grabby brake issue - TSBs, workarounds, suggestions

paulk · Feb 7, 2015

my 2013 nissan leaf SV had severe grabby (sensitive) brake issue for 15 months now without resolution. took it to metro nissan in montclair,CA. they failed to admit the issue and did not recognize and tsb or recall on such issue. after test driving, they told me they found nothing wrong.

called nissan corp, they too failed to recognize the tsb.

finally, i posted the issue on nissan facebook and someone reached out to take my car in to dealer again. they found the tsb on the issue and took it to puente hills nissan in city of industry, cA and the service advisor quickly recognized the problem and performed the tsb to resolve this issue.

i know alot of such cases has been resolved but i just wanted to let you know of my experience on grabby brake issue i had

nissan should do a better job of recognizing and resolving such widely known issues.

dm33 · Feb 7, 2015

paulk said:
my 2013 nissan leaf SV had severe grabby (sensitive) brake issue for 15 months now without resolution. took it to metro nissan in montclair,CA. they failed to admit the issue and did not recognize and tsb or recall on such issue. after test driving, they told me they found nothing wrong.

called nissan corp, they too failed to recognize the tsb.

finally, i posted the issue on nissan facebook and someone reached out to take my car in to dealer again. they found the tsb on the issue and took it to puente hills nissan in city of industry, cA and the service advisor quickly recognized the problem and performed the tsb to resolve this issue.

i know alot of such cases has been resolved but i just wanted to let you know of my experience on grabby brake issue i had

nissan should do a better job of recognizing and resolving such widely known issues.

We have very grabby brakes also. Seems to be getting worse. Is there a number or identifier for the TSB performed on your car? Does the paperwork list something specific?

We need to have it looked at.

cwerdna · Feb 8, 2015

NTB14-017 for early '13 Leafs?

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=397940#p397940" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

TimLee · Feb 8, 2015

cwerdna said:
NTB14-017 for early '13 Leafs

But does it work long term :?:
2011 / 2012 had a TSB too.

Some early improvement, but long term no fix, they go right back to being grabby.

cwerdna · Feb 8, 2015

TimLee said:
cwerdna said:

NTB14-017 for early '13 Leafs

Click to expand...

But does it work long term :?:
2011 / 2012 had a TSB too.

Some early improvement, but long term no fix, they go right back to being grabby.

Still working fine and no grabbiness. I don't recall the date that I had mine done.

TomT · Feb 8, 2015

It typically took 6 months or more for it to come back...

cwerdna said:
Still working fine and no grabbiness. I don't recall the date that I had mine done.

RePo · Feb 8, 2015

My Early '13 also exhibits this behavior. As a simple fix I found that while stopped, flexing the brake peddle into the deep braking zone will work out the grabbiness. The symptoms are gone for the remainder of that driving session.

Deleted member 13195 · Feb 14, 2015

Was at dealer today to get this update done and first was told the tsb didn't come up for my vin , then I pushed and asked them to verify the software version of the tsb vs what is in the car and it did not hAve this latest version so they went ahead and applied the software update, so be persistent as I think some other owners have had this issue.

Too soon to tell if is fixed but per other reports should do much better.

Nubo · Feb 14, 2015

This tip from a previous thread worked for me when I was having grabby brakes on our 2012. The low-speed braking on our 2015 isn't exactly perfect but there's been no eggregious grabbiness so far….

goaliepride said:
Grabby at high or low speeds? There's a (temporary?) fix if it happens at low, which is: Turn off traction control, inch forward, hold and press down the brakes FULLY for about 30 seconds. That's it. Mine used to be super grabby on/off style at low speeds, but now they're normal.

Deleted member 13195 · Feb 14, 2015

Nubo said:
This tip from a previous thread worked for me when I was having grabby brakes on our 2012. The low-speed braking on our 2015 isn't exactly perfect but there's been no eggregious grabbiness so far….

goaliepride said:

Grabby at high or low speeds? There's a (temporary?) fix if it happens at low, which is: Turn off traction control, inch forward, hold and press down the brakes FULLY for about 30 seconds. That's it. Mine used to be super grabby on/off style at low speeds, but now they're normal.

