T/M Vehicle System Malfunction Warning

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leafwing

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 25, 2011
Messages
148
Location
Plano, TX
I stopped at the intersection for the red light this afternoon;few seconds before the light turned green, I got this message:
T/M Vehicle System Malfunction Visit dealer. The car shifted automatically to N and the yellow disabled vehicle icon displayed.
I turned the car off and waited few seconds and turned it back on, but I got the same warning.
I called Nissan Road Assistance, and since I was at the middle of the street, I called the police for help. People did not really notice that the hazard lights were flashing all the time.
In the meanwhile the car was off. I turned it back on and it worked just fine. I was able to drive it to the dealership but they did not want to look at till Monday. I will take it to another dealership first thing in the morning. Hopefully, I will get there safe.
Now what is the T/M system? Has anyone had this issue before and what was the remedy? Your input will be appreciated.
 
Did you by any chance shift into neutral at the intersection? Or use the Reverse-to-Neutral trick while slowing down for it? I found two references to "T/M system malfunction visit dealer" in the Service manual. They were for an electronic shift malfunction. One of them also said, "Check position of shift lever".

As to what T/M might stand for, there is a section of the manual codenamed TM which covers "Transaxle & Transmission". Not that the shift lever has anything to do with the drivetrain in this car, but I'm sure there is an indelible association in the minds of auto engineers.

Ray
 
It has to do with the Transaxle & Transmission system. Without knowing which error code is set, it could be a lot of different things according to the service manual.
 
DarkStar said:
It has to do with the Transaxle & Transmission system. Without knowing which error code is set, it could be a lot of different things according to the service manual.
Thanks for your input.
I have been first for many things; so I will just add this to my record.
 
I have the same warning. I figured the 12v battery is dead, no doors will open
I charged the 12v with a conventional 6 amp for about 15 mins and it went back to normal. But it died the following day and had to charge again. The big battery is supposed to charge the little one
 
Rgiron said:
I have the same warning. I figured the 12v battery is dead, no doors will open. I charged the 12v with a conventional 6 amp for about 15 mins and it went back to normal. But it died the following day and had to charge again. The big battery is supposed to charge the little one
Yes, the big one should charge the little one while you are driving. But the little one should be fine on its own for a week or so unless something is pulling way more current than it should. Definitely time for a 12v battery check. It's beginning to sound like some new 2013's were delivered with defective 12v batteries.

Ray
 
Rgiron said:
I have the same warning. I figured the 12v battery is dead, no doors will open
I charged the 12v with a conventional 6 amp for about 15 mins and it went back to normal. But it died the following day and had to charge again. The big battery is supposed to charge the little one
I'm at the dealership right now. I will post an update as soon as I hear the diagnosis.
 
I've had the T/M System Malfunction warning three times in the last two weeks. The first time it would still shift into reverse and drive so I could drive it to the dealer. The second time it wouldn't; even after turning it off and waiting a few minutes. I ended up having it towed to the dealer. The last time it wouldn't shift at first but after waiting a few minutes it would (but still had the warning showing) so I could drive it to the dealer. Long story short, the dealer referred it to the Nissan engineers and they came back with the answer that there was nothing wrong with the car. They said it was the charger I was using. I only trickle charge at home, using their charging cable, and when I am out I use different chargers. In fact, it was charged at the dealer before the last warning message happened (but they missed the logic in that one). I am leaving in a few minutes to go get it from the latest dealer visit. I am still pursuing it with Nissan so we'll see what happens.
 
Hi ,
We just picked a new leaf less than a month ago and we have the same t/m system malfunction warning.
Any updates on this from the other owners? Looking for any information on this.

Thanks !!
 
I just got my leaf back from the dealer to fix my T/m system malfunction warning. The problem with starting began about a month ago and has been getting worse. They triple checked the 12 volt battery and found it to be dead. Replaced it and so far so good.
 
I'm having this exact same problem with my wife's '13 Leaf. It's becoming a horror story. If this had been the first Leaf I ever bought, I'd have second thoughts about Nissan EVs. We leased it in July, and the first time it wouldn't start was on our wedding day, which made me have to squeeze visiting a Nissan dealership into my already crazy busy day. Anyways, it's been to the dealership twice now for the exact same problem.

