Nissan Leaf has repeatedly occupied the first lines in the sales ratings of electric passenger cars. The Japanese quickly adapted even to the roads in the Scandinavian countries, where winter is as fierce as ours. The classic C-class five-door hatchback was first presented to the general public in Tokyo in 2009. Already in 2010, the Japanese company launched mass production of an electric car, and seven years later a second-generation model was released. Nissan Leaf is popular in the USA, Asia, and Europe. In the CIS states, sales of the hatchback were never opened, but this did not prevent Japanese electric cars from entering our roads.
Charging the Nissan Leaf hatchback battery
More recently, Nissan reported that, according to a company study, nearly 90% of motorists who bought a Leaf electric car would recommend it to their friends. Manufacturers use the Nissan V platform in the model, which explains its similarity in functionality with the Nissan Pulsar / Tiida. The compact hatchback lives up to its name not only with the cunning squint of the front optics, reminiscent of a leaf but also with the futuristic body shapes, which, although not very much, still stands out on the road. The hatchback doesn't consume much energy, but its appetite increases in winter, so charging the Nissan Leaf is a major problem for an electric car. There are three ways to revive an empty battery:
- Standard charger.
- Fast charger.
- SuperCharge.
The driver always has an option in reserve with charging from a station located in the city or on the highway, but in our country, this infrastructure is still very poorly developed. To find all available stations on the map, you can use the online map of charging stations in Ukraine.
For charging the Nissan Leaf battery, the manufacturer has provided two ports. Both are under the hatch. On the right is the SAE J1772 port, and on the left is CHAdeMO. The first is designed for AC and operates from a regular outlet, while the second is designed to be connected to an AC network. The standard charger is attached to the electric car and packed in a compact case, which is located in the luggage compartment. It will take about 8 hours to fully charge the battery through this cable, so there is no point in waiting. It is best to use a standard cable at home or near the office, there is also access to an outlet there.
An accelerated charging station is convenient, but not the most economical option. You can charge your car in a public place as soon as possible. As we have already mentioned, we still have a few such stations. The vast majority of points are paid, so you will have to pay for charging and this will not always be beneficial for the motorist. Also, a charging station of the accelerated type can be bought and installed at home in the garage.
SuperCharge stations are another way of fast charging, but first-generation Nissan Leaf owners will have to abandon this option. Their cars have not yet installed a second fast-charging port. SuperCharge stations are more massive and are equipped with heavy gauge power cables. Through them, you can charge the electric car in the shortest possible time, but in the process, it is better to monitor the temperature of the high-voltage battery on the instrument panel, because its overheating is fraught with serious consequences.
Features of the Nissan Leaf charger purchased in the USA
The vast majority of eco-friendly Nissan Leafs on domestic roads were purchased in the United States, not Europe. Such a deal may seem unprofitable because the car still needs to be transported across the ocean, but the Americans sell practically new electric cars cheaply. The cost of a low-mileage car is so low that even with transportation across the ocean, this deal turns out to be more profitable than buying the same car in Europe. And this is where a serious problem arises.
The Nissan Leaf charger from the United States is designed to be connected to the local network, where the voltage is only 110 volts. We cannot use such a cable. The car remains without charging. The best option is to purchase a new charger. Its cost is on average about 6,000-6,500 hryvnia, but the buyer will have a warranty card on hand. Some car owners find it very tempting to offer craftsmen who offer to modify their cable. The procedure itself is not very complicated. It is only necessary to replace the plug but keeping the temperature sensor. If the master makes a mistake during work, then the driver risks not only being left without a charger but also spending a lot of money on expensive repairs of the high-voltage part of the electric car. Is it worth the candle?