Well, that was quick.

As of this writing, I am no longer driving an electric car.

At least for the time being, anyways. What happened, was on one of the coldest days, I preheated the Leaf before going out grocery shopping, and was surprised to find the car stone cold when I got in. Maybe I jinxed it, raving about how great the car has been in tackling the bitter cold.

*until it breaks and you have a rental car

Anyway, the fan blows just fine - the only problem is that it's forcing frigid arctic air about the cabin, icing up the interior windows. The heated seats and wheel work, but whatever heating element powers the central climate control has gone kaput. Right now, the Leaf is at the local dealer awaiting parts - and I don't yet know how long those parts will take to arrive. 

What this means is that, for the immediate future, I am scooting around town in a clapped-out rental Ford Focus. By giving up niceties like heated seats, navigation, and remote start, I'm able to get entertaining features such as a slipping torque converter, blown out speakers, and questionable sanitary standards.

Rental Car Winter Olympics

Fortunately, the dealership has been good so far, and at least I have transportation. I have also been in touch with Nissan's Leaf team, who say they're trying to expedite things. They also hinted they would try to reimburse me for gas - which would be great.

To be clear, these things happen and I'm not upset with Nissan for it. A friend's Chrysler 300 had the same thing happen when new. It will be interesting to see how well the dealership and Nissan handle repair of such a specialized and low-volume car.