As electric vehicles gain popularity around the world, some consumers still question the reliability of a car that can lose its charge and leave its driver stranded. While such incidents are generally few and far between, the website All Cars Electric reports that some Nissan Leaf owners have complained the model has prematurely run out of power. According to the source, owners of the 2011 Nissan Leafs have complained about the problem on online message boards, claiming the vehicle has suddenly shut off at times when the vehicles' power monitor said it still had miles left. In February, one San Diego man reported that while driving on the highway, he pulled off ramp after his car said it only had 16 miles of range left. Within one mile of leaving the highway, the source said the Leaf completely died. A representative from Nissan North America told the site that the Leaf has multiple warning systems in place to warn drivers when their vehicle is running low on power. The representative added that the remaining range calculation is only an estimate and not an accurate representation of a battery's state-of-charge. Moreover, the source reported that the range estimates become more accurate with time. A few weeks after the incident, the San Diego Leaf owner admitted that his own driving may have been the reason his car ran out of power."The bottom line is I simply drove it out of power. [Nissan] had the engineers look at the car extensively and test everything, and the end result is that I drove too far for the charge I had," he told the website.Similarly, the source investigated another power failure claim from a Seattle Leaf owner. The man said his car failed while he was driving home from the airport although he was driving with eco-mode on and no heat to preserve the charge. His Leaf stalled with 8 miles still left on the charge, reported the source, 5 miles away from his home. However, the driver also gave Nissan some credit, telling the website that the company sent two engineers to test the car to make sure it wasn't faulty. After it came up with no technical faults, the man determined that the cold weather may have drained the charge faster.According to Consumer Reports magazine, the Leaf, along with the Chevrolet Volt, has been found to have a considerably smaller electrical range in cold weather. In an attempt to alleviate the problem and prevent drivers from becoming stranded, the magazine said Google Maps has begun displaying electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, which can also be found on smartphones.Some American cities have begun to build EV charging stations to promote the use of vehicles. California's Bay Area recently designated $3.9 million toward the development of 2,780 personal and public charging stations, while the city of Chicago plans on constructing 280 stations around the city and surrounding suburbs by the end of this year.
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