Nissan Expanding Dealership Quick-Charging in Puget Sound Region

It's been a year since Nissan first announced an aggressive campaign to expand CHAdeMO quick charging at its dealerships across the U.S.  Initially, though, there were only a handful of chargers installed; far less than the oft-quoted 500 new units that LEAF drivers salivated for. Inexplicably, the rollout all but stopped in most regions by the summer of 2013.

Fast forward, and Nissan appears to be back in the car charging game.  It is like Nissan miraculously remembered that manufactures must also build charging infrastructure if EV sales are going to shift to mainstream car buying.  This "if we build it, they will come" philosophy was pioneered by Tesla, who continues to aggressively expand its nation-wide Supercharger infrastructure.

Nissan may have also been motivated to expand its dealership network of fast charging stations with the bankruptcy of the ubiquitous electric vehicle supply equipment manufacturer, Blink, during the fall of 2013. This certainly appears to to the case in Washington State's Puget Sound region.

The Seattle-Tacoma corridor regularly lists in the top 3 of Nissan LEAF sales every month.  However, until recently, there was a major gap in reliable quick charging for all of those new (to-be) LEAF owners in Seattle.

Enter redundancy.  Nissan seems to now be fully committed to taking on the burden of providing reliable quick charging in the Seattle-Tacoma region.  With the government-backed West Coast Green Highway prioritizing quick charging stations for longer distance travel outside of the Puget Sound area, Nissan is refocussing the redundancy effort where those Blink quick charging stations so-often disappoint in Seattle proper.

Nissan dealership quick charging coverage is providing much-needed redundancy in the Puget Sound Region.

Today, I set out to try my luck with this maturing Nissan dealership quick charging infrastructure. Living just north of Everett, WA provided me with an opportunity to hit the Nissan dealerships all the way to Olympia to test out their quick charging equipment, and hopefully make it back home without a need for rescue.  

Additionally, and very importantly, I wanted to find out how easy it would be to get those charges at a Nissan dealership.  In my mind, I envisioned the roughest of car sales people booting me from the property because I did not purchase our LEAFs there, or delaying my charge request because of dealership stock blocking the charging equipment.

Everett: Fob Needed/Dealership Hours Only

Edmonds: Fob Needed/Dealership Hours Only

Burien: Fob Needed/Dealership Hours Only

Puyallup: NO Fob Needed/24 Hour Access!

Olympia: NO Fob Needed/24 Hour Access!

Renton: Fob Needed/Dealership Hours Only

Each dealership charging experience was painless! There were no heavies blocking access to the charging stations, and each dealership was welcoming even though I did not purchase our LEAFs from them.

The shocker, though, came from the two newest CHAdeMO installations, at Puyallup Nissan and Olympia Nissan respectively.

Upon pulling up to each of these locations, there was not an RFID card/fob reader on the charging unit.  I simply got out of the car, plugged in the quick charging connector, and pushed the "start" button.  Easy!

For almost a year now, LEAF drivers have simply asked if there could be a way to allow one of the many car charging network fobs or cards to work on the Nissan branded quick chargers.  And for almost a year, there have been plenty of excuses reasons why a fob is needed to activate a charging session at Nissan dealerships.

It appears, now, that Nissan is warming up to the idea of open access at their dealership quick charging stations.

Today's 237 mile drive around the Puget Sound region didn't cost anything to "fuel" my LEAF. The free ride wasn't even the best part of the day. The highlight was in seeing how committed Nissan is to expanding the quick charge infrastructure in my corner of the world.  They are building it, and we will come!

***

Earlier in the day, while driving at sluggish speeds in heavy traffic on I-5 in downtown Seattle, I was initially frustrated with the stop-and-go driving and breathing the diesel fumes from a truck next to me.  Looking around, I saw a Tesla Model S a ways ahead and another LEAF not far behind me. Almost on cue, an early 90's hit song, Right Here, Right Now by Jesus Jones played on the radio.  The lyrics struck me:

Right here, right now

There is no other place I want to be

Right here, right now

Watching the world wake up from history

Breathing the soot from that neighborly diesel truck was not my idea of bliss. Seeing electric vehicles on the road, and driving an electric car myself, did give me a moment of immense satisfaction, though. As we all begin to see more EVs on the road, it is proof that the world is waking up.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

It seems hard to believe that our 2013 LEAF would only make it 45 miles on an almost complete charge.  Last night it happened, though, and the bugger of the situation was that we were still 8 miles from home.

Just before dinner last night, I found an article highlighting "9 De-Lightful Neighborhood Light Displays" in the Seattle area.  Looking at the options, it looked like we could check out a few of the displays within range of Tanya's LEAF. Before continuing on with the plan, I ran out to the garage to plug in Tanya's car to try and get it to 100% before we left.

Back inside, I utilized the Nissan Owners web portal, Carwings, to map out the multiple destination trip. First stop would be in Mountlake Terrace, followed by two light shows in Bothell. From Bothell, we would simply drive north on Hwy. 9 home for a total trip distance of 53 miles.  

After dinner, we packed up the kids and headed out.  The car only made it to a 94% charge, though. Upon hearing that the car wasn't at a full charge, Tanya ominously went back inside to grab some extra blankets.  I tried to shrug it off, but I knew that she was worried about heading out on a 50+ mile trip in the frigid temperatures with less than a 100% charge.

Before leaving Lake Stevens, we stopped by Starbucks for a round of coffee and hot chocolate.  Shortly after leaving the coffee house, we pulled up next to a heavily modified Honda.  Red light.  Mano y mano.  I floored it, leaving the coffee can muffler-equipped foe buzzing raucously behind us. Sure, the Rad Racer eventually passed us with the fury of a swarm of angry bees, but I was merrily pleased.

