I am writing this as a long-time listener because I assume you all to have collective wisdom and knowledge about cars ordinary sources don’t. Here’s the deal: my wife and I bought a 2013 Nissan Leaf in April of '14 and generally love the car. It is perfect for her short commute (20-30 miles each way) and we really are saving about $100/mo over the gasoline vehicle she had. However, 4 times now it has just quit suddenly while being driven. No warning, no odd sounds (which you could easily hear in this car) it just quits going forward or backward. The electricity is still flowing and the battery has had adequate charge (1/2 or above). Usually, this occurs on very hot days (for Virginia, 80s-90s F). Now I am approaching you because I have searched the internet and turned up little about this problem (there was a slightly different one in Arizone in 2012). Two dealers have been unable (so far–the car is in the shop now) to diagnose the problem. I was wondering if any of you had sources that I may have overlooked and could check or if you have heard scuttlebut about this car model having this kind of problem.
Thanks for any help you can give me.
It is time (actually it was time a while ago…) for you to “kick it up a notch” by contacting Nissan at the corporate level. Contact information (both address and toll-free phone number) can be found in your Owner’s Manual.
Whenever dealerships lack the expertise or the motivation to fix a car that is under warranty, it is time to go over their heads, and to contact the folks who designed and built the car. The corporate staff can frequently “motivate” a dealership to perform a needed repair and/or to send somebody to the dealership who has the expertise to do a proper diagnosis and repair.
You also might want to research the details of the Lemon Law in your particular state, to see if you are w/in the time limits for filing a Lemon Law claim. Whether anyone else has had a similar problem or not, if you have a lemon and if you haven’t waited too long to invoke a Lemon Law claim, then you should do so before the clock runs out on your rights under this statute.
Besides doing the above, you also might want to check with other Nissan dealers in your area. For something this specific, you might have to find ‘that guy’ in the service department that knows about Leafs (Leaves?) and their problems. Not all dealers have them, I bet.
Have you posted this on the Leaf-specific forums?
@webermc1
Is This Vehicle Under Warranty Or Was It Under Warranty When It First Went To The Mazda Dealer With The “Quit Running” Complaint And Is It Written As Such On A Repair Order Copy That You Retained?
To your knowledge has the car ever been in a collision or has a mechanic ever noted anything about any previous repair work that was done on the vehicle?
CSA
This is probably a long shot, because I don’t think the car behaves this way without a key, and you would probably get other warnings, but have you checked to make sure the battery in your key fob is fresh? As far as I can tell, once started, my 2012 LEAF will continue to drive just fine indefinitely (okay, I have not really tested it past a quick run down the street!) without the key. But maybe they changed the behavior such that it will stop running after a period without the key (and as the battery dies, it’s kind of like the key being gone).
Were you eventually able to get the car running again or did it require a tow?
I am assuming that @common sense answer meant “Nissan”, rather than “Mazda”.
Or, does Nissan have a repair partnership with Mazda dealers of which I am not aware?
??
Electric stuff behaves strangely in hot weather sometimes,I was having trouble getting dewalt batteries to charge today,because believe it or not they seemed to be to hot,anyway I’m considering a new leaf for my less then 100 mile weekly ,total work commute-lease or buy?'I hope you get yours fixed,The poster with the fob battery idea,may be unto something.
I see Musk is contemplating marketing a 200 mile Tesla for 35k,things are getting interesting.
“I am assuming that @common sense answer meant “Nissan”, rather than “Mazda”.
Or, does Nissan have a repair partnership with Mazda dealers of which I am not aware?”
@VDCdriver
You’re correct. I meant to say Nissan. If we also assume that my memory still functions properly then I’ll blame the mix-up on the fact that we have no Nissan dealers and no Mazda dealers within hours of my residence and very few of those cars around here.
Interestingly, I actually was employed at a Mazda dealer for a couple years, way back when (folks were still running around in Datsuns and rotary engine Mazda cars, in addition to RX-7s!).
Sorry about he error.
CSA
Find a Lemon Law lawyer in your area and find out what rights you have/not, document your case starting with the first day of the problem. rocketman
I’d guess the car has reached a temperature limit of something in the system, possibly the batteries themselves, but more likely something is the control system. Those electrons didn’t keep flowing, they got blocked on their path from the batteries to the motor. Since it has happened 4 times and the dealer hasn’t found a problem that must mean the car magically fixed itself when it cooled off, right? It is tough to fix something you can’t re-create in the shop.
I’d push Nissan to fix this whether under warranty or not. It is very new technology for them and you should not be their guinea pigs. Failing that, dump this car like 3 week old rotting fish 'cause this ain’t gonna get any better with time. Run Away! Run Away!