2017 Leaf S, jerking, or skipping when coming to a stop only 62 miles

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ijambert02

New member
Joined
May 4, 2017
Messages
1
Hello All,

My first EV ever. 2017 Leaf S with Charge package. When coming to a stop the car jerks or skips. And its very consistent, and OF COURSE.. when the Nissan Leaf Tech was with me.. no jerking or skips whatsoever, I get the feeling its because i actually drove the car for a good 20-25 mins. Perhaps the motor is warm and no longer had the issue.

Anyone else had this issue?
 
LeftieBiker said:
IF it happens when braking on rough pavement, that's normal - it's the ABS. If it happens on smooth, dry pavement it isn't.
+1, ABS or regenerative breaking :) It happens on my Leafs as well as Prius. Both have ABS and both have regen, it doesn't happen with my '04 Scion Xb which only has ABS which has me thinking it might have more to do with the regen.
 
jjeff said:
LeftieBiker said:
IF it happens when braking on rough pavement, that's normal - it's the ABS. If it happens on smooth, dry pavement it isn't.
+1, ABS or regenerative breaking :) It happens on my Leafs as well as Prius. Both have ABS and both have regen, it doesn't happen with my '04 Scion Xb which only has ABS which has me thinking it might have more to do with the regen.

I think it's the way the ABS is programmed on cars with Regen - or at least the Leaf and Prius. The ABS is too "touchy."
 
I get the same thing on my 2016. Any time I'm breaking while hitting rough pavement or potholes. Feels *way* different than a normal ABS, but I think that might be what it is...
 
+1 on regen/ABS. Behaves just like my Prius. Smallest pothole would trigger the ABS for 1/10th of a second. This completely disables regen and it's all friction breaks. Transition is not smooth as they put emphasis on stopping the car.

I learned on the Prius to let go of break complexity for a fraction of a second and then apply it again. That's enough to allow regen again. Seem to work on Leaf as well.

Could be smarter but I think it's safety first thinking.
 
Smallest pothole would trigger the ABS for 1/10th of a second. This completely disables regen and it's all friction breaks. Transition is not smooth as they put emphasis on stopping the car.

My experience - shared by others - is that it feels as if the brakes have stopped working for a large fraction of a second when braking on rough roads. That may be illusory, but it's an unnerving illusion.
 
The Leafs have very sensitive ABS, but I have also had the issue on several different motorcycles and SUVs (both at work and home). Suspension tuning and ABS programming are the main causes, but brake pads and tire quality can also contribute. High quality aftermarket shock absorbers completely eliminated this issue on my present SUV. Regeneration certainly contributes on the Leaf, but my 2011 exhibited the sensitive ABS behavior even when the battery was down to 8 capacity bars and there was very little regeneration (prior to battery replacement).

The Leafs have ceramic brake pads which are clean and last a long time, but take quite a while to break in. I made an effort to shift to neutral when approaching stop lights for the first 1000 miles or so to get the brake pads seated on my 2015 Leaf and it really improved the brake feel. The shock absorbers and struts on the later Leafs are rather stiff when new so they don't keep the tires in firm contact with the road on rough surfaces. It gets a little better after the shocks and struts wear for a few thousand miles. Replacing the OEM Michelin tires with Continental sport performance tires also improved the braking on rough surfaces for me (at the expense of about 15% reduction in range).
 
LeftieBiker said:
Smallest pothole would trigger the ABS for 1/10th of a second. This completely disables regen and it's all friction breaks. Transition is not smooth as they put emphasis on stopping the car.

My experience - shared by others - is that it feels as if the brakes have stopped working for a large fraction of a second when braking on rough roads. That may be illusory, but it's an unnerving illusion.
+1 and even when I know it's coming I get a lump in my throat when I feel what I think is the breaks releasing when trying to stop.
I use a particular freeway exit several times/week and it always gets me. It's coming off a 70 mph freeway where I almost always have someone on my ass(most people like to do 75-80, I usually do 65-70) down a somewhat steep off ramp and towards the bottom of the hill is a stop light and right turn lane where all you need to do is slow down and merge with any traffic that might be on that cross road. Right before and into the turn lane there are several rough areas in the pavement that are impossible to avoid, to make matters worse they continue into the curve. My latest strategy and it seems to work pretty well is to break somewhat hard right before the bumps/curve and then let off the breaks as I go over the bumps and into the curve. Doing this I don't get the feeling of the breaks giving out and it's a overall better feeling :)
 
WHOA guys, this is a brand new owner of a Leaf. Don't go telling them to shift gears while the car is moving, or telling them to get new tires.

