Leaf foot brake

AhHaor

Do leaf owners actually use the foot break when parked. Had nct today and drove away with the car feeling sluggish. Popped it in D and didn't move but would when applied power.

Went back to centre asking if they noticed anything and they asked if I'd taken off the foot break. I didn't even know it was there. He said you need to apply it when parked cause it'll cause stress to the transmission. I wasn't aware of any gears in the car, but leaf spy does quote gears.

So is tester correct, foot break when parking?

KCross

Yes, he’s correct. You should apply foot brake particularly if on a slope.

SteM

You really didn't know it was there?

slave1

No gears in Leaf, just forward and reverse motion

AhHaor

Never knew it was there. I had automatic in the past and it was just put it in park. Assumed leaf the same.dealer I bought it off never mentioned about it

My leaf spy logs do show gears 1 4 and 7 so that's why I'm now wondering is there some sort of gear system. And they correspond to what you'd expect in a combustion engine car

creedp

KCross wrote: »

Yes, he’s correct. You should apply foot brake particularly if on a slope.

Personally only use it when parked on a slope which is not very often. Because I'm not used to it I have tried to take off on a couple of occasions without releasing it. It's not the most powerful brake and the car always seems to move a little when the main brake is released

Stealthirl

creedp wrote: »

Personally only use it when parked on a slope which is not very often. Because I'm not used to it I have tried to take off on a couple of occasions without releasing it. It's not the most powerful brake and the car always seems to move a little when the main brake is released

Do exactly the same myself

Padraig Mor

SteM wrote: »

You really didn't know it was there?

Yeah.....what did they think the pedal was for?!

It's not a foot brake per se - it's a parking brake as featured on many automatics and should of course be applied when parked - hence the name! My previous (petrol) Lexus had exactly the same setup, even down to the pedal being identical. BTW Leaf 2.0 has dropped the pedal in favour of an electronic parking brake.

Zenith74

AhHaor wrote: »

I had automatic in the past and it was just put it in park.

I don't use the foot brake on my Leaf and didn't on a previous automatic. Curious what car you had previously though, I feel like I've read that a parking brake of some sort is mandatory, so I suspect your previous car may have had one somewhere?

KCross

When you put an automatic in Park there is a pin that holds the car in place in the gearbox. Its not designed to hold the weight of a 1.5t car. The parking brake should be used.

If for instance your car got a shunt from the back while parked and you didnt have the parking brake on it could snap that pin and off your car would go.

It's similar to parking a manual car in gear with no hand brake on. Would you do that?

AhHaor

KCross wrote: »

When you put an automatic in Park there is a pin that holds the car in place in the gearbox. Its not designed to hold the weight of a 1.5t car. The parking brake should be used.

If for instance your car got a shunt from the back while parked and you didnt have the parking brake on it could snap that pin and off your car would go.

It's similar to parking a manual car in gear with no hand brake on. Would you do that?

Yeah I always thought the rock of the car when I parked was odd. It just seems like it's in a very hidden place for something so important

KCross

AhHaor wrote: »

Yeah I always thought the rock of the car when I parked was odd. It just seems like it's in a very hidden place for something so important

The first gen leaf (2011-2013) had an electronic parking brake as a button on the centre armrest area and the new leaf(2018+) has it there as well.

The Leaf's in the middle period went to footbrake. Other cars have foot brakes too but you were obviously only used to the traditional hand brake so missed it.

Every car has to have a parking brake... its even part of the NCT test.

SteM

Whether you want to use it or not I'm still surprised a leaf owner didn't know it was there. They're not hidden, very obvious on our 2015 one anyway.

Ce he sin

AhHaor wrote: »

My leaf spy logs do show gears 1 4 and 7 so that's why I'm now wondering is there some sort of gear system. And they correspond to what you'd expect in a combustion engine car

There's one fixed gear which is something like first in a conventional car. No reverse gear because the motor just turns backwards when you want to go in that direction. You don't need any further gears because of the way an electric motor works.

Ce he sin

Zenith74 wrote: »

I don't use the foot brake on my Leaf and didn't on a previous automatic. Curious what car you had previously though, I feel like I've read that a parking brake of some sort is mandatory, so I suspect your previous car may have had one somewhere?

Yes it is and yes every road vehicle therefore has one.

AhHaor

Ce he sin wrote: »

Yes it is and yes every road vehicle therefore has one.

Hold my hands up. My old car did and I used it. And the leaf is now rock solid when I park now that foot break is being used

Gumbo

AhHaor wrote: »

Hold my hands up. My old car did and I used it. And the leaf is now rock solid when I park now that foot break is being used

Worth bearing in mind that any person doing lessons or driving test will be required to engage it often. It’s equivalent to the hand brake.