Less than month after Nissan found a security flaw in an app owners can use to control some aspects of its Leaf electric vehicles, the car company says it found another, more serious, issue: the brakes on the cars can malfunction, increasing the risk of crashes. 

For that reason Nissan says it will recall 46,859 model year 2013 to 2015 Leaf cars in the U.S. and Canada.

According to a notice [PDF] posted with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the brakes in the electric vehicles can malfunction depending on weather.

“When the vehicle is parked in extremely cold temperature conditions, the relay inside the electronic brake booster may freeze,” Nissan says in a notice [PDF].

While the system will continue to operate in a special “assist mode,” it may unexpectedly require more pedal effort to brake, expanding the distance needed to stop, thus increasing risk of crash.

Nissan says it will notify Leaf owners of the recall and dealers will reprogram the electrically-driven Intelligent Brake Control Unit.

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.