On Nov. 4, 2020, after coming from work (54 mile back and forth), I parked 2014 Nissan Leaf SV in the driveway for 40 minutes. Then went back in, powered the car and shifted to reverse. The car backed-up fast because the brake seemed not working. So I have to stepped on the pedal harder. I know some thing is wrong because when you step on the brakes a noise a can be heard at the front. I checked and it seemed like its actuating something but nothing is happening. The pedal travel is deep. The dashboard BRAKE light is on and yellow warning light.
I turned it off and checked the forums and read that it has something to do with the auxiliary battery. So I took my portable charger and charged my 12V battery. Afterwards, I disconnected the negative terminal (I read that from the forum too). I waited for a 5 minutes then reconnected it. I powered the car and saw the red BRAKE light on dashboard is gone but the yellow light still there. I tested the brake feel and it feels ok. I shifted to reverse and brake works normal. I test drove around the block and it runs normally and brakes are ok. I turned off and waited for 15 minutes and turned on again. The yellow light is gone. I test drove one more time and it's back to normal.
But this was repeated after 1 week and on 11/17/20, suffered another ABS e-brake failure when i was leaving for work. This time it did not revert to normal even after the 12V battery was charged. Waited more hours to no avail. I decided to call a nearby Nissan dealer and bring it in. They said the diagnostic will cost me $149 and after 3 days told me they would need my approval to do a teardown which will raise it to $680. Now still waiting for the result and will provide update afterwards.
An apparent global issue with Nissan Leaf 2012 to 2016 years. Total brake failure may be attributed to a simple firmware omission or something causing the electronic brake control unit to fail resulting in failure of ABS. Many instances of this potential public safety hazard occurring in US, Canada, NZ, Europe. Nissan providing mixed answers and mixed responses. We need Ralph Nader back on the job to deal with a vehicle potentially unsafe at any speed.
- Richard B.,
Surrey, BC, Canada
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
On Nov. 4, 2020, after coming from work (54 mile back and forth), I parked 2014 Nissan Leaf SV in the driveway for 40 minutes. Then went back in, powered the car and shifted to reverse. The car backed-up fast because the brake seemed not working. So I have to stepped on the pedal harder. I know some thing is wrong because when you step on the brakes a noise a can be heard at the front. I checked and it seemed like its actuating something but nothing is happening. The pedal travel is deep. The dashboard BRAKE light is on and yellow warning light.
I turned it off and checked the forums and read that it has something to do with the auxiliary battery. So I took my portable charger and charged my 12V battery. Afterwards, I disconnected the negative terminal (I read that from the forum too). I waited for a 5 minutes then reconnected it. I powered the car and saw the red BRAKE light on dashboard is gone but the yellow light still there. I tested the brake feel and it feels ok. I shifted to reverse and brake works normal. I test drove around the block and it runs normally and brakes are ok. I turned off and waited for 15 minutes and turned on again. The yellow light is gone. I test drove one more time and it's back to normal.
But this was repeated after 1 week and on 11/17/20, suffered another ABS e-brake failure when i was leaving for work. This time it did not revert to normal even after the 12V battery was charged. Waited more hours to no avail. I decided to call a nearby Nissan dealer and bring it in. They said the diagnostic will cost me $149 and after 3 days told me they would need my approval to do a teardown which will raise it to $680. Now still waiting for the result and will provide update afterwards.
- Wilson M., Cerritos, CA, United States