Brakes Failed Problems of Nissan Leaf

I was driving my 2014 Nissan Leaf sl at a low speed (5-10 mph) when the brakes had a sudden and unanticipated total brake failure. While pulling up to a stoplight to make a right turn, I was unable to stop the car for approximately 10 feet beyond where I had intended. Fortunately, there were no other vehicles or pedestrians in my path. This event happened in downtown salt lake city. From the point of failure, I was able to predictably stop the car with some exertion. But clearly, a fundamental major component of the vehicle failed. It was not part of the brakes themselves, or the rotors, or wear. I drove the vehicle directly to ken garff Nissan, which was approximately 5 blocks away. They diagnosed the problem and reported that it was a failure of a major electrical component that provides braking to the brake system. I contacted Nissan about the issue, and reported to them that after searching the internet I had seen other reports from individuals about similar problems with their Nissan Leaf between the model years 2013-2015. There were reports of this problem affecting more than 40 vehicles. Nissan USA explained that they didn't have any recalls for that issue, and that I would simply have to pay for the repair. However, I felt that this experience, because it was so dangerous, and so sudden, and wasn't a result of poor maintenance or an error of any sort, it should be escalated and evaluated for recall. Nissan USA showed no interest or intention of making further inquiry into the problem, so I felt I should push for a recall. My case number with Nissan USA was originally assigned as #436-319-65, and a new case number was assigned as #436-368-82. The individuals assisting in the cases were named pamela and nancy, respectively.

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Electronic brake assist failed while driving in traffic, October 9th, 2020. Braking distance was extended and the brake pedal depressed much farther than normal, causing driver to stop car with emergency brake. Emergency lights illuminated on the dash. Errors codes indicate faults with the electronic driven intelligent brake control unit, the subject of safety campaign 16v119000. Subsequent Nissan recall, which applied 3nf9b firmware to the edib, had been applied 5/13/16. Failures re-occurred in cold weather in November 8th, 2020. Problem is sporadic and dealer cannot reproduce. However, a video of the failure was recorded and has been shown to them. Replacement part carries yet a new firmware, 4np3e. This firmware should be made available under the safety campaign if it more fully addresses the problem with the brakes.

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During conditions of low 12v battery charge, the vehicle will occasionally start, go into a drive mode ("r" or "d") but the brakes will not operate. I stress that this only happens when the 12v battery has low charge, but not too low that the vehicle will refuse to start. I am not the only person to report this. . Read more...

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2013 Nissan Leaf brakes failed completely and without warning while driving 30mph resulting in near collision and potentially serious injury and property damage. Speed very gradually slowed with accelerator pedal not depressed and was ultimately brought to complete stop using parking brake. Vehicle lurched forward without ability to brake when accelerator pressed lightly after stopping. Nissan dealer reported a failure of the "intelligent brake control unit" and replaced at cost of approx. $3,000. Incident occurred in clearwater, florida area in late afternoon in dry weather with temperatures around 80f. Tow truck operator stated that when they attempted to move the vehicle it lurched forward without ability to halt and the operator was extremely frightened and almost crashed.

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Brakes failed to engage when changing from park to reverse. Foot was fully on brake when changing to reverse. Car lunged backwards almost hitting someone in parking lot. No indicators appeared before driving vehicle. Incident occurred again later the same day backing out of garage. Issue appears to be related to secondary battery failing but the brake booster should be on primary power system and not on secondary.

Occasionally, brakes fail to work properly when applied at normal (not abrupt) pressure. Then anti-lock brakes activate. This issues is all over the forums, and many have experienced this. Each time the car was brought in, Nissan says there is no issue. They reset all the lights and return the car. We have pictures of of warning and maintenance lights on the dash indicating a malfunction when this occurs. Then it comes back a few days, or sometimes a month later.

While driving on a warm day at about 25 miles an hour about two miles from my home, my brakes became unresponsive as I approached a stop sign behind another driver. The other driver didn't stop in order to avoid being hit. I tried multiple times to use the brake, and the car didn't slow. Before coming to a turn down a very long steep hill, I pulled up the parking brake to stop the car. I called aaa. The aaa technician confirmed the brakes had failed, and towed the car to a mechanic. The mechanic was not able to look at the car the same day, but looked the next day and said they could find nothing wrong with the brakes. They recommended taking it to an actual Nissan repair shop, which I did. They said they could find nothing wrong, but did see that the braking system had been repaired previously. I called Nissanusa and they said our VIN showed that the car had already been repaired for an intermittent service brake problem (on recall) a couple of years ago before we bought it used, and that it can't be fixed again for that. It's scary that nobody can identify what went wrong this time, and nobody is willing to see if it's the recall fix acting up somehow, maybe unprepared.