The first time they said there was nothing wrong and that such an error can happen if there's a double tap of the ignition switch. It was gone for 8 days. When we got it back it worked for about 2 weeks before having the same problem, but 1 of those 2 weeks we were on our honeymoon so that doesn't really count since we weren't using the car.

The second time they said it was the IPDM control unit, so they replaced that. It's been gone for 10 days. We just got it back from the dealer this morning...and by this evening, the same thing again. So now I have to call roadside assistance to tow the car from Sprouts Supermarket where it broke down into the dealership first thing in the morning.

Now the third time we're sending the car in for the same problem. So far it's been 18 days cumulative that the car's been gone, and God knows how long it'll take this time.

First, I'm asking for a 1 month refund for the lease payment. Second, I'm asking for a different Leaf. 12 more days of repairs and I can use the AZ Lemon Law on this car for a full refund. I've had it with the car, there's something defective and I'm tired of paying Leaf lease payments to drive the dealership's crappy rental gas cars.

On the other hand "my car" is the '12 Leaf and I've never had this issue once. The only problem I've ever had with the '12 is the battery health and they gave me a brand new battery last month under the warranty since it dropped below 9 bars.
 
Took delivery of a '13 Model "S" Tuesday evening (10/15). Driving down the freeway yesterday (10/17) at 65 mph and the same thing happened to me. Car shifted into neutral and would not to shift into "D". Coasted down an exit ramp and was able to pull over safely. After several attempts to restart, was successful and have driven without incident since. I have not contacted the dealer. Anyone else have insight into this issue?
 
TomT said:
It seems that the reliability of the 2013s is a step down from the 2011s and 2012s... Hopefully they'll get this under control by the 2014s...
My thoughts exactly. Perhaps there is a bug in the 2013 software/firmware that either hasn't been identified yet, or just hasn't been fixed. Glad I have the "old model".
 
T/M malfunction warning occurred yesterday when I tried to start my 2013 Leaf (which was received only 6 weeks ago). It had started without incident earlier in the day. Had it towed to the dealership. They are saying that the problem is with the 12v battery. Can think of no reason that the battery would have drained so it must be defective.
 
Mine was repaired by replacing the 12V battery and performing what the dealer called a "recall" service of "P32270 Reprogram Battery Controller. 6007 WNC"

Here is the weird part. I was not there when the service order was written-up because I was towed to the dealership on Sunday when they were closed. I left the car in the service driveway and dropped the key in an after-hours box with a note explaining the problem and my contact information. After I picked up the car (which is a white 2013 SL), I noticed that the work order was written up for my first LEAF (which I had bought from that dealership): a silver 2012 SV. I have no doubt that I needed the new battery, but I wonder if the "recall" was for my actual car, or for my previous LEAF.
 
To update you guys on my wife's '13:

It seems to be fixed. Third time at the dealership was a charm. This time they replaced the BCM completely and that's taken care of it. My gut tells me it's fixed because all of the symptoms are gone. The symptoms I experienced were jerky brakes, non starts, lights and electronics going on and off for no reason.

Because with this third visit to the dealer, the car was basically out for a month in total, I asked for a refund of one month's lease payment and got it. So I'm no longer irritated with the situation, and my wife gets to enjoy her new Leaf.
 
I have a '12 Leaf that had experienced the same issue with the "T/M Vehicle System Malfunction Visit dealer"

Long story short, it was in the shop for a month while they tried different fixes such as the battery controller and other modules which did not work.

An engineer was eventually called in after I had opened a customer support issue with Nissan.

The fix ended up being replacing the inverter assembly and the associated VCM module. The inverter assembly is that part of the motor under the hood that looks similar to a cylinder head on an internal combustion engine.

I was given a loaner Leaf by the dealer for the whole time it was out of commission. I was glad everything was covered by the warranty.
 
Had this problem this morning. I confirmed that the 12v battery was only putting out 6 volts. I charged the battery and the car started normally.

And even after a 2 hour charge and an hour of driving I still only have 10 volts. I didn't do anything to run the battery down like that. It must be defective.

I also verified that when the car is "running" I get 14 volts across the battery terminals so the battery is charging.

I hope a battery replacement is quick and the dealer doesn't give me the run around.
 
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