In may 2015 we brought the car to dealer service center complaining of periodic sensitive and periodic non-responsive brakes at low speed. Dealer could not replicate the issue. No repairs offered. On august 05 2015, brakes completely failed while moving under 15 MPH and the vehicle failed to stop at an intersection. Vehicle went into the intersection before the brakes engaged and the vehicle stopped. Car was towed to dealer service center. The issue could not be replicated. No repairs offered.
2012 Nissan Leaf brakes complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 22 of 22, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I was coming to a stop sign there was a little sand on the road and the car started to skid in the front wheels. I let go of the brake but the wheels did not stop braking. This happens every time you try and stop hard even on clean dry pavement. The front wheels lock up and don't unlock even with your foot off the brakes. This will cause an accident one day when someone is following me. I have also had 4 instances one which left me stranded where I can feel a drag on the car and the battery drains twice as fast. I have tried to turn off the traction control when this happens and it did not help. It was towed to the dealer and was told it had to fully charge before being reset. Then they reluctantly scanned the car but found "nothing wrong" the range perdition on the dash board is always way off. I have to add at least 10-15 miles on top of whatever distance I want to go. And I drive very conservatively. In the winter at 0 to -5 deg f I get 35 miles range!! Not the 80-100 claimed.
When moving the vehicle out of park you must depress the brake pedal. I've had 3-4 times where as soon as the gear selector moves to "d" the brake pedal softens and sinks in and the car rolls forward until the brakes engage. I took it to the dealer and they could not duplicate the problem and won't do anything about it. So far I've had time to stop before hitting the car in front of me but I'm worried that one of these times I won't.
Brake system failed and ignition started and thrusted car forward. It seemed like the brake got soft and then would not function. This incident caused the car to damage private property and caused major damage to front end of the vehicle.
An animal ran in front of the car. After a hard application of brakes and subsequent release of brake pedal, the car continued to stop, coming to a full stop in the street without driver input. The condition can be repeated, if you step on the brake pedal hard enough. The brakes function normally in typical driving. The problem only manifiests itself in emergency or unusually hard braking as encountered in collision avoidance of cars, pedestrians, or other obstacles. A second incident also occurred at 30 MPH. An oncoming car appeared in my lane on a blind curve. The abrupt braking resulted in the leaf stopping unexpectedly and completely in the curve. Due only to the vigilance of the driver following behind us, we were not rear ended. I had stopped applying the brake long before the leaf was stopped, as the danger had passed. From 40 MPH, a hard application of the brakes, and the release of the brake pedal fully at 35 MPH, will result in the car coming to a full stop in the road. Application of throttle immediately after release of the brake pedal at approx 35 MPH will result slight mitigation of braking, but only after a delay. The car will still continue to slow down unexpectedly and put the occupants in significant danger from following traffic. I tested another 2012 leaf and exhibited it the same behavior while a 2014 did not, instead, reacting normally to hard braking.
Vehicle suddenly stopped mid-traffic, while gently pressing the brakes, causing a major safety problem and a near-accident. I understand safety and gentle - I'm a surgeon. After this point, the vehicle either refused to accelerate normally, and clearly inhibited by the brake. The brake would not let up, despite starting/stopping/powering cycling the car. The emergency electric brake was cycled, in efforts to reset the braking system - without success. Towing to dealer.
Exiting freeway, hit brakes to start a turn. The brakes completely locked up sending the car into a slide and into the end of a guard rail.
Drove car into driveway with slight incline, pressed button to engage car into park, got out of vehicle, plugged in car to charge it. Walked up 2 steps to house, car rolled back nearly striking 9 year old. Rushed to the car to try to stop it. Car stopped when rolled back across street and into neighbors yard / rock. Tore charging station off the exterior of the house. Caused breaker to trip and ruined the unit completely.
Driving my 2012 leaf on a secondary road on sunday afternoon, at 45 MPH, I applied my brakes to turn right on to another street. After moderately pressing the brake pedal the brakes locked, bringing the vehicle to a complete stop in the roadway. My foot had not been on the brake pedal for at least a full second while my vehicle continued to abruptly stop. A vehicle behind me rear-ended the leaf. I and my two passengers received neck injuries. This is absolutely a defect in the braking system that needs to be resolved. I consider nissan at fault and not the driver of the vehicle that rear ended us.
I was traveling at highway speed. The car in front of me began a fast reduction in speed. I rapidly applied my brakes to the point of full stopping power. Shortly afterward I released the brake as I was confident I would not hit the car in front of me. The brakes kept their full stopping force for at least another 1/2 to 1 second. I had to steer off the road to prevent the car behind from hitting me. This has happened twice before but I did not record all the details until today. This is twice now that I had to make a medium speed emergency dive off the highway to avoid immediate collision from the rear. In my first incident I was traveling 70 MPH on i25. This is frightful dangerous braking behavior. I love my leaf but in my opinion this automobile is not safe to drive on a freeway. I called the dealer and will take the car in tomorrow but I was told there are no nissan notes on this failure mode.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 nissan leaf. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH, the brakes failed without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where it was advised that the brake sensors needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the problem persisted. The manufacturer was notified. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 14.
During extreme braking on uneven surface, loose gravel, or slick surface, the anti-lock braking system (ABS) engages (as expected). However, once the brake pedal has been released, ABS fails to release the brakes promptly. The additional release delay causes greater-than-intended braking, and potential for being rear-ended (struck by following traffic).
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