Wandering / twitchy steering

I've had my leaf since May 2017. I've found that steering it on the highway (which I use going to work every day) is unpleasant. It seems that compared to almost all the other cars I've driven, it has a much stronger tendency to wander around in the lane, requiring constant attention and correction. Other cars just stay on track where I point them.
(FWIW, I've had a VW Golf, Honda Fit, Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Dodge Grand Caravan, Ford something wagon, another Honda Civic, and Ford Club Wagon. The Club Wagon was the only one that was worse, and its steering was a *disaster*.)

Is this just the way Leafs are, or is there something wrong with mine? I checked the tire pressure, and it was at 41psi, so I let some air out. I then took it to Discount Tire to verify my measurements, and they agreed with me.

tgeliot said:

Is this just the way Leafs are, or is there something wrong with mine?

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Possibly the latter. Over the past 4 years, I've had 2 Leafs. Neither has this issue.

Have the tire shop check the tires and make sure they are properly balanced. If that doesn't fix it, get the alignment and steering components checked. Also, check the side of the tires and see what the PSI limit is. Set the pressure a little below that for best range. I keep mine around 42psi.

There are a couple places on the freeway here in Salt Lake City where the rain grooves in the freeway pavement and the tread on my Ecopias "mesh", and it moves me around in my lane. Possible that that's what you're feeling? I found mine got better when I changed pressure in my tires, though I went the opposite direction you did - mine got better when I went up from 36 PSI to 40.

Thanks, I'm familiar with t the grooved pavement phenomenon. I've driven these same roads in a variety of vehicles for decades, the leaf is unique in its desire to wander.

Try setting your air pressure down to 36 and see if that cures your complaint. Alignment is another thing to check. The LEAF generally tracks very well.

OrientExpress said:

Try setting your air pressure down to 36 and see if that cures your complaint. Alignment is another thing to check. The LEAF generally tracks very well.

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Thank you, I did exactly that, unfortunately it did not help :-(

Next question: should checking the alignment be covered as a warranty item? Unfortunately I've let this go for a while; I bought the car in May and it is now August.

Looks like it’s a feature of the Leaf?
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1115391_2018-nissan-leaf-electric-car-four-day-winter-road-trip-review

I noticed the same with my 2019 Leaf S with just 14k miles. Strong cross winds also seem to make the wandering worse.

Steering wheel seems straight and tires wear evenly….not sure it’s an alignment issue.

I wonder if stickier summer tires or performance all seasons would help or make things worse…

I remember when I ditched the OEM de-rated Ecopias for Goodyear Eagles on my 2013, I was impressed by how much the steering improved. I don't however, see much of a steering difference between the now-OEM Energy Savers vs my Michelin x-Ice snow tires on the Gen II Leafs. What tires are on your car now?

2021 date code Sumitomo GeoDrive V rated tires up front and 4 year old original Ecopias in the back. The previous owner probably never rotated tires and the original Ecopias wore out on the front axle and the dealer put the apparently dealer only Sumitomo/Geodrive tires.

I am eyeing the Michelin Primacy 3s that we just put on our 2019 Beetle and it rides beautifully but I hate throwing away the good tires on the Leaf. All still have 7mm of tread left. We shall see… the straight line tracking really is the only thing that I wish the Leaf is better at…

If I had to guess, I'd say that the squishy Ecrapias on the back are causing the problem. Unless they are actual sold-to-the-public full-spec Ecopias - those are fine. The ones that came on the Gen 1-1.5 Leaf are not.

Thanks! Good point, rear tires provide directional stability. Maybe I’ll move the sumitomos to the back and see how it drives before splurging on new tires

hyap463 said:

Looks like it’s a feature of the Leaf?
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1115391_2018-nissan-leaf-electric-car-four-day-winter-road-trip-review

I noticed the same with my 2019 Leaf S with just 14k miles. Strong cross winds also seem to make the wandering worse.

Steering wheel seems straight and tires wear evenly….not sure it’s an alignment issue.

I wonder if stickier summer tires or performance all seasons would help or make things worse…

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The 2018 SL tested by Green Car Reports would have probably been equipped with 17-inch OEM Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires like the ones that came on both 2015 SL and 2019 SL Plus. I consider those tires to be the worst radial tires I have driven on and replaced them as soon as the tread was worn down on both cars. The OEM Bridgestone Ecopias that came on the 2011 SL were much better tires (if inflated to 44 psi), but they did wander if only inflated to Nissan recommended 36 psi. Wet braking traction was good with the Ecopias inflated to 44 psi, but marginal at 36 psi (probably because the tires were distorting under heavy braking loads at lower inflation pressures). Steering with the 17-inch OEM Michelins was light and "twitchy" regardless of inflation pressures between 36 and 44 psi and wet/dry braking traction was marginal, at best. The 2015 and 2019 cars were completely different when I put good tires on them.

In my opinion, good performance tires make a big difference at the expense of some range loss. I really like the Michelin Cross Climate 2 all season tires presently on my 2019.

Thank You @GerryAZ. light and twitchy is how I would describe the steering of the Leaf with the Sumitomos up front and Ecopias at the back - all at 36psi.

I’m going to be judgmental and assume that the sumitomo geodrives are also not exactly great tires given their nature as low price used car refurbishment tires. I think I’m going to invest in a set of Michelin summer tires and enjoy a better drive for the summer…

time to decide among the comfy Primacy 3/4, or sporty Pilot Sport 4 or the Porsche-spec Pilot Exalto PE2 (older design) : mrgreen:

I’ll take the range hit since I don’t do road trips anyway..

Not a popular choice, but the set of Goodyear Eagle A/S tires that I used to replace the Ecopias served me well. The steering stopped being Twitchy, and the range hit was too small to notice. They were also cheap, despite being made in the US (at least in 2014). A set of 4 cost me either $200 or $300 from a reputable Ebay tire dealer. Installation extra, of course.

I had a set of Michelin Primacy M4 (I think) sport performance tires on the 2011 that worked well except for the range hit compared to the Ecopias. The one drawback to Michelin tires is that sidewall cracking becomes an issue in my climate if annual mileage is not high enough to wear them out in a reasonable amount of time. Interesting that I don't have that problem with Michelin motorcycle tires, but their older sport performance passenger car tires were really prone to premature sidewall cracking. I drive enough miles with the LEAF to wear the tread down by the time sidewall cracking starts showing so it does not bother me, but someone who drives less may want something else. I am interested to see if the Cross Climate 2 tires are less prone to sidewall cracking--time will tell.

My experience has been that I need to keep pressures up to at least 42 psi to have even wear across the width of the tread along with best braking traction and handling. I usually run 44 psi for tires with 44 psi maximum on sidewall and up to 48 psi if sidewall maximum is 51 psi.