Car begins lurching at high speeds

[projectmaximus]

Hi thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice. I couldn't find any threads on this topic, but I also can't imagine I'm the only one with this issue.

I have a 2013 Leaf SV that was purchased used in 2016. A few days ago I was driving on the highway on cruise control around 55 mph when I began to lose control of the car. The best way I can describe it is for a second it feels like one of the tires blew out. That's my first thought "oh crap my tire" but then within a couple seconds I realize I can still drive so that's not it. The car just lurches, as if someone (not me) stepped on the brake somewhat hard, then accelerates, then brakes, then accelerates. After 4 or 5 times everything is smooth again. The only other thing to describe is at first when it happens it also feels like the car is pushing me off the road and I have to turn back against it. I could be imagining this last part because, again, my mind panics thinking I've blown a tire on the highway. But it really feels like there's some torque that I have to overcome on the steering wheel.

As I said, this happened a few days ago, but I wrote the description in a weird tense because this is actually not the first time it has happened. I very distinctly recall it happening about a year ago, again on the highway, at approximately the same speed, except that time I had my wife and kids in the car. Everybody freaked out for a second, and I again thought that my tire had blown. But after about 5 seconds everything was back to normal. At the time I assumed I had done something wrong, or run over something, yada yada, everything worked out so I didn't think more about it.

And, in hindsight, I'm pretty sure it has happened at least one other time a few years back. I can't remember clearly the circumstances, but there was definitely an incident where I was thinking my tire had blown, I pulled over, and was very pleasantly surprised that there were no issues.

There's a high probability that in each case I was using cruise control. There's no chance that in any case the roads were wet...that's always the first thing I'd consider. Thanks again for reading!

 

[nlspace]

So does the car run and drive properly in normal driving without using the cruise control--does this only occur when using the cruise?

Do you have the leaf spy app and OBDII dongle in order to read if there are any trouble codes?

some thoughts:

What is the age and condition of the 12V aux battery?
Inspect brake pads and rotors for rust or dragging.
ECU and actuators: cruise control unit, ABS brakes, brake actuator motor.

i would add throttle pedal position sensor if it happened at other times than cruise control. Also the shaft resolver on the motor if at other times.

 

[LeftieBiker]

The stability control may be malfunctioning and applying the brakes to fewer than all of the wheels at inappropriate times.

 

[Nubo]

Is this happening when going around a curve? When our 2012 had a ruined tire I replaced the tires on one axle only, and the different diameter between front and back was enough to make the traction control system activate when on a freeway interchange. It was alarming when encountering it for the first time.

I've also had traction control come on legitimately on a curve when wet leaves were on the roadway.

If none of this applies I'd still check tires for correct and equal pressures and tread condition, and see if there are any relevant trouble codes stored.

 

[projectmaximus]

Hey wow, thanks for the replies and insight.

So does the car run and drive properly in normal driving without using the cruise control--does this only occur when using the cruise?

Do you have the leaf spy app and OBDII dongle in order to read if there are any trouble codes?

some thoughts:

What is the age and condition of the 12V aux battery?
Inspect brake pads and rotors for rust or dragging.
ECU and actuators: cruise control unit, ABS brakes, brake actuator motor.

i would add throttle pedal position sensor if it happened at other times than cruise control. Also the shaft resolver on the motor if at other times.

I am not certain, but believe it is quite likely that cruise control was engaged in every instance.
I am pretty car illiterate so I do not have the app or dongle.
The battery is pretty new, replaced about 5 months ago.
Sounds like perhaps I should bring it into the dealer to have a look?

The stability control may be malfunctioning and applying the brakes to fewer than all of the wheels at inappropriate times.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Is this happening when going around a curve? When our 2012 had a ruined tire I replaced the tires on one axle only, and the different diameter between front and back was enough to make the traction control system activate when on a freeway interchange. It was alarming when encountering it for the first time.

I've also had traction control come on legitimately on a curve when wet leaves were on the roadway.

If none of this applies I'd still check tires for correct and equal pressures and tread condition, and see if there are any relevant trouble codes stored.

Thanks. No I don't think there have been any curves involved, at least not to any significant degree. Last week's instance was basically straight ahead on the freeway.

 

[nlspace]

Since this is an intermittent problem i doubt that the dealer will be able to find or do anything for you except remove money from your wallet, especially if they decide to do a deep-dive into solving this. They might keep it for a week and try driving it around to re-create the issue.

i assume that you are not seeing any trouble indicator lights on the dash?

If there were any DTCs set for this then you would see some trouble lights on the dash. Without a DTC the mechanic has no troubleshooting guide to start and follow.

if you can cause it to happen again and make notes of the sequence and conditions before and after it happens, then maybe some good guesses could be made.

Intermittent problems are the most difficult to find and solve.

 

[projectmaximus]

Thanks nlspace. I think I'll just hope for the best and try to really make note of the conditions when it happens. You're right...in fact it's so intermittent that it took me until hours later to remember back that this exact thing had happened before.

