Owners have filed 897 complaints on the Nissan Leaf, covering 2011–2025. The system named most often is Electrical System (395 reports). Worst years by volume: 2019, 2020, 2015; cleanest: 2025, 2014, 2016. 46 reports describe a crash, 9 a fire. On average the car was 4.6 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Nissan Leaf
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 897 Leaf complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 395 Read
The contact owns a 2021 Nissan Leaf. The vehicle was taken to a charging station, and while driving at 5 MPH, entering the driveway, the battery burst into flames. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was similar to NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V700000 (Electrical System). The…
Took car to dealership to charge. Got home and an hour later the battery ignited into a fire. Car was engulfed with smoke ,fire in front of our house. After 4 hours with fire dept trying to put out the fire within battery... It still continued to smoke. Hazmat team came out as well. Total loss after having car less…
High Voltage Battery defect/failure - this is what was believed to be the issue when it was towed to the dealership. What is left of it is available for inspection at the dealership for now, however the insurance may take it to a salvage yard since the fire department finished their investigation. *While at the…
Service Brakes 158 Read
I am writing to report a serious safety issue with my Nissan Leaf that needs immediate attention. On two separate occasions, the brakes have failed completely without any warning while driving. A warning light appeared, stating "T/M System Malfunction Warning - See Dealer," but by that time, the brakes had already…
I was stopped at a light, in a long line of cars, my foot on the brake, a few feet away from the car in front of me, and the same in back. All of a sudden, the car started moving, accelerating, jerking forward. I was shocked, pushed down on the brake, nothing happened. Starting pulling the car out of line because I…
The incident occurred at a stop sign where I was waiting behind one other vehicle. The vehicle ahead of me accelerated from the stop sign to turn into traffic, but abruptly slammed on their brakes. I had began accelerating up to the stop sign and was unable to stop before impacting the car in front of me. As soon as I…
Air Bags 74 Read
This vehicle failed to have airbags deployed in this accident on 3.23.2022, as photographs that are larger than 10MB will upload, but the Estimate did upload. BUT the car was spun nearly if not fully 360 after hit by a truck in a lane change of a blind spot that spun the car and into concrete barriers. HORRIBLE.…
9.3.2021 Freeway comes to a complete stop. Front end collision into vehicle in front at an angle to avoid full collision and into the barrier on Passenger side. NO AIRBAGS deployed! Police Report Filed
While driving on the highway my vehicle ran over a spare trailer tire that had fallen off another vehicle. My vehicle almost cleared it but the tire just barely lodged underneath in the undercarriage,just past the front tires. Even though there was no front collision or sudden reduction in speed; the airbags deployed…
Power Train 42 Read
Our 2018 Nissan Leaf experienced an error message when we tried to start it saying "Warning Service EV System No Power". Mileage: 29,862. It would go into neutral, but not into drive. We called GEICO to have it towed to dealership Leith Nissan on [XXX]. On [XXX], John Day from Leith Nissan called to request permission…
I have run into what I believe is a small design flaw. While user error is clearly involved, a simple software fix could prevent this from happening. Scenario: 1) leaf is parked in grocery store parking lot on a slight downhill slope. 2) startup sound is turned off. 3) push start button while not pressing on brake…
The error occurred on [XXX]. The car got me to my destination. Error occurred past the 1/2 way point. The next day was busy w/ personal issues. Later in the afternoon, I was by the vehicle, I called the Nissan Roadside Assistance number. It was at this point that I was informed that no one was available or that my…
Fuel/propulsion System 38 Read
I am submitting this letter as a formal safety complaint concerning NHTSA Recall No. 25V655000, which affects my 2021 Nissan LEAF SV and results in the continued restriction of DC fast charging due to a reported fire risk, without an available or timely remedy. Under this recall, Nissan has restricted the vehicle’s…
The 62kWh High-Voltage Lithium-Ion Battery Pack. The vehicle is currently in my possession in Santa Fe, NM, and is available for inspection. It exhibits physical degradation (40.07% Hx) directly linked to the cell defects described in Recall 25V655. The vehicle is a documented fire risk. Per Recall 25V655, internal…
This vehicle has been impacted by the battery recall 24V-700, starting last September 19, 2024. As of today (August 15, 2025), there has been no movement on a solution to this recall, with Nissan's website still indicating a fix date of March 2025
Vehicle Speed Control 29 Read
The Incident happened on a bright afternoon while I was entering our two car parking garage in our home ; steering wheel steered to the utmost right to enter the right parking space in our garage. I was driving an almost dead battery (8% charge remaining and 13 miles left) and the 2019 model Nissan Leaf car (20K miles…
The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle at low speeds, the vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own. As a result, the vehicle jumped the wheel stop, coming to a complete stop after colliding with a tree. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed, and no…
I was pulling slowly into a parking spot. The vehicle accelerated all of a sudden on its own very fast. I slammed on the brakes and the vehicle did not stop. It ran us on a sidewalk and crashed into a pole. Luckily no one hurt. Progressive is calling the car a total loss, but they have done nothing The car is still at…
Visibility/wiper 22 Read
The resolution for recall 22V-048 provided by Nissan is unacceptable. In order how to properly run the defroster for conditions you have refer to manual or supplement manual. I would expect just turn on defrost and not worry if it going to work in the weather condition I am driving in
The rear view camera picture on the display is grey and does not display any video signal at temperatures below about 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Backing up without the rear view camera picture causes a safety hazard
After the dealership has checked the rear view camera after manufacturer recall R23D7, the camera image is sometimes not displayed. Sometimes it helps to open and close the rear tailgate to reactivate the display of the rear view camera. The issue also seems to be dependent on ambient temperature. The manufacturer has…
Steering 13 Read
Tl - the contact owns a 2014 nissan leaf. The contact stated while driving 22 mph he lost control of the vehicle as it veered to the right without warning. The contact then crashed into a pole. A police report was filed and the contact sustained a fractured right knee and hand, requiring medical attention. The vehicle…
This nissan car is equipped with features named, pro-pilot assist (ppa), intelligent cruise control (icc) and emergency brake assist (eba). When engaged, it is supposed to keep lanes and follow distance if there is a car in front. When the car in front is stopped this car is supposed to stop as well. Ppa when engaged,…
Nissan propilot has a serious safety flaw. When using propilot on my 2018 nissan leaf sv in stop and go highway traffic, sometimes when my nissan leaf coasts to an almost complete stop 15 feet behind a "boxy" vehicle like a semi-truck, the leaf suddenly accelerates like if there is no vehicle directly in front of me…
Leaf years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2021 | Air Bags,unknown Or Other,forward Collision Avoidance | 2 | 3 | |
| 2020 | Electrical System | 1 | — | |
| 2019 | Air Bags | 4 | 2 | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 8 | 1 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 1 | 1 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 8 | — | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 3 | 1 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 9 | 1 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 5 | — | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 5 | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 194 |
| Average complaints per series | 4.6 |
| Worst single series | 17 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.6 years |
A model average of 4.6 hides a worst series at 17. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Leaf?
By complaint volume, 2019, 2020, 2015 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Leaf years are the cleanest?
2025, 2014, 2016 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Nissan Leaf have?
897 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2011–2025. Of those, 46 describe a crash and 9 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.