Nissan Leaf Complaints
1,117 consumer complaints on file.
- #11458604March 28, 2022SERVICE BRAKES
This is to update my report from earlier this month, NHTSA ID Number: 11455211, because I don't see any way to revise it. The dealer repaired the brake failure at a cost to me of $4329, in addition to the $155 I had paid when they could not find the cause of the problem two weeks before. So my total cost is almost $4500 for what certainly appears to be a well-known manufacturing flaw affecting drivers around the world. The dealer told me in no uncertain terms that the car was unsafe to drive, and they knew of no other fix than to replace the entire Intelligent Braking Assembly, so I had no choice. I believe a recall is in order before there is a serious accident, if there hasn't already been one. Consumer stated he did not qualify to be part of that recall. Car has been repaired.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11456957March 16, 2022ENGINE, SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the engine temperature warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact depressed the brake pedal and pulled up the parking brake; however, both failed to operate as needed. The contact made a right turn safely and ran onto a curb to bring the vehicle to a stop. The contact drove safely to the destination. The warning lights disappeared. The failure recurred twice within two weeks with no warning light illuminated. The contact notified the manufacturer and was informed that a previous recall had been performed. The vehicle had been towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The vehicle had not been repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 82,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11456836March 15, 2022ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING
The power steering has intermittently been de-activating. There is a warning light that comes on (yellow triangle with an exclamation mark). When this happens it causes the steering wheel to feel like it’s pulls in a direction. After we suddenly lose power steering with no warning we’re left to drive a car with no power steering until it suddenly re-engages. There has been no rhyme or reason to when this happens. The issue has been diagnosed at a factory dealership. The car has not sustained any accident (ever) in the +/- 4 years we’ve owned it
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11456622March 14, 2022SERVICE BRAKES, AIR:ANTILOCK:ABS WARNING LIGHT, SERVICE BRAKES, TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated his wife was driving approximately 30 MPH as she was slowing for a traffic signal, the vehicle lost all brake function. The contact's wife safely steered the vehicle to the side of the road. The contact stated that he observed that the brake light, ABS light, and the traction control warning light were illuminated. Additionally, the contact noted that when he stepped on the brake pedal there was only a clicking sound and the pedal was depressed to the floorboard. The contact had the vehicle towed to his residence. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11455211March 4, 2022SERVICE BRAKES
On Feb. 16, in about 25 degrees F, my wife pressed the brake pedal and the car did not react at all. She then jammed the brake pedal to the floor and it seemed that the anti-lock brakes stopped the car. She turned the car off and on again, and drove right back home, only about a mile away. I drove the car carefully that day without incident. We took it to Middletown Nissan as soon as they could get us in, the next day. They could not duplicate the problem and tested various components. Everything passed their tests, so we assumed the problem was isolated. Then, today, March 4, at 29 degrees F, the brakes failed for me on a very busy road. Again, it was at a slow speed, as I was approaching a red light. Again, it took pushing very hard to the floor to get the car to stop. All the warning lights on the dash lit up, and there was an odd buzzing sound coming from under the hood. I drove the 3 miles home very slowly and carefully, and the brakes failed in this same way every time I tried them. I called Nissan customer service and they (Lydia) indicated that they had no information about this problem and suggested I go back to the dealership for further investigation. This is what I will do. I am waiting for a call back from them now, but it's Friday afternoon and I am not hopeful that they will be able to get my car in there today. It's very frightening and unsafe when you don't know if your brakes are going to work. I mention the outdoor temperatures because I've seen some information about 2015 Leafs being recalled for a cold-weather brake failure. It's not been in extreme cold that we have had the issue.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11454699March 1, 2022SERVICE BRAKES
When applying the brakes at low speed the brakes grab suddenly causing the car to lurch to a stop. The problem is intermittent, and therefore difficult to predict, but occurs frequently. This behavior is an ongoing hazard to the driver and passengers while also increasing the risk of a rear end collision if someone is following too closely.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11452323February 16, 2022ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
