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!