Below is from an article on the web these are quots from ACTUAL Leaf owners.... I too wanted the EV to succeed and I emailed THAT to Carlos Tavares. in February 2010 he emailed ME directly. HE KNEW THE LEAF BATTERY WAS FRAUD.... He's been trying to solve the problems. Sadly.... NASA has worked on a better battery for years and NISSAN's "hail Mary pass" is a FUMBLE...
NISSAN it's time to MEDIATE with the WHistleblower and "confess" to the fraud... The Class Action lawsuit by the Leaf owners is gonna DESTRY you.... I told you so.....
....Officially Nissan’s jury is still out. We contacted the company and spokesperson Katherine Zachary said today she could share very little, although she did say a total of seven cars were tested.
The MyNissanLeaf forum members – sifting the tealeaves – have heard from at least six owners who had their cars thoroughly tested, and rumor had it this could be as many as 11 Leafs tested. Today Nissan specified the count, but that’s all it has to say.
“We are studying the results of the seven cars tested and will let you know when we have something to share,” Zachary said.
Another aspect of this mystery already known is Nissan covered itself by not offering a Leaf battery warranty that would address issues like those now being experienced when it launched the car. The Chevy Volt battery is by contrast warranted, as is the similar battery in
Nissan alliance partner, Renault.
It’s been observed the Volt’s battery affects emissions controls, as a degraded battery would make the engine run more often, but a Leaf with a degraded battery still emits nothing. Beyond this, Nissan has taken the warranty posture it has, which contrasts to General Motors which already suffered through the EV1 debacle, and in any case has learned some public relations lessons.
The Volt’s battery – as is true for Tesla’s – is furthermore more thoroughly engineered with a liquid cooling/heating Thermal Management System.
In February this year, Nissan said in
an article touting its EV prowess that a liquid heating/cooling thermal management system was not necessary for the U.S. climates.
In 2010
Wired ran a report suggesting the battery was under-engineered, and that was turned into
an Autoblog post which has since proven potentially prophetic.
As patience is now being urged by Leaf owners, comments on the owners’ forum run the gamut, and all options are being explored.
One occupational hazard Nissan essentially took in creating an advanced battery electric vehicle is it attracted some forward-thinking people as its first customers. Many of these folks tend to be well educated, informed, proactive, assertive, and they are watching Nissan for potential improprieties, some of which have already been noted.
[Forum member] Tony has been one of the strongest supporters of the LEAF and it is troubling to see the transformation in recent months. I should say that this is troubling for Nissan and it's fledgling EV enterprise because clearly, unlike GM (maybe it's really learned from the EV1 fallout), Nissan has not shown appropriate support for it's early adopters!
First, somebody must ask themselves what their end game is. For me, I want to see EVs succeed, and soon. Nissan could quite conceivably put a really big dent in that movement, or just make it a speed bump. This issue really is that pivotal, in my opinion.
This idea of not pressuring or punishing Nissan "for the good of the EV movement" is ridiculous. You do not help a person or a cause by coddling their weaknesses. … Is it lawsuit time? Of course not yet. But one should not be afraid of that remedy and we should not be critical of anyone who goes that route. The complaint is legitimate and some kind of restitution is most definitely in order. Hopefully Nissan will recognize this and do the right thing.
The worrisome aspect at this juncture is that the reported degradations are SO much worse than Nissan predicted, it makes one wonder just how bad it might get -- even in more temperate locales. And at this point I'm not inclined to give Nissan the benefit of the doubt in regards to degradation "flattening out."
Unfortunately Nissan is quickly losing the ambassadorship of the enthusiastic early-adopters.
I think they really need to step out in front of this in a big way, even if they don't yet have all the answers. And not a memo full of disclaimers and spin, but forthright statements and a major unwavering show of commitment, such as a retro-active warranty.
The clock is ticking.
