Bad Power Distribution Module? Check In Here

[dm33]

Just to add a (null) data point, I have no charging issues nor error lights on my 2013 SL Premium in two full months of ownership and just over 1800 miles. Manufactured May 2013, delivered June 15.

I had posted here earlier that I had experience no charging problems of any kind.
Now I'm over 3000 miles and had "the" issue. At least I think its the issue. Before it failed to charge, I also experienced weird behavior as it was finishing charging, ie undecided charge estimation blinking and flashing and fan spinning up and down. When it failed, the PDM was quite hot whereas it was never hot before. My dealer appt is scheduled for next week. Hope its just an update and no need to replace the PDM.

 

[HungryTurkey]

Well, add me to the bad PDM list. Car is in shop for the fourth time for 12V battery not charging, therefore killing the car approximately every 6-7 days. They just notified me it's a bad PDM and there are zero in stock in the service channel.

Awesome. =(

Welcome to the bad PDM club!! At least you know you are not alone. I am in my second week without my car waiting for a good PDM to be installed.... BTW, you were lucky!! Mine stopped charging all in a sudden. It would not start charging at all. Luckily I had 40 miles in the "tank" and I made it to the dealer.

I really hope we're a fairly insignificant minority here and that most Leafs (err. Leaves?) are reliably getting 10s of thousands of miles without issue.

 

[TomT]

Only 2013s are affected. I think of it as an early design issue much like the very early 2011s had with the A/C shutting down the car... In both cases, a software update fixed it. However, like with the affected 2011s, I really do think that Nissan needs to issue a recall for this.

I really hope we're a fairly insignificant minority here and that most Leafs (err. Leaves?) are reliably getting 10s of thousands of miles without issue.

 

[sfiorini]

Only 2013s are affected. I think of it as an early design issue much like the very early 2011s had with the A/C shutting down the car... In both cases, a software update fixed it. However, like with the affected 2011s, I really do think that Nissan needs to issue a recall for this.

I really hope we're a fairly insignificant minority here and that most Leafs (err. Leaves?) are reliably getting 10s of thousands of miles without issue.

That appears to be correct. It's a 2013 issue and I start to think it affects all 2013 models before the 3000 miles, like clockwork. Nissan should make sure all cars in the dealers lot are updated before selling them and also recall all 2013 cars that were sold. Being proactive would save them money.

I am happy with the treatment from the Nissan EV line and still a big supporter of the EV movement. There's no car I enjoyed more than my two months with the Leaf. However, I have to admit, I am frustrated from not having my car and the waiting and waiting..

 

[TimLee]

... That appears to be correct. It's a 2013 issue and I start to think it affects all 2013 models before the 3000 miles, like clockwork. Nissan should make sure all cars in the dealers lot are updated before selling them and also recall all 2013 cars that were sold. Being proactive would save them money.

I am happy with the treatment from the Nissan EV line and still a big supporter of the EV movement. There's no car I enjoyed more than my two months with the Leaf. However, I have to admit, I am frustrated from not having my car and the waiting and waiting..

Being proactive would save them money, IF the software change completely resolves the problem. Does seem like if the software change is production grade they would roll it out to every 2013 LEAF ASAP.
But maybe the software change is still Beta level? Maybe they don't feel confident in it yet?
Of course Nissan has a really bad track record so far when it comes to being proactive.
When they were already starting the Versa test mule demonstration tour of the LEAF drivetrain in very early 2010, they thought they might only be willing to lease the LEAF battery. But then due to legal issues they went ahead and sold the LEAF with the battery. But failed to develop anything for how they would provide OEM support for the batteries they sold. Now we're waiting till sometime in 2014 to provide details for a battery rental program that might provide some means for a LEAF purchaser to get a means for battery replacement.
Four years later is anything but proactive.
Hopefully they'll be at least a bit quicker on the 2013 LEAF PDM problem. :?

