Nissan Leaf owners have reported 9 wheel related problems since 1996. Table 1 shows the 1 most common wheel problems. The number one most common problem is related to the vehicle's wheel (9 problems). For details of each of the problem category, use the links in the table.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Wheel problems |
I did not have an incident(accident), I noticed issues with my car, that seem to be prevalent with other Nissan vehicles. This report is mostly proactive. I took the vehicle to the dealer for inspection and repair however was unable to come to a conclusion due to multiple inspection charges done by dealer but no fixes. Issue 1. Airbag fault warning light on the dash. Turns on when I start the car, and stays. I took car to dealer and they have done a computer reset to reset the light (based on an internal Nissan bulletin on how to repair that issue, with mention in the repair notes that a lot of vehicles have that issue. ) the reset didnt work and the light is back, now the dealer is saying that a whole sensor needs replacing as its prone to failure. Initial repair mentioned "code b00a0 stored for occupant detection system, but will not relearn. " zero point relearn will not complete. Referred to ntb19-071d. . . Ran the 75h reset, code clears. " secondary repair: 'b00a0 returned. Performed database search and found similar cases. Nissan recommends osc and sensor replacement. Performed bulletin again and error code is now 24h, not 75h. Zero point will not relearn. Started a case with Nissan and was advised to replace . . . [OCS]. . . And strain sensors. . . " issue 2: loud clanking or grinding noise when turning vehicle left or right until wheel stops. Went to get this repaired and was told that dealer found bulletin 12-055j and will "need to replace axle nuts and apply molykote. " paid for repair, and after picking up the car the sound is even worse, and upon bringing it back the dealer is saying that the noise is not due to past repair but vehicle will now need "both front strut mounts and bearings replaced. " the sound is the same, and a cursory online search shows that this issue is prevalent across multiple vehicles. Also, recently when attempting a u-turn, the steering locked up momentarily when I was trying to straighten out the vehicle, with that noise (clunk sound).
Leased new vehicle, after approximately 900-miles, started to hear knocking sounds during acceleration and deceleration. Checked wheel lug nuts and all were loose and passenger side wheel lock was missing. Torque spec at factory needs to be reviewed. Contacted the dealership, tynan’s Nissan in aurora, CO.
My car got stuck in a snowbank and became unresponsive. I attempted to gently rock it back and forth by putting it into drive and reverse two or three times. The car began to smoke. I took my foot off the accelerator and attempted to exit the vehicle, but the door was locked and did not automatically unlock. I tried to press the child safety lock button in case the child safety lock had been activated, but accidentally pressed the button to open the window. Smoke started coming into the car. I manually unlocked the door, pressed the button to put the car into park. I evacuated the car, and it was engulfed in smoke and making a very loud noise. I had the neighbor call 911 as I left my phone in the car and I was afraid the car would explode. I left the neighbor's house and waited for the fire trucks. My car's wheels were still spinning extremely fast and pieces were coming off of them. A firefighter was able to enter my car in protective gear and turn the car off. The wheels were burned off my car. The car eventually cooled down and I had it towed to the dealership. The dealer does not know why the wheels kept spinning after I was no longer in the car, so we do not know what malfunctioned. My safety was put at risk as I would have been unable to control the car if it had not been stuck in a snowbank. The problem has not been reproduced. The dealer examined the car and has repaired the tires and rims, but still does not give an answer as to why the wheels kept spinning long after I had exited the vehicle. There were no warning lamps, messages, or symptoms prior to the incident.
My car's warning system indicators can be accessed and or turned on or off via foreign key fob (or other device). For example someone passing by my car while I'm in motion driving on the street or the parking lot has turned on the tire inflation warning indicator from outside of my vehicle using a foreign key fob or some other device like a key fob.
What the problem.
On Nov 18. 2016, my wife was driving Nissan Leaf 2013 on the highway under a rainy day, the vehicle suddenly gradually stopped (highway 680 to highway 580 at California state). My wife couldn't make it move even press accelerator until she stopped the engine and restarted again. It is very dangerous for her to have such experience on the highway. Later I checked the manual, it is said because of Nissan's vdc function. However it is not proper to stopped the car when it is driving. Today, I also experienced the same problem. When I drove back my car, the car didn't allow to move until I pressed "vdc off" button. I believe this is a serious problem by Nissan. I have contacted them to check and repair my car. However I think it is safe to government to check with Nissan to see whether they have issues on any vehicles with vdc feature.
The tires on my brand new Nissan Leaf went out at 15,000 miles. These cars have no spare wheel so when we had flat tire we had to tow it to the tire shop and pay the tow truck from our pocket. Nissan website have 36,000 miles warranty on tires listed, but when I called Nissan they said tire warranty is though bridgestone who manufacture the tires according to Nissan. They install on Nissan Leaf. I told them Nissan should be responsible since buyers do not know who made each individual part of the car. Anyway, when I called bridgestone they said they can not help me. As a buyer of new car it is not acceptable to have tires goes out at 15,000 miles. I have done the recommended tire rotation at 7500 miles. All I want from Nissan to install tires as they should under warranty and reimburse for the trouble only for the money I spent not for trouble as I lost so much time. So far I have to replace 2 tires and the car currently have 23,400 miles. First incident with tire happened at 15,000 miles. The two original tires conditions are really bad. It is completely worn out.
Whenever we come to a stop for a traffic light or a stop sign, and the speed of the car is < 3 miles , we noticed that when we apply brakes, they do not get applied immediately. There is a sudden surge in acceleration before the car comes to a complete stop. This is very noticeable especially when we apply brakes to slow the car before a traffic signal or stop sign and also in bumper to bumper traffic conditions. As a result, we tend to stop the car atleast couple of meters before the stop line or the car in front to buffer the acceleration by the car. Thank you.
Vehicle began to vibrate and steering became difficult. My spouse stopped the vehicle on the side of the road to look for a problem. She found that air was escaping the front left tire out of the sidewall. She then drove the car to a safe stopping point and called for roadside assistance. It was found that the sidewall had blown out on the front left tire. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer and was replaced. It was found that the rim was not damaged. The sidewall of the bridgestone ecopia tire had failed after 5,800 miles. We were charged $183 for the repair despite the car being less than 6 months old.