Nissan has issued a recall for about 66,000 Leaf electric cars from model years 2018 through 2023 because of the scariest 2-word phrase in vehicles. But the circumstances make the actual risk low.
That phrase? “Unintended acceleration.”
Nissan tells federal safety regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that certain Leaf EVs can accelerate when no one touches the accelerator pedal, but only if their driver takes a series of steps within 8 seconds. The car stops accelerating as soon as the driver taps the brake pedal.
But an unexpected lurch forward could trigger an accident.
The problem is hard enough to create that Nissan engineers watched it happen in a test vehicle in December of 2021 and then spent months figuring out how they’d caused it. They “conducted computer simulations in an effort to replicate” the issue. Finally, in “late 2022 through Spring 2023,” they figured it out.
Some Leaf EVs accelerate suddenly if the driver deactivates Cruise Control, Intelligent Cruise Control, or ProPILOT; and, within 8 seconds, shifts drive modes from “D” to “B,” “ECO,” or “e-Pedal ON;” and then applies and releases the accelerator pedal.
It’s a software problem, Nissan says. Dealers will update the software for the vehicle control module to fix it. The repair is free (as are all recall repairs), and Nissan says it “may take up to 30 minutes to complete.”
In the U.S., the recall applies only to the Leaf. Some media reports have suggested that it could also apply to the Kicks subcompact SUV. Nissan says it “is recalling other models outside of the U.S. for a similar issue.” But those models use a powertrain not sold in the U.S. market.
Automakers recall many cars to fix safety defects, sometimes more than once. While automakers try to reach every owner to ask them to bring the vehicle in for repair, they rarely reach them all. Millions of vehicles on American roads need free recall repairs. Check the easy VIN tool at our recall center to determine if your car is one of them.