 

[LEAFfan]

... That appears to be correct. It's a 2013 issue and I start to think it affects all 2013 models before the 3000 miles, like clockwork. Nissan should make sure all cars in the dealers lot are updated before selling them and also recall all 2013 cars that were sold. Being proactive would save them money.

I am happy with the treatment from the Nissan EV line and still a big supporter of the EV movement. There's no car I enjoyed more than my two months with the Leaf. However, I have to admit, I am frustrated from not having my car and the waiting and waiting..

Being proactive would save them money, IF the software change completely resolves the problem. Does seem like if the software change is production grade they would roll it out to every 2013 LEAF ASAP.
But maybe the software change is still Beta level? Maybe they don't feel confident in it yet?
Of course Nissan has a really bad track record so far when it comes to being proactive.
When they were already starting the Versa test mule demonstration tour of the LEAF drivetrain in very early 2010, they thought they might only be willing to lease the LEAF battery. But then due to legal issues they went ahead and sold the LEAF with the battery. But failed to develop anything for how they would provide OEM support for the batteries they sold. Now we're waiting till sometime in 2014 to provide details for a battery rental program that might provide some means for a LEAF purchaser to get a means for battery replacement.
Four years later is anything but proactive.
Hopefully they'll be at least a bit quicker on the 2013 LEAF PDM problem. :?

That's what Nissan and two dealer techs told me. They can only do it for cars with the problem. Dealers are not supposed to do it unless there is a problem because if the car doesn't need it, it could make it worse by causing other problems. I have 4500 miles/6mos. with no charging problems.

 

[TomT]

A hearty BS comes to mind! :roll:

That's what Nissan and two dealer techs told me. They can only do it for cars with the problem. Dealers are not supposed to do it unless there is a problem because if the car doesn't need it, it could make it worse by causing other problems.

 

[kevinleaf]

So I brought my car in with this problem. As I feared they said they found no problem and there is nothing wrong. There is no code for them to read. So it was a big waste of my time. They also said there is no software upgrade for my car.

If someone can point me to a service bulletin number or something from Nissan I can tell them about to force them to diagnose further that would be helpful.

 

[kevinleaf]

After I pressed the dealer further for details they said they did the charge test on the QC. Can you believe that? How is that a valid test? They said they did a test of the L2 charger afterward (after it was fully charged??) and it was fine.

I'm sure I'm going back again. I really hope not but it just seems like their techs didn't understand the problem and the service manuals were either ignored or don't have good diagnostic procedures for this issue.

 

[LEAFfan]

After I pressed the dealer further for details they said they did the charge test on the QC. Can you believe that? How is that a valid test? They said they did a test of the L2 charger afterward (after it was fully charged??) and it was fine.

I'm sure I'm going back again. I really hope not but it just seems like their techs didn't understand the problem and the service manuals were either ignored or don't have good diagnostic procedures for this issue.

Did it fail to charge at least to 80%? If it did charge without stopping short of 80%, then you don't have the PDM problem.

 

[dm33]

After I pressed the dealer further for details they said they did the charge test on the QC. Can you believe that? How is that a valid test? They said they did a test of the L2 charger afterward (after it was fully charged??) and it was fine.

I'm sure I'm going back again. I really hope not but it just seems like their techs didn't understand the problem and the service manuals were either ignored or don't have good diagnostic procedures for this issue.

My understanding is that when using QC, the charger doing the work is the charge station, not the car. QC is a DC quick charge. I think the car tells the charge station what voltage and amperage it needs and turns over the bulk of the process to the quick charge station.

This is very different from L1, L2 charging where the input is 120/240v AC which is converted by the charger in the car to 400v DC used to charge the battery.

Given the difference, it seems plausible that quick charging may not exercise the PDM in failing mode.

 

[TimLee]

^^^Correct.

