Unable to Restart after using AC (was AC causes failure)

Whew! 58 pages! I'm finally caught up (for now ). And no one asked (unless I missed it,) "What about the 3000 or so cars being driven in Japan?" At least they got a mention.

Nissan has decided to perform a service campaign on 5,300 Nissan LEAF vehicles in the Japanese, North American, European and other markets to ensure all of our customers are satisfied.

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Still, I wonder if there were any failures there? Or if they're happily running around on original firmware. One clue is, I don't think it's very warm there, judging from the coats being worn by the residents of Fukushima.

Yes, and the falling snow last month might have been a clue too.

Most likely, the Air Conditioning systems on the LEAFs in Japan have rarely been turned ON.

The amusing thing about the media coverage so far, is that their main source of information appears to be mynissanleaf.com

leafwing said:

Hi everyone:
this is my first post. I'm posting this just in case you encounter a situation like mine and after researching the web I could not find any information. If anyone finds any information, please post it.
So, I want to the store, parked the car and could not be happier. It was my third day driving the Leaf. The car is fully charged.
I started the climate control three minutes before leaving the store.
I Got behind the wheel, pushed the start button. The car is ready, but when I put the shift on R and steered the wheel, the ready button was off and the PS (power steering) light was on.
Two master warnings lights are on. The battery check light is on. I turned the power off, waited few seconds and turned back on again.
Five lights are on now: the two master lights, the EV system light, the battery check light, and the PS light. The steering wheel is hard to budge.
To make a long frustrating story short.
The car is sitting now at the dealership waiting for an engineer from Nissan to take a look at it on Monday. The initial test was not conclusive, although two EV components need to be checked. The technician discouraged me from taking the car home until more tests are done.
I'm so disappointed.
Now I miss my Leaf and Prius.

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On my commute home tonight I ran the the AC for the first time. Right after it turned on the a warning light went on the instrument panel followed by the EV Charge Fault indicator (car icon with an "!" in the middle of it). I made it home and when I tried to start it it wouldn't move out of neutral, the power steering indicator went on (no power steering), and 12v batter light went on. I called Miller Nissan and they told me to bring it in. 1 hour later it was on a flat bed going back to the dealer. I hope to find out more tomorrow.

BC3 said:

On my commute home tonight I ran the the AC for the first time. Right after it turned on the a warning light went on the instrument panel followed by the EV Charge Fault indicator (car icon with an "!" in the middle of it). I made it home and when I tried to start it it wouldn't move out of neutral, the power steering indicator went on (no power steering), and 12v batter light went on. I called Miller Nissan and they told me to bring it in. 1 hour later it was on a flat bed going back to the dealer. I hope to find out more tomorrow.

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Is this your first encounter with this problem ? Did you already have the A/C software fix ?

gbarry42 said:

Whew! 58 pages! I'm finally caught up (for now ). And no one asked (unless I missed it,) "What about the 3000 or so cars being driven in Japan?" At least they got a mention.

Nissan has decided to perform a service campaign on 5,300 Nissan LEAF vehicles in the Japanese, North American, European and other markets to ensure all of our customers are satisfied.

Click to expand...

Still, I wonder if there were any failures there? Or if they're happily running around on original firmware. One clue is, I don't think it's very warm there, judging from the coats being worn by the residents of Fukushima.

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AutoBlogGreen had the official statement from Nissan within the last day or two and it said they had encountered the problem in Japan as well. It gets plenty warm in southern Japan and I am sure Leafs there have used the A/C quite a bit already. Fukushima is quite far north so don't judge by that. The southernmost point of Kyushu is farther south than San Diego.

I received this email message from Nissan a few minutes ago. I had my Leaf reprogrammed two weeks ago, and since then it has been problem-free.

=======

REASON FOR CAMPAIGN

On some 2011 Nissan LEAF vehicles, a diagnostic programming error may under certain conditions detect a "problem" with the air conditioning system that does not exist, preventing the vehicle from going into "Ready" mode the next time you attempt to start the car. This issue does not occur when the vehicle is being driven. However, the vehicle may not restart after being turned off.

WHAT NISSAN WILL DO

To assure your continued satisfaction and confidence in your car, your EV Certified Nissan Dealer will reprogram the Vehicle ! Control Module free of charge for parts and labor at a time and location that best meets your needs. Typically performed at your Nissan EV Dealer, the reprogramming can also be completed by an EV Certified technician at your home or place of business provided there is a suitable and safe work area. Please discuss with your Nissan EV Dealer regarding timing and location.

This reprogramming will address the failure to restart issue, as well as improve the accuracy of the driving range display.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO

Contact your EV Certified Nissan Dealer at your earliest convenience in order to arrange your appointment.

