2018 Nissan Leaf acceleration problems

Filed Jan 8, 2026 · Acceleration · CA · crash

On 1/6/2026, as I slowed down as I was turning into my parking lot. I had Eco and e-pedal ON for regenerative braking. As I was turning into the parking lot, the car suddenly accelerated, went over the curb, across the street, over another curb before finally stopping after colliding with a structure. I was driving slowly and distinctively recall braking. This sudden unintended acceleration put safety at risk and caused significant property damage. There were no warning signs or messages. The car is in the yard now and will be available for inspection.

Filed May 15, 2025 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · HI · crash

On [XXX], I was slowly pulling into my driveway, took my foot off the accelerator and turned the steering wheel slightly to the right as the driveway is L shaped. Suddenly, the car sped up towards the garage door. I looked down quickly to see if I’d somehow pressed the accelerator by accident but I had not. I slammed on the brakes as hard as I could but the car kept going and smashed into the garage door and the corner of the garage, causing close to $20k in property damage. The hood and front bumper were badly caved in at the point of impact and pieces of the undercarriage were on the ground. The air smelled like rubber and there were tire marks on the driveway here I had slammed on the brakes. The airbags did not deploy. The Automatic Braking System did not work. There were no warning messages or lamps. The only unusual symptom that I noticed was that on my way home from Kona, when I was pulling up slowly to a traffic light, the car seemed to hesitate a couple of times, which seemed odd but not severe enough for me to be concerned about a wreck. That occurred about a half hour before the incident. I was not physically injured but I have been very shook up and depressed since the incident. If this had happened on the highway, I could have been killed and the car could have killed others on the road. I reported the collision to USAA immediately and, on their advice, I had it towed to Kona Nissan, the dealership where I purchased the vehicle and where I have had it serviced. The expectation was that they would perform diagnostics on the vehicle but they won’t touch it, nor will they talk to USAA. I had taken the car in when it was recalled for the VCM issues and I don’t believe it was fixed properly. Or the repair wasn’t effective. The car is at Gerber Body Shop in Kona, Hawaii. Please arrange inspection with them. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Mar 11, 2025 · Acceleration, Engine · KY

After hard acceleration then releasing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle does not slow as expected and, at times, will actually continue to accelerate. The vehicle will slow as expected when the brake is applied, but will again gradually accelerate when the brake is released. If slowed to a stop, the vehicle may begin to accelerate once the brake is released. This issue does not occur after normal acceleration. The issue may be related to the federal safety agency Recall Number 23V‑494, which repairs have not been addressed for the subject vehicle, although the issue occurs regardless of the state or change-of-state of the e-pedal switch or cruise control function, both of which are mentioned in that recall. This issue has occurred on multiple occasions in the time that I have owned the car (approx 13 months.) There is no correlation with weather conditions or initial or final speed. The only consistent variable is rate of acceleration.

Filed Jul 17, 2024 · Acceleration · 100 miles · WA

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated while driving on several occasions at various speeds with the cruise control activated, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle lunged forward. The contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V494000 (Vehicle Speed Control). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100.

Filed Mar 29, 2024 · Acceleration, Electrical · AZ

I was driving at 65 MPH on the freeway and the car was acting/driving normally. Without any warning at all, many lights appeared on the dashboard at the same time that the car placed itself into neutral and lost all power to drive. My speed was reduced so quickly without any notice and I had no pull out lane near me, so I was forced to move across 5 lanes of traffic in rush hour speeds of 60-85 MPH traffic in order to get to safety in a pull out lane while my car was quickly losing speed at 30 MPH and below. I tried to put the car back into drive but it was impossible and the dashboard read "EV maintenance needed". Of note, my entire battery was replaced less than 6 months prior and the Nissan Peoria (AZ) dealership reported no other issues with the vehicle. Upon inspection, the dealership reported the traction motor inverter needs replacement, and again there were no indications this was failing.

Filed Dec 7, 2023 · Acceleration, Brakes · WA · crash

I was pulling slowly into a parking spot. The vehicle accelerated all of a sudden on its own very fast. I slammed on the brakes and the vehicle did not stop. It ran us on a sidewalk and crashed into a pole. Luckily no one hurt. Progressive is calling the car a total loss, but they have done nothing The car is still at a parking lot near the crash. Nissan is also doing nothing. I feel that I deserve better treatment. I have a good driving record and my rates are going to go up. I have not been offered a replacement car. The car is very dangerous and I would never drive another Nissan

Filed Oct 6, 2023 · Acceleration · 12,300 miles · CA · crash

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle at low speeds, the vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own. As a result, the vehicle jumped the wheel stop, coming to a complete stop after colliding with a tree. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed, and no injuries were reported. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who did not provide a specific diagnosis but advised the contact that a BCM reprogramming was required. The vehicle was repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related it to the federal safety agency Campaign Number:Â 23V494000 (Vehicle Speed Control), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 12,300.

Filed Dec 4, 2019 · Acceleration, Brakes · 12,000 miles · OH

Nissan propilot has a serious safety flaw. When using propilot on my 2018 nissan leaf sv in stop and go highway traffic, sometimes when my nissan leaf coasts to an almost complete stop 15 feet behind a "boxy" vehicle like a semi-truck, the leaf suddenly accelerates like if there is no vehicle directly in front of me and if I am not completely attentive and if I do not immediately apply the breaks, the nissan leaf would rear end the semi-truck. This has happened to me 4 times over the past 6 months when following a semi-truck with trailer and this morning it occurred again a fifth time but this time I was behind a sedan. I have a dashcam video of the incident from this morning. I have reported this issue to nissan but they have done nothing about it. I have taken my 2018 nissan leaf in to the local nissan service center but they say there is nothing wrong with the sensors and they do not see any issues and no error codes reported by the car. I believe this is a software problem where the software ignores the radar image of the truck in front because it thinks it is an overhead sign and not another vehicle immediately in front, the camera input of the vehicle in front also appears to be ignored by the software in this situation. Additionally, I have had at least two incidents (also occurred this morning) where propilot lane keeping feature shuts off and automatic emergency breaking is also shut off and deactivated for and extended period of time for now apparent reason (in excellent weather and clear conditions, no obstructions of sensors, etc.), I have video of this as well.

Filed Jan 3, 2019 · Acceleration, Visibility · 2,500 miles · FL

The vehicle's blind spot detector turns off at low speeds potentially putting the driver at risk if the driver depends on the blind spot detector. The collision avoidance system is unreliable. When the car in front switches lanes and there is a stopped car in front the vehicle starts to slow down but releases the breaks about 50 ft from the stopped car and starts warning of impending collision. And the breaks are not applied.

Filed Dec 27, 2018 · Acceleration · 3,200 miles · TX

Nissan leaf with pro-pilot assist package. Intermittently the system warning light for automatic forward emergency braking and/or lane keep assist will flash indicating system unavailable. This has occurred on multiple ovassions and at various locations. Dealer has been unable to isolate cause or effect repair. I also had this happen on a nissan sentra loaner car they provided so issue may be with system and not just the leaf models