 

[xafalcon]

I had a 2015 leaf that did this exact thing. It was the electronic stability control. Caused by a combination of the tyres i had on the car and the road surface. I put new tyres on and the problem went away. You can also turn off the ESC

 

[Bennett101]

My 2013 shudders in curves and has bad torque steer. I’ve read that disabling DTS would stop the intermittent shuddering (and it has). I’ve all read that if tires out of alignment or bad suspension- that DTS will kick in especially on curves. This is why the person advised getting suspension fully checked out, steering linkage, and differential, in addition to alignment. The person advised shutting off or (probably a bad idea) removing the fuse for the DTS. Or just pushing the button each time. If you drive on snow or ice, probably a bad idea to disable, but then again it kicking in without warning on snow or ice is dangerous. I don’t live where it snows so I disable it regularly. However the torque steer problem is getting worse. Good luck

Hi thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice. I couldn't find any threads on this topic, but I also can't imagine I'm the only one with this issue.

I have a 2013 Leaf SV that was purchased used in 2016. A few days ago I was driving on the highway on cruise control around 55 mph when I began to lose control of the car. The best way I can describe it is for a second it feels like one of the tires blew out. That's my first thought "oh crap my tire" but then within a couple seconds I realize I can still drive so that's not it. The car just lurches, as if someone (not me) stepped on the brake somewhat hard, then accelerates, then brakes, then accelerates. After 4 or 5 times everything is smooth again. The only other thing to describe is at first when it happens it also feels like the car is pushing me off the road and I have to turn back against it. I could be imagining this last part because, again, my mind panics thinking I've blown a tire on the highway. But it really feels like there's some torque that I have to overcome on the steering wheel.

As I said, this happened a few days ago, but I wrote the description in a weird tense because this is actually not the first time it has happened. I very distinctly recall it happening about a year ago, again on the highway, at approximately the same speed, except that time I had my wife and kids in the car. Everybody freaked out for a second, and I again thought that my tire had blown. But after about 5 seconds everything was back to normal. At the time I assumed I had done something wrong, or run over something, yada yada, everything worked out so I didn't think more about it.

And, in hindsight, I'm pretty sure it has happened at least one other time a few years back. I can't remember clearly the circumstances, but there was definitely an incident where I was thinking my tire had blown, I pulled over, and was very pleasantly surprised that there were no issues.

There's a high probability that in each case I was using cruise control. There's no chance that in any case the roads were wet...that's always the first thing I'd consider. Thanks again for reading!

 

[Toby]

We had a car that developed weird behavior that affected steering and brakes. We took it to a big garage where they put it up high enough to examine tires. The shop foreman advised against driving this anywhere, not even across the street. The reason was that a tire was de-laminating from it's steel cords which could be seen where the tread twisted. This probably isn't your problem but I'd sure want to thoroughly examine tires. Examine suspension components while you are at it.

On an old car I'd also do a full service on the brakes. Who knows what could be gummed up? As suggested above, your car's electronics may be trying to compensate for a seemingly unrelated problem.

 

[Bennett101]

We had a car that developed weird behavior that affected steering and brakes. We took it to a big garage where they put it up high enough to examine tires. The shop foreman advised against driving this anywhere, not even across the street. The reason was that a tire was de-laminating from it's steel cords which could be seen where the tread twisted. This probably isn't your problem but I'd sure want to thoroughly examine tires. Examine suspension components while you are at it.

On an old car I'd also do a full service on the brakes. Who knows what could be gummed up? As suggested above, your car's electronics may be trying to compensate for a seemingly unrelated problem.

Thanks. In the case of my 2013 Nissan Leaf, all 4 tires are less than 10,000 miles and the car was on a rack when it was aligned 7 months ago. The torque steer is pronounced over 45 or 55 mph.

I refuse to sell this car because it works fine below 45 to 50 mph. The range sucks 60 miles, but it’s fine for 95% of my daily driving needs.

Firestone told me when they did the alignment that they looked at all the suspension but didn’t see anything wrong.

I will likely go for a second opinion but it’s difficult to find a competent honest mechanic these days! The Nissan dealership closest to me has had some really bad reviews so I won’t take it there. The car has only a $4000 to $5,000 resale value so I will never sell it lol!

 

[Toby]

In the case of my 2013 Nissan Leaf, all 4 tires are less than 10,000 miles and the car was on a rack when it was aligned 7 months ago.

The de-laminating tire I posted about was fairly low mileage. It was defective manufacture.

 

[sterlinggold]

Thanks. In the case of my 2013 Nissan Leaf, all 4 tires are less than 10,000 miles and the car was on a rack when it was aligned 7 months ago. The torque steer is pronounced over 45 or 55 mph.

I refuse to sell this car because it works fine below 45 to 50 mph. The range sucks 60 miles, but it’s fine for 95% of my daily driving needs.

Firestone told me when they did the alignment that they looked at all the suspension but didn’t see anything wrong.

I will likely go for a second opinion but it’s difficult to find a competent honest mechanic these days! The Nissan dealership closest to me has had some really bad reviews so I won’t take it there. The car has only a $4000 to $5,000 resale value so I will never sell it lol!

Did you ever find out what was the issue?