Driving about a mile away from my house on a local street this morning, I was approaching an intersection at about 35 MPH, the lights were about to turn red, tying to brake to stop...all the brake lights lit up after I push the brake pedal, brake pedal came all the way to the floor, car had no brakes, complete brake failure, threw it in neutral and slammed on the emergency brake to stop, this vehicle has only about 42k miles on it. Avoided a collision with oncoming traffic by swerving the car.
2013 Nissan Leaf brakes complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 32 of 32, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I didn't drive the car for a few days and the 12v battery died. So I disconnected it from the car and hooked it up to my 12v battery charger. When it was fully charged, I reconnected it and started the car. Both the yellow and red warning lights were on as were the brake, ABS, and vdc lights. I started backing up in the driveway and as soon as I pressed the brakes, strange noises came from the front of the car. I slammed on the parking brake to stop.I tried backing again and noticed the brakes only engaged when the pedal was pressed almost all the way down. While troubleshooting, I noticed removing the vdc fuse stopped the sounds. Also the brakes are now usable, but require much more force on the pedal than normal. The trouble codes are c118a and c1a61. (ABS e-driven int brake system brc-124 / brake motor power supply br-46) after an expensive diagnosis, the nissan dealer determined "diag. Used consult. C1a61 current code motor power supply. Checked fuses ok. Electrically driven int brake unit harness and connections ok. 12v present to module. Brake unit internal shorted due to suspected surge. Rec replacing 12v battery and unit. Further testing may be needed.....estimate to replace 2817.00 parts and labor. Part is from the factory." I have seen many other leaf owners write about this kind of problem and believe it may be a common defect. I also don't know why it wasn't covered under the warranty.
I charged the leaf the night before and went downtown. It was winter in maine and around 10 degrees. After going into a store and coming out when I started the car and put it in d the brakes didn't work. I slammed the pedal down to the ground but it didn't seem to do much. I almost hit the parked car in front of me but I put the emergency brake down and luckily stopped. I turned the car on and off but the problem was still happening. The brakes made a weird clicking and electronic noise. I turned the car off for about 5 minutes to call aaa and when I turned it back on it worked. I've done some research and this has happened to other owners. There was a voluntary recall (p5327?) which was already done on the vehicle but this still happened. My leafspy app showed the dtc codes of c118a 0109 ABS e-driven int brake system brc-124 and c1a61 0109 brake motor power supply br-46. I took it to the dealership and they said that power wasn't being supplied to the brakes. Dangerous! They did not really have a fix for it other then put in a $2300 part and then do more tests.
Shortly after starting the car and as I began to accelerate forward, several warning indicators pertaining to the brake system illuminated and the normal brake pedal no longer appeared to function upon being depressed. The car was able to be brought to a stop with the use of the emergency brake pedal but the failure of the main brakes could have easily lead to a crash.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 nissan leaf. While driving 50 MPH, the vehicle failed to stop when the brake pedal was depressed. As a result, the contact crashed into the preceding vehicle. The front driver's air bag deployed. The vehicle was towed to an independent facility. A police report was filed. There were no injuries. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 16v119000 (service brakes). Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 36,000.
