Brakes failed upon starting the car. multiple warning lights on the dashboard (brake, abs, traction control, and brake system) resulting in total brake failure - cannot stop the car with normal braking even while just putting the car into drive/reverse from park. started happening ~3 weeks ago. the only thing that stops the car is the emergency / parking brake. if pressing the brake pedal all the way, just before hitting the floor there is a loud popping / grinding noise and the parking brake (?) engages. the first time, turning the car off/on fixed it. we took it to our local nissan dealer, they said "could not find the issue in their system" and said it was a "fluke" and wouldn't happen again. happened again a few days later and turning the car off/on didn't help, and the car was stuck in our driveway. tried replacing the 12v battery, which fixed the issue temporarily. happened again a few days after that and had to get it towed back to nissan. *now* they found the issue in their system and think it's the "driven intelligent brake unit" and costs $2600+ to fix. they also say the "main engine harness" may need to be replaced for some reason as well, costing another $2400+. have contacted nissan usa, they told me they don't have a record of this being a problem with leafs (even though there are dozens of complaints on here) and refuses to provide assistance. this brake system is *extremely unsafe* for the driver & passengers, and everyone around it. my kids could have been near the car when it started moving on its own even though i was pushing the brake pedal. no one needs to die or get gravely injured because of this faulty system.
My car was parked in the driveway of my house. i turned it on like i do normally and i then i see the red brake warning indicator lights and the abs warning indicator lights on the dashboard. i didn't think too much of it as i was rushing to get somewhere. my driveway is sloped down so when i put it on drive, i had to step on the brakes. i noticed it didn't work as i depressed it all the way down. then i quickly used the emergency brakes since my car was slowly rolling down. my car is 3 years old, has about 35,000 miles and has never been in an accident. this was the first time this happened.
I was driving in somewhat heavy traffic in an urban setting at 25mph when, unexpectedly, i had great difficulty applying the brakes to stop at an intersection. it took considerable effort, including swerving, to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of me, and i pulled into a parking lot as soon as i was able, again having great trouble stopping. the loss of control of the brakes felt like i was skidding on snow or ice, despite the fact that it was a fairly warm august day. there was an accompanying loud, unpleasant sound coming from the brakes when i stomped on them. i had also noticed that a number of warning lights on the dash had come on all at the same time when the problem started. after coming to a complete stop in the parking lot, i turned the vehicle on and off many times, and each time, there was a low but clearly audible thrumming sound, plus a vibration i could feel in the brakes. the sound was particularly surprising to hear, given that the vehicle is otherwise an extremely quiet (100% electric) vehicle. after attempting to restart the vehicle about ten times, i decided to leave to wait for awhile before attempting to start it again. after about 20 min., i started the vehicle without trouble and cautiously drove it home on largely empty side-streets.