1. The vehicle infotainment screen has been rebooting multiple times over the last few months while driving and the navigation maps screen goes black during the reboot, this is very distracting . 2. The navigation map turn by turn directions intermittently stops working independent of this reboot, causing missed turns, again distracting. 3. The rear camera video intermittently is grayed out instead of showing the rear camera video. I took the car to multiple dealers. The 1st dealer (Nissan of New Rochelle, NY; odometer @ approximately 18,470 miles) said unless the problem is repeatable while in for service there is nothing they can do about it. The other dealer (Star Nissan of Flushing, NY; odometer at 20,470 miles) did a AV software update. Since that AV update on 1/28/2022, Problem #1 and #3 so far have not returned. It may be too early to declare success since today is 2/16/2022. Problem #2 remains! I also noticed that when using Apple Car Play (using a USB wired connection to the Infotainment System) received phone call audio is poor and sounds like someone is gargling. If I switch the phone connection to wireless Bluetooth the audio quality is perfect, so it is not a carrier or phone connection to the network issue. This may be related to problem #2, where the navigation audio stops working. BTW When the Navigation audio stop working,I also lose the ability to change the radio audio. It shows it is changing visually from 0 to +40 on the screen, but the sound audio level remains unchanged. Usually if the car is turned off for more than an hour all returns to normal, at least initially until the next intermittent repeat of the issue. If I turn off the car and turn it back after only a minute or two, the audio problem remains the same.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11451220February 9, 2022ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH in the rain, a tree branch fell and struck the passenger’s side of the vehicle causing the air bags to deploy. The contact stated that he lost control of the vehicle when the air bags deployed. Additionally, the vehicle lost steering and braking functionality. There was an unknown warning light illuminated during the failure. The vehicle then lost electrical and motive power and rolled to a complete stop. There was no injury sustained. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and was still awaiting the needed repairs. Neither a dealer nor the manufacturer had been contacted or notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 12,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450555February 5, 2022ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
About January 19, 2022 when the temperature was about -10 degrees F I drove my 2019 Nissan Leaf about 5 miles. When I turned on the car the battery level was at 60%. After I had been driving for about ½ mile I got a dashboard message that the battery was cold and power would be reduced. I got a similar message a few days before which did not result in any difference in power levels, so I ignored the message. At about 3 miles I had to go up a 10% grade hill of about 1/4 mile in length. As soon as I started up the hill and was accelerating I got the power reduction message again. At that point I was traveling about 50mph. Then in the next 10 seconds, and while I was about half way up the hill, the battery indicator on the dashboard dropped all the way down to 1%. The car lost all of its power and I had to pull over to the side of the road. As soon as I stopped the battery indicator started to rise and within the next 30 seconds had returned to 60%. I continued up the hill, and noticed that the power was decreasing and the battery indicator was dropping again. I made it to the top of the hill and stopped again. The battery indicator returned to 60%. I had to stop one more time to allow the battery to recover, but made it to my destination without further problems. Two hours later I started for home and the car operated normally. Between that day and February 5 there have been no further incidents, even though early morning temperatures have ranged from -7 degrees to -28 degrees on 13 days. I took the car to Freedom Nissan in South Burlington, VT on Feb. 2. However, they told me that there was no record of such an incident on the computer and they would do nothing without such a record. To have the car go from full power to zero power in a 10 second period is a very disconcerting experience. It should have provoked an error message in the onboard computer. I think this is a safety problem and would like you to look into it.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450620February 5, 2022FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Our FEB system lights came on and then went off 3 times on our way home tonight. Will call Nissan on Monday to have it checked out. February 5 2022.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450148February 3, 2022VISIBILITY/WIPER
Defroster is not working at all. Spoke to dealer, needs new part and Nissan corporate. Nothing moving. Live in denver, having a working defroster is extremely important.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450160February 3, 2022SEAT BELTS
1) start the vehicle 2) exit the vehicle 3) Unplug the vehicle 4) re-start the vehicle 5) put in drive Seat belt chime does not ring. I found that I can also 1) Start the vehicle 2) Put in drive 3) Put in park 4) exit the vehicle 5) enter the vehicle w/o seatbelt buckled 6) put in drive. No seatbelt chime.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450028February 2, 2022ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY
The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the "Low Battery Mode" warning message was displayed while the battery was fully charged, which caused the vehicle to inadvertently decelerate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer replaced the capacitor and three cells in the battery; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired and had an upcoming appointment with the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact to take the vehicle to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The failure mileage was approximately 54,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11449997February 2, 2022SERVICE BRAKES, UNKNOWN OR OTHER, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
