The electrically-driven intelligent brake unit failed on my 2015 Nissan Leaf. The brakes became inoperative: when pressing the brake pedal there is a loud compression/grinding noise and the pedal goes nearly to the floor with little braking force. The failure appeared suddenly after charging the vehicle; it had been working normally before. The vehicle had to be towed to a Nissan dealership. The dealer diagnosed codes U1000 and U110D stored in the ABS module for lost communication with the intelligent brake module, performed an inspection, and confirmed the intelligent brake unit failed. The dealer quoted $5,131.10 to replace the unit, which approaches the value of the vehicle. This is the same electrically-driven intelligent brake system that was the subject of safety recall 16V119000; the federal safety agency VIN lookup shows zero unrepaired recalls for this vehicle, indicating the recall remedy was previously completed, yet the unit failed catastrophically anyway. This failure mode is widely reported by other Leaf owners. Loss of braking without warning is a serious safety risk. The vehicle and failed component are available for inspection at the dealership.
2015 Nissan Leaf: brake failure
33 of the 111 complaints about the 2015 Nissan Leaf describe brake failure.
- owner complaints
- 33
- of this car's complaints
- 30%
- typical repair cost reported
- $5,000
- typical mileage
- 20,000
- recalls
- 1
Brake failure by model year
What owners say
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that while reversing at an undisclosed speed, the brakes failed to engage while the brake pedal was depressed. The brake and master warning lights were illuminated. The failure had occurred on several occasions; however, the contact stated that the vehicle recently failed to return to normal operation. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the brake module booster needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact researched and was made aware of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 16V119000 (Service Brakes); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
The car was parked in a parking lot, and when we turned it on and pulled out of the space, the brake light, ABS light, and other warning lights came on and the brakes went soft. We pulled back into the space and tried again, thinking it was a fluke and heard a strange noise coming from the car when it started. Again the lights came on and the brakes did not work. We had it towed to our normal mechanic and then to the dealership when the mechanic was unable to figure out what was wrong. The brakes looked to be in good repair. The Nissan dealership was unable to reproduce the problem and found only old codes in the system. The codes listed on the receipt were FFD high key cycle counts, C118A, U1000 (ABS, EV/HEV), P3195, B29C1 However, after I saw similar complaints related to the battery in this car and told them about it, they found that the 12V battery was leaking. They replaced the battery and flushed the brake line to be safe, but did not charge us the diagnostic fee since they were unsure if they fully fixed the issue. I had recently felt like the brakes took more pressure than normal (all the way to the floor) to stop on the highway once recently and so did my husband but we both thought we were imagining things. 2 years ago we had a similar issue happen but the mechanic just sent us back home after not being able to find anything. The codes on the receipt from 2024 are not very legible but I think they say "41000Gn Comm Circuit" "C118A EAS System" and "41100 Electronic Back Return."
This is the third time my brakes have failed while driving, which seems to have something to do with the 12-volt battery. At least at first, I disconnected my 12-volt battery and reconnected it; this fixed the issue, at least for a while. The other day, I was driving down a road near my house and the brakes failed right before I came around a bend. I had to quickly press the e-brake to slow down, or I would have run right off the road. This is definitely a dangerous issue. Please issue a recall for this because I've noticed many other people complaining about the same issue—the same sound, feeling, and symptoms. It appears the brakes are malfunctioning due to a communication error, or a low voltage issue to the brake computer systems?
Was driving the car in a neighborhood setting only going 20 mph, ABS light turned on the dashboard, traction control light or some other light regarding traction came on as well, brakes failed. Had to use parking brake to stop the vehicle.
While driving normally, yellow brake warning lights came on but I arrived home without incident. Next time I drove, the warning lights were all off, but suddenly the brakes failed almost completely. I pushed the pedal to the floor and heard a grinding/clicking sound, and barely any stopping power. I was only going 25 mph, and was able to stop after 5 seconds of high foot pressure. At the same time, red brake warning light came on. I was able to get the car home very slowly, and strangely I had adequate braking power for the remainder of the short trip (although red and yellow brake warning lights remain on). I am happy to provide the car for inspection. This was extremely dangerous to the nearby pedestrians because I could not have stopped the vehicle had one been crossing in front of me. Had this happened at highway speeds, my passenger and I would have been in great danger, as would have other vehicles.
I was driving about 30mph and suddenly out of nowhere my brakes went out. They went out for about 1 second and some lights went out - then I slammed on the brakes, skidded to a halt and stopped in the. middle of the road, nearly crashing. We took it to the garage and they ran two codes and told us to take it to the dealer. The dealer quoted us about $8,000 and said it needed to "replace electrically driven brake control unit AND e-harness (engine room harness) (240123nh1d)". This makes the car dangerous to drive due to failures beyond our control or regular maintenance. This is a car failure and should be covered by a recall. It is simply not safe to drive. Looking online, this has happened to other Nissan Leafs of the same year/model as well.
