tattoogunman said:
webeleafowners said:
Good morning. Limitless problems???. The leaf may be known for many things but unreliability and certainly limitless problems are not one of them...in my opinion. We did a lot of research before we bought ours and one of the reasons we went to the leaf is its reliability compared to every other EV.
John and Angela
Most of my information is coming from this board and I've also read about the battery issues on other car sites as well.
As for needs - I'm a born again college student in my 40's who generally commutes about 20 miles round trip everyday with a few side trips included (picking up the kids from school, going to work, etc.). All of my side trips are within a five mile radius of where we live, so the range on these cars would be ideal for the distances that I drive. I rarely have to get on the freeway for anything and when/if I do, I'm usually not going very far. ... I figured I could go even more green by going EV, but I really wouldn't be saving a whole lot of money. I do my own maintenance on my cars as well and again, my Fiat has been so cheap to own/operate I wouldn't be saving a whole heck of a lot of money. I figure I would save a few bucks in gas, not sure on insurance, I'd save a few bucks on emission testing, and I'd save some money on normal maintenance (oil changes, spark plugs, brakes, etc.).
Twenty miles
round trip, and there's a question about the LEAF's "limitless problems?"
I had if not the worst, right there within a few percent, battery degradation of any LEAF, losing 7 capacity bars and I think it was just about ready to lose one more at just under 60K miles. The dealership where it sat out in the Florida sun at 100% charge for almost a year destroyed the long-term life of the battery.
But even at 5 remaining capacity bars, I still was able to go 26 miles before Low Battery Warning, and it should have been good for a few more until Turtle Mode, which I never had. True, I had to drive slower, about 48 mph, but I'd still get where I was going in just about the same amount of time, since of course I wasn't going very far.
As some may know, I had a Prius before the LEAF, but instead of selling the Prius, we added the LEAF. I know I should have announced it over on the Prius forum, but that's another story. I really wanted a Toyota EV, the Prius is spectacular, but Toyota squandered their massive lead in battery technology and EV driving, and Toyota wouldn't make one. I wouldn't buy the Volt, first because of GM and the EV1, the Cobasys NiMH battery controversy, and they refused, even while in bankruptcy, to allow me to buy 10K worth of batteries to get the S10EV that I owned going again. The Volt also requires the same maintenance, oil changes, antifreeze, etc., and as I do my own maintenance too, I got tired of laying under a car every three or four months, and then having to go to recycle the old oil. The Volt is also has very small passenger seating, especially in the back seat, whereas the LEAF can sit 5, and we have done that on a few occasions. Now too, it is a three or four times per year trip to the gas station, to keep the Prius going of course, but it is very embarrassing driving the LEAF there and filling up a couple of gas cans. One guy asked if I did yard maintenance.
And, while specifically because of Tony Williams and the Phoenix Dozen, who pointed out the obvious many years ago, and although it took a court case to do it, Nissan did settle the case and provide a less than fair but better than nothing battery warranty, and I was able to get the degraded originally battery replaced at no charge under warranty.
And even going forward, where the LEAF, and other EVs will show their true economic benefit, even spending $5K or so for a new battery, you've then got an essentially new car, good for another 6 or 8 or 10 years. Maybe it will even be possible to keep it going with a third or fourth battery replacement? No new car depreciation, the biggest expense with a car. No higher insurance on an expensive new car, and most enjoyable, no going to a dealership where they turn what should be an enjoyable experience into a nightmare of attempted ripoffs. (Two quick examples, one where a Ford dealership in Orlando had agreed to a price after several hours of negotiations, came with the contract to sign, and "accidentally misread" and turned a "3" into an "8" and if I hadn't caught it would have added another $500, and at a now defunct Ford dealership in Tampa, where I was buying a diesel F250, everything was set up again, just needing to sign the contract and pay, but I decided to have one last look as it was there overnight, opened the hood and the giant space where the second battery should be was empty, the'd taken it out overnight, then they tried to say it should only have one, which of course was a lie.) And, as others have said, nobody else was selling an EV in Florida.
There was too, even buying it in 2012, a certain happiness of being an early adopter, as we enjoyed back in 2004 - 2005 when we got the Prius and joined the small number at that time driving one. It was also a bit enjoyable to be able to drive while gas was $4 or $5 per gallon, the roads were empty, and people had stopped saying how stupid it had been to pay a "hybrid premium" for the Prius. What are the odds of gasoline being that expensive again? I don't know, but I'm ready when/if it happens.
So why the LEAF? I would say, why an ICE vehicle?
As another detail, even a Prius, driving it only 10 miles one way and shutting it off, will probably get only 38 mpg or go. Maybe a PIP would do better, but they're expensive from what I've heard, and by that point, once again, I'd say why an ICE vehicle.
