[kimble]

Hi there! Nice to meet you all! I bought a nissan leaf last month, but with this quarantine, I sadly haven't had much time to enjoy it.
Since this is my first electric car, and I feel a bit like a newbie, I'm asking you what mistakes did you make with your first electric car? It could be interesting to know for people like me in order to avoid repeating it

I'm all ears!
Thanks folks!

 

[husoi]

I didn't research properly and end up with no RFID card to charge at CPS.
The dealer didn't knew anything about how you're supposed to charge your car.
Another mishap was trying to drive from Edinburgh to London in Jan.
On a 30kw Leaf that was a proper adventure that took 12 hrs mostly be cause I had the car for a couple months only and I was still under the range anxiety syndrome.
Lesson learned, get to know how far you can get on 1 charge and use it as much as you can. You will be fine as long you allow for plan B for a faulty station.

 

[cah197]

I test drove a Tesla.

This resulted in me buying three Teslas.

 

[TomH]

I test drove a Tesla.

This resulted in me buying three Teslas.

Was that a mistake?!

 

[80698]

My first time driving an EV was also my first time driving an automatic. My mistake was nearly giving myself whiplash while my left leg instinctively searched for a clutch pedal and only found the brake, which it pushed down with significant force and gave me a nasty shock!

Not my mistakes, but especially if you have a new generation of LEAF, Remember that AC charging is by Type 2 connection, but rapid charging is by DC Chademo - Even if the rapid charger you visit has a type 2 connector, it won't rapid charge your car. That's a pretty common thing I see new users doing.

Other things to do are being prepared to avoid hassle later. If you ever do long trips, plan ahead. Make sure you have all the RFID Cards or apps that you need for using the chargers on the way. Plan your journey and make sure the places you want to plug in are reported as working on Zap Map or Plugshare apps, and have a plan B, just in case something goes wrong.

If you take advantage of cheap off peak electricity to charge overnight at home, remember the timer will remain in place even if not at home. If you plug in during the day at home or while visiting a public charge post, make sure you cancel this timer in order to charge straight away.

Finally, if your car isn't doing much right now, be sure to keep the battery around 50%. Don't leave it fully charged or with a low battery for long periods of time, as this can cause harm and degrade your battery pack.

 

[cah197]

Was that a mistake?!

I regret nothing.

 

[TomH]

My drive slopes upwards towards the road meaning that you rev the engine on an ICE before letting the clutch in when reversing out. First time in my Golf GTE I shot out at an alarming speed just avoided ending up in the front garden of the house opposite.

And it's ever so easy to exceed a speed limit due to the silence.

 

[cah197]

Even the new Zoe still has that feature. It seems to provide the same power and pedal modulation in reverse as it does going forward.

A bit scary if you’re not aware of it.

 

[DragonQ]

My first time driving an EV was also my first time driving an automatic. My mistake was nearly giving myself whiplash while my left leg instinctively searched for a clutch pedal and only found the brake, which it pushed down with significant force and gave me a nasty shock!

Ouch. My main car hasn't been a manual for around 4 years now. Would never go back. The only advantage I can see of getting a manual to casual drivers is the cost.

And it's ever so easy to exceed a speed limit due to the silence.

Ha, yeah that's true. "Better get up to 30...oh wait I already am!"

 

[Edd Beesley]

Hi there! Nice to meet you all! I bought a nissan leaf last month, but with this quarantine, I sadly haven't had much time to enjoy it.
Since this is my first electric car, and I feel a bit like a newbie, I'm asking you what mistakes did you make with your first electric car? It could be interesting to know for people like me in order to avoid repeating it

I'm all ears!
Thanks folks!

Set it to charge to 100% and plugged it in every time I got home. Should have used the 80% mode and the charge timer. I used 100%, because 80% (only 55 miles!) didn't feel like enough. Now, 6 years later a 100% charge only gets me 40 miles...

 

[andrew*debbie]

I'm asking you what mistakes did you make with your first electric car?

Had several close calls with pedestrian tourists. They stepped out into the road without looking.

I now always play the radio loud when I'm driving slowly and there are people nearby.

 

[evescu]

Charging too often was my biggest mistake. I can’t charge at home, but then I always wanted to have 100% at the end of the day/start of next day, even if I knew I won’t use more than 10-15%... all that range anxiety for nothing really... Took me quite some time to kick the habit.

nowadays I charge much less often and I have another issue: the new car has so much range that I start journeys without checking if I have enough juice... living on the edge!

 

[mikegs]

what mistakes did you make with your first electric car?

None.

(Didn't buy a Leaf )

 

[Richard Greenough]

Shortly after buying an Ampera, while experimenting with the mode change button (sport, mountain, normal, etc.), I hit the power on/off switch by mistake. Had to coast to the side of the road to figure out how to restore power
Power button needs a hinged cover like the emergency buttons in the Apollo spacecraft.

 

[evescu]

Shortly after buying an Ampera, while experimenting with the mode change button (sport, mountain, normal, etc.), I hit the power on/off switch by mistake. Had to coast to the side of the road to figure out how to restore power
Power button needs a hinged cover like the emergency buttons in the Apollo spacecraft.

That's quite dangerous, on most cars that button does not to anything if the car is moving... At least not in the ones I drove, but was never in an Ampera

 

[Trevor Larkum]

If you're relying on public charging, particularly Ecotricity, make sure your phone is fully charged. The only thing worse than trying to charge late at night in a rainy carpark, is finding your phone is dead.

 

[HandyAndy]

Not checking the health of my 12V battery. This caused me a contactor-fused flatbed breakdown dealer repair. EVs seem to have a knack of destroying these in short order, maybe the traditional large-cranking-amps design isn't really suited to EVs, which perhaps need a deep-discharge leisure-style battery instead. I recommend having a voltmeter plugged into the cigarette lighter socket, or similar!

 

[AdRB93]

Bought a 2011 Nissan Leaf with 10 bars battery health while needing a monthly trip of 160 miles. Required 3 stops and about 4 1/2 to 5 hours each way.

 

[Fuzzer1234567]

Having too much faith in the public charging network. My Zoe is perfect as a City car these days as i have a nice reliable charger at home.

For long distances, can't beat a diesel.1000% less stressful

 

[80698]

Having too much faith in the public charging network. My Zoe is perfect as a City car these days as i have a nice reliable charger at home.

For long distances, can't beat a diesel.1000% less stressful

I think that's mostly just a case of Zoe being super picky with what charger it wants to work with due to the strict, over-cautious safety checks it does prior to each charging session.

Sure, some chargers aren't reliable. But I've managed to do many long trips and average 45k electric miles per year for the last 5 years without home charging. At no point have I ever even considered the possibility of touching a diesel vehicle. When it comes to your next EV purchase, another Zoe probably isn't a car I would recommend if you drive any distance regularly and want to make an EV your only car.