Bad news for Leafs in Phoenix

[CarlD]

On the local news last night they had a piece on Leaf owners in Phoenix who have seen their battery capacity drop in half in just one year of driving. Nissan insists nothing is wrong but one of the Leaf owners says he can't even go the 45 miles one way to work anymore on a fully charged battery.

http://www.kpho.com/story/19050732/n...saps-batteries

[Harold]

Well that is not what we like to hear. Hope it is just faulty read-out equipment and not the pack it-self. H

[aca2983]

My first thought is how much is the A/C being used?

[Mendel Leisk]

There's another thread going:

http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43822

[xcel]

Hi Carl:

In any case, not good and it appears that either Nissan will have to install even larger packs while allowing less % of useable SoC or throttle down useable SoC and minimize range from the current LEAF's, If this type of range decline continues to appear in such short period of time since its release, this could be really bad for the BEVs acceptance. 2 Karma’s have burned in the last two weeks, the Volt had the recall to strengthen the pack structure for post crash problems and now the LEAF is getting hit with some bad press due to allowing too much of the pack to be used.

Wayne

[CRT1]

Elon Musk talking badly about the Nissan battery tech may prove to be more than just bluster and Telsa cheer-leading.

[Right Lane Cruiser]

At this point the problem really does seem to be related to heat -- there are plenty of LEAF owners in the NW of the country with lots of miles and no obvious degradation at all.

It seems most likely that Nissan will have to introduce an active cooling system -- I don't think range of SoC during use is the issue.

[Harold]

Sean:
You seem to be very happy with your Leaf by the sounds of it. I would imagine some % of loss in the pack is to be expected, as everything wears out. Must be very satisfying not to have to go to a gas station . I cannot Waite personally. The EV I believe will be a very low maintenance auto and I hope that comes about. The sooner we get combustible engines off the roads the better off we will be. Good luck with yours Sean. H

[Right Lane Cruiser]

Thanks -- it has been a wonderful 2600mi so far! I expect to get many years of good use out of it. Indeed it is nice to not ever worry about the lines at gas stations again when I'm in a hurry to get home so I can pick up my children after work.

[basjoos]

But you do have to worry about being able to EV back to work the next day if a storm or other event has knocked out the power to your home. With a gasoline or diesel car you'll likely have several more days worth of commuting distance still in your tank when you get home, but with an EV you're likely toward the end of your potential range when you arrive home and need to plug in before you can do any more driving the next day. Each mode of transport has its advantages and disadvantages.