@Michael,
There are infancy problems with everything new (including people). This is likely a software or grounding problem that once fixed will probably never rear its head again - ever.
The problem is that there is nobody alive who remembers the infancy problems with the ICE.
I, for one, applaud Nissan for having the guts to do something new. The rest of the industry has been afraid to even try.
This is minor and will quickly pass.
Nissan Launches Service Campaign for LEAF Starting Problems
On Monday, Nissan acknowledged that it would quickly investigate complaints from a small number of LEAF owners that the electric car sometimes fails to start. The problem was reported in both the United States and Japan. Some LEAF owners traced the starting problem to use of air-conditioning.
Today, Nissan’s Andy Palmer, executive vice president, issued a video statement. “We have found a problem. The problem…is only on a small proportion of the vehicles,” said Palmer. “However we have decided to perform a service campaign for all the [LEAF] vehicles produced and sold.” Palmer reported that Nissan has produced nearly 8,000 units of the LEAF since production began in December. It sold more than 3,300 units in Japan as of February and delivered approximately 500 in the United States through March.
“On some occasions, when you key off, the car won’t start,” said Palmer. He added that it was not a safety issue. It's unclear if the problem is isolated to vehicles produced at a certain time—such as the very first LEAFs to roll off the production line.
According to the statement, Nissan will move swiftly to deploy a software fix for all LEAF customers, regardless of whether or not they reported any problems. The service campaign will begin next week “Time is of the essence. We need to go as quickly as possible,” said Palmer.
Production at Nissan's Oppama plant, where the LEAF is made, resumed on Monday, after shutting down because of the March 11 earthquake. Palmer said the company is still facing constraints on supply of parts. “We fully expect to be back to full capacity in the very near future.” He said the company would catch up on any lost sales “in the second half of the year.”
PluginCars.com is working to confirmed reports that the service campaign will delay deliveries of the 1,500 or so Nissan LEAFs that recently arrived at the port in Long Beach, Calif.
About the author
Bradley Berman is the editor of PluginCars.com. Brad writes about alternative energy cars for The New York Times, Detroit Free Press, Reuters and other publications. He is quoted in national media outlets, such as CBS News, ABC News, CNBC, CBC, and MarketWatch. Mr. Berman is a tireless researcher of the green car market. He is the transportation editor at Home Power magazine.
Comments
· ex-EV1 driver · 1 year ago
· regman · 1 year ago
I agree with ex-EV1 driver in that all new products, especially with products that have a lot of new technologies from a company that has not been exposed to these new technologies. This is Nissan's first electrified vehicle and they will go through these growing pains. I would expect Ford for example to not have as many issues with their Focus EV since they have been dealing with electrified drive trains, batteries, and other unique systems for over 10 years now but they, as well as Toyota, had their early problems. Hopefully these problems will be able to be fixed with software because that is a lot less expensive.
I expect to see a few issues like this and would have been surprised if there wasn't, but if there is a rash of issues with the Leaf, then it becomes a reputation problem.
· Brad Berman · 1 year ago
Official response from Nissan below. This includes the vehicles at the port. They are running the software updates on those vehicles "as fast as they can." Check with dealer to see if it means a delay for any specific vehicle.
FROM NISSAN:
Nissan has found that a very small proportion of the Nissan LEAFs in the market today have reported incidents which require reprogramming of the Vehicle Control Module to address incorrect diagnosis programming. Yet, as the LEAF is very important to us, 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.
This is not a safety issue as the vehicle will not stop running while being driven, but may not restart once it is turned off.
Approximately 500 Nissan LEAF customer vehicles in the U.S. are affected by this campaign. In an effort to minimize the inconvenience to these customers a message will be sent through the on-board telematics system early next week prompting the owners to contact their Nissan dealer to arrange reprogramming of the software to address this issue. Nissan will also contact potentially affected owners through traditional channels to inform them about this issue.
