NHTSA Complaint #11603920 — 2022 NISSAN LEAF

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.