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.

Tl the contact owns a 2016 Nissan Leaf. While driving in reverse, the brakes failed to engage when the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle was towed to premier Nissan of metairie (located at 6636 veterans memorial blvd, metairie, la 70003, (504) 455-5800) to be diagnosed, but a failure code could not be found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided case number: 33554796. The approximate failure mileage was 14,000.

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.

I had a brake failure at power on issue on my 2016 Nissan Leaf sl. Nothing on the dash alerted me. The brakes did work, but it seemed like no vacuum assist, so had to press really hard. Towed to a dealer. Replaced the 12v battery. Very scary, I rolled out into an intersection and luckily I was not in an accident or ran over a pedestrian.

Brake failure at low speeds. In the last eight months I have owned this vehicle, twice the car failed to stop when I applied brakes. I was going at around 20-25 mph in both the cases.

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Shortly after starting the car and as I began to accelerate forward, several warning indicators pertaining to the brake system illuminated and the normal brake pedal no longer appeared to function upon being depressed. The car was able to be brought to a stop with the use of the emergency brake pedal but the failure of the main brakes could have easily lead to a crash.

As I was driving my car the breaks started to make some noises when activated . I change my route to take it to the dealership for a revision and as I was getting there the brakes started to fail to a point that, by the time I got to the dealership 9a couple of miles away) , it was almost not breaking at all. May this have happened in different conditions the result could have been a serious accident.

On 6 occasions the brakes failed to work on first contact when attempting to come to a full stop at either a stop light or a stop sign on city streets. Releasing the brake pedal and reapplying the brakes finally brought the car to a stop. This happened to both my husband and myself and happened on both straight flat roads and downhill roads. This happened in both regenerative and non-regenerative braking but the worst failure happened in non-regenerative braking.

I activated my vehicle by placing my foot on the brake pedal and pressing the ignition button. I placed the transmission in reverse. Immediately after, my vehicle began to move, but the brake pedal went all the way to the floor. At this point my vehicle would not stop and I frantically pumped the brake pedal. After about 5 or 6 feet of distance in reverse, my vehicle finally stopped and I placed it in park. Note: there were no prior warning lights or sounds before the brakes failed. The incident I experienced was a very close call. The parking lot I was located is frequented by many people taking exercise walks. If someone had been walking behind my vehicle when it malfunctioned, my vehicle would have struck them. Moreover, another parked vehicle was just a few more feet from where I eventually was able to stop. The dealership said the reason this happened was due to 12v auxiliary battery failure. I have asked Nissan consumer affairs department multiple times over the past month (email/phone) for an explanation and they have ignored me. I would like to find out if this is a problem that may occur again and/or how it can be fixed. They will not respond to my emails or voice mails. I hope you can help in some way to get information. At the very least, make you aware of this problem. Note: I have not experienced the problem again, but am especially concerned now because Nissan is ignoring me.

Having undergone a previous recall to fix a brake issue several months ago, at 50000 miles on December 23, 2016 the vehicle experienced complete brake failure narrowly avoiding a serious collision. While driving straight on a city street in traffic at approximately 35 miles an hour the driver removed his foot from the accelerator in preparation to apply the brakes to stop the car for the stopped traffic ahead. The car's regenerative braking ability was already slowing the car when the driver's foot attempted to push the brake pedal and found it solid and unmoving. The driver removed his foot from the brake pedal and reapplied his foot, attempted to depress, and again found the pedal unmoving. With the car continuing toward stopped traffic ahead the driver began to repeatedly and very forcefully attempt to depress the pedal. After 4 or 5 very strong kicks the brake pedal broke loose, went all the way to the floor without the drivers pressure, with no resistance or response. The driver retracted his foot and the pedal did not come back up. The driver attempted to begin to "pump the brakes" and with the first touch on the pedal which was still all the way down, the car's wheels locked and came skidding to a stop with no abs modulation inches before hitting the car in front. The car was shut down and restarted, the brake pedal returned to the undepressed position but when depressed had no resistance and was ineffective at stopping the car (as though the brakes were not being applied). The parking brake was unaffected and would slow/stop the car. The car was taken to a Nissan dealer for repair, they indicated that they had never seen anything like it and had to talk with the Nissan engineers. 1/3/17 the owner/driver was told that the entire "brake brain booster controller" would have to be replaced with a replacement part from the Nissan factory in kentucky.

The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that the brakes failed to function while driving 20 mph. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a software malfunction with the abs. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 23,000.