Brakes did not engage when depressing the brake pedal. No warning lights in the dash. Car was used a few hours prior with no issues. No other warnings of the failure occurred before or during my attempt to brake, aside from the lack of braking action. Occurred at a stop sign cross traffic, I turned into oncoming traffic, cutting off the other car but avoiding a collision. I confirmed the brakes did not work at the subsequent stop light, used parking brakes to stop at the side of the road. Minimal braking action seem to be present when I fully depress the brake pedal. Brakes worked normally the next day. Dealer service center states the intelligent brake control unit needs to be replaced for $5000, which is around the current value of the vehicle.
Brake pedal goes to the floor with no braking power. Grinding sounds, then finally brakes engage, but feels like the emergency brake. Super dangeraous, happened on the freeway. Checked 12v battery, based on what I read on line, battery had and still has strong charge. Next day, brakes work just fine. No problems. Happened again on highway a few days later, again, no braking power until just at the end, cant drive the car at any speed now, battery still fine. No cold weather here (unlike the many other 2015 leaf owners reporting the same issue. All dash warning lamps come on. Again, car drives fine the next day. Nissan denies any recall being needed, despite the hundreds of reports of similar dangerous problems.
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The electronic braking system seems to have randomly failed due to some electrical glitch. Mechanically the braking system works fine but during this incident the ABS system kicked in causing the car to shutter and the brake petal went to the floor with 0 braking power. Was forced to put the car in Park and apply the emergency brake in the middle of the road in traffic to ensure it would stop. Cycled the car on and off multiple times to see if that would help reset the car but the problem persisted. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Putting other drivers on the road at risk if we were not able to stop the car could have caused property damage and personal injury to others on the road and my family who was in the car. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? The problem has been reproduced 3 times but the last time being more severe and power cycling the car didn’t correct the issue like the prior two incidents. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? The vehicle is going to be inspected by myself and possibly the manufacturers dealership depending on my findings. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? There was no prior warning all warnings come inline with the brake failure.
On Monday, 11/14/2022, while driving at 25 mph in approximately 28 degree temperatures, the brakes completely failed on my 2015 Nissan Leaf and the parking brake light, ABS light and traction control warning light suddenly illuminated on the dashboard. I glided to a stop in the breakdown lane, and while in both Drive and in Park when I pressed the brake pedal to the floor there were odd buzzing/knocking sounds towards the front of the vehicle (where the motor, etc. are located) and a vibration under foot accompanied by a clicking noise similar to that experienced during anti-skid braking. I turned the ignition on and off several times but the system malfunction was still present. I was able to drive 100 yards into a parking lot with minimal braking ability (the emergency brake served as a backup). I left the car parked, and when I returned two hours later to meet the tow-truck, the vehicle started normally with no lights on the dash. Brake functionality had returned, at least temporarily. I thus drove very carefully three miles home without incident. (However, had this occurred on the highway or while in traffic, a fatal accident could have occurred.) I have since found many reports from others who have experienced the same issue, which seems to be common enough to justify a recall, particularly as the brake failure reoccurs (see https://www.carproblemzoo.com/nissan/leaf/2015/service-brakes-problems.php). Tomorrow I bring the car to the dealer to diagnose the problem.
Complete brake failure due to the intelligent brake unit. Driving on the freeway when multiple warning lights flashed at once and I lost brake functionality. I used to emergency brake to slow to a stop. This is an intermittent failure because after it sat for 30 minutes brake functionality returned. I'm very concerned about this issue and have seen multiple people reporting this issue for Nissan Leafs.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
Service brakes
- What is wrong
- Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 LEAF vehicles manufactured November 19, 2012, to July 31, 2015. During very cold temperatures, the relay inside the electronic brake booster may freeze, requiring the driver to exert more effort to slow the vehicle down.
- Risk
- If the brake relay fails, longer distances or additional brake effort would be required to stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the Intelligent Brake Control Unit software, free of charge. The recall began on March 28, 2016. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1‑800‑647‑7261.
Recall number 16V119000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2015 Nissan Leaf brake failure
Is brake failure a common problem on the 2015 Nissan Leaf?
33 of 111 owner complaints about the 2015 Nissan Leaf (30%) mention brake failure. The model year with the most reports is 2015.
How much does it cost to fix brake failure on the 2015 Nissan Leaf?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $5,000 (median of 8 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2015 Nissan Leaf?
There is 1 recall and 3 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2015 Nissan Leaf
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