general problems of the 2011 Nissan Leaf

When applying brakes, at a point in the pedal travel the vehicle deceleration goes from too little to vastly too much. This makes the vehicle challenging to drive in traffic without colliding into the vehicle in front and not stopping so quickly as to cause the trailing vehicle to collide. The dealer has confirmed the behavior. There is a TSB to supposedly address the problem, and a receipt is attached of that TSB software update being applied. However, this has not changed the behavior. This is at least partially a software issue, since the vehicle blends physical brakes with ev regenerative braking.

The contact owns a 2011 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that the telematics control unit, which locates the nearest charging station, was inoperable and could not be upgraded. Additionally, the 12 volt battery would not charge, and the doors would not unlock to open. The windows would not roll up, and the gear shifter would not shift out of park into neutral. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. However, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000. The VIN was unavailable.

I recently purchased a 2011 Nissan Leaf vehicle from a private party. I quickly noticed that my battery capacity was at 5 bars and the vehicle has 73300 miles. I also noticed the ev system warning light was on. I took the car to my local Nissan dealer and let them know that I was going to need a new battery but wanted to know the history of the vehicles battery because I believe that the degradation of the vehicles battery would fall into the severe category and because the vehicle was in between owners at the time no one took it in for a battery replacement. Currently in 2020 the 2011 vehicle is at 5 bars meaning that if the battery only lost one bar in the last year the battery would have to have lost more than 50% capacity within the timeframe that it would have been covered under the 8 yr/100,000miles extended warranty. They would not provide me with any vehicle battery information although the representative of the dealer did confirm that the warranty would have been in effect last year. They then quoted me $6600 for a battery replacement. After researching I found a letter from Nissan which states that the vehicle warranty would be effective for 2011 models with implementation starting sometime in spring of 2013. Nissan so far is not willing to repair the battery or assist in the repair although the warranty would have covered this issue. The vehicle has come close to turning off while I've been on the road. I am afraid of my cars battery dying while I'm on the road. It's my only vehicle.

Starting on 12/03/2018, this 2011 Nissan Leaf began releasing smoke and a noxious burning-plastic smell into the cabin during 240v and 125v electric vehicle charging when the vehicle is stationary and the ignition is off. The smoke originates from the on-board charger (part 296a0-3na8a) located behind the rear passenger side seat, which is right behind where the child seat usually goes. Despite this, the vehicle continues to charge from electrical sources and drive normally. An inspection by stevens creek Nissan (4855 stevens creek blvd, santa clara, CA 95051) on 12/12/2018 found the same burning smell and reported that a "fuse in the on-board charger (is) fusing". They offered no further expertise about the cause except to recommend a replacement of the on-board charger. On the same day, Nissan north America was contacted and asked to address the issue and replied that they refused to address the problem on 01/11/2019. The attached images include the technician's report from Nissan stevens creek and photographs of what appears to be thermal damage and combustible soot buildup within the on-board charger, which not only chemically corrodes electronics, but also causes overheating and presents a fire hazard.

The range meter on the right side of the dash shows incorrect range. I understood when people would say it depends on how you drive, but no matter how I drive there is no possible way for me to get the range the car says I have. If it shows 55 miles I can be sure to get between 20 and 35 miles before being stranded. I contacted Nissan for a warranty or service concern and they claimed it not to be a manufacturer defect.

I believe the battery was rigged into running low right after the warranty ran out.

The contact owns a 2011 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced a loss of power without warning. The contact stated that the vehicle had been charged the entire night. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer stated that due to the vehicle being involved in a class action lawsuit, they would not repair the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 36,769.

Two months ago I was braking moderately when the car shuttered, there was a bump and the car began coasting. I saw that it had popped into n (neutral) even though I didn't touch the gear shift. I tried to put it back into d (drive) but it wouldn't respond. I pushed the car to the side of the road and tried several times to shut it down. Finally, it responded, then restarted and drove normally. After that, there would be intermittent shuttering and bumping while braking. The recharging lights will pulse and I can feel the regenerative feature grab and then release. One morning recently, along with these symptoms the range plummeted quickly, by about 1 mile per second. After driving only 20 miles I had 17 miles of indicated range. Then, yesterday, the first problem reappeared: the car went into neutral and briefly wouldn't respond. The car is now at the dealer.

Battery capacity has dropped 1 bar. Nissan case number [xxx]. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The intelligent key system allowed the vehicle to be driven off without the key present (it was in the pocket of a person standing outside the car). The driver and passengers then went on a 15 mile trip, wherein the vehicle was parked (safely). After awhile the vehicle was re-entered, but the driver could not start the car because the key was not present. 2 young children were left waiting in the hot sun, but were not injured. Eventually another person retrieved the keys and brought them to the disabled car and driver using a second vehicle. It was very inconvenient and stressful for all parties involved and luckily no one was injured. Note: later on, after testing the vehicle in a controlled situation, the warning system did not indicate that the key was not present as the owner's manual states it should.

Vehicle's main traction battery lost 15% of its usable capacity after only 1 year and 3631 miles of vehicle use. This rapid loss in battery capacity is contrary to Nissan's advertised service life of 70%to 80% capacity after 100,000 miles. Defective battery could potentially fail while the vehicle is operated at highway speeds and cause loss of steering and or brakes.

Vehicle has digital display that indicates how many miles of travel remain in the battery. Meter reads at least twice as high as miles actually delivered. Could cause unaware drive to run out of charge and stop in traffic lanes thus potentially causing an accident of bodily harm to occupants of vehicle.

About a month and a half ago, I purchased a 2011 Nissan Leaf from my local dealer. Everything was going great until about a month ago when I was driving on the highway around 20 mph or so when the power suddenly shut off. The entire dashboard instantly went off but the radio+touchscreen remained on. The car came to a crawl and I was able to pull over and restart without any problems. It was a little scary to say the least. I called the dealership where I bought the car from and left a voice mail for the service dept. Since it was Saturday but never received a call back. I kind of shrugged it off that day thinking it might have just been a quirk so I didn't follow up with the dealer. About a week and a half ago, I was pulling into a parking lot going around 10 mph and the same thing happened. I called the dealership and took it in the next day. They've had the car for about a week and said that Nissan told them to drive it and try reproducing the problem. I didn't expect them to reproduce it since it has only happened twice within weeks. As expected, they couldn't reproduce it so I was told that I would have to take the car back since they couldn't do anything about it. I am taking the Leaf back tomorrow to start driving again but definitely have concerns since my wife also drives the car and who knows what she would do in a shut-off while driving situation. Luckily, the past two incidents were not in high speeds and I was able to react quickly. My worst nightmare would be if we got rear ended due to instantly losing power. I have called Nissan directly to let them know about my car but no one has called me back. I assume they were already in touch with the dealer. I don't like the fact that I am being handed the car back at a potential safety risk.

Vehicles electric windows malfunction. Window will not open or close on the drivers side, but the others will. Many Leaf owners are having the same issues. Please look into this.