After the stoplight drag race, Tanya made a funny and shouted, "Clarke!  Slow down!!!" Sabrina reinforced my immaturity by posing rhetorical questions: "Dad, was that car racing us?"  Followed by, "Dad, were you racing that car?"

Holly Jolly Times

The light displays did not disappoint.  They were stunning, with each having its own spin on what defines spectacular.  After viewing the last neighborhood light show, we started heading home, first driving through downtown Woodinville.  

In Woodinville, Tanya reasonably asked me to turn on the dashboard lights so that we could see what the driving range situation was, and possibly charge for a while before heading out of town.  I briefly protested, but ended up checking.  We had 24 miles of range as displayed by the vehicle's "guess-only meter."  I was comforted by the surplus charge (it's 20 miles from Woodinville to our house in Lake Stevens), and turned the dashboard lights back off.  Earlier that morning, I had just published a blog post about the virtues of "blind driving" an EV with the dashboard lights off.  In my mind, there was no worry of not making it home.  

About ten minutes later, I gasped when the low battery chime sounded.  However, we were in a 2013 LEAF, which alerts the low battery charge at a much more forgiving state of charge than in my 2012. I decided to avert from Hwy. 9 and drive Bickford Avenue north to avoid the faster speeds of Hwy. 9. And on went those dashboard lights.

Within a mile and a half, the very low battery warning chimed!  There was no way we were going to make it the nearly eight miles home.  Just ahead was Bickford Ford.  We pulled in and parked. It was 15 degrees outside, but we were toast.

"We're out of heat!  We're out of food!  We're out of everything!"

The electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE or "charger") at Bickford Ford is not accessible after hours.  The dealership blocks access with a row of F-150s lined up across the parking lot.  However, I did find a 120v outlet on a nearby light post.

The four of us sat there in the car, progressively freezing for about a half hour. Sabrina declared, "We're out of heat!  We're out of food!  We're out of everything!" while Tanya and I weighed our options.  It was obvious that we were not going to get the typical 4 miles of range for every hour of 120v charging with the low ambient temps.  So, just before 9:00 PM, we called my mom to come out and rescue Tanya and the kids.

After Mom left with the crew, the cabin temps in the LEAF dropped precipitately. When all of us were in the car, it was like having four space heaters radiating at 98 degrees.  But now by myself, I was getting really cold, really fast.  I called Nissan Roadside for a tow, but didn't know how long it was going to take for the rescue.

While sitting there, I couldn't help but think about the stories of people getting stranded in their cars...freezing to death. A blanket Tanya grabbed when we left home was in the back seat.  I grabbed the blanket, cocooned myself under it, and posted an S.O.S. on the Seattle Nissan LEAF Owners' Facebook page.

Within minutes, several local EV drivers offered to assist. Matt and Laura Moreno were practically on their way by the time I returned their message--heading out to rescue me in their Tesla Model S. I was really starting to like this idea of rescue now!

I called Nissan to cancel the tow, and the Morenos pulled up shortly thereafter.  My core body temp was free-falling, but Matt had the heat blasting in his Tesla for me.  The ten minute ride home wasn't an ass-hauling joyride in the Model S.  Rather, it was all about getting me warm and home ASAP.

Back to the stranded LEAF the next morning.

This morning, we returned to Bickford Ford to retrieve the stranded LEAF.  Twelve hours had elapsed since first plugging into the 120v outlet at the light post, and the car had still only reached a 43% charge.  Clearly, the bitter cold makes even a trickle charge flow all the slower!

Sure, all I want for Christmas are two Model Ses.  However, I think I'll give a gift instead. I will gift my family with a respite from being stranded in our EVs.  

Blind Driving an EV in Freezing Weather

Arctic air has engulfed the U.S.  For most EV drivers, sub-freezing temperatures present a real stress for their electron-motivated commutes.  Depending on how low the mercury goes, an electric vehicle may lose more than 20% of it's range when the deep freeze arrives.

Last month, I decided to try an experiment:  I would completely disable all dashboard illumination in my LEAF, taking away any ability to see how much charge remained in the battery pack.

The Nissan LEAF comes with a host of displays that provide the driver with a plethora of data points:

Now, three weeks have gone by.  Surprisingly, I'm not suddenly running out of electricity every trip.  Some things have drastically changed, though, since the start of blind driving.  My EV-induced attention-deficit disorder is gone!  Also, I am utilizing the LEAF's heater with blissful ignorance.  Not only that, but I'm driving at speeds that are dictated by my desire.  Or traffic flow--whichever is faster. 

There have been some close calls.  I know because even with the visual displays turned off, the "LEAF lady" still provides audible warnings when the battery charge is "Low, Very Low, Reduced Power."  I have received quite a few (very) low battery warnings, but not the reduced power warning, during this experiment.   

Cutting it close!

Occasionally, after arriving home, I'll look to see how close I was to getting stranded on the side of the road with a dead battery.  In the picture above, you can see that I am cutting it close on occasion.  On the left, the official Nissan LEAF app indicated zero range remaining; the image on the right showing 8 GIDs (EV driver vernacular).

I figured out to get the dashboard display to turn off even in daylight driving;)

With the findings now published, my experiment is officially done.  I think, though, that I'll keep the lights out...serenity now.

My wife is an attorney, so here's the disclaimer that I know she expects from my shenanigans:

Willingly driving without any instrumentation is not only dangerous, but completely moronic.  Don't try it!