Oct 2017, leaf pulled out of parking lot from shopping trip ok, drove pass 1 stop sing ok (right turn, stopped) then lost brake function at up coming right light stop, no ABS, no traction control, no normal brake feedback, no 'engine brake' (simulation or re-generative braking), without any noticeable warning such as beeping sound. Panic, tried to press 'park' no reaction, the car feel like accelerating towards upcoming stopped traffic, looked down, make sure foot is on brake pedal, confirm no brake action but it didn't accelerate the car. Try hard brake to floor and steer car to between lane, all wheel locked with sqeeeeki noise, car slipped and stop between 2 stopped car. Speed limit of the road 35miles/hr outside temperature 91f clear sky. The car was at 49249 miles. Managed to pull the car to roadside parking lot, called tow truck tow back to dealer I got it from just 30days ago, svc dept. Checked said they found no mechanical issue with brake system and 12v battery ok. Turn over the car to autonation nissan tempe az. Initial check said 12v battery not passed test and voltage dropped below 10v, they said drop or unstable 12v may cause this. I brought to their attention driver window control is abnormal which may also cause 12v unstable, and another dealer checked the battery and it passed. Replaced 12v battery as requested, old battery core measured with volt meter at 12.56v. Tech came back stated 'brake master cylinder and brake control system bus need replacement. Parts will take 1 weeks to order. Nissan EV customer relation involved. 7days later called dealer again, told parts just arrived. Customer relation guy related dealer will still take a look on window switch but they think the new battery stabilized the 12v and window motor should not affect 12v voltage. (they still have not put in the replacement part and test yet?!) will update result if I can.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 nissan leaf. While driving 40 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle did not stop. The contact engaged the push start button and turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to nissan of elk grove in elk grove, california, but the source of the failure was not determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.
Having undergone a previous recall to fix a brake issue several months ago, at 50000 miles on december 23, 2016 the vehicle experienced complete brake failure narrowly avoiding a serious collision. While driving straight on a city street in traffic at approximately 35 miles an hour the driver removed his foot from the accelerator in preparation to apply the brakes to stop the car for the stopped traffic ahead. The car's regenerative braking ability was already slowing the car when the driver's foot attempted to push the brake pedal and found it solid and unmoving. The driver removed his foot from the brake pedal and reapplied his foot, attempted to depress, and again found the pedal unmoving. With the car continuing toward stopped traffic ahead the driver began to repeatedly and very forcefully attempt to depress the pedal. After 4 or 5 very strong kicks the brake pedal broke loose, went all the way to the floor without the drivers pressure, with no resistance or response. The driver retracted his foot and the pedal did not come back up. The driver attempted to begin to "pump the brakes" and with the first touch on the pedal which was still all the way down, the car's wheels locked and came skidding to a stop with no ABS modulation inches before hitting the car in front. The car was shut down and restarted, the brake pedal returned to the undepressed position but when depressed had no resistance and was ineffective at stopping the car (as though the brakes were not being applied). The parking brake was unaffected and would slow/stop the car. The car was taken to a nissan dealer for repair, they indicated that they had never seen anything like it and had to talk with the nissan engineers. 1/3/17 the owner/driver was told that the entire "brake brain booster controller" would have to be replaced with a replacement part from the nissan factory in kentucky.
On nov 18. 2016, my wife was driving nissan leaf 2013 on the highway under a rainy day, the vehicle suddenly gradually stopped (highway 680 to highway 580 at california state). My wife couldn't make it move even press accelerator until she stopped the engine and restarted again. It is very dangerous for her to have such experience on the highway. Later I checked the manual, it is said because of nissan's vdc function. However it is not proper to stopped the car when it is driving. Today, I also experienced the same problem. When I drove back my car, the car didn't allow to move until I pressed "vdc off" button. I believe this is a serious problem by nissan. I have contacted them to check and repair my car. However I think it is safe to government to check with nissan to see whether they have issues on any vehicles with vdc feature.
The leaf was in motion on a city street in "b" drive mode. When attempting to stop from around 45 MPH, the brake pedal became very firm, and the car did not slow. I released the brake and depressed it again. This time there was significant brake travel and the brakes engaged with a mechanical moaning sound. The car skidded to a stop as ABS ceased functioning. I parked the car and took a photo of the dash warning lights. Similar symptoms occurs 5 days prio, restarting the car returned it to normal operation both times. The weather was about 65 degrees f and dry during one occurrence. A similar temperature on a morning following a rainy night is when this occurred the second time. The car nearly entered an intersection on a red light. This problem looked and sounded like the videos posted on youtube in very.cold climates in which the leaf braking systems failed with the exception that this was in mild weather. This car has received the brake module firmware update from nissan prior to these incidents.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 nissan leaf. After hitting an obstacle in the road, the power brakes ceased to function without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.
