Over 40,000 Nissan Leaf EVs May Catch Hearth, And There’s No Repair But

• Sure 2021 and 2022 Nissan Leaf EVs are being recalled for a battery hearth danger that happens when utilizing a DC quick charger.
• The brand new recall contains 19,077 U.S.-market automobiles that come on high of one other 23,887 automobiles recalled for a similar problem final yr.
• In complete, practically 43,000 second-generation Leaf EVs have probably harmful high-voltage batteries. Nissan continues to be engaged on a repair.

Nissan has a rising battery drawback. Practically 43,000 second-generation Leaf electrical automobiles bought in the USA are prone to catching hearth when utilizing a DC quick charger as a result of a problem with their high-voltage batteries. On high of that, no repair is offered but, and homeowners are being suggested to not frequent quick charging stations within the meantime.

Two separate remembers have been issued, overlaying mannequin years 2019 by 2022, with the newest doc being revealed on the Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration’s web site earlier this month. Nissan estimates that 1% of the affected automobiles even have the faulty battery.

The most recent recall for this problem revealed by NHTSA contains 19,077 Leaf EVs constructed between June 15, 2021, and Might 23, 2023. It comes on high of a completely different recall issued final yrwhich incorporates 23,887 Leaf EVs from the 2019 and 2020 mannequin years.

Practically 43,000 2019-2022 Nissan Leaf EVs are affected by the remembers.

In response to NHTSA filings, the affected automobiles’ high-voltage lithium-ion batteries might generate extreme lithium deposits inside their cells, which will increase resistance and might probably trigger a fluctuation within the state of cost. When utilizing a DC quick charger, the elevated electrical resistance within the cells can create a variety of warmth, and if charging continues, the battery might catch hearth.

Each the 40- and 62-kilowatt-hour battery packs which were manufactured in Smyrna, Tennessee, are coated below the 2 remembers. When Nissan introduced the primary recall in late 2024, it mentioned it was engaged on a software program replace that might stop a fireplace from occurring, however the firm is saying the identical factor now, within the second recall.

Nissan spokesperson Jannelle Grigsby instructed InsideEVs that “a software program treatment might be obtainable that can allow affected clients to renew Stage 3 fast charging and last preparations for deployment are in course of.” “Invitation to restore letters might be despatched to clients when the software program is offered,” she mentioned.

In response to official paperwork revealed by the NHTSA, homeowners had been initially knowledgeable that the repair can be obtainable by November 2024. The deadline was later pushed to spring 2025, then to the third quarter of 2025. The repair continues to be not obtainable, and now extra automobiles have been added to the roster of fire-prone Leafs.

Granted, the previous-generation Nissan Leaf’s CHAdeMO fast-charging port is considerably of a relic at present, with most DC quick chargers in the USA having both a CCS or a NACS cable. That mentioned, CHAdeMO chargers haven’t fully disappeared, and now many automobiles which have such a port can’t use them as a result of their battery would possibly go up in flames.

When the long-awaited software program repair lastly turns into obtainable, Nissan will notify homeowners to go to a supplier and get the free replace. Till that occurs, although, affected Leaf homeowners ought to chorus from utilizing DC quick chargers and rely completely on Stage 1 or Stage 2 chargers.