Capacity Loss

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV

    It's one of the most frequently asked questions by anyone hearing about a modern electric car: do I have to replace the battery? With 15 years of experience in mobile phones and more than that with laptop computers, most buyers know that lithium-ion batteries lose capacity over time. Replacing phone or laptop batteries, generally for less than $100, is irritating but not a deal-breaker. DON'T MISS: 2017 Chevy Bolt EV 10 to 40 percent battery-capacity loss: possible, but unlikely? The specter of replacing an electric-car battery pack costing several thousand dollars, however, may well be. The...

  • 2014 Nissan Leaf
    Nissan Leaf Likely To Offer Larger Battery For Longer Range

    Every electric-car owner wants more range; it's practically an immutable law. Now Nissan executive Andy Palmer has come close to confirming that a longer-range Nissan Leaf is in the cards, though likely not until 2016 or even 2017. In an interview at last week's New York Auto Show with Palmer, who...

  • 2013 Nissan Leaf
    Nissan Tests New Heat-Resistant Battery For Leaf Electric Car

    Nissan is testing a revised lithium-ion cell chemistry for its Leaf electric car that the company says appears to be as durable in sustained extreme heat as its current battery is under normal conditions. If tests confirm that the new cells degrade at no more than the standard rate, even at high...

  • Polar Charging Post and Nissan Leaf
    Nissan Suggests Leaf Battery-Capacity Loss Due To High Miles: Exclusive

    It's been a few months now since reports of losses in battery capacity in Nissan Leaf electric cars began to filter out of Arizona. Owners have complained to Nissan's Consumer Affairs group and written hundreds of posts on owner forums. In July, Nissan Americas took seven different Leafs in for a...

  • 2012 Nissan Leaf 4-door HB SL Instrument Cluster
    Leaf Owners Send Science In To Tackle Wilting Nissan Leafs

    There’s nothing better than a scientific test to prove or disprove a theory. So when Nissan executive vice president Andy Palmer described the recent reports of battery capacity loss in its Leaf electric car as nothing more than a ‘faulty battery level display’ earlier this month...

  • 2012 Ford Focus Electric, New York City, April 2012
    Predicting Electric-Car Battery Life: GE, Ford, U of Michigan Team Up

    Because the gasoline car has been in continual production and development for over 100 years, automakers can use past experience to estimate how long cars -- and their engines -- will last. But because the development of the modern electric car is still in its infancy, automakers are still...

  • Nissan Leaf: Lost Battery Capacity

    More than two months after a few Nissan Leafs in Arizona began to lose capacity bars in the extreme heat and suffer premature battery aging, Nissan has started formal investigations into the issue. While being interviewed over the telephone by Arizona’s KPHO 5 station in Phoenix, Mark Perry, Nissan North America’s product planning and advanced technology director, confirmed the automaker was looking into the problem. “We wanna learn more about what’s going on,” said Perry, confirming that Nissan has received five complaints from Phoenix Leaf owners about rapid...

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