An update from the OP... After our buyback, we spent a few months with just the Prius and the motorcycle, and finally decided we did need another car in the garage. We drove the FFE, looked at some Civic hybrids, the Volt and for the most part the lack of a real battery warranty kept me from being ok with any of these things. The Volt we decided against for other reasons. The Used Civic Hybrid we tested out was showing 27.4 MPG! Then I remembered a reference on this board to Honda updating some SW and reducing mpgs. We decided we were done with new battery tech in Phoenix for now. We both wish we would have done more research on the specifics of the LEAF before purchase, all of the things this board taught us that no one in Nissan dare disclose. The idea of having to go to those depths again with another vehicle just made me crazy.
We ended up with a fully gas burning 2013 Kia Optima, a beautiful blue with air conditioned leather seats, panoramic roof, etc. We are very happy with our new car so far and really hope the EV experiment in Phoenix shows something we can trade the Prius in for in a few years.
While I'm happy to see that there's a bottom for those that want to keep their LEAF with a new warranty, I worry that buy back remedies for this in severe situations will no longer be an option.
If you warranty 70% at 5 years, how can 72% at 18 months be considered ok, or gradual?