Oh look another new i-MIEV owner!

[ChrisEV]

I’ve been lurking on this forum for a while but a few weeks ago I bit the bullet and bought a used 2012 i-MIEV for $10k(CDN). Had only 32,000 kms on it. Battery doesn’t seem to be degraded much, car looks like new.

So far I’m loving it. My commute is 82km daily(50 Miles I guess) and the car can do it easily. I can plug it in the garage at work too(unless the spot gets ICE’d )

A bit worried about the range in winter given I’m in Canada. We just did a relatively short 160km road trip and I had to charge every 50km Although some of it was fault given that I didn’t charge overnight before leaving and we had a nasty cold day. Learned the hard day that charging takes longer and more expensive

But driving to work and around town doing the errands the car shines.

Still have a lot of reading to do given the amount of information here in so many threads.

But I thought I’d register and say hi

 

[Don]

Welcome!

Sounds like you found a fine car and at a good price

Yes, winter driving is very different from the other seasons. While the cars A/C system is very efficient, the heater obviously isn't and just keeping the windows clear on a winter day can really use up the energy

I suspect you will eventually get around to considering the fuel heater that several other 'northerners' have installed in their cars - A very major improvement in the cars usefulness when it's cold. It's nice to be toasty warm and have clear glass all around no matter what the weather is outside

Don

 

[ChrisEV]

I’ll have to look into the fuel heater.

So far I’ve gotten a 12V heated passenger seat for my wife and a 12V blanket for my son in the back. That worked well although I couldn’t feel my toes after a long drive.

Since it’s mostly a commuter car for me I’m hoping that preheating it in the home/work garage will be enough. It doesn’t seem to warm up a lot but I’ve only got L1 at home/work atm.

 

[Don]

Yes, preheating on L1 is pretty weak. I think the Canadian models came with a 12 amp EVSE which should work a bit better than the USA model with only 8 amps, but using L2 will heat it up much faster and probably a good bit warmer too. The heating element in the car is 5Kw and your 12 amp L1 is only good for about 1500 watts . . . . and some of that is going to the battery

Don

 

[ChrisEV]

Not sure if my EVSE is running at 12A. I got an OBDlink LX coming in today. Hopefully I can get some numbers on the battery and the charging performance that way.

I’ll bite the bullet on the EVSE upgrade if not.

 

[jray3]

The remote preheat function is much more effective if set to defrost rather than heat. Not sure why, but definitely the case.

 

[Don]

I *think* when you have it set to HEAT the warm air coming out of the heater only has a short trip back into the system input when you're using 'recirculate' and that causes the heating element to cycle off after much less time than when you have it on DEFROST and you're blowing that warm air up on the glass. By the time it gets back to the input, it's cooled off much more than when using the heat function

Just my guess . . . . ;-)

Don

 

[Aerowhatt]

The remote preheat function is much more effective if set to defrost rather than heat. Not sure why, but definitely the case.

Both functions heat the fluid in the heating system to 180-190 F (240 volt AC connection). But the remote defrost cycle runs the cabin fan on high, where as the remote heat cycle runs the cabin fan on medium. The defrost cycle delivers roughly twice as much heat to the cabin due to the high cabin fan setting.

Aerowhatt

 

[ChrisEV]

I got a 900W 120V AC car warmer a year ago that I never used. I figure I can install it under the dash, and run the plug into the hood compartment and warm up the car much faster before taking off in the morning.

I’ll play with thit defrost vs. normal warm setting but since I don’t have a Level2 charger it doesn’t sound like I’ll get a lot of heat.

Installing the fuel heater seems complicated.

 

[FrostyCanada]

Hello Chris, welcome to the forum.

I drive the "north shore - montreal" corridor everyday and the depending on your driving habits and vehicle settings the car will handle an 80km winter commute with ease.

On very cold days I can easily preheat for 25 minutes before leaving home - boot warmers come in handy on the -25 days.

Charging at work (even with level 1) will help make your commute enjoyable and more comfortable.

Please keep us posted.

Regards,
Brian

 

[wmcbrine]

the -25 days

Truly, I don't understand how humans can live there. :shock:

Although I guess it's balmy compared to Siberia. :lol:

 

[sandange]

Congratulations on your i miev purchase..
We' re 1 hour north of Montreal and familiar with the winter driving.
Absolutely get a level 2 EVSE ( 240V Charger)

Try to program the charging to end about 1 hour before you leave in the morning.
Preheat for 25-30 minutes on defrost with the seat heater switched to on the night before.

You can lay a car blanket on your lap which helps keep some of the seat heat to warm your legs.
We went through 2 winters with our first 2012 i miev like this.

Now with our 2014 miev we installed a diesel liquid heater & we're into our 4th winter
It completely changes the winter driving experience.
It came in very handy today at -12C this morning.

 

[sandange]

Congratulations on your i miev purchase..
We' re 1 hour north of Montreal and familiar with the winter driving.
Absolutely get a level 2 EVSE ( 240V Charger)

Try to program the charging to end about 1 hour before you leave in the morning.
Preheat for 25-30 minutes on defrost with the seat heater switched to on the night before.

You can lay a car blanket on your lap which helps keep some of the seat heat to warm your legs.
We went through 2 winters with our first 2012 i miev like this.

Now with our 2014 miev we installed a diesel liquid heater & we're into our 4th winter
It completely changes the winter driving experience.
It came in very handy today at -12C this morning.

 

[ChrisEV]

Unfortunately I’m renting my house atm so installing a L2 isn’t really an option. Not to mention it’s shame I’m not eligible for the tax credit since I didn’t buy the I-MIEV new. Could have gotten 50% off the installing and L2. Oh well. Best thing I can do now is upgrade my EVSE for 12A. It’s expensive to ship to/from Canada I’ll have to drive down to Buffalo and send it there.

I do use the preheat about half an hour. So far so good although it hasn’t been really cold except the one day I decided to drive down to London.

So far the car is great. I get a lot of questions about it when I’m charging in public or the neighbors.

Only problem is the damn range anxiety. I’m just not used to it.

I live in Toronto and there’s quite a lot of charging in the city so I shouldn’t be worried but seeing the range indicator dropping faster than I expect worries me

I know it’s an estimate based on recent driving but switching from city driving to going on the highway usually makes it drop like a rock. And I tend to drive 90km/h ish.

The other weird thing is the defrost.

I keep my setting like this:

If I turn it all the way to the right my range drops by 20km(even though heater is still off). Doesn’t drop as much as turning the cabin heater on though.