Wiper Problems of Nissan Leaf - part 2

Serious safety defect in many modern cars - hugh window pillar blockage!!! I am a retired engineer after almost 34 years of federal service for the us army mostly at fort monmouth NJ. About a year ago I almost hit a pedestrian who was walking very close to the front left of my car at night. Yesterday I looked left but did not see a large black SUV transiting from my right in broad daylight. I looked left and then started to slowly turn left as I looked right again and wow. . . It passed right in front! to my perspective, it literally came out of nowhere!!! both of these incidents were due to me looking quickly, not dwelling for a couple seconds. A vehicle or person must be in just the right spot and traveling slowly, so it happens only about once a year. I measured the front windshield pillar support width of about 30 cars in a parking lot. Most old cars and some modern ones have small window pillar blockage of 4 to 5 inches. However many modern cars have window pillar blockages of 5 to 6 inches, hiding much view! the Nissan Leaf has the worst about 5. 5 inches up high, but a phenomenal 8 inches at side mirror level. Unfortunately this is the height of my eyes in the driver's seat! it blocks the width of a whole car when the car is only a car lane away and at just the right angle! since the SUV was black, my eyes were transiting left to right and back in about a second and the SUV was going very slow to turn left in front of me, I saw nothing. Fortunately I was just starting to slowly pull out when I looked right again as it magically appeared right in front of me, so I stopped abruptly and avoided an accident! NHTSA should issue regulations that require vehicle manufacturers to return to the small window pillar support widths of the past decades. Thank you owen o'neill.

See all problems of the 2012 Nissan Leaf 🔎.

During daylight hours, whether in the sun or in the shade, both side view mirrors show only the image of the dashboard. It is impossible to see anything other than the reflection of the dashboard unless you roll down the windows. If you email me I'll send you pics of this condition in both sun and shade. Neither the dealer nor the Leaf customer service people at Nissan seem to care. They claim there are comparatively few complaints.

See all problems of the 2013 Nissan Leaf 🔎.

Washer fluid nozzles spray aimed too low. Cannot clean windshield effectively. Only the lower portion of windshield is spray leaving the middle to top portion not clean. Very dangerous during winter as the salt from road will block vision. Wiper with poor sprayed fluid amount/location will only smear the windshield and cause poor visibility.

The contact owns a 2012 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that the windshield washer sprays the rear edge of the hood and not the glass. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 2,500. The VIN was not available.

After stopping at an intersection, looking both ways and not seeing anybody, I started going through and crossing the street, then I suddenly come face-to-face with a pedestrian only inches from the side of the car! I almost hit someone, and the experience left me quite rattled. The problem is the pillar at the front left corner is at the worst possible position as it completely blocks the view of the far street corner, so I did not see the pedestrian who started crossing the street. Also, the pillar at the front right side completely blocks the view of the near street corner. I have since trained myself to consciously perform a crazy-looking maneuver to move my body to the left and to the right and back, at every intersection, to peek around the obstacle. I don't have to do this in any other vehicle. This car has exceptionally terrible visibility because of the location of the pillar, and it is very very dangerous. This needs to be redesigned immediately before it results in a pedestrian fatality. It almost did.

See all problems of the 2011 Nissan Leaf 🔎.