And it's a much worse problem for the 30kWh packs in the 2016 models than it was for the smaller packs.
Ignorant of this issue, I ill-advisedly handed my 2012 LEAF SL down to a nephew, and bought a 2016 SL last December, thinking to take advantage of about-to-vanish incentives. The primary attraction of the '16 was the thought that its extra range would let me skip some of the DCQC stations between Portland and Seattle or Bellingham on my infrequent long-distance EV adventures. While that's true on paper, as a practical matter, the 2016 turns out to be much LESS able to drive beyond its fully-charged range than earlier models are. By being careful to start out at as low a temperature as possible (even in summer, early morning temps in the mid-50s are common here), and to drive conservatively (55-60MPH), I could hold the 2012's battery temperature increases down to less than one bar per two QC/drive cycles, and make it all the way to Bellingham (about 270 miles traveled) with the ninth temp bar only lighting up on the last leg. Same journey with the 2016? Forget it; one (and often TWO) bars lit PER QC, leading to nail-biting nine-bar angst pulling into the Seattle metro area (after only180 miles). Angst, and seething rage against a design team that can't figure out how to let heat escape from battery modules that are 60 or 70 lovemaking degrees hotter than ambient. And at myself for buying rather than leasing.
