Unaware? Yes. Low complaints? Nooooo
Survey posts on Facebook from last Summer. Tons of complaints but the focus was pushed away from RapidGate by "us"
There are abut 7800-8000 2019 LEAFs that were produced in the US that have the "A" rev BMS software with the more conservative quick charging profile that is slower by design.
10-15 vocal individuals on social media expressing their outrage is hardly a "ton" of the affected universe. Even if it was 50, that's less than 1% that feel that they are inconvenienced by spending a half an hour to an hour charging in a multiple charge session day.
Would they like to see the charging go faster? Of course they would, but at the end of the day, it's just not that big of a deal for the majority of owners. Calling in to Nissan Customer Care? Go for it, but remember, they are just the messenger. And believe me when I say the decision makers at Nissan know all about the global outrage on social media, and that factored into their decision.
This is not a safety issue, and so Nissan is effectively off the regulatory hook. To make it an even steeper hill, none of the few that have been vocal have been able to articulate what the problem is other than occasionally it takes longer than other times to fully recharge. So from a business point of view, it is pretty clear why Nissan has been reluctant to invest in a program, even though it could be done. Lots of things can be done, many aren’t because there is not a compelling argument to do so.
A great example of not having an argument is when Nissan gets service complaints about the car behaving exactly how should. TexasLeaf's story about his car going into reduced power mode when the battery got too hot (which by the way is exactly what the LEAF and every other BEV does when their batteries exceed a heat threshold) is a good example. That sort of indignation is not covered by any warranty, but is good for several eye-rolls by the phone agent on the other side of the call and is felony grounds for a stern dose of RTFM.
So, having tantrums on social media isn't going to work, and complaining to the Nissan customer care about a problem that is only a problem from the owners POV, does not carry much weight. Lawsuit threats will get you cut off immediately (OK sue me MF, <click>).
But what will work is a compelling argument that is both a winner for the you and a winner for Nissan. Essentially it's a dollars and cents issue that needs to be solved. No one has been able to show enough impact to justify the cost, plus it doesn't break anything if it isn't done.
Develop that argument and you're golden. You will have done a great service for the owners of the 8000 LEAFs, and will go down in history as one of the greatest owner-advocates that the LEAF community has ever had.
Thankfully the silver lining from all of this brouhaha is that Nissan did recalibrate the charging profiles as a rolling production change for later '18 and '19 LEAFs, but to expect it to be retrofitted is stretching it.
But quite frankly as an owner of one of the affected LEAFs, which is the car we drive for 98% of our local and long distance travel, I wouldn't mind a faster fast charge, but it's OK with me if nothing is changed if the reason was that it will help keep my cars battery in good shape longer.
I see it as a "nice to have, but my world isn't going to collapse if I don't get it" issue, and it appears that the other 99%+ of the other owners seem to agree.
Peace