This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
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.
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.
- Grosse Pointe Park, MI, USA
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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.
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 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.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Gig Harbor, WA, USA