After some Leaf owners located in hot-weather climates complained to Nissan about their car’s lithium-ion battery losing performance , the Japanese automaker decided to take action and bolster its warranty program that will apply retroactively on all 2011 and 2012 models, as well as the new 2013 version starting from next spring.
Under the expanded warranty program, Nissan will either repair or replace the Leaf’s lithium-ion battery if it loses more than 30 percent of its ability to hold a charge after five years or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first, according to a report from the Detroit News.
“With this action, Nissan becomes the first and only manufacturer in the automotive industry to provide limited warranty coverage for battery capacity loss for electric vehicles,” stated Andy Palmer, Nissan’s executive vice president.
Palmer added that the Japanese carmaker is also working “to improve the precision of the battery capacity gauge that displays remaining capacity in the Leaf’s electric vehicle battery.” The display Palmer is referring to features 12 bars showing the battery’s capacity.
“Our actions today are intended to put customer minds at ease regarding the topic of battery capacity loss,” Palmer noted.
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