Capacity Loss on 2011-2012 LEAFs

[RegGuheert]

Do I get to be post 5,000? If so, Is there a prize?

I'm still aggravated. Stinky prize.

You can have post #5000.

THIS post is REPLY #5000!

(At least until the mods delete it!)

 

[mwalsh]

Do I get to be post 5,000? If so, Is there a prize?

I'm still aggravated. Stinky prize.

You can have post #5000.

THIS post is REPLY #5000!

(At least until the mods delete it!)

At which point THIS will become glorious reply #5000! :mrgreen:

 

[jspearman]

I feel like having a cake made, reading, "You did it! Congratulations on 5,000 posts," and taking it to my Nissan dealer.

 

[Volusiano]

FWIW, I called Nissan today to ask for the status of my 2-bar loss case # and they said nothing is going on. I said, well, then why did some people get buy-back offers from their cases and others (like me) don't? They said they only deal with it on an individual-by-individual basis, but they don't have a "program" for buybacks in general. I said that in that case, I'm officially now making it clear that I'm requesting a buy-back for my case. They said OK, they'll open up a new case # for me since the old case # is so old (Nissan-speak for being closed already?), and someone will get back to me to discuss it further within 7-10 days.

So I would strongly suggest that if somebody wants to pursue a buyback from Nissan to call and let them know clearly in no uncertain term that that's what you want. Otherwise, they'll just assume that you don't want anything done for your case and no action will take place.

I received a phone call from a Nissan employee today, about a week after I opened up a new case with them last week to officially request a buyback (they promised that someone would get back to me within 7-10 days). After asking me a few questions about my driving habits and range requirement, he said that Nissan is working on a general remedy solution for the battery issue, and asked if I'd be willing to wait and hear what it is first before proceeding with my case. He said he'd call me in about 30 days or so (or by end of January) to give me the details when they come out. I said OK, I can wait to see what the proposed general remedy solution is like first.

He did not give me any details about what it might be. I can only guess that it wouldn't be a technical solution, but maybe some kind of a warranty solution.

 

[mwalsh]

After asking me a few questions about my driving habits and range requirement, he said that Nissan is working on a general remedy solution for the battery issue, and asked if I'd be willing to wait and hear what it is first before proceeding with my case. He said he'd call me in about 30 days or so (or by end of January) to give me the details when they come out. I said OK, I can wait to see what the proposed general remedy solution is like first.

He did not give me any details about what it might be. I can only guess that it wouldn't be a technical solution, but maybe some kind of a warranty solution.

That sounds encouraging. It would still be nice to know what has been discovered (if anything) about this issue on a technical level though!

 

[kolmstead]

That IS promising. It is heartbreaking to look at my 2-year old LEAF, less than 18K miles on it, and know that, at best, I might be able to squeeze one more year's use out of it.

I started charging to 100% this week just to make my 36-40 mile commute. Too many LBWs in the past couple of weeks. A 100% charge only gives me 225 GIDs.

-Karl

 

[GeekEV]

... After asking me a few questions about my driving habits and range requirement, he said that Nissan is working on a general remedy solution for the battery issue, and asked if I'd be willing to wait and hear what it is first before proceeding with my case. He said he'd call me in about 30 days or so (or by end of January) to give me the details...

Zoinks!

Any Nissan reps out there reading this that can confirm some announcement is coming? Not that I don't trust you, Volusiano, but it *is* third-hand information at this point... I wonder if it's legit or another case of a CS rep talking out their a**?

 

[OrientExpress]

Many of you will be pleasantly surprised with what Nissan will be doing in the area of LEAF customer satisfaction in 2013.

 

[ALLWATZ]

Many of you will be pleasantly surprised with what Nissan will be doing in the area of LEAF customer satisfaction in 2013.

I doubt it! Also interesting that you say many, not all.

 

[DaveEV]

Also interesting that you say many, not all.

Well, you can't make everyone happy! Especially on the intarwebs!

 

[Herm]

Many of you will be pleasantly surprised with what Nissan will be doing in the area of LEAF customer satisfaction in 2013.

I doubt it! Also interesting that you say many, not all.

It's obvious he is privy about some plans to satisfy degraded Leafers, but perhaps some will be disappointed by the pro-rating scale. My guess its 20% loss in 5 years/60k miles, so the battery replacement will be pro-rated to that, lets say if you have 30k miles on the car Nissan will cover half of the replacement cost... my guess but it could anything Nissan thinks is fair. Since its a wear item, the battery is expected to degrade from day one.

 

[TomT]

Forgive me if I don't hold my breath!

Many of you will be pleasantly surprised with what Nissan will be doing in the area of LEAF customer satisfaction in 2013.

 

[JPWhite]

Many of you will be pleasantly surprised with what Nissan will be doing in the area of LEAF customer satisfaction in 2013.

Good. Glad to hear it. Redemption is possible for all those who repent Here's hoping they make a good remedy that satisfies the majority.

 

[GeekEV]

I doubt it!

Forgive me if I don't hold my breath!

Wow, guys, I can't believe the rempant skepticism. This all sounds very promising and (so far) like it might actually address what we've all been clamoring for. This is the most encouraging news I think I've heard yet on this topic. Let's given Nissan the benefit of the doubt on this one. There's a big difference between saying nothing and admitting that something is coming...

