Nissan Leaf Complaints (2018)

68 consumer complaints on file.

#11774184October 28, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
My High Voltage battery failed on my car at ~50k miles in 2022. Nissan replaced the battery under warranty. It has failed again now at 110k miles and is way worse than the previous failure. The car will abruptly shut down under load on hills or high speeds on the highway and I will get a P33ED battery fault code. Nissan customer service told me they would offer assistance and after 2 months of waiting on them to find the part number for the battery, they now informed me they won't help. After doing some research, there is a recall out for 2019-2022 Nissan leafs with possible fire related issues because of the batteries and the P33ED code that i am getting is directly related to this recall. I believe I have a recalled battery in my vehicle but Nissan won't offer any assistance because my VIN isn't necessarily recalled. I feel unsafe to charge or operate this car, especially under any type of speed or load and Nissan is offering no assistance in repairing the vehicle or even verifying the battery manufacturer date.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11771090October 14, 2026
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
I purchased this EV in 2021 with ~30k miles on it. On cold days ~20 degrees, the battery would drop rapidly under a load (going uphill, high speeds, etc) It would continue to drop until you were not under load anymore. The dealer said nothing was wrong until I had my family in the vehicle and it totally shut down on the highway going 70 mph and i lost all brakes, steering, etc. They finally took me seriously and put a new battery in at ~55k miles in 2022. I continued to have similar issues in the winter on really cold days, but not nearly as bad so i lived with it. At about 100k miles, it started doing a very similar issue, but way worse, and at any temperature. It got so bad i couldn't drive without the battery always being fully charged. Took it to the first dealer who said nothing is wrong with it even though i had videos of it happening. I then called nissan corporate and opened up a case and asked them directly "before i take it to another dealer for a second opinion, is this something that you can offer financial assistance with" and that lady said "yes, we can offer assistance for sure". I took it to another dealer who did some tests and confirmed it needed a battery. Shortly after that, the car now shuts down under even a slight load. A small backroad hill will shut it down and I get an error code P33ED now. This code is related to a battery recall on 2019- 2022 models that can cause a battery fire! After almost 2 months of nissan saying they didn't have the part available, they just informed me they won't offer any assistance because im out of warranty! Not only did i have the battery replaced once, but it has already failed a second time, and they installed a battery that is now recalled but wont honor the recall because my vin is a 2018. I am beyond frustrated with their lack of care about my families safety since this could catch fire! I am hoping to reach out to you for some additional guidance on this situation. Thank you.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11754400August 3, 2026
SERVICE BRAKES
vehicle brakes went out on the driver during normal operation.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11753926July 31, 2026
SERVICE BRAKES
vehicle was being driven like normal with no warning lights or icons. vehicle was bring driven at 35 miles an hour when suddenly the ABS fault message appeared on the dash, the dash started beeping and brakes became very hard to press.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11750729July 16, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
This is the second high-voltage traction battery failure on this vehicle. The original HV battery failed and was replaced by Nissan under warranty at an authorized dealer on XXX, at approximately 59,000 miles. The Nissan-manufactured replacement pack has now failed after approximately 16 months in service. On XXX, at ~74000 miles, the vehicle was diagnosed at Johnson City Nissan ([XXX]) with an internal short circuit within the high-voltage battery pack The error codes were P31E7-00 0B and P0AA6-1A 0B. Dealer service personnel identified the condition as an internal short in the pack. Due to the fire risk associated with an internal short in a lithium-ion traction battery, I declined to take possession of the vehicle, which remains at the dealership. An internal short can lead to thermal runaway without warning, whether the vehicle is being driven, charging, or parked. The failure of a factory replacement battery pack in 16 months, following the failure of the original pack, indicates a potential manufacturing or design defect in Nissan's service replacement HV battery packs for this platform. I am reporting this so NHTSA can evaluate whether other Leaf replacement packs exhibit similar internal short failures. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11749783July 11, 2026
