Nissan has issued a recall for about 66,000 Leaf electrical automobiles from mannequin years 2018 by way of 2023 due to the scariest 2-word phrase in automobiles. However the circumstances make the precise danger low.

That phrase? “Unintended acceleration.”

Nissan tells federal security regulators on the Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration (NHTSA) that sure Leaf EVs can speed up when nobody touches the accelerator pedal, however provided that their driver takes a sequence of steps inside 8 seconds. The automobile stops accelerating as quickly as the driving force faucets the brake pedal.

However an surprising lurch ahead may set off an accident.

The issue is tough sufficient to create that Nissan engineers watched it occur in a check automobile in December of 2021 after which spent months determining how they’d prompted it. They “performed laptop simulations in an effort to copy” the problem. Lastly, in “late 2022 by way of Spring 2023,” they figured it out.

Some Leaf EVs speed up out of the blue if the driving force deactivates Cruise Management, Clever Cruise Management, or ProPILOT; and, inside 8 seconds, shifts drive modes from “D” to “B,” “ECO,” or “e-Pedal ON;” after which applies and releases the accelerator pedal.

It’s a software program downside, Nissan says. Sellers will replace the software program for the automobile management module to repair it. The restore is free (as are all recall repairs), and Nissan says it “might take as much as half-hour to finish.”

Within the U.S., the recall applies solely to the Leaf. Some media stories have recommended that it may additionally apply to the Kicks subcompact SUV. Nissan says it “is recalling different fashions outdoors of the U.S. for the same problem.” However these fashions use a powertrain not bought within the U.S. market.

Automakers recall many automobiles to repair security defects, typically greater than as soon as. Whereas automakers attempt to attain each proprietor to ask them to carry the automobile in for restore, they not often attain all of them. Tens of millions of automobiles on American roads want free recall repairs. Test the straightforward VIN device at our recall middle to find out in case your automobile is one in all them.