2018 NISSAN LEAF Forward Collision Avoidance Problems

I was traveling north on Freeway 57 at approximately 70mph. The dash lit up red with 12v and charging warnings. Power was shut off and car went into Neutral and warned me to pull over. This is an incredibly busy freeway and I was in the far left lane. I barely made it to the shoulder coasting before car started shuttering and jerking and stopped rolling. I could have been killed.

On [XXX], I was slowly pulling into my driveway, took my foot off the accelerator and turned the steering wheel slightly to the right as the driveway is L shaped. Suddenly, the car sped up towards the garage door. I looked down quickly to see if I’d somehow pressed the accelerator by accident but I had not. I slammed on the brakes as hard as I could but the car kept going and smashed into the garage door and the corner of the garage, causing close to $20k in property damage. The hood and front bumper were badly caved in at the point of impact and pieces of the undercarriage were on the ground. The air smelled like rubber and there were tire marks on the driveway here I had slammed on the brakes. The airbags did not deploy. The Automatic Braking System did not work. There were no warning messages or lamps. The only unusual symptom that I noticed was that on my way home from Kona, when I was pulling up slowly to a traffic light, the car seemed to hesitate a couple of times, which seemed odd but not severe enough for me to be concerned about a wreck. That occurred about a half hour before the incident. I was not physically injured but I have been very shook up and depressed since the incident. If this had happened on the highway, I could have been killed and the car could have killed others on the road. I reported the collision to USAA immediately and, on their advice, I had it towed to Kona Nissan, the dealership where I purchased the vehicle and where I have had it serviced. The expectation was that they would perform diagnostics on the vehicle but they won’t touch it, nor will they talk to USAA. I had taken the car in when it was recalled for the VCM issues and I don’t believe it was fixed properly. Or the repair wasn’t effective. The car is at Gerber Body Shop in Kona, Hawaii. Please arrange inspection with them. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The incident occurred at a stop sign where I was waiting behind one other vehicle. The vehicle ahead of me accelerated from the stop sign to turn into traffic, but abruptly slammed on their brakes. I had began accelerating up to the stop sign and was unable to stop before impacting the car in front of me. As soon as I saw the vehicle was braking, I immediately slammed on the brake pedal. Braking did not immediately occur. My wife said she was afraid that I had slammed the gas pedal because she could hear my foot hit the brake pedal and neither of us felt any braking. The Nissan Leaf was in Eco Mode and ePedal at the time of the incident. I believe that the transition from regenerative braking to mechanical braking delayed the stopping of my vehicle. We were lucky that this happened in a very low consequence situation, but if this happened with a pedestrian or at a higher speed where emergency braking is required, this delay in braking could be dire. In addition, this vehicle is equipped with automatic emergency braking. I have heard this feature go off before in this specific car when a car is braking faster than I am. In this case, the alarm and assisted braking did not go off, despite a car stopping within extremely close proximity.

The incident occurred at a stop sign where I was waiting behind one other vehicle. The vehicle ahead of me accelerated from the stop sign to turn into traffic, but abruptly slammed on their brakes. I had began accelerating up to the stop sign and was unable to stop before impacting the car in front of me. As soon as I saw the vehicle was braking, I immediately slammed on the brake pedal. Braking did not immediately occur. My wife said she was afraid that I had slammed the gas pedal because she could hear my foot hit the brake pedal and neither of us felt any braking. The Nissan Leaf was in Eco Mode and ePedal at the time of the incident. I believe that the transition from regenerative braking to mechanical braking delayed the stopping of my vehicle. We were lucky that this happened in a very low consequence situation, but if this happened with a pedestrian or at a higher speed where emergency braking is required, this delay in braking could be dire. In addition, this vehicle is equipped with automatic emergency braking. I have heard this feature go off before in this specific car when a car is braking faster than I am. In this case, the alarm and assisted braking did not go off, despite a car stopping within extremely close proximity.

Twice now - both times on the South Bound Richmond Bridge, the Automatic Emergency Braking lights came on and slammed on my brakes for me, as if I was about to crash when I was going 65 mils per hour, no one in front or behind me and no traffic, accident or reason. I almost lost control of the vehicle and would have caused an accident had anyone been closer to me.

Twice now - both times on the South Bound Richmond Bridge, the Automatic Emergency Braking lights came on and slammed on my brakes for me, as if I was about to crash when I was going 65 mils per hour, no one in front or behind me and no traffic, accident or reason. I almost lost control of the vehicle and would have caused an accident had anyone been closer to me.

The malfunction warning light came on to indicate that the automatic braking system was not working. I brought the car to the dealership, which quoted me $1900 for a new sensor. I have read about accidents and near collisions due to the malfunctioning of this system and am now worried that there might be sudden braking that others have experienced. I would like to get this system fixed, but do not believe consumes should need to pay $2000 to repair a defective system.

