Nissan testing new, heat-resistant batteries for Leaf

As Nissan Leaf sales continue to heat up, the maker of the electric vehicle wants to cool concerns over hot-climate battery issues by making chemical adjustments to battery packs, Green Car Reports says. Nissan executives met with about 10 Leaf owners in Phoenix last week and said the company is approaching a solution that will better allow Leaf lithium-ion batteries to withstand extensive heat without losing capacity faster than Leafs that live in cold-weather climates.

Specifically, Nissan is testing new Leaf batteries under sustained temperatures of about 113 degrees Fahrenheit in an effort to replicate what some Arizona locals call a temperate month. All joking aside, the company may start using the new chemical composition in replacement batteries that would be deployed as soon as next April, Green Car Reports says.

Nissan executives have been trying to address high-heat fears since Arizona Leaf owners started complaining that their batteries were degrading faster than advertised, and have since replaced batteries in about two-dozen Leafs located in hotter areas. Nissan still says that a very small percentage of Leaf batteries - less than 0.1 percent - were adversely affected specifically by sustained heat and needed to be replaced, though the company did bring together an independent global advisory board to address the issue last year.