Questions for Jan 8th Town Hall Mtg in AZ

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evchels said:
Hi all,

I've gone through the threads related to the battery warranty and town hall meeting, updated the list of questions, and pasted below (also sent to Nissan).
Thanks for compiling this list, Chelsea! Here are a couple of additions/comments:
evchels said:
7. The 12v battery goes dead if the car is stored for an extended period while plugged in; car won’t not start. Is this going to fixed in the future such that the 12v battery will be kept topped off while plugged in either on 2011/2012 models or going forward with 2013 model?
To me this is more than a "will not start" issue. There are two related issues:

- Premature battery failure. Since the batteries are not maintained "topped off, they appear to be failing much more quickly than a typical automotive lead-acid battery should. In cool climates, I would expect a 7-year life from an automotive 12V battery. It seems like we may be getting less than three in the LEAF, some much less than three.
- Safety. There was one report that a LEAF experienced the brake pedal dropping to the floor while sitting on an incline and nearly running over some children. The problem was diagnosed by the dealer to be due to a bad 12V battery. Apparently communications on the CAN busses are unreliable below about 11V, leading to unpredictable behavior. If you combine this issue with poor battery management, there is a possibility of someone eventually getting hurt.
evchels said:
For larger advisory board:
One question that I would like answered applies to LEAF owners like me (or prospective owners) who do not put many miles on their car each year, but would still like to drive it many miles before having to replace the battery. Unfortunately, most/all guidance for battery life seems to be focused around the 12,500 miles/year usage range. It gets very hard to know how many years are possible in a cool climate for a 5000 miles/year LEAF. Is there some guidance that Nissan can provide for potential low-mileage LEAF owners to help us have an idea what to expect? Is it possible to get 15 years to 30% degradation? 20? Or is 10 years the outside limit for the LEAF? Perhaps the electronics are expected to fail at 12 years or some such? Or perhaps Nissan simply does not know?
 
I have two questions.
1. Does Nissan allow owner to use 3rd party bigger capacity replacement battery?
2. Will 2011 model get some of new software improvement for 2013 model like new re-gen algorithm?
 
Will Nissan be providing incentives for lessors to buy their cars coming off lease, such as a discounted battery replacement? Otherwise why would a lessor buy out their lease since in most cases, the buyout price is going to be higher than the value of the car?
 
Thanks for compiling this list, Chelsea.

> 1. What is status of Nissan’s Quick Charger plans?

By Quick Charger do you mean Chademo or a faster L2 charger? More to the point, will the 2013 model have a 6.6 kW charger? I really hope so!
 
rborba said:
Thanks for compiling this list, Chelsea.

> 1. What is status of Nissan’s Quick Charger plans?

By Quick Charger do you mean Chademo or a faster L2 charger? More to the point, will the 2013 model have a 6.6 kW charger? I really hope so!

I can't believe this is still a question. We have known in the LEAF community since at least last Dec 3, 2011 that the 2013 USA specification (and presumably Canada) would have an optional 6.6kW charger. This came DIRECTLY from Nissan (specifically Mark Perry) at a meeting with over a dozen Nissan execs and over 100 LEAF owners in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Lets not waste precious and valuable time with what we DO know, and get answers to what we don't know.

I hope all is well up there!!!
 
IMHO, there should be no such thing as a "dumb" question. Not everyone has the same level of knowledge, and it is great to see folks eager to participate. Of course, not all questions need to be passed along to Nissan. ;-)
 
Good luck to you all at the meeting Tues.

I hope the conversation goes better than this......

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9igQ18GIqvc[/youtube]


I like the bit about "You must expect teething troubles with these new models"
 
JPWhite said:
Good luck to you all at the meeting Tues.

I hope the conversation goes better than this......

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9igQ18GIqvc[/youtube]


I like the bit about "You must expect teething troubles with these new models"


That's quality British engineering, that's what that is!

Thanks, JP, I hadn't seen this one.
 
abasile said:
IMHO, there should be no such thing as a "dumb" question. Not everyone has the same level of knowledge, and it is great to see folks eager to participate. Of course, not all questions need to be passed along to Nissan. ;-)

I didn't say it was a dumb question; clearly that poster does not know. My comments are directed at premium time spent on questions that the greater LEAF community already have the answer to.
 
TonyWilliams said:
abasile said:
IMHO, there should be no such thing as a "dumb" question. Not everyone has the same level of knowledge, and it is great to see folks eager to participate. Of course, not all questions need to be passed along to Nissan. ;-)

I didn't say it was a dumb question; clearly that poster does not know. My comments are directed at premium time spent on questions that the greater LEAF community already have the answer to.

No offense taken. I didn't know about this meeting and given the amount of uncertainty still surrounding this subject, with many referring to it as hints, suspicions, hopes and rumors, I thought it was still up in the air. I guess this is a mute point for Tuesday anyway since a 2013 Leaf will be on display and you'll be able to see the charger for yourself.