 

[GRA]

I doubt it!

Forgive me if I don't hold my breath!

Wow, guys, I can't believe the rempant skepticism. This all sounds very promising and (so far) like it might actually address what we've all been clamoring for. This is the most encouraging news I think I've heard yet on this topic. Let's given Nissan the benefit of the doubt on this one. There's a big difference between saying nothing and admitting that something is coming...

Since Nissan hasn't officially said much of anything (IIRC, Jeff alluded to some changes without any details), the skepticism is fully justified. Lots of people were willing to give Nissan the benefit of the doubt when they did the first buy-backs, but since that proved to be anything but a general policy most people won't accept anything less than action. As Nissan has been demonstrating all year, talk is cheap, and unofficial statements aren't going to cut it anymore. As to who's to blame for this skepticism, Nissan corporate just needs to look in the mirror; they've gone out of their way to earn it.

 

[kolmstead]

Yeah, I think we have reason to be skeptical. In fact, my first thought was that Nissan was just going to announce the firmware upgrade to "fix" our instrumentation problem. If Herm is right, then the question becomes what a replacement pack will cost. My car is at 80% capacity in exactly two years and 18K miles. If the standard is 80% in 5 years, then I only got 40% of the years or 36% of the miles that Nissan suggested I would get, so Nissan ought to pay for 60-64% of a new battery.

With about $25K invested in the car at this point, how much more should I pay to get back, at best, three more years of usability?

This past summer has proven that the LEAF's battery cannot withstand 100+ degree summers, so I think that a buyback is the best solution for virtually all hot-climate LEAF owners.

I'm mildly encouraged by Voluisano's and OrientExpress's reports. Hope for a general solution has been the only thing keeping me from dumping my LEAF for whatever I can get for it and admitting that buying it was one of the poorest financial decisions I ever made.

-Karl

 

[Volusiano]

... After asking me a few questions about my driving habits and range requirement, he said that Nissan is working on a general remedy solution for the battery issue, and asked if I'd be willing to wait and hear what it is first before proceeding with my case. He said he'd call me in about 30 days or so (or by end of January) to give me the details...

Zoinks!

Any Nissan reps out there reading this that can confirm some announcement is coming? Not that I don't trust you, Volusiano, but it *is* third-hand information at this point... I wonder if it's legit or another case of a CS rep talking out their a**?

For what it's worth, this is a different person who called me than the CS rep who answered my call and created a new case for me. I asked him if he's also part of Nissan Customer Support, and while he didn't say yes or no, he told me that he's part of a task force at Nissan to handle complaints such as mine. I don't think he's an arbitrator per se. The number comes from a TN area code.

Last week when I opened up a new case to request a buyback, I got a PM from another MNL member who told me that he also had a call from somebody from Nissan who vaguely suggested to him the same thing about waiting for a fix coming the beginning of next year before requesting a buyback, and he also agreed to wait. I won't reveal who this MNL member is because he PM'ed me about this, so I want to respect his privacy since he chose to send me a PM. Of course, if he wants to reveal himself here and confirm this, he's free to do so. But at least, I don't think I'm the only owner who has heard about this from Nissan since there's another independent source who told me he's heard the same thing from Nissan.

I can understand the skepticism here and I'm skeptical myself, too. But if it's only going to be about a month away, I'd be willing to wait to hear what it's all about.

 

[Stoaty]

Many of you will be pleasantly surprised with what Nissan will be doing in the area of LEAF customer satisfaction in 2013.

If they have a plan, why are they waiting until 2013? Trade in for a new 2013 model at a great price? They need to crank up the battery manufacturing in the U.S.? I remain skeptical until I hear something official. So far this is "vaporware".

 

[leafkabob]

I think OE probably has his information right. I posted the following on Dec. 7:
"I am in the middle of a buyback myself and fwiw, my process has been incredibly easy. I can't explain the difference, but all I did was file another complaint (my third) right after the September Phoenix Range test. After that, Nissan "tested" my car and then the Arbitration Dept called me and asked me what I wanted. I said I wanted my money back and they said okie dokie. In fact, they have the check in hand but are kindly letting me hold off a few weeks before I pull the trigger to see if Nissan comes out with an announcement about a battery warranty on the 2013s. I asked for this because I interpreted OrientExpress's post as implying that there may be one.
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=10687&start=180#p245301" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Quote:
I also wanted to mention that I think everyone will be quite pleased with how Nissan will stand behind battery performance for the coming BEVs in their US portfolio.

If in fact Nissan chooses to warrantee the 2013 battery there should be no reason it would not apply to the 2011, since the battery chemistry is the same."

The arbitration guy I talked to said that Nissan generally has a meeting in mid-December and he thought if they were going to decide on the warranty issue, they might do it then. Thus, his offer to let me wait awhile before finalizing the buyback.

But what remains to be seen is whether the warranty will be enough to keep the leaf a viable car in Arizona.

 

[Herm]

But what remains to be seen is whether the warranty will be enough to keep the leaf a viable car in Arizona.

Leasing is the only thing that keeps a Leaf viable in Arizona, for now.