2022 NISSAN LEAF Power Train Problems

The high-voltage battery on my 2022 Nissan Leaf is subject to Recall 25V655. The recall notice states that the battery cells can develop excessive lithium deposits, which increases electrical resistance and can cause rapid battery heating during Level 3 fast charging. Nissan instructs owners not to use Level 3 charging at all until a “remedy” is available. The issue is that the remedy described by Nissan is not an actual repair of the battery defect. Nissan states it will install software that monitors for “state-of-charge fluctuation” and, if detected, will prevent the vehicle from restarting or recharging in order to avoid a thermal incident. This means the defect inside the battery cells is still present, and the car may disable itself if the defect begins to appear. The recall materials also state there is no warning before overheating occurs. This creates multiple safety concerns: • The underlying battery defect remains uncorrected. • The vehicle can become immobilized (unable to restart or recharge) if the software detects the condition. • Loss of Level 3 charging capability affects the ability to travel safely or plan charging when needed. • A battery fire risk exists during Level 3 charging if the defect is not detected in time. Nissan’s documents state that the software is meant only to prevent the “progression” of a thermal incident, not to repair the defective battery. I am concerned that my vehicle contains a known hazardous defect that has not been physically repaired and that the software-only response is inadequate to ensure safety. I am filing this complaint so NHTSA is aware that the remedy being offered does not address the internal battery defect itself and may leave owners exposed to continued safety and reliability risks.

The high-voltage battery on my 2022 Nissan Leaf is subject to Recall 25V655. The recall notice states that the battery cells can develop excessive lithium deposits, which increases electrical resistance and can cause rapid battery heating during Level 3 fast charging. Nissan instructs owners not to use Level 3 charging at all until a “remedy” is available. The issue is that the remedy described by Nissan is not an actual repair of the battery defect. Nissan states it will install software that monitors for “state-of-charge fluctuation” and, if detected, will prevent the vehicle from restarting or recharging in order to avoid a thermal incident. This means the defect inside the battery cells is still present, and the car may disable itself if the defect begins to appear. The recall materials also state there is no warning before overheating occurs. This creates multiple safety concerns: • The underlying battery defect remains uncorrected. • The vehicle can become immobilized (unable to restart or recharge) if the software detects the condition. • Loss of Level 3 charging capability affects the ability to travel safely or plan charging when needed. • A battery fire risk exists during Level 3 charging if the defect is not detected in time. Nissan’s documents state that the software is meant only to prevent the “progression” of a thermal incident, not to repair the defective battery. I am concerned that my vehicle contains a known hazardous defect that has not been physically repaired and that the software-only response is inadequate to ensure safety. I am filing this complaint so NHTSA is aware that the remedy being offered does not address the internal battery defect itself and may leave owners exposed to continued safety and reliability risks.

“2022 Nissan Leaf with 63,000 miles. Vehicle loses propulsion, unable to accelerate above 40 mph, and goes into turtle mode. Dealer opened the high-voltage battery and found multiple swollen modules. Nissan refuses to replace swollen modules and will only replace one cell despite EV system failure. Vehicle is unsafe to drive.”

“2022 Nissan Leaf with 63,000 miles. Vehicle loses propulsion, unable to accelerate above 40 mph, and goes into turtle mode. Dealer opened the high-voltage battery and found multiple swollen modules. Nissan refuses to replace swollen modules and will only replace one cell despite EV system failure. Vehicle is unsafe to drive.”

The latest recall, NHTSA Recall 25v-655 for which there is no fix, has rendered my vehicle useless for any round-trip of more than approximately 130 miles from home. This is the same issue for which there was a recall for 2019/2020 LEAFs and after a year there was no known fix from the manufacturer.

The latest recall, NHTSA Recall 25v-655 for which there is no fix, has rendered my vehicle useless for any round-trip of more than approximately 130 miles from home. This is the same issue for which there was a recall for 2019/2020 LEAFs and after a year there was no known fix from the manufacturer.

in reduced traction environments vehicle will accelerate a full throttle without driver input to accelerator pedal. The issue is repeatable. though it seems to happen under multiple conditions. Vehicles acceleration is often opposite of the direction selected on shifter. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

in reduced traction environments vehicle will accelerate a full throttle without driver input to accelerator pedal. The issue is repeatable. though it seems to happen under multiple conditions. Vehicles acceleration is often opposite of the direction selected on shifter. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

When the Power switch is depressed the vehicle takes a certain amount of time before the READY to drive light is illuminated and the vehicle can be shifted into drive out reverse mode. However, if the gear shifter is moved into either drive or reverse prior to the light illuminating the vehicle will enter Neutral mode instead of remaining in Park. If the vehicle is stopped on any incline the vehicle may begin to roll in an unexpected direction once the brake is released believing the vehicle has shifted into the correct mode. If another vehicle, pedestrian, or object is near the vehicle it may be impacted before the driver has the time to depress the brake pedal. Further making this issue unsafe is that normally the gear selector has to be held in the neutral position for 2 seconds before the vehicle shifts into neutral. With this issue, the vehicle immediately goes into neutral when the shift selector is placed in drive or reverse. The issue was presented to a Nissan dealership for which they responded the vehicle is operating normally. Contacting Nissan consumer affairs also resulted in the statement that the vehicle is functioning normally. The issue with the "normal" operation being an unsafe operation was not of interest to either the dealership or consumer affair department, though the consumer affairs rep said they may look into it. For comparison, the same procedure was performed on a 2012 Toyota Prius in which it remains in Park, as would be the expected result if the vehicle was not ready to shift into gear.

When the Power switch is depressed the vehicle takes a certain amount of time before the READY to drive light is illuminated and the vehicle can be shifted into drive out reverse mode. However, if the gear shifter is moved into either drive or reverse prior to the light illuminating the vehicle will enter Neutral mode instead of remaining in Park. If the vehicle is stopped on any incline the vehicle may begin to roll in an unexpected direction once the brake is released believing the vehicle has shifted into the correct mode. If another vehicle, pedestrian, or object is near the vehicle it may be impacted before the driver has the time to depress the brake pedal. Further making this issue unsafe is that normally the gear selector has to be held in the neutral position for 2 seconds before the vehicle shifts into neutral. With this issue, the vehicle immediately goes into neutral when the shift selector is placed in drive or reverse. The issue was presented to a Nissan dealership for which they responded the vehicle is operating normally. Contacting Nissan consumer affairs also resulted in the statement that the vehicle is functioning normally. The issue with the "normal" operation being an unsafe operation was not of interest to either the dealership or consumer affair department, though the consumer affairs rep said they may look into it. For comparison, the same procedure was performed on a 2012 Toyota Prius in which it remains in Park, as would be the expected result if the vehicle was not ready to shift into gear.