 

[rolo2285]

Hello Everyone. I have joined the PDM failure club. Well my dealer calls it the Power Assembly Box but i think it's the same thing.
My SV is 2 months old with less than 4k miles. Mines would stop charging at 50%, happened 3 days in a row. I took it in on the July 19th and it's still sitting in the at the dealership. They say the part won't be coming in till mid August. A HAVE TO WAIT A FULL MONTH!! I contacted the EV line for gas compensation, they stuck me in a Rogue :evil:. I drive 100 miles a day. Not Happy at all

Update: I got my car back on 8/12, finally. The codes they found were:
P316C PD MODULE SYSTEM
P3170 PD MODULE SYSTEM
P3171 PD MODULE SYSTEM
B29C1 EVSE SIGNAL INVALID

Thing to note though is that I had called EV support line to have them open a ticket for gas credit on the rental car. I guess they put pressure on them to fix it faster since it was ready a week earlier than quoted. But they never installed the new PDM. Only a reprogram. I don't think the tech there knew what he was doing because they tried to reprogram it the first day i brought it in and couldn't.
I've had it for a week now and it's working. I feel like my range has been reduced a bit though. Anyone else have their range reduced from the repogram?

 

[Scubamal]

I just started having this problem a couple of weeks ago with level 2 chargers. I bought a Levinton 32amp and they sent a loner with the same results. So now I called Nissan and will have my car in the dealer tomorrow. I hope it's only a software fix. Thanks for all the info here. I'm glad I'm not the only one. I thought I was going crazy.

 

[kevinleaf]

I got these codes today:

*B27ff 009 HVAC Config Not Implem HAC-159
U1300 0108 MULTI AV AV Comm Circuit AV-93
U1240 0208 MULTI AV Switch Conn AV-93
U1000 0108 MULTI AV CAN Comm Circuit
B29C1 2908 CHARGER EVSE VC-88
P3171 0008 EV/HEV
P3170 0008 EV/HEV
P316C 0008 EV/HEV

Still waiting to hear what it means. It has been failing to complete charging more often now. 3x just today.

 

[shbruner]

Same problem. 2013 S worked fine for a month or so, then wouldn't take a charge. The yellow EV problem indicator light illuminated, but went off next time I turned the car on. I tried charging from a different charger, a Blink at my work garage, but it didn't charge and again the warning light was on. It's at the Nissan dealership now. I'll post more later.

Got the car back after 10 days at the shop. They put in a new PDM and claimed it took so long because it was the first one they had to replace. So far so good, although I've only charged it three times since getting it back. We'll see.

 

[bradbissell]

Has anyone had charging issues without the EV warning light, or codes? I has another instance of my car not charging (or partially charging) last night. This is the second time in the last month that the timer has not fired correctly. First time was after a power outage which I thought the LEAF would be able to handle since the EVSE reset correctly.

 

[cortcurtis]

Just for the record, my 3 month old Leaf (2300 mi) has been diagnosed with a failed Power Distribution Module. Will be in the shop for 10 days while they try to figure out how to replace it. Seems like this is quite a common problem...

 

[lion]

Has anyone had charging issues without the EV warning light, or codes? I has another instance of my car not charging (or partially charging) last night. This is the second time in the last month that the timer has not fired correctly. First time was after a power outage which I thought the LEAF would be able to handle since the EVSE reset correctly.

Happened to me several times on level 1, no error lights, but failed to charge completely. I mentioned it earlier in this thread, but no one else commented on my scenario. I haven't encountered this issue since I switched to a level 2 EVSE.

 

[sfiorini]

Hi all, I wanted to give you an update on my 2013SL with a bad PDM.
I got the car back two weeks ago, after 2 weeks in the shop. So far so good. I have been using the car quite a lot and everything looks fine.

My understanding is that there is a software issue that causes the PDM to fail and if it fails it needs to be replaced.
From what I read in this forum, a PDM software upgrade before the failure should do it. However, as the cars are not recalled by Nissan, all the PDMs fail for the 2013 models.

Basically, if you have a 2013 Leaf, you will go through the PDM replacement within the first 3000 miles of usage.