Brake failure. Pressing on brakes with normal pressure had no effect. Pressing on pedal very hard would stop the car. When doing so there was a noise that I believe was associated with the abs braking system. This could have been disastrous if there had been a pedestrian around. Took to dealer. They said the braking controller had failed. They replaced and it appears normal now. This vehicle had the cold weather brake controller update applied to it approximately a month earlier.

I've only had the car for 2 months, and the brakes have failed repeatedly, once about every 5 days on average. Every time they have failed, it was when I start up the car, and put it in either forward or reverse. I usually pull forward into a parking spot, so I go in reverse much more frequently after starting up, but it has happened when going forward too. This is the failure mode. I start the car, while holding down the brake pedal, and then I put it in reverse. At that point the car starts rolling backwards, even though I'm still holding down the brake pedal. The brake pedal gets soft and when I floor the brake pedal, the car finally slows down and stops. Another way to stop it is to put it back in park, but that causes it to jerk to a halt. Needless to say, this is a scary scenario, and this frequently happens at my kids' school, where there are many kids and parents walking through the parking lot. In addition, the car also has some other problems. It sometimes starts a long uninterrupted beep when I turn off the car to get out. The beep goes on for minutes, and sometimes I see a warning light on the dashboard. Finally, the card completely stopped working today. An error message of "t/m system malfunction" appeared on the dashboard, and I was not even able to put the car into neutral for the tow truck. The driver window did not work anymore. After attaching a battery charger to the 12v battery, I was able to put it into neutral, but not able to put it in reverse or drive, or even back in park. The car had more than half of its battery cells full, so the problem was not because it ran out of charge.

Brakes failed upon starting the car, though I didn't know it when I began to drive the car. I had several error lights come on, but I couldn't figure out what the error was, but then figure out as soon as put the car in reverse. I couldn't stop using the brakes and only got myself to stop by using the emergency brake. I was backing out of a parking spot onto a city street, but fortunately there were no cars parked behind me or any moving cars on the street. I also attempted to drive forward, albeit very carefully, assuming it was a strange one-time occurrence. But the brakes simply did not work. Upon inspecting and repairing the car (after being towed to a Nissan delership) Nissan informed me that the abs brake controller failed.

Tl- the contact owns a 2015 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that while driving at 5 mph and attempting to park, the brake pedal was depressed and traveled to the floorboard causing the contact to crash into a brick wall. The brakes failed to respond. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries sustained. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was to be diagnosed and repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 3,000. Djr.

Purchased a brand new 2015 Nissan Leaf on September 12th, 2015 3 weeks later on oct 5th, 2015 brakes failed on this brand new car while driving in traffic on the freeway. As a result I ended up hitting a truck in the rear end at 55 mph. Inuries sustained in the accident and 2015 Nissan Leaf was totaled. I called this into Nissan and was told there was a service notice for this car for brake failure. This was never disclosed to me and the dealer had not performed this service work on the car prior to selling it to us. Please report and have all brake issues with the 2015 Nissan Leaf investigated.

In may 2015 we brought the car to dealer service center complaining of periodic sensitive and periodic non-responsive brakes at low speed. Dealer could not replicate the issue. No repairs offered. On August 05 2015, brakes completely failed while moving under 15 mph and the vehicle failed to stop at an intersection. Vehicle went into the intersection before the brakes engaged and the vehicle stopped. Car was towed to dealer service center. The issue could not be replicated. No repairs offered.

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Brake system failed and ignition started and thrusted car forward. It seemed like the brake got soft and then would not function. This incident caused the car to damage private property and caused major damage to front end of the vehicle.

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.

My Nissan Leaf has never been in an accident of any sort, and has never even been driven over a curb. It is less than 18 months, and less than 15,000 miles. Front the day I got it, I felt that at times when I pressed the brakes on it, that they would slip, or not grab for a 1/2 second, but thought this might have been me. The car failed completely 10 days ago, and will not start, telling me that my foot was not on the brake! (a condition for starting). Combined with the fact that it cannot see the brakes being heavily depressed (for starting) and its computer controlled brakes slipping for 1/2 second, it makes me think that the computer has some reason for not seeing the brakes working. The Nissan dealership, and Nissan USA have been unable to figure out what the problem is, and after 10 days Nissan USA has not gotten any closer to a resolution. Is this a computer/braking defect? is it common? it certainly affects the safety of those riding in a car, as brake failure is certainly as important as an accelerator sticking. Has a recall been ordered for this, and how many cars are involved in it?.

See all problems of the 2011 Nissan Leaf 🔎.