My Electric Journey with a Nissan Leaf

摘要

Fifty-four months and two battery packs later, I'm still enjoying my first-generation Nissan Leaf battery electric vehicle (BEV)-but with a second-generation battery pack. All batteries (of all types) degrade, but no one, including Nissan, expected the original Leaf battery packs to degrade as rapidly as they did-especially in warm climates. Because of this, Nissan was forced to offer owners of the first-generation 2011/2012 Nissan Leaf this battery capacity warranty: "In addition to the existing lithium-ion battery coverage provided under the Nissan Electric Vehicle Limited Warranty for defects in materials or workmanship, the lithium-ion battery for your 2011/2012 Nissan Leaf is now also warranted against capacity loss below (9) nine bars (or approximately below 70%) as shown on the vehicle's battery capacity level gauge for a period of 60 months or 60,000 mi, whichever comes first." Even better, the replacement battery packs featured an improved heat-resistant chemistry along with a small increase in capacity.