TonyWilliams said:
azdre said:
At the end of the day, the only "measurement" that really matters is that the distance the car can travel has been reduced to the point where the car is no longer useful as a primary commuter
This is where Nissan will lose in the end game.The car was bought and went X miles; less than a year later it goes X - 30% in the exact same conditions.
Two year later, will it be X - 50%? And three year X- 70%? End game loss for Nissan seems very very well assured, if that is the case. Even if Nissan wins in court for every case. Nissan, buy a clue. Or at least rent a hint.
If this was a small fraction of cars everywhere, the "battery abuse is the cause" claim might hold up. For some cars, probably yes. Others, maybe. But not for all.
If this was L2 charged cars only, and L1 charged cars don't have this issue, perhaps a software bug in the charger might be the issue. L1 cars seem to be doing only marginally better.
If this was a bug (or a feature) in the battery management system, then some of the bars and some of the lost range will return with cooler weather. How much? Seems likely to be less than half of the loss is due to this. At most. This isn't completely settled yet (yet Nissan probably knows), only time will tell.
Suggestions to Nissan, as I'm sure they read this:
Make a fair offer to convert sales to leases, and allow for early lease termination on fair terms, on battery capacity loss of 30%(*) or more. Do this soon, before any more lawyers get involved. Do this soon, and make the owners your allies, not your enemies.
Nissan has good will from owners. Don't waste it.
Involve owners in the technical detail of this issue, so they expect what happens. Don't let them get shocked by bad results. As it seems likely that temperature is a real issue, improve the data presented to the driver about battery temperatures with a software update. A real battery temperature readout in C (at least), perhaps on the center console. Perhaps a graph of battery temperatures over time, and perhaps even some sort of long term average "estimated loss to to higher than ideal battery temperature". More is better than less. Update the documentation to show what battery capacity loss may be expected under higher temperatures. That way the drivers/owners will know what they are doing to their batteries, and can reduce the damage done. Let me know if I should be putting an AC and insulation in the garage! Let me know if driving on a 40C day will cause capacity loss faster than nominal. Give the drivers/owners the information to reduce capacity loss. It is like putting an oil pressure warning in an ICE.
This action will decrease Nissan's future liability. It is in Nissan's interest.
Stop selling Leafs in the hotter areas of the country, at least until the release of more technical detail, and updated instrumentation.
(*) Or even 35% or some other percentage loss. The key idea is to make a fair offer to share risk will remove much (not all) of the anger. Make Nissan and the owners partners and allies, not enemies. Share the risk, don't try to put it all on the owners.
(edited to make what temperature needed displaying, namely battery temperature)