Thanks for the responses. I really appreciate the feedback, all of it. Have some that I would like to respond too specifically:
UkrainianKozak: And liquid cooling will not have any affect on battery life in storage scenarios, as it will not do anything if you park in 130F heat for example.
Actually no. In the Volt for example, if the car is left stored and the battery temp gets too high (above 120f if memory serves) it will run the liquid cooling loop until the SOC is about 50% to protect the battery. Do not know if the Leaf runs its fan until SOC is lowered to a safe level.
Also while I note that many MNL posters have criticized Azdre for leaving her car at 100% SOC for one month in May of 2011, a review of the weather for Phoenix AZ does not show temperatures approaching anything that should have been a problem. And of course the car is giving off charge just sitting so it would not have been at 100% very long.
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/psr/pns/2011/June/MayClimate.php
Stoaty: An accurate portrayal of the situation. Not addressing this problem may hurt Leaf sales.
Hey thanks. Definitely agree that not addressing this issue, IF it even is an issue is not good.
Kubel: I thought the blog post was fair, though it could have done more to show that it's not confirmed to be widespread.
Thanks for the fair part, I really try to do that. I thought I had covered the not widespread part with this
“There appear to be several people who are reporting significant capacity loss within the first year. A small number but as some posters have noted there could be others who may not even realize that they have lost capacity in part because of the erratic nature of the battery gauge”
If the post left the impression the problem is widespread, then that was certainly a failing on my part. I will go back and edit to make that more clear.
Kubel :If air cooling makes degradation due to temperatures more likely to happen, it needs to come out and be very clear to owners and potential buyers.
Bingo. That’s exactly what I was trying to get at.
Kubel: But it remains to be seen whether the battery issues are Nissan's fault.
I agree 100%, it is NOT clear where the fault is here. And even if it is 100% the fault of the owner, this issue should STILL be highlighted so that others don’t make the same mistake.
Kubel: Part of me wonders if a FFE or Volt were stored at 100% SOC in 120F if its liquid cooling would be active and whether or not it would be able to save the battery any more than the LEAF.
Yes the Volt would, see above. No clue how the FFE handles it, but since they have followed GM’s cue on battery supplier I’m guessing they will take the cue from GM on this as well.
My biggest beef is with the Nissan warranty. I cannot fathom why you would invest $4 Billion in a car and then back it with an empty warranty like that.
Thanks again for the feedback. I sincerely hope this turns out to be a non-issue. But if it is real I hope that discussions like these will highlight the need to educate future owners, many of whom will not likely be as technically grounded as those who haunt the forums of MNL.