Around 45 degree weather, while driving on the freeway, a warning light indicating the AEB had been turned off started flashing on my dashboard without any collision, jerky movements, sudden stops, or changes to settings. At the same time this happened, my electric battery mileage started to fluctuate erratically (73% to 8% to 14% back to 70% and finally to 60%). This is extremely concerning because of the car immediately brakes or if the battery dies on the freeway, it could cause a major collision.

AEB system malfunction around 25000 miles. Dealer diagnose as the front radar failed and cause the cruise control not available.

2 incidents have occurred with this vehicle. The first earlier this year (2021) is that upon slowly accelerating to move closer to vehicle that moved up in a turn lane, the automatic emergency brake system engaged, abruptly stopped the vehicle and many lights lit up across the dashboard. The brakes then released and all lights on the dashboard disappeared. I was not close enough to the car ahead or at any rate of speed that should have caused this abrupt brake reaction. The 2nd incident and most dangerous happened on 8/13/21. I was slowly reversing out of a parking spot at a crowded location, when I saw a car behind my vehicle. I went to brake (not hard brake just regular), and the brakes did not work. I continued to slowly roll back towards the car behind me. I tried pressing the brakes repeatedly and it would not stop rolling backwards. I then pulled the emergency brake and the car came to a stop. No lights appeared on the dashboard. I turned the car off and powered it on again and slowly moved forward into the parking space and tried reversing again. The car was driving completely fine just after. I had a short trip home & didn't drive the rest of the evening. I didn't charge the car as there was still 85% left on the battery. The next morning, the car would not start and a message showing "Service EV System No Power" appeared on the dashboard with multiple lights lit. I called a tow truck to take it to the dealer and they found that the 12v battery was completely dead. Battery light not lit on dashboard prior to the complete outage. The dealer said it was the 12v battery that was likely the cause of these incidents and they replaced it. The brake issues could not be reproduced at the dealer after the new battery installed. Also note, that I just had the vehicle in for a multi-point inspection in June where nothing was found to be faulty. They did recommend a brake fluid exchange, so this was done as well as tire rotation.

I WAS DRIVING ALONE AT 4:20PM AT ABOUT 30 MPH, WITH NO OTHER CARS OR PEDESTRIANS AROUND WHEN THE BRAKES SUDDENLY ACTIVATED, AND THE ACCELERATOR WENT TO IDLE. THE BRAKING LASTED ABOUT ONE SECOND AND DID NOT STOP THE CAR COMPLETELY. THIS OCCURRED ON A CITY STREET. THESE EVENTS HAVE BEEN HAPPENING SEVERAL TIMES A MONTH.

Mileage: 19,000

I WAS DRIVING ALONE AT 4:20PM AT ABOUT 30 MPH, WITH NO OTHER CARS OR PEDESTRIANS AROUND WHEN THE BRAKES SUDDENLY ACTIVATED, AND THE ACCELERATOR WENT TO IDLE. THE BRAKING LASTED ABOUT ONE SECOND AND DID NOT STOP THE CAR COMPLETELY. THIS OCCURRED ON A CITY STREET. THESE EVENTS HAVE BEEN HAPPENING SEVERAL TIMES A MONTH.

Mileage: 19,000

WAS DRIVING AT APPROX. 30 MPH ALONE ON A LOCAL HIGHWAY WITH NO TRAFFIC AROUND, NO PEDESTRIANS OR OBSTRUCTIONS IN THE ROAD, WHEN THE ACCELERATOR DISENGAGED AND THE BRAKES CAME ON. THE BRAKING ONLY LASTED ABOUT ONE TO TWO SECONDS AND DID NOT STOP THE CAR. A TRIANGULAR WARNING SIGN APPEARED ON THE DASH DURING THE BRAKING, AND WENT OFF WHEN THE BRAKES RELEASED. I BELIEVE THE PROBLEM IS A MALFUNCTION OF THE FORWARD COLLISION WARNING SYSTEM.

Mileage: 18,000

WAS DRIVING AT APPROX. 30 MPH ALONE ON A LOCAL HIGHWAY WITH NO TRAFFIC AROUND, NO PEDESTRIANS OR OBSTRUCTIONS IN THE ROAD, WHEN THE ACCELERATOR DISENGAGED AND THE BRAKES CAME ON. THE BRAKING ONLY LASTED ABOUT ONE TO TWO SECONDS AND DID NOT STOP THE CAR. A TRIANGULAR WARNING SIGN APPEARED ON THE DASH DURING THE BRAKING, AND WENT OFF WHEN THE BRAKES RELEASED. I BELIEVE THE PROBLEM IS A MALFUNCTION OF THE FORWARD COLLISION WARNING SYSTEM.

