Nissan Leaf

[user removed]

The nickle metal hydrid batteries in the the 1st gen Insights were claimed to last 30 years.

Hows that working for everyone? Seeing a lot of those 2nd gen Prius batteries dying at 10 years age, not 30, and almost all of the 1st gens are dead or replaced.

Any examples of the current lithium batteries that have actually been in heavy continuous service for 10 years? If not personally I am skeptical and one fact remains.

When that 10 year point is reached the vehicle will have NO residual value when the battery is toast.

Ignore that fact if you wish, but basically that makes your electric car worthless at the same age that is the average of vehicles currently on US roads. Larger capacity batteries will not change that, more expensive initially, still worth less after a decade.

Add in the Chinese factor in production quality?

regards
mech

[Piotrsko]

i dunno, based on my observable history, when cars gets to be not supported by factory paid repairs, there tends to start a thriving aftermarket. State Farm says my 2000 F250 has no value but they are for sale @ $10K on craigslist.

I saw about 50 vendors diy battery packs in their garages last year, and the market for a 32 Ford replica kit is astounding.

Niche markets, but still a source for your 10 year old vehicle.

6 years on my Volt pack since install, Jury is still out on longevity, I abuse them more than Chevy ever did.

[user removed]

I haven't heard of any success with reviving lithium batteries. Have heard of "bricked" Tesla's with replacement battery cost at 50% of new vehicle cost. How would you like that repair bill?

regards
mech

[freebeard]

Those zero value EVs in the junkyard will regain value when the solid electrolyte batteries hit the market, for OEM components for the conversions of even older cars and trucks. I'd like a Tesla drivetrain swapped into a 1960 T-bird with Starliner roof grafted on:


http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1960-ford-starliner-project.857460/page-2#post-10655556

I don't know when the batteries arrive, but EVTV promises control of the Tesla MGR by the end of this year.

[NeilBlanchard]

We have now had our Leaf S for one year! Electricity costs are the only expense, so far. We are averaging ~4.6¢/mile, so ~13,000 x 0.046 = ~ $600.

[Daox]

Very nice Neil. Thanks for keeping us updated on the car.

Any mods planned for the car?

[NeilBlanchard]

No plans for mods. My spouse would not stand for it, I think.

[LitterBug]

I know this is a semi-old post, but to throw in some longevity numbers on the first and second Gen Prius, My Dad has had Both. Still has his completely stock 2002 with close to 200,000 miles and the original battery pack. He had a 2006 with 150,000 on it up till it got totaled the past winter. Again, totally stock and never a hint of problems with the batteries.

Cheers!
LitterBug

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

The nickle metal hydrid batteries in the the 1st gen Insights were claimed to last 30 years.

Hows that working for everyone? Seeing a lot of those 2nd gen Prius batteries dying at 10 years age, not 30, and almost all of the 1st gens are dead or replaced.

Any examples of the current lithium batteries that have actually been in heavy continuous service for 10 years? If not personally I am skeptical and one fact remains.

When that 10 year point is reached the vehicle will have NO residual value when the battery is toast.

Ignore that fact if you wish, but basically that makes your electric car worthless at the same age that is the average of vehicles currently on US roads. Larger capacity batteries will not change that, more expensive initially, still worth less after a decade.

Add in the Chinese factor in production quality?

regards
mech

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

The nickle metal hydrid batteries in the the 1st gen Insights were claimed to last 30 years.

Claimed by whom? I don't recall any such claim, just an 8 year (IIRC) warranty. Mine are working just fine, with a rebalance every couple of years.

[ocnorb]

Wanted to try a little trip that would test the car and hopefully help alleviate some of my dearwifes range anxiety. We have been driving to nearby charging stations and checking them out to make sure they work and to help us get more comfortable with the 100% electric.

Our Leaf has a Chademo, so we started our trip at the local Nissan dealer in SLC. We left there with 70 miles on the range guesser and were heading to where Plugshare promised a charger would be in Park City. We then went past Deer Valley to Guardsmans Pass and dropped into Big Cottonwood Canyon to head home. The trip elevation gain was from 4265ft to 9862ft and back down again. Maps shows it as 7552ft up and then 7552ft back down. Quite an adventure at this stage for us in the Leaf.

We tried to stay at 65 MPH up Parleys, but mixing it up with large trucks pushed us to go 70 MPH some of the way for safety's sake. Our first stop was the outlet mall in Kimball Junction. We made it there with 16 miles still on the meter. The wife was happily surprised that it made it and they have free L2 charging stations for shoppers. (Oh crap... Maybe that wasn't a smart idea after all $$$)

A few miles down the road we searched for the promised Chademo and finally found it right at the front doors of the Newpark Resort Hotel. It is on a free trial for now, but it worked and we enjoyed a nice walk around the area while the car charged for 25 minutes.

Our route:


Our next task was to make it to the top of the drive- Guardsmans Pass. And hope it had not been CLOSED for the season.

The little Leaf climbed right up the steep back roads and I was surprised at how fast the charge was being depleted on the dash meter. In the 13 miles from the last Chademo to the peak we used a lot of battery, arriving with just 9 miles showing on the dash range guesser. It was about 40F at the pass.



At least it was all downhill from here! We regenerated to about 46 miles as we enjoyed the scenery going down the canyon to home. We did see another Leaf heading up the canyon.



All in all a beautiful drive and great confidence builder for us and our Leaf. We will probably never take it on anything with this much elevation gain again, but it's nice to know what is possible.