2015 Nissan Leaf: grinding or squealing brakes

Filed Sep 1, 2026 · Brakes, Electrical · WA

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.

Filed Dec 7, 2025 · Brakes · CA

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.

Filed Nov 21, 2023 · Brakes · HI

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.

Filed Sep 2, 2022 · Brakes · CA

The intelligent brake control unit has gone bad. I was driving home and I was preparing to stop at a stop sign . I pressed on the brake pedal and the would not stop. Luckily there were no other cars or else I would have been involved in a car accident. I had the car towed home then I drove it to the Nissan dealership. They ran a diagnostic and they said that they found multiple codes for the brake booster. They recommend that the intelligent brake control unit be replaced. At the time of the incident, the abs light went on, and the traction motor light went on. When I pressed on the brake there was a squealing noise coming from the pedal. That was the first time that ever happened. I reached out to nissanconsumeraffairs.com for assistance to help with the cost of the part. They said that they could not help. My case number is [XXX] and the person that was my contact was [XXX]. Her number is [XXX]. I have read various accounts of where the same part has failed on many Nissan LEAFs. This should be a recall where this part should be fixed for free. It is putting many lives in danger. I hope that you can help me out as well as the many people that drive this car make and model. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

Filed Apr 2, 2021 · Brakes · 55,530 miles · PA

I drove my vehicle to my children's daycare a few miles from my home, parked, and turned off the car. When I went to start the car to leave, I heard a strange buzzing type sound at startup, and then got a bunch of warning lights for the brakes and traction control. I turned the vehicle off and on a few times to try to get the warnings to clear. I noticed the buzzing sound was coming from when I pressed the brake pedal. I tried to get the vehicle to go into neutral but it wouldn't. Then I tried putting it in drive, and it did go into drive, but started drifting backwards because I was parked on a slope. This is the scary part that could have injured someone. I was in a daycare parking lot and someone could have walked behind my car at the time it drifted back. Thankfully that did not happen. I mashed on the brake to stop the car, and it did stop but required more brake travel and made some grinding noises, like the ABS was operating. After I realized I had a major problem, I searched the internet and found some people on forums with similar issues. I tried disconnecting the 12v battery for a few minutes, a couple of times, but couldn't get the brake alarms to go away. So I got it towed to my dealer. Dealer was busy and didn't get to look at the car for two-three days. They said that when they turned on the car they didn't see anything wrong. I asked them if they saw any codes, and they checked and they found codes for the can communication and intelligent brake system. The service advisor called this a "fluke" and said that the car was safe to drive. However, I am reading that there are many reports of the same problem with this model year leaf. I do not feel safe driving this car, especially not with my children in it. What if the "fluke" comes back while I am driving down the road and can't safely stop in time? The contact stated since replacing the intelligent brake module at the owners expense the problem has been resolved.

Filed Jan 28, 2019 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 51,000 miles · OH

Brakes failed upon starting the car. Multiple warning lights on the dashboard (brake, ABS, traction control, and brake system) resulting in total brake failure - cannot stop the car with normal braking even while just putting the car into drive/reverse from park. Started happening ~3 weeks ago. The only thing that stops the car is the emergency / parking brake. If pressing the brake pedal all the way, just before hitting the floor there is a loud popping / grinding noise and the parking brake (?) engages. The first time, turning the car off/on fixed it. We took it to our local nissan dealer, they said "could not find the issue in their system" and said it was a "fluke" and wouldn't happen again. Happened again a few days later and turning the car off/on didn't help, and the car was stuck in our driveway. Tried replacing the 12v battery, which fixed the issue temporarily. Happened again a few days after that and had to get it towed back to nissan. *now* they found the issue in their system and think it's the "driven intelligent brake unit" and costs $2600+ to fix. They also say the "main engine harness" may need to be replaced for some reason as well, costing another $2400+. Have contacted nissan USA, they told me they don't have a record of this being a problem with leafs (even though there are dozens of complaints on here) and refuses to provide assistance. This brake system is *extremely unsafe* for the driver & passengers, and everyone around it. My kids could have been near the car when it started moving on its own even though I was pushing the brake pedal. No one needs to die or get gravely injured because of this faulty system.

Filed Jan 4, 2019 · Brakes · 64,893 miles · CA

Upon starting my 2015 leaf, with my foot on the brake, I was able to place the car in reverse; in spite of the brake being depressed, the car immediately began to move. With the brake pedal depressed to the floor, the car continued to move in reverse, until I frantically applied the emergency brake. All dash warning lights became illuminated and the car made a grinding sound, when I stepped on the brake. The tow truck driver had to put car in reverse and use the emergency brake to move the car into a towable position. Per nissan, the intelligent brake control unit failed and would need to be replaced along with the associated harness. Nissan offered to pay $5,500, leaving me to pay $1,500 to cover cost of repair. This is a significant safety concern that the vehicle can have a catastrophic brake failure which completely disables the vehicle. I am very fortunate the failure occurred in an area devoid of any pedestrians and clear of any moving or parked vehicles. I expect that it won't be long before someone is seriously injured by this failure.

Filed Dec 10, 2018 · Brakes · 37,000 miles · CA

Brake warning lights on dash may turn on at startup sometimes, and pressing brakes cause grinding noise (like anti lock activated). Located in san jose, ca, weather is about 50-90 degrees f. Nissan keeps on saying there's no issue, and it's a $4k fix to replace the whole brake system, and will not look at the issue. Have gone to several dealerships, no help.

Filed Dec 1, 2018 · Brakes · 29,000 miles · VT

The morning of november 9th, 2018 I attempted to start the vehicle after having been parked overnight in our garage. When I pressed the brake pedal, I did not feel any resistance. After pressing the on button, I felt the pedal resist and vibrate. I heard a grinding sound from behind the pedal and warning lights illuminated for brakes and ESC. The vehicle would not start so I had it flatbed towed to the nissan dealership. They determined the electronic brake controller had failed and required replacement. The dealership and nissan jointly covered the cost of the repair, to their credit. I am concerned this component could fail while driving and result in a loss of braking force, creating an unsafe situation.