I found this article which seems to refer to the meeting Tony mentioned, although not explicitly:

http://www.plugincars.com/2013-nissan-leaf-heating-system-66-kw-charger-119180.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
rborba said:
No offense taken. I didn't know about this meeting and given the amount of uncertainty still surrounding this subject, with many referring to it as hints, suspicions, hopes and rumors, I thought it was still up in the air. I guess this is a mute point for Tuesday anyway since a 2013 Leaf will be on display and you'll be able to see the charger for yourself.

I found this article which seems to refer to the meeting Tony mentioned, although not explicitly:

http://www.plugincars.com/2013-nissan-leaf-heating-system-66-kw-charger-119180.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If we go by the guess work done here, the sky is the limit. We still have folks thinking there will be a bigger / better battery, even after the number two guy at Nissan explicitly stated otherwise. It won't have a bigger or better battery. It will be cheaper for Nissan to produce, however.

And it will have an optional 6.6 charger.
 
Very good list of questions, Chelsea.
One thing missing is the issue of low speed "Grabby Brakes".
See http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=6086&start=130" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Although NTB 12-086 does seem a bit better, I and several others still consider the low speed braking and/or excessive built in motor controller "creep", to be something that needs further review and improvement by Nissan.
 
evchels said:
1. What is status of Nissan’s Quick Charger plans?
Just as a piece of background data related to this question, I was told last week (by a reliable member of this forum who is a LEAF sales specialist in the LA area) that "Nissan" is in the process of installing QC units at 20 dealers in the Los Angeles area. He did not state if "Nissan" was the Nissan Corporation or a collaboration of local dealers, but he did say that a detailed survey of their dealership had just been completed for location and electrical work. He offered no info on the method of payment, if any, or the projected completion date, but he implied operation in months, not years. It would be great if this was the start of new corporate direction.
 
HighDesertDriver said:
evchels said:
1. What is status of Nissan’s Quick Charger plans?
Just as a piece of background data related to this question, I was told last week (by a reliable member of this forum who is a LEAF sales specialist in the LA area) that "Nissan" is in the process of installing QC units at 20 dealers in the Los Angeles area. He did not state if "Nissan" was the Nissan Corporation or a collaboration of local dealers, but he did say that a detailed survey of their dealership had just been completed for location and electrical work. He offered no info on the method of payment, if any, or the projected completion date, but he implied operation in months, not years. It would be great if this was the start of new corporate direction.

I'll guess that was from Paul Scott.

I'm not aware of anything Nissan is "installing", nor do I know of many that likely to be at dealerships (in California, I don't know of a SINGLE Nissan funded project at a dealership). Of course, there is a chance that he knows something additional that I don't about these awards and where they go.

The funding is from California Energy Commission (CEC) money. In addition, Nissan is subsidizing $10,000 per charger for sales through AeroVironment, but that has nothing to do with the CEC money. Unfortunately, the price of the chargers are now $25,000 (I've actually seen the quote in my hands), which leaves a $15,000 net price). The stripped down charger model for $10,000 that everybody wanted to believe Nissan would sell has, much like a 100 mile LEAF, wilted.

Anyway, Google is your friend. Some of these WILL be Sumitomo built "Nissan" DC chargers:

http://www.energy.ca.gov/contracts/transportation.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

South Coast Air QualitManagement District
y Individual Proposals/Requested Fundin
g listed below
$255,00
0
$255,00087.7%Awardee
105
South Coast Air Basin DC Fast CharginStation #25
g Network-$15,000

183
Alternative Energy SysConsulting, Inc.
tems Three ABB/RWE DC Fast Chargers at U
C San Diego
$145,55
4
$145,55486.3%Awardee
Green Charge Networ
ks, LLCIndividual Proposals/Project Location/Rlisted below
equested Fund
ing
$2,087,153
$1,000,00086.0%Awardee
21
Smart Grid Enabled DC Fast Charging wStorage - 3111 West Temple Avenue, P
ith Energy omona$129,838

22
Smart Grid Enabled DC Fast Charging wStorage - 3450 Overland Avenue, Los A
ith Energy ngeles$132,038
23
Smart Grid Enabled DC Fast Charging wStorage - 7858 Van Nuys Boulevard, Va
ith Energy n Nuys$130,938
24
Smart Grid Enabled DC Fast Charging wStorage - 8693 Irvine Center Drive, Irvin
ith Energy e$130,809
25
Smart Grid Enabled DC Fast Charging wStorage - 5075 Westminster Boulevard,
ith Energy Seal Beach$131,084
26
Smart Grid Enabled DC Fast Charging wStorage - 3366 North San Gabriel Boule
ith Energy vard, Rosemead$130,938
34
Smart Grid Enabled DC Fast Charging wStorage - 2805 Garnet Avenue, San Die
ith Energy go$127,983
36
Smart Grid Enabled DC Fast Charging wStorage - 4080 Convoy Street, San Dieg
ith Energy o$129,083
37
Smart Grid Enabled DC Fast Charging wStorage - 23021 Sunnymead Boulevard
ith Energy , Moreno Valley$127,298
39
Smart Grid Enabled DC Fast Charging wStorage - 1000 West Orangethorpe Ave
ith Energy nue, Fullerton$128,609
45
Smart Grid Enabled DC Fast Charging wStorage -Mango Drive, Del
MarStorage 13801 Mar
ith Energy $130,183
47
Smart Grid Enabled DC Fast Charging wStorage - 901 Palomar Airport Road, Ca
ith Energy rlsbad$130,183
59
Smart Grid Enabled DC Fast Charging wStorage - 2217 East 17th Street, Santa
ith Energy Ana$131,084
61
Smart Grid Enabled DC Fast Charging wStorage - 5536 East Washington Boulev
ith Energy ard, Los Angeles$132,038
62
Smart Grid Enabled DC Fast Charging wStorage - 609 Rancho Conejo BoulevarOaks
ith Energy d, Thousand $133,009
69
Smart Grid Enabled DC Fast Charging wStorage - 11461 Firestone Boulevard, N
ith Energy orwalk$132,038
 
