Makes sense too me Nissan is giving priority to Gen2 owners: because they are still selling it, and actually don't even have any 30kWh packs anymore. Other than that?
People who think buying an cheap degraded Leaf, with highly degraded battery pack entitles them for a new battery? Well smart move, but don't even think the process would go smoothly.
I agree, those that thought they could buy degraded and then have the car repaired at Nissan's expense are likely in for a rude surprise.
Many of those that either didn't do their home work or listened to everything the salesman said without verifying, are the ones most disappointed with the Leaf.
Anyone remember the Honda 600? A tiny little run-about with a 2 cyl air cooled engine that pre dated the Civic. These were never meant to be highway cars, and the same holds for the Leaf. Yes, a Leaf can run at highway speeds, much better than the 600 could, but is severely cuts into range.
I am not disappointed because I did my homework before I purchased. I have a nine bar 2015 and a limited range that get more limited in the "extreme cold", but I knew that before I bought. I looked at my intended use, and logged those miles for months, before I bought. If I have a disappointment, it was also one i new about, that is I would like the car so much, that I wish it could do more.
How many complaining about a Leaf's limited use would except the limits of entry level cars of days gone by? Heat in a Leaf is better than it is in any air cooled VW or any air cooled car I can think of. Mileage is better than any car of the 60's lasting well into 100,000 miles with some battery capacity loss. We've come a long way baby, and those that are disappointed, are only so because expectations have been raised so much in recent decades.
It used to be, if you took care of a car, you might make 100.000 miles, and car clubs would have a "200,000 mile club that few made it to. Today 200,000 miles is expected. Cars in the upper 100,000 miles were un saleable in the 70's today they command thousands of dollars, because they still have life in them.
There are stories of people with the earliest Leafs choosing new batteries over "scrapping" a good car, acknowledging that after years of putting nothing into the car, it finely needs some.
In a way Leaf's problems are due more to its success than a failure. It is marketed and being used in a way it wasn't designed for. The Leaf battery is made in a way that it can be repaired, something not possible with many others including Tesla. The pack can be opened and individual modules exchanged. The only problem is there are limited cells available to make the swap because almost all are going to meet the production line needs. The design required a trade off, esp to keep it affordable. We, with 20/20 hindsight, can debate if it was a good trade off. The modular design of the cells made them flat rather than spiral, that also allowed more surface area for the cell for heat rejection, making passive cooling an option. Spiral cells can not be cooled this way and require active cooling, which also make the battery essentially not repairable. There are good arguments for both methods, but the flat cell with active cooling would be best, but so far has not been cost effective to produce.
Again, all this info is available on the web and a smart buyer would put the time in and weigh the trade-offs and their intended use.
.
