Who Is To Blame? Nissan Leafs Starting To Leave Owners Stranded

They should have purchased a Prius.

A Prius is a Hybrid.They should have purchased a VOLT.Its a no brainer but there is so much Anti American stigmatism on this site its not even funny.The Japanese will hardly drive an American car let alone have USA export to them but the idiots here hate American products.Im suprised.

There is a reason why the Japanese people will not consider American cars. The majority of people in Japan have small vehicles, and there is a reason for that. The gargantuan size of American vehicles make them unsuitable for Japanese roads. So there are practical as well as logical reasons American vehicles do not sell in Japan. Obviously, reliability and durability are also issues, and they know that American manufacturers have large areas of opportunity to improve there.

PSSST: hey Figian....the Volt is a hybrid.

People hate them because they suck compared to the competition (although the gap has closed considerably)

I think that part of the problem is that the voltage of the battery doesn't drop linearly as the battery is depleted. It drops very little until the battery is almost dead, and then drops like a rock. Because of this, and the fact that there is a little variation from battery pack to battery pack, it is difficult to know how much charge is left without actually fully discharging it once or twice. The cars computer could then learn the rate of voltage drop and provide better estimates. You still have the problem of varying driving conditions. For example, driving away from the wind you may have 15 miles of range, but only 5 if you drive into the wind. Or the last part of your commute is mostly up-hill, but the first part is flat. There isn't much that the computer can do to add those into the calculation without having access to live weather reports and GPS data, not that you couldn't add those in.

all part of designing to a standard rather than real world.

Should have thrown Consumer Reports Magazine in the garbage and bought a Volt

Probably one of the best articles I read in a long time. Nevertheless it seems to me that they really didn't take the time to test it properly, which is obvious.

A car that goes 40 or 50 miles on electric power isn't worth to be in production. Either that, or it should cost no more than $5k. Paying 25k+ on a leaf or $40k+ on a Volt that would take me only that much is a total rip off. But, sadly there are many idiots out there who support such malpractices. So, hope they'll learn their lesson from such experiences.

You do know the VOLT switches to gas for another 300ish miles when the battery runs out dont you?

I agree. All of this technology and we still can't get over 100 miles on an electric car. Sad.

I think that new technologies are better when they are unveiled after thorough testing, it's a smarter approach than clunkin in on hype the way Chevrolet and Nissan did.

Companies like BMW and Toyota are putting an enormous ammount of energy in the testing process and we've seen countless inputs from cities, universities and companies who've had the Prius PLUG-IN for years now just to make sure the car would be reliable in every day conditions.

Same thing happened when companies rushed DSG technology, VW had countless problems until they got it right, would it have been better to wait ? I think so.

You just know that if a Leaf was to get so much as a flat tire, the media would be all over it.

I try to avoid driving my conventional gasoline powered car with less than a quarter tank-full even though the trip computer and experience give me a very good idea of how far I can still go. Granted discrepancies in the "miles to empty" estimation may be higher with EVs due to environmental conditions, why should this practice be any different?

Even though range is an issue the estimate given on EVs should still be quite conservative.

Buy a VOLT

Hey smart guy (800over)Can the Prius run without Gasoline?Can it be charged.For your info Boog American cars are way more reliable than many Japanese cars.There are a lot of American cars way way more reliable than say TOYOTA.I know too many Toyota owners with blown engines.Besides they have to be babied.For example they need timing belts,tensioners,water pumps replaced at 60 - 90 k while most American cars dont.My son rolled an Olds Intrigue 5 times down a cliff a month ago and came out without a scratch.He would have been dead in a Japanese car and you know it.Once a fine magazine was testing 15 passenger Vans and had a Chevy and a Ford.Since they couldnt find a Dodge they put these two against a Toyota Minivan.And guess who wins.Drives like a car the article said,but can it carry 15 passengers?

Thats just a retarded comment. he survived with no scratches by pure luck. European cars are the safest in crashes in most cases. And no Chevy or Ford 15 passenger van drives like a car, that would be impossible because of the heavy duty suspension needed to carry all of that weight. Also Japanese cars are better built and more reliable on average than ours. I do not own any Japanese cars but everyone I did have was far more reliable and far better built, especially when it comes to the interior, and they are far easier to work on when I was a mechanic and still work as one on the side, (Although Japanese cars were few and far between other than routine maintenance).