Here’s a recall you wouldn’t think would apply to an electric car. A handful of Nissan Ariya EVs have been recalled in the United States because of a potential oil leak that could lead to a sudden loss of power.
How could this have happened to a car that doesn’t have a million moving parts under the hood that require constant lubrication, you might ask. Well, it all boils down to some o-rings.
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One of the most frequent maintenance items for a combustion vehicle is the all-important oil change. EVs don't need it because there isn't any gas-burning engine under the hood that has hundreds of moving parts. Instead, the electric motor might have some oil for lubrication.
According to the defect report published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 84 Nissan Ariya EVs sold in the United States may have been shipped with damaged o-rings inside the front electric motors. This can cause an oil leak inside the motor, which may lead to abnormal wear and debris. Ultimately, this could result in the car activating its “fail-safe” mode which cuts power and prevents the driver from restarting the vehicle, which doesn’t sound very good.
Nissan said that over time, the debris in the electric motor may combine with the oil, forming a mixture that can accumulate between the brush terminal and the motor housing. The build-up can then generate an abnormal electrical flow within the traction motor, leading the car to go into “fail-safe” mode.
To fix the issue, dealers will replace the front traction motor assembly free of charge on affected vehicles, but bear in mind that the whole operation may take up to ten and a half hours to complete, according to the official defect report.
