Brakes put on electric car experience
A DUNEDIN electric car advocate who got a ‘‘fright’’ when the brakes on his Nissan Leaf failed says the company should investigate the issue further amid similar reports around the globe.
There have been more than 50 reports of brake failures on the popular electric cars in the United States and the UK.
Henrik Moller, of the Kiwi electric car advocacy website Flip the Fleet, said brake issues had been reported in at least five cars in New Zealand.
‘‘I was going very slow. I’d just pulled out and was in a lovely wide road with noone else around.
‘‘But I appeared to have almost complete brake failure, maybe a bit of grab at the bottom of the pedal. It’s a bit hard to remember all of the details when you’re in a bit of a fright situation.’’
Flip the Fleet issued a report about the car last week, warning drivers about the potential brake failure.
An NZ Transport Agency spokesman said concerns had been raised with Nissan and the agency had been told there were no recalls or service campaigns under way.
‘‘We’re aware of the concerns relating to the incidents highlighted by Flip the Fleet, and we are investigating them.
‘‘This will include a trial of Nissan Leaf brake systems in the coming week.
‘‘We are aware of a voluntary service and recall campaign for Nissan Leaf — vehicles in parts of the US and Canada, and the European Nordic countries, where vehicles were being operated in consistently cold conditions of 20degC. This issue was resolved by Nissan.’’
Mr Moller said Nissan needed to investigate the issue further, because brake issues in New Zealand sounded like the ones happening abroad.
‘‘If Nissan are suggesting it’s just something to do with 20 degrees, then they’re in complete denial.’’
The transport agency encouraged Leaf owners to take their cars to a dealer for testing if there were any concerns. — RNZ