low battery warning x3 update 5/21/13

[Epi117]

#2013 Leaf with 980 miles, has been running perfectly since we got it a month ago
#charged last night to 100 miles because i am expecting a long day of back and forth trips today
#Driving wife to work and suddenly car gives "low power" (not sure of right name for it). and i pretty much lose all power, pull over and park, power down, power up and shows i have 85 miles, drop her off..
#heading back home, same thing happens....
#dropped it off at nissan dealer on way home.

what i think may have gone wrong:

# i have my old prius weather tech mats on, I’m wondering if improper fit, caused the brake or gas to not depress completely
# i cant think of any other reason for this to happen
#on a side note, the dealer said there was a recall (didnt say for what" but that they would take care of it while they check it out
#went ahead and ordered some weather tech mats for leaf while i was there.

Thanks any advice is appreciated!

Update 5/21/13


Well Nissan got back to me, they offered

Not to release me from lease
Not to flip the car for a working leaf
They offered to assign me a regional tech to look into the problem or to pay one months payment on the lease.

Extremely frustrating:

So car still sits in dealer 11 days and counting for this episode

Called the dealer, asked what info they had, they stated:

They were still working on the car
No idea when it was going to be fixed
And would not consider letting me get a new leaf.

So stuck with with ICE, and no idea when i will get my leaf back.

Not sure what to do next....very frustrating....

 

[davewill]

I think it's safe to say that the car has a significant problem, and it's not the floor mats. Even if the mats did interfere with the brake or accelerator, it wouldn't cause the car to shut down like that. It might keep you from pressing the brake all the way, and starting up properly, but it wouldn't cause a shutdown.

 

[mwalsh]

Loose 12v battery terminals? Haven't we seen behavior like this when there is a 12v battery problem?

 

[LEAFfan]

The recall is with the passenger side airbag sensor. It doesn't sense a passenger even though they are over 100 pounds.

 

[Epi117]

well they just called, they were not able to the problem!
I asked them to check connectors to 12 V battery.
not sure if they checked or if error codes were produced during the event
heading to go pick it up!

 

[Epi117]

Picked it up. They test drove it with no problems, no codes, drove it about 30 miles after pickup with no problem. I asked them to check battery connections etc. hope this is the end of the story.

 

[Epi117]

Happened again this am. 8 miles into driving wife to work, with 90% power off of a 100% charge. Car gives low power warning. Have to pull over power down and power back up.

Both times has happened when i powered to close to 100%.

Called dealer, leaf tech was out, have appt for monday.

Very frustrating.

 

[Epi117]

Hasn't happened again, but i did get a email from nissan and discussed the situation. Sent them some vids i have taken with my iphone 3gs (quality was not good).

Exchanged a few more emails.

Nissan called me yesterday at work ( which was really nice) were very receptive to feedback and my concerns. They also offered me a $250 gift card that i could spend on accessories. Which was a very nice gesture.

Good to see that they monitor the forums and seem to take our concerns seriously.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

posted this in your other thread but no power, lack of regen, but a full battery all leads to signs of overheating.

the randomness sounds like a stuck switch or valve. if it were a gas car, I would immediately advise that you replace your thermostat. what I would do is randomly pull over, pop your hood and make sure you hear water running. it should have water running nearly all the time you are driving or charging.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Hasn't happened again, but i did get a email from nissan and discussed the situation. Sent them some vids i have taken with my iphone 3gs (quality was not good).

Exchanged a few more emails.

Nissan called me yesterday at work ( which was really nice) were very receptive to feedback and my concerns. They also offered me a $250 gift card that i could spend on accessories. Which was a very nice gesture.

Good to see that they monitor the forums and seem to take our concerns seriously.

for the inconvenience you have had in such a short period of time on a brand new car, I would have been livid with anything less from them

 

[Epi117]

Update, they were able to replicate the problem , tech drove it home and it happend to him twice. they are in consult with nissan. still driving ICE loaner and waiting to see what happens.

