NHTSA Complaint #11623624 — 2016 NISSAN LEAF

On Friday, November 1, at about 3 pm, the brakes failed pulling away from the curb in a forward direction after loading equipment into the vehicle. Really stomping the brakes as though they had a fluid problem did get them to engage. I think the problem occured again backing out of my driveway prior to Monday the 4th when I fixed the problem. Again, really slamming the brake peddle got the brake to engage. You may look at the vehicle if you wish. On Friday, I was at a large senior center party and there were many pedestrian with limited mobility near the exit. An out of control vehicle could have been very dangerous. I applied experience from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles with brake problems and that fortunately worked, but brake fluid was NOT the problem and there is no clear documentation of the problem in the owner's manual. This problem is an EV problem. I can't really take the vehicle to the dealership because they have failed to perform warranty service and refused to do so in the time required by MD law. To determine the cause of the problem, I checked the brake fluid level which was normal, brake wear, which was little, checked the owners manual in detail (nothing clearly stated) and then searched the internet. By Monday the 4th, I had seem a reditt post that said a dead cell in the 12-volt battery could cause a confusion in the vehicle between the regenerative braking system and the hydrolic braking system. There had been some odd behavior at startup. The dash info would flash up with missing numbers then come on normally. And, at shutdown a few time, the lights left on buzzer would sound even though the lights were off. I checked the 12-volt battery voltage and it was low, about 10 volts consistent with a bad cell. I ordered a NAPA battery said to fit the vehicle, and replaced the defective battey which seems to have fixed the problem. The NAPA store confirmed a bad cell in the old battery. No clear warnings of the problem showed.