 km, my LEAF total fuel, tyre and servicing costs were $6,492, less than the cost of petrol for my old 2001 Toyota Corolla $9,000 (7500 litres @ 1.20c / litre). If you add tyres and services for the Corolla, you could add another $2,000. (10 x $150 services and $500 tyres).  I stopped recording petrol prices in 2012 when I bought my LEAF. Caltex provide historical pricing until 2015  http://www.caltex.com.au/LatestNews/FuelPricing/Pages/HistoricalPricing.aspx

The other column is car repayments, which I never include in the running costs as I am a private purchaser and will own the car (treat it like an asset). Also insurance costs are not included.

Expenses to 100,000km

New tyres

Today I took my LEAF for a new tyres. I decided to purchase the original spec tyres, as they lasted 99,000km. The tread ware indicators were still below the tread, but the smaller channels had worn down. It cost $637 for 4 x Bridgestone EP150 205/55R16, which included a wheel alignment. Fingers crossed they will last another 99,000km.

Old Bridgestone EP150 (after 99,492km)

New Bridgestone EP150

90,000km

Another 10,000 km have passed and LEAF keeps going happily.

The 90,000 km service was performed ($89) and they updated the firmware (first time since it was built). I think this fixes a corner case where the battery can reach 100% and the charger does not disengage immediately.

HV Battery 293A0-3NA0C --> 293A0-3NA0D
Charger/PD Module 296A0-3NA5A --> 296A0-3NA7A

Since the hot weather rolled in, 80% charge is going 100 km easily. When it was cooler,  I would drive to work and the battery would report five bars remaining, but when I would get back to the car in the afternoon, it would report four bars. After driving about two km, the battery would read five again. I have to take the car back to the dealer in January to have the battery checked (before the battery warranty expires).

Graph of electricity usage from the EVSE

Costs for 90,000 km ish

80,000 km in a Nissan LEAF

My Nissan LEAF has made it to 80,000 km on the original tyres!

The energy consumption has dropped due to moving to the Redlands, which is relatively flat compared to Logan. I have not done any more long trips as it has been very busy at work :(

I still have 9 capacity bars. I am not aware of any range loss as winter obscures the maximum distance I can travel. My car warranty expires next week, but the battery warranty is still valid until 100,000 km. I can't wait for the rumoured 30 kWh battery (I would buy the battery upgrade if available).

For approximately 2 months, braking on hills induced pulsing between regen and friction brakes (very annoying). It has not happened since the 80,000 km service. So I guess the replacement of the brake fluid reset something?

80,000km and still travelling along happily

Cost per 100km 

kWh per 100km

Stats for my LEAF

Service Costs

During the May AEVA Brisbane meeting, some new EV owners came along and let us look at their cars. This is the largest number of EVs that I can remember coming to a meeting.

Tesla Model S, Mitsubishi iMiEV, Suzuki Swift, Honda City

Everyone loves checking out the Tesla Model S

Everyone loves checking out the Tesla Model S

Simone and Dave inspecting the BMW i3

Mitsubishi iMiEV and Nissan LEAF

Awesome custom converted Mazda MX5

I also attended the Logan Eco Action Festival at the Logan Griffith University campus (Meadowbrook) in my Nissan LEAF with other members of the AEVA (who brought a BMW i3, Zero Electric Motorbike and Custom Suzuki Swift). We were next to the Mitsubishi PHEV display. It was a great day and I met lots of people interested in Electric Vehicles.

L.E.A.F. 2015

I was lucky to get a free pass to the Australian Energy Storage Conference http://www.australianenergystorage.com.au from Gabriel and Kymberly at Recharging NSW http://rechargingnsw.com.au Was a good conference and I learnt lots about battery storage and how the grid operates with renewal energy.

Recharging NSW display 

ELMOFO Electric Radical SREV

Next weekend I am going with other AEVA members to the RACQ Motorfest. Hoping to chat to lots of people about my car. I better give it a clean. The interior has scratches and scrapes from moving house.

Trip to Byron Eco Park

This weekend I attended an AEVA Electric Vehicle display at the Byron Solar Revolution in the Byron ECO park (Tyagarah, near Byron Bay). It is about 340 km round trip and needs four charges.

I drove 72 km from Cleveland to the Gold Coast using the motorway. It was 6:30 am, so I drove at 90 km/h (is a 110 km/h zone) to lessen the charge time. I used one less bar than a previous attempt using the side roads.

Cleveland to Surfers Paradise using Pacific motorway

Arrived about 7:30am at the Bruce Bishop Carpark in Surfers Paradise

While waiting for the car to charge, I went to the coffee club for breakfast. When I got back I cleaned the car ready for the display.

Took about 2.5 hours to charge

The next leg was from Surfers Paradise to Tyagarah (about 80 km). When I entered the motorway at Tweed Heads, it began raining heavily and the wind was blowing hard from the side. I could barely see the cars in front, so I dropped to 80 km/h. It stopped raining about Brunswick Heads. Which was good as showing cars in the rain is a pain. I arrived with 20 km on the range meter. On a sunny day, I think I would have had 30+ km left.

I put the car on charge, but was only able to leave it for 90 minutes as the power point was not where the display was. It was enough for the range meter to display 50 km.

Surfers to Tyagarah using the Pacific motorway

Our display - Outlander, iMiEV, Custom Echo, Custom Suzuki, LEAF

I left for the Chargepoint at the Macadamia Castle at Knockrow. I had never been there before and didn't realise the hill was so steep. I travelled 20 km and had 10 km on the range meter. I parked under the solar canopy and plugged in about 6 pm. Luckily there is free wifi, so I had a snooze and read some forums.

Tyagarah to Knockrow up the gigantic hill

Parked under the solar canopy as it started to rain

It took approximately 3 hours to charge. During this time a huge thunderstorm rolled through. One thunderclap was really loud and made me jump in my seat.

The range meter was lower than normal as I had climbed the hill

I set off from Knockrow with 99 km on the range meter and 96 ish km to travel. Carwings warned me multiple times about not being able to make it to the destination, but once I descended the giant hill, the range meter stayed on 95 km for about 20 minutes. It rained the whole way to Surfers Paradise, but the wind was low. I stayed on 80 km/h as the road was super quiet (most of the time there were no headlights in sight). There was a lot of traffic round Broadbeach, so it took longer than I expected. I made it to Surfers Paradise about 10:30pm with 18 km left.

Knockrow to Surfers Paradise using the Pacific motorway

Arrived with heaps to spare

I was super hungry as I had not had anything to eat since 5pm, so I went back to the coffee club for dinner. Not sure why I went back to the same place (normally I prefer to try out new places I wander past). It stopped raining, so I took a walk down main beach and headed back to the car. I charged to 80% this time as it was 1:00am and I was tired.

Off home from Surfers Paradise

I drove about 80 km/h on the motorway with hardly any cars on the road. Sailed in home with 20 km to spare.

Home at last

Next time tho, I will book a place in Byron Bay and stay for the weekend, much too nice a place to only visit for a few hours :)

Energy consumption

 9 KW/h for 72km -> 12.5 KWh / 100km BNE to GC
15KW/h for 98km -> 15.3 KWh / 100km GC to Knockrow
 9 KW/h for 96km ->   9.3 KWh / 100km Knockrow to GC
10KW/h for 72km -> 13.8 KWh / 100km GC to BNE