This service is free of charge and the work should take about one hour to complete. To ensure the least inconvenience to you, it is important that you have an appointment before bringing your vehicle to the dealer for service. Please bring this notice with you to your service appointment. Detailed instructions have been sent to your EV Certified Nissan Dealer.

If the dealer fails, or is unable to complete the service free of charge, you may contact the Nissan LEAF Call Center, Nissan North America, Inc., P.O. Box 685003, Franklin, TN 37068-5003. The toll free number is 1-877-N0-GAS-EV-(1-877-664-2738).

Thank you for providing us an opportunity to ensure on-going satisfaction with your Nissan LEAF. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

I received the same and just had it upgraded today (see post in Nissan Quality - Not Impressed) and the rep was specific to the dealer that they make sure that they follow through with the paperwork or the particular VIN # LEAF will be in the computer as needing the upgrade. If that persists, you might check with the dealer to see if they submitted all the paperwork to the right department in Nissan.

deleting a cross post - check the main version thread for details on my work today.

I'm just getting ready right now to "LEAF" Connell Nissan in Costa Mesa and head back home. Apparently I'm one of the 1st to come in for the software patch, though never exhibiting any trouble/symptoms during the 3+ weeks of ownership. Anyway, Steve says the patch actually is TWO remedies rolled into one. Besides the AC issue, there were apparently some Leafs exibiting poor "remaining charge" refresh rates ... and thus those affected Leafs would suddenly go from low state of charge to REALLY low state of charge. Never happened to ours, but it's nice to know that now it won't.

.

Got bit by the AC bug yesterday evening (I think). Car was running fine but the "Traction, Power, Battery, Cooling" light came on. The symptoms match what I've read on the forum, except I had used my A/C almost daily for a month. I really, really wanted to turning it off to see if it would restart. I didn't want to get stuck in rush hour traffic, so I resisted. I called my dealer and they said to bring it in, so I drove directly there. My salesman was GREAT. Introduced me to everyone in service and had a loaner car ready to go. I still felt very weird leaving my baby but Big Kudos to Don Davis and James Whitehouse for the way they handled this. The service department should diagnose the issue today, as well as apply the firmware update.

One interesting note: when I pinged CARWINGS this a.m. car had ZERO charge. Not sure if the battery was disconnected or what. Right now, it's showing plugged in and charging with 33%. Wish I could remotely view the backup camera, too.

Was there some reason why your LEAF had not gotten the Update already?
Just inconvenient?

My wife was driving it today with the air conditioning on and the EV System warning light came on. She drove it home but the car would not run after that. I called the Nissan EV help line and they sent a flatbed truck to take it back to the dealer. Apparently this was caused by the issue that has triggered the recall, but it's the first time I ever had a new car die on the road.

garygid said:

Was there some reason why your LEAF had not gotten the Update already?
Just inconvenient?

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Partly that -- I was trying to wait till I had a vacation day at the end of month but also partly because I have a semi-low VIN and had been using the AC without any problems. Live and learn... I'll schedule any future firmware updates as quickly as I can.

j.

Googler said:

She drove it home but the car would not run after that. [...]but it's the first time I ever had a new car die on the road.

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Something doesn't quite add up in your post.

I had problems getting the diagnostic screen. Here's what worked.

Foot OFF the brake, press the ON button near the steering column.
After the power on chimes, ignore the Carwings screen.
Turn off the radio.
Then press the MAP button, upper right of the screen, three times rapidly.
Press the lower left Power button twice rapidly. It is also the radio on/off button.
Press the MAP button once.

My version, or part number, is 3NA0B, s/n 703. Have not had the A/C shutdown problem, but haven't run the A/C more than a few times.

There appears to be no correlation to what part number is shown and the actual firmware version in the VCM. In fact, there seems to be nothing on the diagnostic versions display page that relates to the VCM at all... My part number was was A both before and after the update:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4083

HarryHouck said:

My version, or part number, is 3NA0B, s/n 703. Have not had the A/C shutdown problem, but haven't run the A/C more than a few times.

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HarryHouck said:

My version, or part number, is 3NA0B, s/n 703. Have not had the A/C shutdown problem, but haven't run the A/C more than a few times.

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As mogur already commented, this part number relates to the navigation system, not the VCM and isn't related.

We really need to get a homebrew CONSULT III+ going...

DarkStar said:

HarryHouck said:

My version, or part number, is 3NA0B, s/n 703. Have not had the A/C shutdown problem, but haven't run the A/C more than a few times.

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As mogur already commented, this part number relates to the navigation system, not the VCM and isn't related.

We really need to get a homebrew CONSULT III+ going...

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Yes, but it is very easy to find out whether a car has the fix for that problem. Just run it down until you have only a single bar left. If you haven't gotten the low battery warning yet, then you have the fix.

Ray

The "thermostat" at a lower setting or off?? You mean the temp setting on the climate control? Or turning the climate control off? I'm a bit confused. :?