There are no gears to change in the transmission, so that is out.... "Jerking and skipping" may be the result of stopping on sand, leaves, or a wet, or rough road, which makes the car slip a bit until the car comes to a stop. This can happen especially when you are stopping as you are turning... OR it may be that the new brakes grab really quickly because they are new....

Drive the car for a few hundred miles so that the new brakes will soften up. If it still does it, go back to the dealer. This does not sound like a dangerous or defective situation... Keep us informed.
 
Who has suggested new tires or "shifting gears"? While non-LRR tires might improve things for the OP, I agree that it's mainly a matter of adjusting behavior. I was saying that the LRR tires on the Leaf and Prius may be making the problem worse, that's all. Many people tend to stomp on the brakes, and doing that with a Leaf isn't something that will work out well long term...
 
Hello,

I own a 2013 Nissan Leaf and experiences the same things.
It is for me a 'problem'.
I mean it is not normal for me that the regenerate system gives so much trouble while braking....
I have talked about it at my reseller at the first visit 1 month after the delivery and unfortunately, trying the vehicule, the technician did not notice it, I was sitting next to him in the vehicle.
Please for others stop talking about ABS, it is not the same car behalf when it is working and no it doesn't come from brakes too new or tires.
My leaf is a 2013 one and was not new when I bought it from a NISSAN reseller.
For the next visit of my car to them I will again ask for a tune up or system update regarding this as I expect a failure in the system.
For me it occurs in various situations and at very different speeds.
And it is upsetting me.

Regards
 
Don't know if this still applies, but for earlier LEAFs you could "re-calibrate" the ABS by pressing the brake pedal ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR, and holding it there for at least 30 seconds while the car is in drive.
 
Nubo said:
Don't know if this still applies, but for earlier LEAFs you could "re-calibrate" the ABS by pressing the brake pedal ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR, and holding it there for at least 30 seconds while the car is in drive.

I believe you also have to switch off the traction control first.
 
This used to happen to me in my 2011 often. I would be coming to a stop, and the car would jerk, causing my foot to jerk, causing the car to jerk, causing my foot to jerk.... the only way out of the loop was to either release the brake or stomp down on the brake, suddenly stopping the car. The "recalibration" mentioned above is the only thing that would help. I did not have to turn off traction control.
 
What does this recalibration of the ABS do? How often do you do it, and why?

Searched for "ABS recalibration" and got nothing relevant.

I have had an unnerving brake experience infrequently: when braking at fairly low speed (happens around 10 MPH IIRC) I'll get a half-second or so in which braking power seems to suddenly decrease then return to normal. Doesn't feel anything like any ABS effect I've felt before, so I assumed that regenerative braking simply cut out for a moment. I need to do better at recording the conditions at which it occurs. I certainly don't like it, whatever is going on!
 
I have had an unnerving brake experience infrequently: when braking at fairly low speed (happens around 10 MPH IIRC) I'll get a half-second or so in which braking power seems to suddenly decrease then return to normal. Doesn't feel anything like any ABS effect I've felt before, so I assumed that regenerative braking simply cut out for a moment. I need to do better at recording the conditions at which it occurs. I certainly don't like it, whatever is going on!

Going over a patch of rough road will do that. If this is happening it's normal. If the braking power gets reduced on smooth road, you have a problem.

I assume that the brake recalibration consists of the braking booster getting reset to factory parameters for degree and duration of assist.
 
I don't remember associating it with bumpiness. It happens rarely enough that it is always a surprise, and I don't feel like I have any way to duplicate it. I'll have to try harder to notice what the previous couple of seconds were like, and other conditions like speed, level of braking, etc.
 
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