Nissan has issued a recall for about 66,000 Leaf electrical automobiles from mannequin years 2018 by way of 2023 due to the scariest 2-word phrase in autos. However the circumstances make the precise threat low.

That phrase? “Unintended acceleration.”

Nissan tells federal security regulators on the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration (NHTSA) that sure Leaf EVs can speed up when nobody touches the accelerator pedal, however provided that their driver takes a sequence of steps inside 8 seconds. The automotive stops accelerating as quickly as the motive force faucets the brake pedal.

However an surprising lurch ahead may set off an accident.

The issue is tough sufficient to create that Nissan engineers watched it occur in a take a look at automobile in December of 2021 after which spent months determining how they’d brought about it. They “performed laptop simulations in an effort to copy” the problem. Lastly, in “late 2022 by way of Spring 2023,” they figured it out.

Some Leaf EVs speed up immediately if the motive force deactivates Cruise Management, Clever Cruise Management, or ProPILOT; and, inside 8 seconds, shifts drive modes from “D” to “B,” “ECO,” or “e-Pedal ON;” after which applies and releases the accelerator pedal.

It’s a software program downside, Nissan says. Sellers will replace the software program for the automobile management module to repair it. The restore is free (as are all recall repairs), and Nissan says it “might take as much as half-hour to finish.”

Within the U.S., the recall applies solely to the Leaf. Some media reviews have urged that it may additionally apply to the Kicks subcompact SUV. Nissan says it “is recalling different fashions outdoors of the U.S. for the same concern.” However these fashions use a powertrain not bought within the U.S. market.

Automakers recall many automobiles to repair security defects, generally greater than as soon as. Whereas automakers attempt to attain each proprietor to ask them to convey the automobile in for restore, they not often attain all of them. Hundreds of thousands of autos on American roads want free recall repairs. Verify the straightforward VIN device at our recall heart to find out in case your automotive is considered one of them.