I called nissan and put in a request for new leaf, still waiitng to hear back from them.

 

[dndrich]

Update, they were able to replicate the problem , tech drove it home and it happend to him twice. they are in consult with nissan. still driving ICE loaner and waiting to see what happens.

I called nissan and put in a request for new leaf, still waiitng to hear back from them.

It is so nice when you have a problem, and they are able to duplicate the problem. You have a pretty good chance of getting this resolved now. Super.

 

[Epi117]

Yep, i was so happy when they called me, hopefully we can get this resolved.

 

[nosuchthing]

Very lucky! You beat Murphy's law. (Broken appliance shown to the repairman works perfectly).

Hope they give you a new car and call it a day. Remember, lemon law applies! Third time will be a charm!

I am worried about those 2013 Leafs. This is the 3rd post about problems that I've read. I'm sitting pretty with my 2011 for now.

 

[cwerdna]

Awesome that they could repro the problem.

Whenever this is finally resolved, I would definitely file a safety complaint at http://safercar.gov/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. This qualifies as a safety defect to me.

Even though we're hearing probs with these '13 Leafs, as has been pointed out by the former Prius Product Manager (that I quoted at http://priuschat.com/threads/entune-class-action-suit-anyone.111550/#post-1589545" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false re: posts on forums:

Me and Erica? We're "just Marketing" people perusing the boards. Our ability to collect information from owners here is limited to qualitative data - quantitative is either impossible or very unreliable, and therefore not suitable for satisfying regulatory requirements. It's much better for things like "do I need a third cupholder in the front?" and much worse for things like "my car doesn't feel like it's braking right." So is this statement CYA? If that's the term you prefer, ok.

Reliability surveys like those conducted by Consumer Reports or internal data collected by automakers about repairs warranty claims is a better reflection of how common/uncommon a problem is.

 

[Epi117]

They called today, car still at dealer, they will be consulting with Nissan Engineers Monday, that's 9 days with out leaf this time, 7 days last time.

All in all i still rather drive a working leaf than an ICE.

 

[OPECsux]

A guy at work today was telling me about his neighbor having a similar problem and sometimes the car won't initialize in the morning, not sure if he was telling the truth or an EV hater cause he said the car is just sitting in his the garage and the dealer doesn't know what's wrong. I find it unual for someone to own a car that at max is 2 years old and it's just parked due to an issue.

 

[Caracalover]

They called today, car still at dealer, they will be consulting with Nissan Engineers Monday, that's 9 days with out leaf this time, 7 days last time.

All in all i still rather drive a working leaf than an ICE.

You should keep your gasoline reciepts, and when you pick up the Leaf, hand copies of them to the dealer. Add a carbon tax if you want to get creative.

 

[Epi117]

Email i sent them today,

Hi, thank you for your emails, i am going on day 7 of not having the car agian.

So far i have taken it to the dealer 3 times for the same problem

1st time they checked it out and could not find problem
2nd time they kept it for 7 days and could not resolve the problem
3rd and current time they have it so far for 7 days , waiting on monday to see what they decide

Xxxxxxxxx is my case number

In less than three months of ownership the problem has not beeen resolved, three visits and 15 plus days without the car.

I requested to return the car as a lemon, as it is a very concerning problem for my safety.

I really appreciate the response nissan has taken to my concerns, its been above and beyond of what i would expect of a world wide maker of cars. If you look on reddit under my user name epi117 you will see only positive comments from me about my car.

But, its currently not usable, the issue has not been resolved in three visits and i just dont trust my car and am requesting to be released from my lease.

Thank you for your help, as stated before, you guys have been great about working with me on this issue and if asked i would say that Nissan stands behind its product.

Your truly

Juan X xxxxxxx

 

[derkraut]

Very sensible email, Juan. I like your professional way of stating the facts, and your proposed resolution. IMHO, Nissan should agree to terminate your lease. Good luck.