We are fully aware that this issue may have inconvenienced some of our customers. Nissan is committed to a high level of customer service and satisfaction, and is working with dealers to promptly address the issue."
· EvDriver (not verified) · 1 year ago
To say that this is an issue because the Leaf is an EV is a false statement, people have issues all the time with their cars on board computers including not letting them start the car's gasoline engine.
The Leaf has it's vehicle computer tied in to so many parts of the vehicle that it doesn't surprise me that there is an issue with it, they have taken a simple way to power a vehicle and made it very complex by allowing it to interact with nearly every part of the car and thus tie in to your your home computer, cell phone and GPS if I understand it correctly.
· Michael · 1 year ago
@EV1 and Regman,
My point is, there have been people on these discussions stating that there was essentially nothing to go wrong with an electric car. This is an example that there is plenty to go wrong, just as there is with any car.
· EVNow · 1 year ago
@Michael "My point is, there have been people on these discussions stating that there was essentially nothing to go wrong with an electric car."
Strawman ?
There is no need for regular maintanance and on the average less problems because of less moving parts. One example of a brand new technology doesn't prove or disprove our assertions. Let us check back after 10 years.
· Anonymous (not verified) · 1 year ago
"Nissan has produced nearly 8,000 units of the LEAF"
Were are the 4,000 or so other Leafs?
Dealerships?
· Itmustbeso · 1 year ago
Never buy a car the 1st year it's introduced. Second, go look at the 10 best
car companies in the world and look for Nissan Models. Get my point?
· Michael · 1 year ago
@EVNow,
"There is no need for regular maintanance (sic)"
The Nissan Leaf maintenance book is just a blank page?
· JJ - from Canada (not verified) · 1 year ago
EV Maintenance will be stuff like: tire rotation, new tires, new suspension, brake maintenance, change wiper blades and as said in the article software updates and fixing ground straps.
I wonder if the software updates will replace the oil changes as a gimmick to have us go back to the dealer?
On the + side: no gas fill ups, no gas yo-yo pricing games, no exhausts parts to replace, no oil changes, no gas tank leak, no fuel pumps to replace, no spark plugs and wires and coil packs to replace, no oxygen sensors, no EGR valves to go bad, no IAC valves to replace, no intake and exhaust valves to adjust, no tranny fluid to change, did I forget anything?
+ no gas stations leaking into the ground.
--------------------------
@ Regman: Hopefully these problems will be able to be fixed with software because that is a lot less expensive.
I agree ! A lot less expensive.
----------------------------
@ ex-EV1 driver The problem is that there is nobody alive who remembers the infancy problems with the ICE.
And there's still problems with ICE cars. We all experienced them and hear from friends with car troubles and message boards are full of people asking for help for their car problems that the dealer-garages can't fix.
· JJ - from Canada (not verified) · 1 year ago
Another thing that can go wrong with an EV:
When I replaced my IAC valve on my ICE car, I noticed that the small electric connector had corrosion inside the plug and also the connector pins were corroded.
This is something worth checking before replacing an electric part on your EV, check the connector plug and pins to make sure they aren't corroded (in a few years from when you buy it).
· Michael · 1 year ago
@JJ - from Canada
"And there's still problems with ICE cars. We all experienced them and hear from friends with car troubles and message boards are full of people asking for help for their car problems that the dealer-garages can't fix."
I know, and I just had to replace the battery on my ICE car. Whoops! That's not a good example. :-)
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Perhaps this is a reality check for all those people who thought that electric cars were maintenance and trouble free, and would never need to go to the shop. Certainly, there shouldn't be any starting problems under this scenario. There's not engine to start! How many times have we heard on this website about how electric cars don't have spark plugs, don't have mufflers, don't have a water pump (unless they battery liquid cooling), don't have a transmission, etc., as if there is nothing to go wrong? Idealism finally meets reality.
In next few years, with production vehicles in customers' hands, we'll find out how reliable electric cars are, probably in the pages of Consumer Reports.