Powering down

If the driver of a Leaf suddenly collapses while driving, how would the passenger turn off the car..one can not just reach over and turn off the key in the ignition. :?:

Push and hold the on/ off button

Or push it three times rapidly...

1932highboy said:

Push and hold the on/ off button

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1932highboy said:

Push and hold the on/ off button

Click to expand...

Thanks to both of you..I tried to just push it without holding or repeating and it didn't shut off.

I'll be sure it works on my car and let my wife know..just in case!!

^ I don't think the single push will work if the car is in D. You'd need to do the emergency stop triple-push deal. Anybody know what happens then? I would hope glide to a halt rather than the Park pawl try to engage itself!

Just tried both methods. Car went into neutral,no power steering, but was still able to steer with greater effort. Car stopped fine as hydraulic boost was still three. It was actually easier to hit the button three times rather then holding. I would suggest trying it in a empty parking lot to understand what will happen in a emergency.

Interesting. The parking pawl doesn't engage at all? I guess this is one way to get the car into neutral. (There was a thread about putting the LEAF into neutral for charging in a particularly tight parking space.)

I assume it was in neutral as the car coasted until I stopped it. There was no gear selection illuminated as the dash was dark.

1932highboy said:

I assume it was in neutral as the car coasted until I stopped it. There was no gear selection illuminated as the dash was dark.

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Did the car remain in neutral after you stopped moving?

Good info. Not sure I ever knew the emergency shutdown procedure.

It is good to know this technique to power it down. But generally, I think you would be much better off just putting it in neutral. Powering down will probably deactivate the airbags. You also will not be able to put it back in Drive until the car comes to a complete stop.

Could anybody try to to stop the vehicle using parking brake on 2011/2012 Leaf (button version) at 30-50mph?
Accelerator pedal applied slightly (normal driving) and D engaged. Pull the lever and hold it up.

It should brake 50% until vehicle stops and then apply 100% force. At least BMW-s do that.
Not going to work with newer Leafs (left driver foot must be used) and passenger will not reach that :lol:

Powering down the Leaf will not slow it down. Electric booster on hydraulic brake will work but driver must apply brakes.
Electric motor that enables power steering is also powered down. Regen is disabled (N-mode).

True, airbags are disabled.

If driver loses consciousness the best thing is to push the leg off accelerator. Leaf will regen.
On older Leafs emergency brake (correct name is emergency brake and not parking/hand brake) should work.
That's the whole point of that thing.