Nissan Leaf Replacement Battery Plan Gets Big Update

June 25th, 2013 by Adam Johnston

Nissan has announced a new warranty program for Nissan Leaf batteries. The optional program increases the Leaf battery warranty substantially.

Nissan notes the new program will cost approximately $100 a month, which allows owners to receive a battery pack with at least 9 full bars of capacity if theirs falls below 9 bars (approximately 70% of its initial capacity) during the warranty period. The new program, scheduled for 2014, will complement the usual battery warranty program Leaf owners receive, which covers basic warranty for defunct batteries up to 100,000 miles or eight years. Nissan’s new battery replacement program will also supplement the five-year, or 60,000-mile capacity warranty.

Image Credit: Nissan Leaf via Flickr (spme rights reserved)

When developing the new replacement battery program, Nissan went to its owners to help develop a sound yet fair way to provide a new, quality service for its customers. Owners liked the monthly payment plan most.

“Nissan anticipates that the great majority of our current Leaf drivers will never need this battery replacement option. However, this program is yet another example of Nissan’s commitment to deliver peace of mind for our continually growing community of Leaf drivers,” said Nissan’s director of Electric Vehicle Sales and Marketing, Erik Gottfried.

“The battery replacement option will provide the peace of mind that customers have an economical option should they choose to replace the battery for whatever reason,” he said.

Should someone opt out of the program, Brockman said it would be the same way as if someone stopped paying for loan payments for a car — they would not get the service. However, more information would be given at a later date about opt-out specifics.

With Leaf sales growing, selling 2,138 units in May (up 319.2% from May 2012), it’s a smart move by Nissan to attract even more new customers, along with keeping current customers satisfied. Given the ultra-competitive EV market — the Chevy Volt and Tesla are also building a strong base — Nissan is positioning itself well in the upcoming battle with this new program.

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Tags: EV Market, Nissan, nissan evs, Nissan Leaf, Nissan Leaf Battery Replacement Program, Nissan leaf EV

About the Author

Adam Johnston Is currently studying at the School of the Environment Professional Development program in Renewable Energy from the University of Toronto. Adam graduated from the University of Winnipeg with a three-year B.A. combined major in Economics and Rhetoric, Writing & Communications. Adam also writes for Solar Love and also owns his own part time tax preparation business. His eventual goal is to be a cleantech policy analyst, and is currently sharpening his skills as a renewable energy writer. You can follow him on Twitter @adamjohnstonwpg or at www.adammjohnston.wordpress.com.

TimLee

Worst piece of reporting I have ever read Adam!!!

“With Leaf sales growing, selling 2,138 units in May (up 319.2% from May 2012), it’s a smart move by Nissan to attract even more new customers, along with keeping current customers satisfied.” is a totally ridiculous statement. Go read the 55+ pages of negative comments from owners at http://www.mynissanleaf.com, come back here and delete this piece of garbage reporting, and rewrite a valid news article.

Shame on you for such shoddy reporting.
Bob_Wallace

$100 per month just does not seem right to me.

The LEAF has a 24 kWh battery pack. Scuttlebutt claims we’re getting about to $200/kWh, so a $4,800 item with an average life expectancy of more than 8 years. That’s probably paying at least double the cost of a replacement battery.

And 8 year from now prices could be closer to $100/kWh.

And I figured in no value for the “used up” battery which would have several years of productive life left as grid storage.
- Lee
  
  Petrol/electric car sound like a better option, then changing high cost battery. In the long run you could buy a new car every year.
Mark

Are Nissan having a laugh ? or is this April 1st ?

Nissan seriously expect someone to pay 100 $ PM to guarantee that they will only ever get a battery at 70% Capacity?

Put it another way, if the range of the Leaf is 70 miles at 60 mph which would be the top end of the scale then Nissan expect people to pay for a warranty that will guarantee them 49 miles range ?

You would want to be insane, if Nissan said they would replace the battery for a brand new one I’d be all for it, but this is disastrous!

Worse too is the fact that if you only have 70% capacity you will be most likely fast charging a lot more taking even greater toll on the battery.

If I pay 100 a month to guarntee my battery for 8 years I end up paying 9600 for a repaired battery of 70%.

This is complete madness,

Just offer us a brand new battery and we can sell the old battery to electricity companies for renewable energy storage.

The best thing for people to do is charge your battery to 80% and don’t run it down below 30% and in a moderate climate the battery should last years, do not waste your money.

If you live in a hot climate, you might consider it.
Chris V

Unfortunately, it appears that Nissan is not moving in the direction of Tesla with its battery changing stations.
- http://zacharyshahan.com/ Zachary Shahan
  
  Nope, moving in the opposite direction: http://evobsession.com/nissan-saw-it-coming-carlos-ghosn-said-no-more-battery-swap-vehicles/
  
  For Nissan’s target consumer, i think that’s best for now.
- Michael Clark
  
  Hi Chris V
  
  Michael Clark Palm Bay Florida on Facebook
  This was your Message
  Chris V Unfortunately, it appears that Nissan is
  not moving in the direction of Tesla with its battery changing stations.
  Could elaborate on your comment , I’m trying to learn as much as I can
  about EV’s good an bad.. I’ve made up my mind my next car will be an EV..
  Thanks Mike Clark in Palm Bay
  - http://zacharyshahan.com/ Zachary Shahan
    
    Some people are set on the idea of battery swapping, but it’s yet to show itself as very useful, attractive, or economical for the average consumer…
- Bob_Wallace
  
  I think battery swapping is likely to be a luxury item. Something that people with deep pockets might use on long trips.
  
  The capital expense of setting up battery swapping is high. You need the big wire that rapid chargers need and you need the charging equipment. You also need an inventory of batteries, swapping equipment, and more real estate than a rapid charger. Labor costs.
  
  I don’t think people are going to pay big dollars for a 90 second swap when they can get their charge in about 20 minutes for small dollars.
  
  We’re likely to see restaurants and stores discount the price of a charge as a way to bring in customers. Maybe just price out charges at a level that will pay for the equipment over a long period and cover the electricity. Not take any profit.
  
  Nissan is certainly more than a little aware of battery swapping. Nissan/Renault made the Better Place swappable battery cars under the Renault badge.
  - Pete
    
    Would be better to swap cars than folk out that amount of money or fold out solar panels to charge the car during the day.