Click to expand...

I tried this temporary fix and it did help for a month or so, but after drive home from dealer after software update a definite improvement..........

BrockWI · Feb 16, 2015

goaliepride said:
Grabby at high or low speeds? There's a (temporary?) fix if it happens at low, which is: Turn off traction control, inch forward, hold and press down the brakes FULLY for about 30 seconds. That's it. Mine used to be super grabby on/off style at low speeds, but now they're normal.

Ok for the heck of it I did this and I am amazed how much more smooth braking is now. So what does this do? Why does it work temporarily? To be fair I was ok with the way it was braking, just more annoying that anything else.

TomT · Feb 16, 2015

The guess is that the pressure on the pedal sensor and actuator does a recalibration that fixes it for a short while... I did it every few months...

BrockWI said:
Ok for the heck of it I did this and I am amazed how much more smooth braking is now. So what does this do? Why does it work temporarily? To be fair I was ok with the way it was braking, just more annoying that anything else.

BillR · Feb 28, 2015

Annoyed with the grabby brakes on our '13 SV, a few days ago I simply pushed the brake pedal down as far as it would go while waiting at a red light. The grabbiness has been gone for a week now. If I have to do this every month or so, I can live with that.

Thanks forum members!

dm33 · Mar 5, 2015

I'm at the dealership and they claim the car has all the updates, i.e. no update is required. Is this an optional update? Not something that shows up as an update?

Have other folks had similar issues applying this TSB?
I had posted to the Nissan Facebook page and they made it sound like it would be a simple process. So far this is anything but.

Armand · Mar 5, 2015

dm33 said:
I'm at the dealership and they claim the car has all the updates, i.e. no update is required. Is this an optional update? Not something that shows up as an update?

Have other folks had similar issues applying this TSB?
I had posted to the Nissan Facebook page and they made it sound like it would be a simple process. So far this is anything but.

The tsb is a temporary fix anyway. I had it applied about a couple of years ago but the problem returned recently. I went back to the dealer and now they want $160 to reprogram. In my case the problem went away by itself as soon as my 16 year old twins started driving lessons on this car. Looks like a change in driving style is enough to throw the car's algorithm for braking behavior.

Deleted member 13195 · Mar 6, 2015

dm33 said:
I'm at the dealership and they claim the car has all the updates, i.e. no update is required. Is this an optional update? Not something that shows up as an update?

Have other folks had similar issues applying this TSB?
I had posted to the Nissan Facebook page and they made it sound like it would be a simple process. So far this is anything but.

look back in this thread at my earlier post, the vin scan will not show that there is a software update, but have the tech verify the software version of the tsb against the version in your leaf, most likely like mine the leaf does not in fact have the latest software version........

OakLeaf · Mar 6, 2015

Regarding the "temporary fix" mentioned earlier - it seems to alleviate the "grabby breaks" issue on our 2012 Leaf as well whenever it acts up.

It's just an observation, but the "grabby breaks" seem to then re-appear after the traction control or ABS system has been active.

TwiglettMike · Mar 17, 2015

Maybe this is the brake equivalent of the GoM?
It gets so used to gentle, controlled braking that it becomes too sensitive?
That could be why a "flat to the floor" brake actuation seems to clear it up temporarily.

hubbahubbaone · Mar 17, 2015

I've got a '14 SV and have grabby brakes at low speeds when coming to a stop. It is much more noticeable when driving in ECO mode. I suspect it might be tied in with the regenerative brakes. Haven't gone dealer, just adjusted my braking to a lighter touch so far.

monterathbun · Mar 19, 2015

So my 2013 has been in the shop twice for grabby brakes. Once in December and not I'm on the second visit and waiting for a fix. Nothing yet. Went to the dealer today and talked to the tech. No resolution. So what is a "tsb" Is that a technical service bulletin? I'm getting a little concerned that it's been out of service to me for almost three weeks over the last 4 months.

grabby brake issue - TSBs, workarounds, suggestions

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