2012 Nissan Leaf Electrical Problems

Your Nissan Leaf's high voltage battery keeps shorting out and stalling your car while driving on the interstate, which has put you in dangerous situations with other vehicles. You've also noticed an unusual odor coming from the battery area. Despite contacting Nissan consumer affairs multiple times, you haven't received help and are concerned about continuing to drive a car with this electrical problem. The fix will likely require Nissan to diagnose the battery short circuit and replace or repair the high voltage battery pack.

Your Leaf's passenger-side airbag warning light is flashing, which matches a known problem documented with other vehicles. The seat and airbag sensor show no visible damage, but the dealership has confirmed this is a recognized issue. You're concerned the faulty sensor might be disabling the entire airbag system. The fix will likely involve the dealership diagnosing and replacing the faulty passenger-side airbag sensor.

Your Nissan Leaf's lithium battery is depleting faster than expected. This means your electric range may be significantly shorter than normal, requiring more frequent charging. The battery may need testing or replacement to restore proper range performance.

Your car's battery is defective and causes the vehicle to stop running completely. The owner believes this issue is serious enough that the manufacturer should issue a recall. The repair will likely involve replacing the defective battery pack with a new one.

Your Leaf's onboard charger stopped working, preventing the battery from recharging and leaving the vehicle unable to drive. The dealer diagnosed the onboard charger as defective and determined it needs to be replaced. This failure occurred at approximately 59,000 miles. Repairing this issue will require replacing the onboard charging unit.

Your Nissan Leaf's battery box has developed severe corrosion and rust on both the case and bolts. A mechanic found the corrosion so severe that the bolts couldn't be removed for inspection or repair. Fixing this will likely require replacing the corroded battery case and bolts, or potentially the entire battery box assembly.

Your Leaf's battery won't charge to full capacity, even after disabling all charging timers and waiting 2 days. The battery indicator only reaches 5 bars instead of full, limiting you to about 50 miles of range. This suggests a significant battery degradation or charging system issue that may require battery replacement.

NISSAN LEAF. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO A NUMBER OF CONCERNS: ELECTRONIC KEY PROBLEMS, FAILED NIGHT LIGHTS IN THE DRIVER DOOR CONTROLS AND MILEAGE ISSUES. *LD *JS

THIS IS AN ALL ELECTRIC VEHICLE. WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES AT SLOW SPEEDS THE VEHICLE PULSATES. THIS IS A PROBLEM WITH THE REGENERATIVE BRAKING SYSTEM SINCE IT DOESN'T HAPPEN WHEN THE VEHICLE IS FULLY CHARGED AND NOT REGENERATING THROUGH THE BRAKING SYSTEM.

MY 2012 NISSAN LEAF HAS A BATTERY CHARGE INDICATOR ON THE DASH THAT DOES NOT TRULY REFLECT HOW MUCH ACTUAL DRIVING RANGE MILEAGE IS LEFT. IN FACT, IT IS SO FAULTY THAT IT IS REFERRED TO ONLINE AS THE GOM OR GUESS-O-METER. I BELIEVE THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD AS I HAVE NO ACCURATE WAY OF KNOWING IF I WILL BE LEFT STRANDED IN THE MIDDLE OF ONCOMING TRAFFIC ON AN EXPRESSWAY, A BUSY HIGHWAY, A BACK ROAD DETOUR, OR SIMPLY MILES AWAY FROM ANY CHARGING STATION. THE FIRST TIME I REALIZED HOW SERIOUS THIS PROBLEM WAS I HAD TO CALL A TOW TRUCK TO COME AND GET ME. I LEFT MY HOME WITH 39 MILES OF CHARGE ON THE RANGE INDICATOR. IT WAS A COOL DAY SO THE CLIMATE CONTROL WAS OFF. I DROVE SEVEN MILES AND MY CAR RAN OUT OF CHARGE LEAVING ME ALONE AND FRIGHTENED IN AN UNFAMILIAR AREA. I AM A 70 YEAR OLD WIDOW. AFTER RECEIVING A TOW HOME, I CHARGED THE CAR AND THEN TOOK IT TO THE DEALER FOR A BATTERY TEST. THE DEALER TOLD ME THAT THE BATTERY WAS FINE AND THAT THE PROBLEM MUST BE MY DRIVING STYLE. SINCE THEN, I HAVE NOT TAKEN THE CAR MORE THAN A FEW MILES FROM MY HOME AT A TIME. I HAVE HAD THE BATTERY TESTED PERIODICALLY AND VOICED MY CONCERN TO NISSAN BUT TO NO AVAIL. I CONTEND THAT IF A GAS DRIVEN AUTO HAD AN INACCURATE FUEL INDICATOR THAT CAUSED VEHICLE OPERATORS TO LOSE POWER WITHOUT ANY WARNING THEN THE NTSB WOULD WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT. I BELIEVE THAT MY NISSAN HAS A COMPARABLE PROBLEM. I HAVE OWNED THIS CAR FOR THREE YEARS NOW AND HAVE LESS THAN 4,600 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. I AM AFRAID TO TAKE IT ANYWHERE LEST I HAVE ONLY ONE THIRD OF REAL DRIVE TIME THAN IS DISPLAYED ON THE BATTERY DRIVE RANGE AND CHARGE INDICATOR. MY GUESS-O-METER IS A REAL SAFETY CONCERN FOR ME AND I WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR ADVICE AND INPUT IN THIS REGARD. *TR

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. *TR

DROVE CAR INTO DRIVEWAY WITH SLIGHT INCLINE, PRESSED BUTTON TO ENGAGE CAR INTO PARK, GOT OUT OF VEHICLE, PLUGGED IN CAR TO CHARGE IT. WALKED UP 2 STEPS TO HOUSE, CAR ROLLED BACK NEARLY STRIKING 9 YEAR OLD. RUSHED TO THE CAR TO TRY TO STOP IT. CAR STOPPED WHEN ROLLED BACK ACROSS STREET AND INTO NEIGHBORS YARD / ROCK. TORE CHARGING STATION OFF THE EXTERIOR OF THE HOUSE. CAUSED BREAKER TO TRIP AND RUINED THE UNIT COMPLETELY.

WHEN I DRIVE THE CAR INTO MY DRIVEWAY ON A SLIGHT INCLINE AND I GET OUT OF THE CAR WHILE ITS IN DRIVE AND THE CAR IS ON, THE CAR REMAINS STABLE AND DOES NOT MOVE. THE CAR IS EXTREMELY QUIET. IF I PLUG THE CHARGER INTO THE CAR, THE CAR IMMEDIATELTY DROPS OUT OF DRIVE AND INTO NEUTRAL CAUSING THE CAR TO ROLL BACKWARD.

CAR DOES NOT DRIVE THE NUMBER OF MILES THE ELECTRIC CHARGE STATES AND DEALERSHIP REPORTS. THE VEHICLE IS DANGEROUS CAUSE TO DRIVE AT POSTED SPEED LIMITS OF MAJOR HIGHWAYS THE CHARGE IS USED UP VERY QUICKLY LIKE 3 TIMES WHATEVER SPEED YOU ARE DRIVING IF OVER 50 MPH. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 NISSAN LEAF. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH IN ECO- MODE, SHE NOTICED THE BATTERY MILEAGE COUNT SUDDENLY DECREASED FROM 77 MILES TO 55 MILES AFTER DRIVING APPROXIMATELY A MILE. THE CONTACT STATED AFTER CHARGING THE VEHICLE OVERNIGHT, THE BATTERY DID NOT COMPLETELY CHARGE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THERE WAS NOT A FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70.