Today, Nissan was able to resume normal production of the 2011 Leaf exactly a month after the earthquake rocked Japan on March 11th but as the Japanese automaker prepares to ramp up production and delivery of the electric vehicle – they are forced to deal with reports from Japan and the US about the Leaf’s electric drivetrain failing to start.
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Nissan has not divulged the exact number of complaints from American and Japanese 2011 Nissan Leaf owners who have run into the issue of their car not starting, but since this issue is not technically a safety issue, no recall will be issued right now. According to Reuters, Nissan has not figured out exactly what is causing the problem or how to prevent the no-start issue but representatives from Nissan stated that they believed it to be something relating to the air conditioning system.
Since Nissan hasn’t determined the exact cause of the Leaf electric vehicles that won’t start, the automaker has not yet decided whether they will issue a safety bulletin but if the problem continues to grow and they cannot discover a fix – a recall could be in order even though this issue doesn’t propose a direct safety issue. Right now, reports indicate that the company is looking at both the electrical components and programming involved with the air conditioning system but the longer it takes Nissan to figure out what is causing the no-start issues and how to address them, the consumer perception of the Leaf could take a massive hit.
Nissan has been extremely slow to deliver their pre-ordered 2011 Leaf electric vehicles in the US market, with only 452 units reaching consumers from December through March. The Chevrolet Volt has been effortlessly winning the battle of the electric vehicles in the US and these no-start issues for the 2011 Nissan Leaf could help the electric Chevy (and the Opel Ampera) in European markets as well.
Source: BusinessGreen
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