Please Report 2018 - 2020 Leaf Defects Here

[HRTKD]

My 2019 is less than 90 days old with almost 2,000 miles on it. I've been hearing a faint clunk every once in a while. I thought it was coming from the front passenger area. A quick inspection of the suspension with the wheel off shows nothing obvious. I have yet to be able to reproduce the issue consistently. I'll try hitting bumps while turning to see if it's similar to what jdcbomb has posted.

The charging port door froze closed once. A subsequent treatment of the gasket material with Krytox seems to have helped. My car gets washed as soon as possible after a snowstorm, so I definitely get water all over the place.

No other issues worth bringing up. I really like the car. Better than my 2015.

[DaveinOlyWA]

My 2019 is less than 90 days old with almost 2,000 miles on it. I've been hearing a faint clunk every once in a while. I thought it was coming from the front passenger area. A quick inspection of the suspension with the wheel off shows nothing obvious. I have yet to be able to reproduce the issue consistently. I'll try hitting bumps while turning to see if it's similar to what jdcbomb has posted.

The charging port door froze closed once. A subsequent treatment of the gasket material with Krytox seems to have helped. My car gets washed as soon as possible after a snowstorm, so I definitely get water all over the place.

No other issues worth bringing up. I really like the car. Better than my 2015.

Clunking noise is likely an ongoing TSB to lube front end parts. Take it in. It is quite disappointing that this issue still shows up in such a new car. Was hoping the manufacturing process would have been changed by now. My 40 kwh had the same issue but did not start until about 5-6 months in. So far my E Plus has not but its just a month (of very light driving) on the road so far.

[jdcbomb]

Update on the 18 MY SL: Dealership informed me they are flying in a senior regional Nissan tech next week to listen for himself the "tocking / knocking" sound coming from the left side. Existing TSBs, loose nuts, axles, ruled out by local and regional techs as root cause. Gonna be interesting. Still racking up miles on an otherwise great car (now nearing 8,500 miles 6 months into ownership of this unit).

Update on my other 18 MY SL that has a different sound emanating from the same area under the same driving conditions (left u-turn or sharp left turn).

Nissan manufacturing still determining what could be causing the "tock" sound to occur. The entire left axle was replaced but it didn't really do much. Regional Nissan tech is mystified and I find it fascinating that I have presented them with two LEAFs with frame sounds that take months to resolve. Customer service at the dealer is very good.

Good thing is they've ruled out it's a safety issue so I've been able to drive this vehicle normally without having to use a ICE loaner.

FINALLY: After 2 weeks of testing and investigating by a combined team at the collision center and suspension specialists, it was determined that a combination of the motor mount + crossbar (non-critical) interacting with the chassis was causing the noise. The components were replaced / tightened and it appears the bolts for the crossbars were just a quarter turn too loose, causing the play with the chassis. It took so long, and was such a unique issue, that the main tech lead at the collision center said he lost sleep over racking his mind on what could be causing it. They even rolled up the carpet, took out the front seat, and sat in a lawn chair in the vehicle to nail down the source. I miss this car and just glad I will be getting it back, but appreciate that Nissan / Gerber took the time and effort to solve the issue once and for all. Now I get to have them look at an eerily similar but different sounding issue emanating from the steering column on my other 18 MY LEAF!

2 weeks later after the dealer did further testing of the left front creaking and confirmed the location of the sound is coming from the chassis. My vehicle then was transported to Nissan's designated collision repair center (Gerber) for dis-assembly of the entire left/under sides to get deep into the frame. It took several days but I believe they finally found a bad weld somewhere in there. I expect to get a final report and my LEAF back in the next few days. Free rental vehicle started off as a Frontier, which then they swapped to a 2019 Altima with PP. Good service at this dealer.

[LeafGromby]

Reading through this I’ve figured out one thing, I need to go to a new dealership. For my front end noise the Tech rode in the car and insisted he heard nothing. For the backup camera ( poor video quality) he told me right off the bat there was nothing he could do. Looks like for many of you here your dealerships looked at your cars and attempted fixes. Moral of the story, don’t go the City Nissan in Port Chester in NY.

[golfcart]

Update on the 18 MY SL: Dealership informed me they are flying in a senior regional Nissan tech next week to listen for himself the "tocking / knocking" sound coming from the left side. Existing TSBs, loose nuts, axles, ruled out by local and regional techs as root cause. Gonna be interesting. Still racking up miles on an otherwise great car (now nearing 8,500 miles 6 months into ownership of this unit).

