The (Unadvisable) Way to Break In Your New LEAF

I bought a new Nissan LEAF this week.

Almost two years ago when I purchased my first EV, a 2012 Nissan LEAF, I was planning on driving the car until it either died or 10 years...whichever came first. Understanding that there were so few mechanical bits that could wear out or break, I figured that I was in a long-term relationship with my Nissan LEAF.

Fast forward to this week. Being at a car dealership is a different experience than before LEAF ownership. With Nissan's deployment of DC quick charging stations at its dealership network, I am at a Nissan dealership at least twice a month to use the charging infrastructure. On this particular day, though, I was at a local dealership as part of my duties as vice president of the North Sound Electric Vehicle Association picking up informational and promotional items for an upcoming EVent.

With the 2015 LEAFs on the way, whatever 2014s that are on the lot can be had at good prices. It didn't take me long to be convinced that I wanted needed a new LEAF. With all of the upgrades and additional appointments, Nissan quite nearly released LEAF 2.0 with the 2013, and later, LEAFs as compared to the early-adopter 2011/2012 LEAFs.

My new ride: 2014 Nissan LEAF SL

With my new Nissan LEAF now in the garage, I started thinking about how to most-appropriately break in my new ride. The gears in my mind started grinding away when I looked at the LEAF Spy data a couple hours after getting the car home. LEAF Spy showed that my new car was a bit sleepy with only 63 AHr available from the car's battery pack. A new Nissan LEAF can be expected to have 66.25 AHr when new.

In my experience, the easiest way to "wake up" a Nissan LEAF's battery pack is to quick charge the car--usually with successive DC quick charges. I now had #1 on my list of breaking in my new LEAF: quick charge the car A LOT. The funnest way to get successive quick charges in would be to go on a road trip. That led me to what #2 would be on my LEAF's break in schedule: road trip the LEAF to a location, far and away, that has never been accessed via a Nissan LEAF before!

The eerily-majestic, Mt. St. Helens

One such location that I've had my eye on for about a year now, is Mt. St. Helens. Mt. St. Helens is the youngest and most-active volcano in the Pacific Northwest's Cascade Range. It last erupted in 1980, blasting more than 1,300 feet from its peak, and destroying life and property for many square miles on its northern side. The challenge of making it to the Johnston Ridge Observatory in a Nissan LEAF lies in its remote location and in the inevitable elevation gains in driving into the mountains. 

After leaving our house at 5:40am, my daughter and I pulled into Castle Rock, WA four hours, and three quick charge sessions, later. With one more quick charge in Castle Rock we were ready to start driving east of the I-5 corridor and into the Cascade Range. 

New battery pack no longer! With just 200 miles on the odometer, this pack is having hot beginnings.

Mt. St. Helens' Johnston Ridge Observatory is located 52 miles east of Castle Rock, with an elevation gain of more than 4100'. Even with a brand new LEAF, making a 104 mile round trip drive would be difficult. Coupling this 100+ mile drive with the elevation gain, I knew that I would need to find charging opportunities somewhere along the way to prevent being stranded in the mountain's dead zone with a dead EV battery and no cell service. 

After contacting several of the tourist stops along the drive on WA-504, I connected with a business not just open to the idea of me plugging in, but enthusiastic to help make Mt. St. Helens more accessible to Nissan LEAFs. 

Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Center at Mt. St. Helens

The Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Center is located halfway between Castle Rock and the Johnston Ridge Observatory. When we arrived, we were encouraged to plug into a 120v outlet at the helicopter pad. It was an awesome location, and I loved seeing my new car right there with the tour helicopter! There was plenty for my daughter and I to do during the two of hours of trickle charging: we had a great lunch while eating burgers and watching the helicopter flights take off and land. We also had fun throwing a Frisbee (my daughter's kids meal was served on the underside of a Frisbee--how fun!), and checking out the exhibits.

With this being a "first ever" trip, I decided to drive very conservatively and slow. It is never fun to drive slow in a car that is so much fun driving fast. However, I was motivated by that little voice in the back of my head saying, "dead battery in a dead zone." There are many pullouts and wide shoulder areas on the drive up to the Johnston Ridge Observatory, so driving slow wasn't much of an impediment to traffic either.

First Nissan LEAF to make it to the Johnston Ridge Observatory at Mt. St. Helens!

We spent some time at the Johnston Ridge Observatory to learn more about Mt. St. Helens and the May 18, 1980 eruption. The U.S. Forest Service has done a remarkable job at providing informative and interactive exhibits, making this a fantastic family-friendly EVenture!

After making our way back down to Castle Rock, I started mapping out our trip home. My new Nissan LEAF had chalked up two accomplishments: 1) The battery pack was now reading 67.3 AHr (more than 100% of expected capacity), and 2) had made a "first ever" trek (very important for The Coram Family EV Fleet). However, I was still missing something. My new LEAF was just not quite christened yet. While charging there in Castle Rock, I noticed that it was almost exactly 100 miles from Tumwater, WA and our house. If I made the DC quick charge in Tumwater the last charge of the trip, I could stretch it home and make this new car break in complete. And so I did!

The 100-Mile Club, Baby!

So here is the formula for the (unadvisable) way to break in your new Nissan LEAF:

• "Bake" the battery to increase the AHr
• Take the LEAF on a "first-ever" EVenture
• Join the 100-mile club