NHTSA Complaint #11089019 — 2013 NISSAN LEAF

I DIDN'T DRIVE THE CAR FOR A FEW DAYS AND THE 12V BATTERY DIED. SO I DISCONNECTED IT FROM THE CAR AND HOOKED IT UP TO MY 12V BATTERY CHARGER. WHEN IT WAS FULLY CHARGED, I RECONNECTED IT AND STARTED THE CAR. BOTH THE YELLOW AND RED WARNING LIGHTS WERE ON AS WERE THE BRAKE, ABS, AND VDC LIGHTS. I STARTED BACKING UP IN THE DRIVEWAY AND AS SOON AS I PRESSED THE BRAKES, STRANGE NOISES CAME FROM THE FRONT OF THE CAR. I SLAMMED ON THE PARKING BRAKE TO STOP.I TRIED BACKING AGAIN AND NOTICED THE BRAKES ONLY ENGAGED WHEN THE PEDAL WAS PRESSED ALMOST ALL THE WAY DOWN. WHILE TROUBLESHOOTING, I NOTICED REMOVING THE VDC FUSE STOPPED THE SOUNDS. ALSO THE BRAKES ARE NOW USABLE, BUT REQUIRE MUCH MORE FORCE ON THE PEDAL THAN NORMAL. THE TROUBLE CODES ARE C118A AND C1A61. (ABS E-DRIVEN INT BRAKE SYSTEM BRC-124 / BRAKE MOTOR POWER SUPPLY BR-46) AFTER AN EXPENSIVE DIAGNOSIS, THE NISSAN DEALER DETERMINED "DIAG. USED CONSULT. C1A61 CURRENT CODE MOTOR POWER SUPPLY. CHECKED FUSES OK. ELECTRICALLY DRIVEN INT BRAKE UNIT HARNESS AND CONNECTIONS OK. 12V PRESENT TO MODULE. BRAKE UNIT INTERNAL SHORTED DUE TO SUSPECTED SURGE. REC REPLACING 12V BATTERY AND UNIT. FURTHER TESTING MAY BE NEEDED.....ESTIMATE TO REPLACE 2817.00 PARTS AND LABOR. PART IS FROM THE FACTORY." I HAVE SEEN MANY OTHER LEAF OWNERS WRITE ABOUT THIS KIND OF PROBLEM AND BELIEVE IT MAY BE A COMMON DEFECT. I ALSO DON'T KNOW WHY IT WASN'T COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY.