T/M Vehicle System Malfunction Warning

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My 2013 LEAF SL gave me the same error code when trying to start up this past Thursday evening. I had just driven a few miles to pick my kids up after school, but the car wouldn't fully start up (around 6pm). The brake pedal felt as though it had little to no resistance and the dash would come on, but display only "T/M system malfunction Visit dealer". I was not able to put the car into gear or neutral.

After calling my wife to come pick up my kids & I, I called the LEAF roadside assistance number (1-877-664-2738). I got a tow service back to the dealership scheduled through them at no charge (they had the car at the dealership by shortly after 8pm). The dealer was able to get the car working again the following afternoon by 2pm (along with rotating my tires, checking fluids, and replacing the cabin air filter). So it was about 21 hours between first seeing the code and having my working car back, and not at a penny's cost to me.

The dealer service representative stated that this was a "really rare" error and, yes, it typically revolves around the 12v system in the car. Apparently, the LEAF is very sensitive to not have a full 12v and when the battery gets low, the car startup "freaks out". The dealership replaced the 12v batter and performed a "hard reset" on the car's computer (my trip odometer & running efficiency were reset, but otherwise not significant difference to me).

I do wish Nissan could have some more information about diagnosing this information. For starters, I probably would have tried jumping the 12v rather than having the vehicle towed (winching a car stuck in park onto a flatbed puts a lot of unwanted stress on the vehicle, in my opinion). And it's certainly possible that the root cause of the low battery may not have been addressed, but so far I've not had any other issues with the vehicle.
 
Add another 2013 SV to the T/M Malfunction list. Bought the car used 10 days ago with 20,000 miles on it. Nissan certified. Yesterday went out at lunch to change the climate timer settings and the dreaded T/M error message popped up. Car was fully charged, still plugged in. Unplugged but could not get to drive. Called dealer and had car picked up, rollback driver put booster battery on and it power right up. Dealer says only tech trained on Leafs just went on vacation, and he won't be back for a week. They offered me a Versa as a loaner, they have no loaner Leafs. I didn't see any point, I have another ICE already. What really annoys me it I have owned and driven 8 electric cars over the past 25 years. I finally get a mass-produced fully engineered one and it won't stay running for 2 weeks? Very disappointed.
 
I just got the Leaf back from the dealer. The T/M error was actually a defective 12 Volt battery. They replaced it, did a hard reset and I was on my way. Could have been done in a few hours, but had to wait 6 days because Leaf tech was on vacation. It is nice to have my baby back.
 
Brand new 2015 SL, received the T/M malfunction while driving home from the dealership.
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Was in stop-go traffic, rolled under an overpass at almost 0mph, the headlight auto-sensor detected "darkness" and kicked in the LED low-beams. Simultaneous to that, the main yellow warning lights came on and the "T/M Vehicle System Malfunction Warning" came up onto the driver vehicle status screen.

My theory is that since the car had just been sitting on the dealership lot perhaps the 12v aux battery was not in good shape and thus the problem.

Any thoughts?

Also I'm not sure if this is related but I'm not able to get the cruise-control to "set" the speed. I can turn on/off the main cruise control switch, but the set/accel toggle has no effect.

Thanks!
:)
 
sedeuce said:
My theory is that since the car had just been sitting on the dealership lot perhaps the 12v aux battery was not in good shape and thus the problem.
If you have read this thread, then you know that this is the most likely explanation. Put the battery on a charger and likely it will be just fine
 
Right. The dealer took care of that 12v charge for me. And reset the error code to remove the various warnings.

And also it did resolve the cruise 'set' issue.

Thanks all!
:)
 
Had this happen to me tonight in my 2013 SL with 56k miles on it and all 12 bars. Specifically charged to 100% due to various trips I was making today.

Intent was to charge again to 80% after draining to 40-60% and then use that for the remaining trip home. Arrived at my destination with 61% and would have had about 55% at the charger I planned to use afterwards. Never made it to that charger though as the T/M System Malfunction came up.

Couldn't shift to neutral on my own but the tow guy jumped my 12v battery and once the cables were hooked up, neutral became an option. Once that was possible, he felt more like loading the car onto the flatbed.

It's currently at a nearby dealer and I expect to see what's up tomorrow. Will update then. Just know that if you can't shift to neutral after this error, please try to jump the 12v battery with cables and get it in neutral and off to safety!
 
New to the Leaf world (3 months), but my life experience tells me batteries are cheap and should be replaced on a time/mileage basis, never waiting for the "failure", (which of course never occurs conveniently).
My VW TDI experience (battery hogs), in the Texas heat, has kept me on a regular 6-month charging cycle. Easy...simple overnight charge gives me a fresh full charge, or will indicate a dying battery. (the first thing I did to my new-to-me 2015 used Leaf was charge the 12V battery).
Question: I know VW's alternators can only charge a battery to about 80% capacity. Is this also true for the Leaf 12V charging system?
 
Purchased used 2013 Leaf S in Dec 2015. It has been 100% trouble free until just recently with no prior warning my car wouldn't start. Every single light on dashboard was illuminated. Would not engage on any gear as other posts have described. It wasn't until a few days later when I check on it again that it displayed "T/M System Malfuction". I was dreading having to pay to get it towed all the way to dealer (about 40 miles).

After Googling, I found these posts here. Sure enough I pooped the hood and the battery's terminals were REALLY corroded. So I replaced the battery with new one and after installing it I'm back in business with no problems at all. Saved a ton of money by looking in this forum vs towing and paying diagnostics, parts and labor at dealer. Thanks!!!
 
Ivan2408 said:
Purchased used 2013 Leaf S in Dec 2015. It has been 100% trouble free until just recently with no prior warning my car wouldn't start. Every single light on dashboard was illuminated. Would not engage on any gear as other posts have described. It wasn't until a few days later when I check on it again that it displayed "T/M System Malfuction". I was dreading having to pay to get it towed all the way to dealer (about 40 miles).

After Googling, I found these posts here. Sure enough I pooped the hood and the battery's terminals were REALLY corroded. So I replaced the battery with new one and after installing it I'm back in business with no problems at all. Saved a ton of money by looking in this forum vs towing and paying diagnostics, parts and labor at dealer. Thanks!!!
My 13 didn't have any grease on the terminals but my 16 has some blue grease on them.
Nissan probably started doing this after the above problems had been reported.
 
Battery terminals can be covered with sticky spray grease so they corrode less.
This is what is done on many cars that have battery exposed to the elements.
 
I had the T/M error message this past week (Nov 2017). Had left the car for a bit over a week between drives as I was away on vacation. It's a 2013 so the starter battery was near the end of its life span (4-5 years). I used a plug-in battery charger to charge the starter battery for a few hours, and the problem cleared up enough to start it. Drove it immediately to an AutoZone and they replaced the battery for me and the problem is all cleared up.
 
There is no "calendar lifespan" for lead acid batteries.
Many last for more than a decade. In cars, in UPS devices, submarines, forklifts.
It all depends on conditions.
 
I have a 2014 LEAF purchased August 2016. This last winter the battery died, so I replaced it myself. 3 weeks ago the replacement battery died, so I got the dealership to replace it. I learnt whilst it was in their hands that the error codes need to be deleted so I insisted they did so before I accepted the vehicle back.

Guess what?

This morning I switched on the car and the T/M malfunction warning came up. I could hear the Lithium Ion switchgear kicking in and out and have tried restarting. The displays flash and show tons of warning errors and I can't engage a drive gear.

Surely this can't be just another dead 12 V battery?
 
I keep a 12V lithium "starter" battery in my 2012 Leaf trunk for the eventual day that the original battery dies. Most recently, I was quite worried that after a 6 day trip (leaving the Leaf on a L2 charger the whole time) that I would need to use it, but it "started" fine. I do have LeafSpy Pro and leave the dongle in place, however it is LE Bluetooth -so seems to be no problem. I'm not sure if it was wifi or (none LE) bluetooth, that the battery might have drained. It seems (at least on my 2012) that the 12 volt system is not designed to handle any long term, significant drain. I do periodically slow charge the battery for a couple of days.

Bottom line to me is that the original battery was quite high quality, but the charging system is a bummer!
 
Update: The dealership have replaced the "Electronic steering lock" and I'm £850 lighter in the wallet. Anyone had a similar outcome?
 
Thank you for all the posts. I had the problem this morning. Luckily I had a few hours and could charge up the battery with my really old charger. The thing charged up a few volts in about an hour (10 volts to 12 volts). If memory serves - fast charging means fast draining thus a bad battery. Since we just bought this, it is under warranty so back to Nissan it goes for a new battery and code clearing. It is a 2015 so it was probably time for a new battery. This forum saved me so much time and energy - Thanks All!!
 
prhorner said:
Thank you for all the posts. I had the problem this morning. Luckily I had a few hours and could charge up the battery with my really old charger. The thing charged up a few volts in about an hour (10 volts to 12 volts). If memory serves - fast charging means fast draining thus a bad battery. Since we just bought this, it is under warranty so back to Nissan it goes for a new battery and code clearing. It is a 2015 so it was probably time for a new battery. This forum saved me so much time and energy - Thanks All!!

I don't understand... You just bought the car and the 12v battery is bad? There is not code clearing for a 12v battery... either way, if you just bought it, just go back....
 
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