On my 2022 Leaf I use the epedal system, which is supposed to operate as a one-pedal driving, meaning when you the car is in epedal mode, you can drive the car with one pedal. When you press the accelerator the car will move forward and when you let go of accelerator the car will come to a stop. However, sometimes the car does NOT come to a stop and it will coast as if the epedal is not engaged. This happens regardless of the batteries SOC (state of charge), weather, angle of the road, temperature, or road condition. When epedal is engaged and you lift off the accelerator, the car should always come to a stop, and it doesn't. This is dangerous because there have been many times where I have ran a stop sign or almost hit the car in front of me because I've had to slam on the brakes at the last seconds. Sometimes the epedal system works great and the car will come to a stop, but many times it does not. The braking should always be consistent and it is not, making this feature dangerous to use because you can easily hit the car/something in front of you. I know how the system works because this is my second Nissan Leaf. In my 2018 Nissan Leaf, the epedal was consistent with the braking; it always braked, no matter the situation. The 2022 does not, and it's dangerous. I brought the car to the Nissan dealer and of course they can't find anything wrong with it. There are several others I've found online that have the same issue: epedal braking is NOT consistent and it should be. There are no warning lamps or messages that come up on the dash. I'm asked to provide a date, but this happens every day. Every day the braking is inconsistent. his has been happening since the first day I bought the car in November of 2021.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11448636January 24, 2022SERVICE BRAKES
In minus 12 degree temperature, I traveled to a store without incident and parked. Upon returning to the car and starting it, several warning lights went on, including the brake warning light was red, the electric shift control icon was red, VDC indicator light was on, master warning light was red. (may have been other warning lights on). Message was displayed to use parking brake to stop the car.Before applying the parking brake I tried to drive cautiously as I was on a small slope and the display showed my battery level was ok, and ample for the miles to go home, When I tried the brake there was a clicking sound somewhere underneath the car. There was no brake action so I stopped by using the parking brake. I tried this slow roll out two or three times to confirm I could stop the car if I used the parking brake, and there seemed to be no other cautionary problems showing. I was able to drive home with my caution lights, driving on the side of the road, going no more then 15 miles per hour, and using the parking brake when I needed to stop. It was extremely unsafe but most of my ride was uphill going home, and on a Saturday morning at 9am, in sub zero weather, traffic was very calm. The realization of my drive coming into town with most of the trip downhill set in and realized how lucky I was, and how I could have put myself or others in severe danger. I am researching now and will need to find a dealer or independent service center to review the vehicle.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11448501January 23, 2022SERVICE BRAKES
Brakes fail cause as a wreck while parking
- Crash:
- Yes
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 1
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11448057January 19, 2022VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
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 driven) was already very heavy while entering our alley (backyard parking). I was driving at 10 mile speed or under when our fence door was in the process of opening (half way opened) and the car garage was already opened; the car jerked forward with a sudden speed, dashed through the fence door and did not stop on drive way (brakes failed) and entered into the garage, hitting the storage racks built to the wall and the toilet right behind it. Things fell on the windshield, obstructed the car when it finally stopped (had to hit the stop button by force). I was scared to death if the car was going to get on a fire or would result in an electric short circuit. Luckily I was saved with no major injuries and God was beside me and saved me from causing any damage to anyone or other's properties. I am sure there might have been other such complaints on Nissan Leaf and want to bring this to light.
- Crash:
- Yes
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 1
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11447574January 15, 2022FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
AEB system malfunction around 25000 miles. Dealer diagnose as the front radar failed and cause the cruise control not available.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11447113January 11, 2022SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I had an accident that totaled the Leaf the day after I bought it. It was dark. The road was more congested than usual and a dog ran out into the road. According to eye witnesses, three vehicles including two Honda SUVs (the first vehicle that stated the whole mess didn't stay) managed to brake to a complete stop without rear ending one another. The Nissan Leaf could not brake quickly enough and I rear ended a CR-V with enough force that the Leaf airbags deployed and I could tell the Leaf was totaled at the scene. The emergency braking system never engaged and the brake pedal felt the same from beginning to end. I was not tailgating. The Leaf felt enough like my 2020 Kia Niro that I made the mistake of not being more cautious with a vehicle that was new to me. Bottom line: I expected the Leaf to behave in an emergency the same as a vehicle I had been driving without incident for 18 months and it didn't. My 2020 Kia Niro does not have emergency braking and I hadn't planned to test it out with the Leaf. Being dark, I saw the instant the vehicle in front of me slammed on their brakes and slammed on mine, but it felt the Leaf wasn't slowing down fast enough. Not nearly as quickly as the Honda.
- Crash:
- Yes
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11445758December 31, 2021UNKNOWN OR OTHER, BACK OVER PREVENTION: CAMERA SYSTEM
Backup Camera is a blank screen or pink screen.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0