Update on Battery Warranty Enhancement for 2011 & 2012 LEAF

[opencar]

Having a wonderful argument with Russ Finley of Energy Trends Insider about the LEAF capacity warranty. Fun times!

http://www.energytrendsinsider.com/2013 ... 1029014302" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

entertaining read. Regarding your last comment about those of us in moderate climates not triggering the warranty, i'm of the recent opinion the 2 most difficult issues to deal with for S. Cal owners are: 1) living with increasingly limited range as we move toward the 5th yr of ownership and 2) not exceeding the 60K mileage limitation. Losing 4 bars in 5 yrs from both heat and cycling loss doesn't appear to be a problem at all in coastal San Diego! I've pretty much babied the battery for my 27 months & 23K mi of ownership and just lost the first bar. If I start using the car in a less conservative manner all indications are that reaching 66% battery capacity will happen well before the warranty period expires.

[mwalsh]

Guy can't even figure out that below 9 bars means that 4 must be missing. I guess Sesame Street wasn't on PBS when he was a kid.

[mwalsh]

The rest of the commentary is just too ridiculous to even bother with.

Indeed. We had a similar discourse on Green Car Reports, which carried the story about the new "hot battery". I think his talents are wasted on this blog, Russ should consider writing science fiction instead.

Oh, he's THAT guy. Now I know who I'm trying to "educate" I realize there's no hope. What an idiot!

[Stoaty]

Oh, he's THAT guy. Now I know who I'm trying to "educate" I realize there's no hope. What an idiot!

That business about how the Leaf's computer keeps the battery cool is the biggest load of crap I have ever seen. Most of the heating of the battery doesn't come from driving the Leaf, it comes from sitting in hot ambient temperatures (and possibly in the sun, making it worse) for hours/days/weeks at a time.

[LEAFfan]

Michael, I know it doesn't make too much difference, but the second-fourth bar loss is 6.25%, not 6.5.

[mwalsh]

Michael, I know it doesn't make too much difference, but the second-fourth bar loss is 6.25%, not 6.5.

Ah, OK. I did not know that.

[Reddy]

Now, why is it alien? that is a good question since they essentially do the same thing every time they get gas. They dont seem to equate the fact that only occasionally will they want or need to charge publicly just as they only occasionally get gas.

Folks get hung up on the fact it may take 'up to 7 hours' to charge. Most only pump gas when the tank is 'empty', they don't understand you may want to add just enough to get you home. Adding enough fuel 'just to get home' to a gas car driver truly is alien. I mean how dumb is that? You'd only have to fill up tomorrow!! They don't understand the power of having your 'gas pump' at home.

If you can finally get a gas car driver to admit an EV could work for them, they may say "Ah but I'm forgetful, I'd forget to plug it in then it would take too long to charge". There really isn't an answer to that one.

+1
I couldn't believe it when somebody tried that on me as well. I'm guessing it's just an excuse.

[KJD]

If you can finally get a gas car driver to admit an EV could work for them, they may say "Ah but I'm forgetful, I'd forget to plug it in then it would take too long to charge". There really isn't an answer to that one.

These are the same people that manage to charge their cell phone every night and never complain about that. Amazing......

[TonyWilliams]

I think his talents are wasted on this blog, Russ should consider writing science fiction instead.

It's really hard to believe that he is an engineer of any type. One of his first comments that I read was that you could not accurately test a car for range because his wife's Prius range was "all over the place".

Now, it's clear that he's just a nut job. This quote sums it up for me:

Conspiracy Theorist to Randy
• 15 hours ago

"There are many things Russ needs to find, aside from the missing battery capacity gauge, including some basic knowledge of software engineering and electrochemistry. Some humility and human decency would be good too. If that's not too much to ask."

[LEAFfan]

Now, why is it alien? that is a good question since they essentially do the same thing every time they get gas. They dont seem to equate the fact that only occasionally will they want or need to charge publicly just as they only occasionally get gas.

Folks get hung up on the fact it may take 'up to 7 hours' to charge. Most only pump gas when the tank is 'empty', they don't understand you may want to add just enough to get you home. Adding enough fuel 'just to get home' to a gas car driver truly is alien. I mean how dumb is that? You'd only have to fill up tomorrow!! They don't understand the power of having your 'gas pump' at home.

If you can finally get a gas car driver to admit an EV could work for them, they may say "Ah but I'm forgetful, I'd forget to plug it in then it would take too long to charge". There really isn't an answer to that one.

+1
I couldn't believe it when somebody tried that on me as well. I'm guessing it's just an excuse.

The next time someone tries that one, make sure to tell them that the driver can get a text message to remind them to plug it in. At least with the Blink, it can do that.