Mileage: 18,000

WHILE DRIVING FORWARD, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY, UNEXPECTEDLY AND VIOLENTLY APPLIES THE BRAKES WITHOUT ANY DRIVER INPUT WHATSOEVER! THERE ARE NO OTHER VEHICLES OR PEDESTRIANS IN THE VICINITY AT THE TIME. THIS SUDDEN BRAKING PROBLEM BEGAN ON OR ABOUT 5/15/18 AND HAPPENED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS AFTER THAT. TWICE WHILE ENTERING THE UNDERGROUND PARKING GARAGE AT AN OFFICE BUILDING AND TWICE WHILE DRIVING ON A CITY STREET. VEHICLE HAS BEEN AT THE LOCAL NISSAN DEALER FOR OVER A WEEK BUT NEITHER THE DEALERSHIP NOR THE MANUFACTURER APPARENTLY HAS ANY IDEA HOW TO FIX THE PROBLEM. THEY THINK THAT THERE IS A FAULT IN THE AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING SYSTEM. THE SERVICE MANAGER TOLD ME THAT OTHER INSTANCES OF THE SAME ISSUE HAVE BEEN REPORTED TO NISSAN. THE SALESPERSON INDICATED THAT THERE WERE 4 OTHER SIMILAR CASES AT THEIR DEALERSHIP ALONE.THEY ALSO WILL NOT LET US TAKE THE VEHICLE HOME WITHOUT SIGNING A RELEASE OF LIABILITY DOCUMENT. THE OBVIOUS CONCERN IS THAT THE EMERGENCY BRAKING SYSTEM WILL AGAIN RANDOMLY ACTIVATE WHILE TRAVELING AT A HIGHER SPEED AND CAUSE AN ACCIDENT RESULTING IN SERIOUS PROPERTY DAMAGE AND INJURIES!

Mileage: 675

THIS NISSAN CAR IS EQUIPPED WITH FEATURES NAMED, PRO-PILOT ASSIST (PPA), INTELLIGENT CRUISE CONTROL (ICC) AND EMERGENCY BRAKE ASSIST (EBA). WHEN ENGAGED, IT IS SUPPOSED TO KEEP LANES AND FOLLOW DISTANCE IF THERE IS A CAR IN FRONT. WHEN THE CAR IN FRONT IS STOPPED THIS CAR IS SUPPOSED TO STOP AS WELL. PPA WHEN ENGAGED, IF THERE ARE GOOD ROAD MARKINGS, WILL SHOW A GREEN STEARING ON THE DASH BOARD, TO SHOW THAT CAR CAN STEER IT SELF. HOWEVER IF THERE IS A CAR STOPPED IN FRONT ON THE SAME LANE (EX. STOPPED FOR A RED LIGHT), THIS CAR DO NOT DETECT THAT THERE IS A CAR STOPPED, AND KEEP GOING FORWARD UNTIL CRASH INTO THE STOPPED CAR, DRIVER HAVE TO INTEVENE TO STOP AT THIS TIME TO STOP. I TOOK CAR TO DEALER AND THEY SAID THIS IS NORMAL. THAT IS NOT WHAT NISSAN ADVERTISE. THIS BEHAVIOR IS QUITE DANGEROUS OF THESE CARS, AND MY EXPECTATION IS THE CAR NEED TO STOP IF THERE IS AN OBSTRUCTION IN THE ROAD, WHEN THE GREEN STEERING WHEEL ON DASH IS SHOWING THAT CAR IS DOING AUTO-STEER.

Mileage: 10

WHEN THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED MODERATELY AT AROUND 40MPH TO SLOW DOWN, AND IF A WHEEL GO ON TOP OF SOME BUMPS OR POT HOLES, CAR SEEMS TO LOOSE BRAKING POWER, BRAKE PADEL DROP ABOUT 1 INCH, HAVE TO PEDAL HARD TO GET THE BRAKES BACK. AT ONE TIME I SAW A MESSAGE ON DASHBOARD "NOT AVAILABLE" WHICH I WAS NOT ABLE TO READ AND CONFIRM, AS THIS HAPPENED IN A PANIC SITUATION. THIS IS OCCATIONAL BUT HAS HAPPENED TO BE 4 - 5 TIMES NOW. MY GUESS IS CAR TRY TO APPLY REGENERATIVE BRAKES FIRST, IF THAT CANNOT WORK DUE TO EXCESSIVE, BUMP / POT-HOLE ON THE ROAD, IT GIVE UP, AND AS A RESULT, CAR LOOSE BRAKING POWER FOR 1-2 SECONDS. THIS 2 SECONDS CAN BE LIFE AND DEATH IN AN EMERGENCY BRAKING SITUATION. I TOOK THE CAR TO DEALER, AND THEY SAID, NO ISSUES FOUND. THIS PROBLEM IS HARD TO REPRODUCE, BUT CAN BE REPRODUCED. THIS HAPPENED IN LOCAL ROADS WITH 45MPH SPEED LIMIT. ONE TIME WHEN THERE WAS ROUGH ROAD DUE TO CONSTRUCTION. ANOTHER TIME WHEN ONE TIRE WAS GOING ON TOP OF ROAD DIVIDERS WHICH ARE ABOUT 1 INCH TALL AND 1 FOOT APART, IT HAD MANY OF THESE NEXT TO EACH OTHER, WHEN I WAS APPLYING BRAKE.

Mileage: 40