EVDRIVER
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2010
- Messages
- 6,753
I'm starting this thread thread because of some of the recent Nissan comments about the pack warranty being related to motor output matching and not pack capacity as well as the fact that Nissan has yet to provide any details on the specifics of the warranty. A warranty of any length and time is meaningless without specific coverage details and this is something that can have a significant impact on the purchasing decision for many.
Relating the warranty to the ability to provide full output to the motor is useless. One could easily get full motor output out of a pack with 50% capacity or less. So that would mean that if your pack has 50% capacity in two years and can produce full output then it's fine and not covered under warranty. That's snake oil in the EV world.
Everyone should expect the pack to loose some capacity over time but the question is how much is reasonable and what will number will Nissan guarantee and under what conditions? The reason this is important is one should have some confidence in knowing what their estimated range should be after X number of years. Estimates and guidelines are not really helpful when one goes to a dealer after three years and expects 80% and they are getting 70% and the useful range of the vehicle is no longer applicable to that buyer. Capacity is easy to check and I'm sure those that drive 70 miles RT with a buffer may want to know if after three years they may not be able to make that trip. There needs to be some hard marker of capacity otherwise the warranty can be 200K miles and 20 years and it still will be useless.
All this can be a moot point soon but the issue is they posted no details when the car was ordered and this is a bit unusual. As a long time EV driver and builder I know how to extend pack life and what I can accept but many consumers may be in for a big shock and disappointment unless they have some specific guideline as to what their range numbers will be in a few years. If the warranty has no capacity guarantee and is tied to an ambiguous power output then that's a definite deal breaker. If there is one thing about EVs, just one that everyone should focus on, it's the pack warranty regardless if they lease or buy because the range is what is going to change, not to mention resale value.
I hope Nissan can stand behind their pack technology claims with a warranty that demonstrates their product confidence because what they are stating lately is not very confidence inspiring and very generic. It's easy to impress buyers with long warranty numbers after a survey but if it's all marketing fluff it's not going to fly. Let's see some good faith here Nissan as the EV world has seen far too many battery promises in the last 10 years and they all have turned up short on life and capacity.
Relating the warranty to the ability to provide full output to the motor is useless. One could easily get full motor output out of a pack with 50% capacity or less. So that would mean that if your pack has 50% capacity in two years and can produce full output then it's fine and not covered under warranty. That's snake oil in the EV world.
Everyone should expect the pack to loose some capacity over time but the question is how much is reasonable and what will number will Nissan guarantee and under what conditions? The reason this is important is one should have some confidence in knowing what their estimated range should be after X number of years. Estimates and guidelines are not really helpful when one goes to a dealer after three years and expects 80% and they are getting 70% and the useful range of the vehicle is no longer applicable to that buyer. Capacity is easy to check and I'm sure those that drive 70 miles RT with a buffer may want to know if after three years they may not be able to make that trip. There needs to be some hard marker of capacity otherwise the warranty can be 200K miles and 20 years and it still will be useless.
All this can be a moot point soon but the issue is they posted no details when the car was ordered and this is a bit unusual. As a long time EV driver and builder I know how to extend pack life and what I can accept but many consumers may be in for a big shock and disappointment unless they have some specific guideline as to what their range numbers will be in a few years. If the warranty has no capacity guarantee and is tied to an ambiguous power output then that's a definite deal breaker. If there is one thing about EVs, just one that everyone should focus on, it's the pack warranty regardless if they lease or buy because the range is what is going to change, not to mention resale value.
I hope Nissan can stand behind their pack technology claims with a warranty that demonstrates their product confidence because what they are stating lately is not very confidence inspiring and very generic. It's easy to impress buyers with long warranty numbers after a survey but if it's all marketing fluff it's not going to fly. Let's see some good faith here Nissan as the EV world has seen far too many battery promises in the last 10 years and they all have turned up short on life and capacity.