Started car by pressing brake and ignition. Put the car in reverse. Car started moving at 2-5 MPH with the brake still pressed. Brake lost resistance and had to press hard to floor to stop car. No brake pressure. Took atleast 10-15 feet for the car to complete stop. Same thing happened when moved to drive forward. Fortunate that no one was close to car when this happened. Tik-tok-tik-tok sounds from car, pedal pulses rapidly and ABS and brake lights came on. Dealer replaced the 12v battery 2 weeks before this happened. Dropped the car at the dealership again. I see exact same complaints on this website from at least 10 other people. Not sure when this will become an issue that will be addressed by the manufacturer. Not sure if I can update this complaint later once I hear back from the dealer. If I can I will update it.
The issue: from parked and powered off I apply the foot brake and power on - put in gear (forward or reverse) and go - apply brakes and there isn't any (as in none) - panic - push pedal harder while panicking - pedal rapidly pulses as it sinks several inches to the floor boards and all four tires suddenly lock-up and the car skids. All the while making a loud noise that shakes the car and sounds like a drywall screw gun that has sunk the screw all the way in. Every warning light on the dash lights up (all of them). I had this issue several times 11 months ago and took it into the dealership. The second time I brought it in the issue was somehow resolved however the dealer said they couldn't find a problem. Now a year later it's happening again.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 nissan leaf. The contact stated that the brakes failed without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician diagnosed that there was brake fluid leakage. The vehicle received unknown repairs and the brake fluid was replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 15,500. The VIN was unavailable.
I was traveling at 25 MPH when I was forced to make a sudden stop due to the school bus in front of me stopping abruptly. I engaged the brakes and they went straight to the floor with no resistance. The brakes did not engage in anyway. I swerved but ended up hitting the rear of school bus.
There is an ongoing issue with the leaf's brakes grabbing to quickly when at low speeds and approaching a stop during cold conditions. It causes the car to jerk. It also creates an issue with the traffic behind us as there have been several times when the vehicles behind almost crash into us as they do not expect the car to break so suddenly.
Baking car out of parking space brake light came on. Shifted to drive and started moving forward. Brakes did not function. Rolled car into another parking space and had towed. All happened at low speed without any other traffic but this could have been very dangerous. Failure was catastrophic sudden and essentially complete. There may have been some minimal break function but not enough to stop the car safely from any speed beyond 1mph.
Have experienced multiple times where at low speeds, if the car encounters bumps in the road, the brakes give out and you have to pump a time or two to get the brakes to engage. There are other times at city/highway speeds where if the brakes are pushed medium to medium-hard the brakes seem to lock on and even when removing my foot from the brake pedal, the brake doesn't disengage and the car will slide for a couple seconds. Please do a thorough safety review on the brakes.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 nissan leaf. The contact stated that while reversing, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver and the brakes failed to respond without warning. The vehicle crashed into another vehicle. A police report was not filed. There were no injuries reported. The vehicle was taken a dealer where the failure was unable to be replicated. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 200 and the current mileage was 3,000. The VIN was not available.
I needed to press hard on the brake pedal to stop the car. The ABS light and the red brake light stayed on.
I was driving on the freeway in heavy traffic, so I was only traveling at approximately 45-50 MPH. I was switching lanes when the car I was moving behind sudden slowed (it did not stop). I quickly hit my brakes so I could slow down as well, but my car's brakes locked-up and the car started to skid. I let-off the brakes but the car continued the skid and stopped. I was very lucky to not have been hit by another car (actually nissan is the lucky one to escaped litigation).
When starting the car, all lights on the dashboard illuminated and car would do nothing. Shut down and restarted the car and everything was clear. Put the car into reverse and had nominal braking. It took 10 feet of slamming the brake pedal to bring the car to a stop at 2 MPH in reverse. It literally felt like no brake pressure. Stopped and restarted again and things were seemingly back to normal. Took it to dealership who blamed it on low 12v battery. Braking was pathetically weak at the one time... It was not just the typical lack of regenerative and motor assisted braking you would get during a fault.
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