Nissan Leaf Getting Improved Battery Warranty
After complaints from owners alleging that the lithium-ion batteries in their Nissan Leafs were losing charge capacity, Nissan has decided to offer an improved warranty to please customers.
“Nissan will protect against capacity loss in LEAF batteries that fall below nine bars, of the available 12 bars displayed on the vehicle’s battery capacity gauge, for the first five years or 60,000 miles in the United States, whichever comes first,” says a letter to Leaf owners from Nissan executive VP Andy Palmer. The warranty will also be retroactive, and cover all model year 2011 through 2013 Leaf vehicles. It is expected to take effect in Spring of 2013.
Nissan claims that after five years of driving, around 20 percent battery capacity will be lost, which is expected. However a group of Leaf owners in Arizona said that their Leafs were losing capacity at a much faster rate, and sued Nissan over the issue. That spurred the Japanese company to investigate the issue further.
SEE ALSO: Nissan Buys Back Leafs from Dissatisfied Owners
“Our actions today are intended to put customer minds at ease regarding the topic of battery capacity loss,” wrote Palmer. “Even though it is expected the great majority of owners will never have to use this enhanced warranty, we want each Nissan LEAF owner to have the security that should capacity loss exceed this defined threshold, Nissan will cover the repair or replacement of their battery under warranty.”
[Source: Automotive News]
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Stephen covers all of the day-to-day events of the industry as the News Editor at AutoGuide, along with being the AG truck expert. His truck knowledge comes from working long days on the woodlot with pickups and driving straight trucks professionally. When not at his desk, Steve can be found playing his bass or riding his snowmobile or Sea-Doo. Find Stephen on <A title="@Selmer07 on Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/selmer07">Twitter</A> and <A title="Stephen on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/117833131531784822251?rel=author">Google+</A>
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This is the biggest insult in the world as far as I'm concerned. Nissan is the reason I will NEVER buy an electric vehicle. Andy Palmer is a crook and a cheapskate.