I'm curious what comes of this. I have also experienced a strange sound when turning left into driveways or shopping centers. It is almost like a clunk and grind type of sound that I can feel vibrating in the chassis. It doesn't happen all the time but it is loud enough that my wife has noticed it when it does. I haven't cared enough to bring it in for service on this as I figured it would be hard to reproduce and I really don't want to deal with the downtime.

[Astros]

Update on the 18 MY SL: Dealership informed me they are flying in a senior regional Nissan tech next week to listen for himself the "tocking / knocking" sound coming from the left side. Existing TSBs, loose nuts, axles, ruled out by local and regional techs as root cause. Gonna be interesting. Still racking up miles on an otherwise great car (now nearing 8,500 miles 6 months into ownership of this unit).

I'm curious what comes of this. I have also experienced a strange sound when turning left into driveways or shopping centers. It is almost like a clunk and grind type of sound that I can feel vibrating in the chassis. It doesn't happen all the time but it is loud enough that my wife has noticed it when it does. I haven't cared enough to bring it in for service on this as I figured it would be hard to reproduce and I really don't want to deal with the downtime.

For what it’s worth, mine also does this. It doesn’t seem too alarming, though it is disappointing in a brand new car. I’ve been meaning to take it in.

[jdcbomb]

Well I guess I should be glad I'm not the only one experience mysterious sounds when turning the vehicle to the left. Please PM me if you would like for me to post a recording of "knocking" for anyone here to listen as the sound is very obvious, but not loud, while also consistent everytime I make a u-turn to the left. It's not intermittent or hard to hear.

As for downtime, please do take it in, and ask that a Nissan tech sits with you, and reproduce the sound so there is verification it exists. NIssan should NOT prevent you from taking the vehicle back home while they "move the issue" up their chain. Hopefully, this data can result in a TSB that will make this fix much faster.

Note that my 18 MY SV was a different issue, which was a creaking from the cross bar bolts.

Update on the 18 MY SL: Dealership informed me they are flying in a senior regional Nissan tech next week to listen for himself the "tocking / knocking" sound coming from the left side. Existing TSBs, loose nuts, axles, ruled out by local and regional techs as root cause. Gonna be interesting. Still racking up miles on an otherwise great car (now nearing 8,500 miles 6 months into ownership of this unit).

I'm curious what comes of this. I have also experienced a strange sound when turning left into driveways or shopping centers. It is almost like a clunk and grind type of sound that I can feel vibrating in the chassis. It doesn't happen all the time but it is loud enough that my wife has noticed it when it does. I haven't cared enough to bring it in for service on this as I figured it would be hard to reproduce and I really don't want to deal with the downtime.

For what it’s worth, mine also does this. It doesn’t seem too alarming, though it is disappointing in a brand new car. I’ve been meaning to take it in.

[DaveinOlyWA]

Update on the 18 MY SL: Dealership informed me they are flying in a senior regional Nissan tech next week to listen for himself the "tocking / knocking" sound coming from the left side. Existing TSBs, loose nuts, axles, ruled out by local and regional techs as root cause. Gonna be interesting. Still racking up miles on an otherwise great car (now nearing 8,500 miles 6 months into ownership of this unit).

I'm curious what comes of this. I have also experienced a strange sound when turning left into driveways or shopping centers. It is almost like a clunk and grind type of sound that I can feel vibrating in the chassis. It doesn't happen all the time but it is loud enough that my wife has noticed it when it does. I haven't cared enough to bring it in for service on this as I figured it would be hard to reproduce and I really don't want to deal with the downtime.

Definitely something wrong. My 2018 did it always in the same spot (took a year to develop) but my E Plus doesn't do it. On the last several weeks before trading up, I even "babied" the turn and still heard the sound over half the time. Will be interested to see if my E Plus develops it over time but I have literally been flying thru the turn testing it and so far it hasn't made a sound.

[DougWantsALeaf]

Something is wrong with my battery. I am still getting 240 plus mile range in late December per charge, instead of the 215.

It helps it’s 55-60 in Chicago this week.

[jdcbomb]

I honestly cannot tell if you're being sarcastic? Will you be taking it in to report a "too much range" issue?

Something is wrong with my battery. I am still getting 240 plus mile range in late December per charge, instead of the 215.

It helps it’s 55-60 in Chicago this week.