evchels said:
1. What is status of Nissan’s Quick Charger plans?

For those of us in Rural Arizona, and rural in other states, and far away from many public chargers, can Nissan executives offer any thoughts as to what can or should be done to move things along, as far as installing public charging both inter-city and intra-city? A few inter-twined thoughts here:

- If there are absolutely no public charge stations available to us, what can we do to step up the pace of introduction, on the road to the city, and within our communities. It doesn't presently seem to be Nissan's line of work to run a charging network, but the availability of a good public charging network directly affects our Leaf ownership experience, and maybe NIssan has come up with some ideas?

- I don't quite understand the role of dealers in providing charging. Do they? The one where I leased my Leaf, I have seen it on the map, but they're closed at least one of the weekend days, and so every time I"ve driven by the charger has not been available (to my knowledge). There is another dealer in a town in the next county where there are few if any public chargers The Nissan dealer there doesn't sell Leafs.... I think they are amenable to L1 charge, I've heard.

Well, I'm sure there's a lot I don't know here, but the basic question/theme is just to ask if they have any thoughts or can recommend any further pathways for us to stump for charging in our community, and inter-community, aside from stumping directly with Blink or Chargepoint or the like.
 
jlsoaz said:
evchels said:
1. What is status of Nissan’s Quick Charger plans?

For those of us in Rural Arizona, and rural in other states, and far away from many public chargers, can Nissan executives offer any thoughts as to what can or should be done to move things along, as far as installing public charging both inter-city and intra-city?...snip....
+1

I need a DCQC at the dealerships in Yakima and Sunnyside (Eastern WA State), where they aren't yet approved to sell the Leaf. :cry:
 
I haven’t seen anyone suggest the the basic questions that must, IMO, precede all others on the subject of the battery capacity and warranty.

If these questions are left off of the official list, I hope someone at the meeting will be given (and take) the opportunity to ask them.

1) Is the proportion of the total LEAF battery capacity we can access between ”100%“ charge and the various low battery warnings constant, or does it vary significantly?

2) Are the kWh use reports from Carwings and available from the dash and navscreen as m/kWh subject to the same high level of error as the battery capacity bars and aftermarket SOC and ”gid” meters seem to be?

Without knowing the answers to these questions, LEAF owners and lessees would seem to have no way to independently determine whether our battery capacity is at the stated “70%” warranty level, or for that matter, at any other.

And if Nissan answers that our LEAFs' energy use reports are now commonly and significantly in error, ask:

3) When can we expect repairs to bring our LEAFs' energy use reports to at a reasonable level of accuracy?
 
edatoakrun said:
I haven’t seen anyone suggest the the basic questions that must, IMO, precede all others on the subject of the battery capacity and warranty.

If these questions are left off of the official list, I hope someone at the meeting will be given (and take) the opportunity to ask them.

1) Is the proportion of the total LEAF battery capacity we can access between ”100%“ charge and the various low battery warnings constant, or does it vary significantly?

2) Are the kWh use reports from Carwings and available from the dash and navscreen as m/kWh subject to the same high level of error as the battery capacity bars and aftermarket SOC and ”gid” meters seem to be?

Without knowing the answers to these questions, LEAF owners and lessees would seem to have no way to independently determine whether our battery capacity is at the stated “70%” warranty level, or for that matter, at any other.

And if Nissan answers that our LEAFs' energy use reports are now commonly and significantly in error, ask:

3) When can we expect repairs to bring our LEAFs' energy use reports to at a reasonable level of accuracy?

1. Definitely constant. LBW is always 17.4%, VLBW is always 8.5%, and Turtle is 1.4% going slowly and 2.4% going 40mph or so.

2. I can't speak for other drivers, but my m/kW h on the dash is very accurate, within 3-4 miles. Maybe it's because I never had any updates done.
 
I don't expect this question to be incorporated, as it is late, but with respect to viewing and discussing the Model Year 2013 model, I find myself wondering as to how Nissan will respond to competition over the next few years, particularly the ones that are really good. To have an example at hand, what if Tesla actually succeeds in their "bluestar" model, even if the price is higher than $30k?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_BlueStar" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm assuming or hoping that Nissan is engaged in some process of continuous engineer or relatively steady improvements so they will have answers in a few years.
 
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