The Caretakers' Forum

A Mk1 Nissan Leaf which has done almost 90,000 miles was just checked over. The battery had only lost 2 bars in 10 years and the original brake discs have only worn 20% from new thanks to regenerative braking.

The Leaf was a well loved car.

I have a friend that just sold a 2011 Nissan Leaf with around 120k miles on the clock to a Hevra service centre. The Leaf still drove like new even though the battery had lost quite a bit of capacity, the problem was the onboard charger had developed a fault. The repair although possible was not economically sustainable. The car btw had its last service in 2014, although MOT's were carried out and any faults found were repaired.

This is actually quite scary and highlights the common misconception about EV's requiring little or no maintenance.

The calipers shown in the picture are single sided slide pin calipers. There is as far as I know no sensor to alert the car or driver to the slide pins being seized.
In a normal car you may feel the brakes are not as good as they should be or even in some cases vibration through the steering. The regen braking of EV's will mask this problem.

The pins require regular maintenance to ensure the brake works effectively and this is usually done when pads or discs are replaced which in a regular car is usually around 30K miles.

The problem with regenerative braking is the underuse of the physical brakes which could hide the malfunctioning brakes and when suddenly they are called upon to stop a heavy EV they just won't work as they should.

Vera wrote: ↑27th Nov 2023 at 8:25am In a normal car you may feel the brakes are not as good as they should be or even in some cases vibration through the steering. The regen braking of EV's will mask this problem.

Usually, annual MOT’s pick up on any problems with the braking system.

Surely it would be checked during the annual service too?

My Leaf when it was 4 years old needed the rear callipers serviced, not sure if that was highlighted from the annual service or the MOT, but it needed doing. My friend with the 2011 Nissan Leaf bought it second hand after the warranty had run out. He never got it serviced at a main dealer but at MOT’s had brake callipers serviced plus pads, track rod ends, and sway bars replaced, plus of course the usual tyre and wiper blade replacements.

I do agree that regenerative braking does not do any favours for the traditional braking system. Usually when its safe to do so I turn off the regenerative braking and stop using the traditional brakes, this gives them a bit of a workout and ensures they are working.

Keyolder wrote: ↑27th Nov 2023 at 12:16pm Usually when its safe to do so I turn off the regenerative braking and stop using the traditional brakes, this gives them a bit of a workout and ensures they are working.

I do the same. It only has to be a bit damp and the discs get a layer of surface rust. I turn the regen off and do a hard brake from 60-0 about once a month or so (where and when it is safe to do so before anyone comments)

I did the same to the 3 x Toyota Prius Hybrids I owned over the years and the Toyota Auris Hybrid I had (before the penny dropped).

Keyolder wrote: ↑27th Nov 2023 at 10:07am Usually, annual MOT’s pick up on any problems with the braking system.

You are correect but 12 months is a long time