Questions for Jan 8th Town Hall Mtg in AZ

Volusiano said:

If you take this one step further, it becomes the Better Place model. Problem is, those swapping stations cost too much to build. It looks like Better Place is in serious trouble now.

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The problem is that people are not buying the car.. not an issue with the battery swap stations

Volusiano said:

I remember reading some post on MNL a while back that said Nissan can't lease the battery only because of some US law or regulation of some sort. So they're required to either sell or lease the whole car and not half and half. Maybe somebody can chime in with more details than this.

Apparently Europe and Israel don't have the same restriction so Renault can lease the battery for their car.

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It's the $7500 federal tax credit. The way it's written, the car and battery pretty much have to go together...although if one of the big auto makers really wanted to do it, I would think a way could be made to do it.

davewill said:

Volusiano said:

I remember reading some post on MNL a while back that said Nissan can't lease the battery only because of some US law or regulation of some sort. So they're required to either sell or lease the whole car and not half and half. Maybe somebody can chime in with more details than this.

Apparently Europe and Israel don't have the same restriction so Renault can lease the battery for their car.

Click to expand...

It's the $7500 federal tax credit. The way it's written, the car and battery pretty much have to go together...although if one of the big auto makers really wanted to do it, I would think a way could be made to do it.

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I think battery leasing is worth "keeping on the table" for discussion sometimes here in the US, even if some are skeptical that it's a good direction to go. I simply don't know. It's not the same thing as full-on battery-switching. That's another matter.

This is Jeff from Nissan.

I wanted to bring you an update from the recent meeting in Phoenix. As we are able to gather data and answer the many questions that we received I those answers here.

The following, regarding the LEAF 12V battery, was raised by Chelsea Sexton near the end of the meeting. Billy Hayes, VP for Global LEAF sales, confirmed all of the data and responds.

Regards,

Jeff


Of the approximately 20,000 LEAFs on U.S. roads, Nissan dealers have replaced fewer than one percent of the 12V batteries both nationally AND in AZ, which I consider to be very low for both the nation and for Arizona.

And just to clarify, Nissan covers 100% of the cost of parts and labor for replacing the original 12 volt battery for all model year 2011 and newer Nissan vehicles for the entire term of the basic Nissan New Vehicle Limited Warranty, 3 years/36,000 miles, whichever comes first. Recently I read a post on mynissanleaf.com that suggests otherwise, but our policy is to cover 100% of the warranty repair cost for original equipment 12 volt batteries for the entire basic warranty period for MY11 and MY12 vehicles.

Separately, Nissan provides a warranty covering genuine Nissan replacement 12V batteries, which is also described in your warranty booklet. It provides that if your genuine replacement 12V battery becomes unserviceable during the first 24 months of service, it will be replaced without charge, including labor, provided it was originally installed in your vehicle by an authorized Nissan dealer. After 24 months, a replacement battery is provided at a reduced pro rata price that varies based on the age of the battery through 84 months, and the vehicle owner is responsible for labor charges.

I appreciate this opportunity to respond, and I will continue to keep an eye on this as my team and I do all other facets of LEAF ownership.

Billy Hayes

Hawk0630 said:

This is Jeff from Nissan.
I'd like to address the issue of the "list of questions" raised by Volusiano. I will not speak for Chelsea, but I took her counsel in drafting the first three questions to Andy and Billy. I did not repeat them verbatim, rather I presented each -- the battery warranty, battery pricing and quick charger roll out -- as the most prominent issues that were presented to us and collectedy by Chelsea via the MNL.com forum. If it would have been better to use one of the exact questions as a proxy for all of the submissions on each of the three issues, then I accept the responsibility for that, but I was attempting to get right to the heart of the issues, as raised by you, the owners and enthusiasts.
Jeff

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Jeff,
This thread has been pretty quiet for a while. How about an update on the Quick Charger roll out ?

How many are installed and working today ?

How many are currently under construction ?

Thanks for your time,
KJD

Billy,

I was the forum member who asked the question, and raised it several times with Chelsea. I believe we are all aware of the warranty coverage. The real question is how will we know when it is nearing end of life. In a non-EV vehicle, hard cranking several times before failure to start is the symptom. What will be the 'warning' before my LEAF 12 volt battery is unable to start the LEAF?

In AZ, a 12 volt battery in an ICE vehicle is viable for 24-36 months (my experience from 20 years in AZ). Without the need for high cranking amps, I expect my LEAF 12 volt battery to last longer. What will be the tell-tale sign of degradation.

I wish to be proactive in replacing the accessory battery, rather than having to tow the vehicle because of a dead or near dead battery.

Thanks,

Art S.

Thanks for posting, Jeff.

If possible, I'd sure love to see an update about the software update that Andy Palmer talked about rolling out "in Spring" that would help to address some of the accuracy issues with the LEAF instrumentation and the capacity bars in particular...

Thanks, Randy

Art, just get Turbo3's Awesome App, an easy modifiable ELM 327 Bluetooth OBDC, and a prepaid inexpensive Android phone (Kyocera eVent) with WiFi/BT ($40) and you can always know the voltage of your 12V along with lots of other data read from the CAR CAN plus later the EV CAN.