My Leaf squeaks like crazy!

My Leaf has suddenly started squeaking on anything but totally smooth pavement. It's a high pitched squeak, like you'd hear when driving an old pickup truck -- but my car has less than 500 miles on it. The sound totally disrupts the otherwise silence of the electric driving experience.

Anyone notice a similar noise, or have thoughts on what may be up?

is it squeaking or squealing? the passenger alert whine could be interpreted as such since it is not a steady frequency but seems to waiver loosely based on motor RPM?

The car is physically squeaking when travelling over anything but the smoothest road. Definitely not the pedestrian alert whine.

What area of the car is the squeak coming from? I've noticed I get a bit of a rattle from all of my charging adapters (etc.) I've tossed in the cargo organizer.

Check your tires. See if you have anything stuck in the treads?

I have never done this, but seem to remember that a stethoscope, with the heart pick up removed, can be used to pinpoint a noise source... Maybe a passenger can try? I loath squeaks, so wish you luck. Please report back your progress.

It could be something wrong with the suspension, a loose rubber bushing somewhere missed during the assembly. It may take a good mechanic to fix, check and retork all the suspension bits. It would help if you could identify where the squeaks are coming from.. have a friend stay out side the car, by a bump on the road and then drive past him. It may take several tries.

Or it could be something inside the cabin or under the dash.

And, to help Nissan build better LEAFs, please demo the squeaks to your dealer.

Been having this problem for months now, for now I just turn up the stereo. I've tried to have my dealer fix it twice with no luck. My squeaks seems to be coming from the fromt passanger side, either in the door or floor area. It does not squeak when someone is sitting there, and for some reason it's worse in the afternoon than in the morning....

Ready2plugin said:

Been having this problem for months now, for now I just turn up the stereo. I've tried to have my dealer fix it twice with no luck. My squeaks seems to be coming from the fromt passanger side, either in the door or floor area. It does not squeak when someone is sitting there, and for some reason it's worse in the afternoon than in the morning....

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Maybe you can try varying some "dead weight" in the front seat? I would consider this a warranty item, and would be compelled to leave it with a dealer until it was fixed.

Ready2plugin said:

Been having this problem for months now, for now I just turn up the stereo. I've tried to have my dealer fix it twice with no luck. My squeaks seems to be coming from the fromt passanger side, either in the door or floor area. It does not squeak when someone is sitting there, and for some reason it's worse in the afternoon than in the morning....

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A loose bolt in the seat mounting or broken spring in the passenger seat, maybe?

I wonder what VINs are having the squeaks. Our VIN #404 is fine and I was wondering that as they have gotten past the training stage if they have speeded the line up to produce the LEAF more quickly. My experience working in the Detroit auto factories is that as speed goes up, quality goes down.

ERG4ALL said:

I wonder what VINs are having the squeaks. Our VIN #404 is fine and I was wondering that as they have gotten past the training stage if they have speeded the line up to produce the LEAF more quickly. My experience working in the Detroit auto factories is that as speed goes up, quality goes down.

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My Vin is #232. It does not sound like it's coming from the seat. The first time they looked they thought it was coming from the exposed clips by the carpet. It did stop for about 2 weeks before it started again. Fixing the clips the second time didn't stop it.

JimSouCal said:

I would consider this a warranty item, and would be compelled to leave it with a dealer until it was fixed.

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Thats an excellent idea, the Leaf specialist at the dealership would spend many hours taking apart the inside of the cabin to explore.. meanwhile learning how to do it and gaining experience.. and all billable to Nissan. The squeaky wheel gets the grease and I thank you for volunteering.

I would suggest you drop the car off at the beginning of a 2 week vacation, it should be done by the time you get back in town.

I'm also getting this problem. Started after about 500 miles. "Squeaking" is the right word for me too, though mine sounds closer like a creaking noise (as though the metal is getting a little strained).

Seems to be coming from the front, on the driver's side. Haven't pinpointed it yet but it seems to be from somewhere towards the very left - maybe within the ventilation system, or maybe a little deeper into the "engine" area. Creaks when I'm driving over anything but the smoothest road. Once in a while it goes away (car warms up?).

Very annoying, considering how silent the car otherwise is. And a bummer to have to deal with a warranty issue, especially since I'm skeptical they'll know how to fix it.

Not sure what to do. Do I have to take it to my original dealer? (Over 60 miles away.) Or can I visit a closer service department?

I brought my "squeaking" Leaf into the dealer today. One of the service advisers heard the noise as I was pulling up! In my case, it seems like an exterior squeak versus and interior one. And coming from the rear of the car, but I didn't spend a lot of time diagnosing it.

They had the car all day and called me to say they've got the wheels off the car but need more time. I too am skeptical, and bothered by the issue.

I'll follow up here when I get more info. Like the previous poster, the noise started around 500 miles (actually about 475).

Herm said:

JimSouCal said:

I would consider this a warranty item, and would be compelled to leave it with a dealer until it was fixed.

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Thats an excellent idea, the Leaf specialist at the dealership would spend many hours taking apart the inside of the cabin to explore.. meanwhile learning how to do it and gaining experience.. and all billable to Nissan. The squeaky wheel gets the grease and I thank you for volunteering.

I would suggest you drop the car off at the beginning of a 2 week vacation, it should be done by the time you get back in town.

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Hey Herm, yee of seemingly little faith in Nissan and their mechanics, do you really think my attempt at being helpful was worthy of such a snarky repartee? For example, a Porsche dealership takes the matter of a squeak quite seriously--especially in a new car. There is an implied reasonable length of time to allow for sussing out a noise issue.

There are diagnostic tools to locate noises.
http://www.harborfreight.com/mechanics-stethoscope-41966.html

I would still have a Nissan mechanic document the issue and take a look so as to keep your options open.

zan99 said:

They had the car all day and called me to say they've got the wheels off the car but need more time. I too am skeptical, and bothered by the issue.

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Did you ask for a loaner while they take "more time"?

Got my Leaf back and no more squeak! (At least for the drive back.) They replaced the right rear shock assembly -- the cause was listed as "excessive friction". They said that Nissan wanted to examine the failed shock.

I'm happy with the service I received from Santa Monica Nissan and Oscar Aldana.

glad to hear the squeak was fixed. **knock on wood** (or recycled plastic) no extra noises yet except an occasional scrape from the rarely used disc brakes (regen is my friend!!) after 6200 miles