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Car was fast charged on July 9th. 2026. After fast charging from 13% to 80%, and driving for a few miles, the overheating warning came on and car was forced to stop on the side of a busy highway until the engine cooled off. While there is an active recall for a similar problem (24V700), my car is not included and we were not notified.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11741152May 31, 2026
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Fail component: mechanical linkage (transmission rod) between the motor and the wiper arms. The ball pops out of the socket resulting in the wipers not working despite motor running. This happened with full speed wipers running. I repaired it, and two weeks later it disconnected again while running wipers at full speed in heavy rain. This left me without windshield wipers in heavy rain on a road with a 55mph speed limit. If I had not been able to quickly exit this would have resulted in significant risk to myself and other motorists. I was able to drive home on slower side roads, but the lack of wipers remained a safety issue. I have not taken in into a dealer or shop to have it reproduced. I will take photos while fixing. No incident or police reports were filed. There were no warning lights or alarms before or after this occurred. It seems this is a known issue that is common to Nissan vehicles including the leaf.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11712360January 21, 2026
SERVICE BRAKES, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
This vehicle is equipped with a feature known as "e-pedal" also known as one-pedal driving which is quite common on EVs. When this mode is activated, the accelerator pedal acts as a speed command (vs. power) and when the pedal is not depressed, the vehicle applies brakes until it comes to a standstill. Recently, the system has demonstrated a fault condition, where the Vehicle Control Module (VCM) issues a fault warning and disengages the e-pedal mode. This appears to occur randomly after the vehicle has been at a standstill for over one minute (e.g. waiting at a traffic signal) where the driver is using the one-pedal system vs. continuously applying pressure to the brake pedal. The safety issue is that when the system detects a fault and disengages e-pedal, the vehicle starts to move forward, requiring the driver to take immediate action to stop unwanted motion. This can lead to a collision with a vehicle or pedestrian in front of the vehicle. The desired behavior is that when the VCM detects a fault with the e-pedal system, it should engage the Park mode and prevent the vehicle from moving forward. The driver must then depress the brake pedal and affirmatively command the Drive mode before moving. Just disengaging the e-pedal (brake) without prior warning of a fault is a safety hazard.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11709726January 8, 2026
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
On 1/6/2026, as I slowed down as I was turning into my parking lot. I had Eco and e-pedal ON for regenerative braking. As I was turning into the parking lot, the car suddenly accelerated, went over the curb, across the street, over another curb before finally stopping after colliding with a structure. I was driving slowly and distinctively recall braking. This sudden unintended acceleration put safety at risk and caused significant property damage. There were no warning signs or messages. The car is in the yard now and will be available for inspection.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11706074December 19, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
I was traveling north on Freeway 57 at approximately 70mph. The dash lit up red with 12v and charging warnings. Power was shut off and car went into Neutral and warned me to pull over. This is an incredibly busy freeway and I was in the far left lane. I barely made it to the shoulder coasting before car started shuttering and jerking and stopped rolling. I could have been killed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11706140December 19, 2025
VISIBILITY/WIPER
The front windshield wipers on this car fail in light ice or snow. They've broken every winter I've owned this car (four years). This results in me driving around without front windshield wipers until I can get it fixed, watching the weather forecast and hoping I don't get caught in rain or snow. It happens despite my best efforts not to use the wipers in freezing weather unless absolutely necessary, going so far as to drive in light snow or rain without wipers to avoid breaking them. I've fixed it myself (not easy, especially in winter weather) and paid a mechanic to fix it for me at least three times. Most recently, the mechanic replaced the entire motor and linkage assembly which was extra expensive, but the right wiper broke again this Thanksgiving. (Until this last time, both wipers have always broken together.)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11702794December 3, 2025
STRUCTURE:BODY
Vehicle failed inspection due to a rusted out front subframe which seems premature for a 7 year old vehicle with 27,599 miles on it. According to local mechanic, they've seen this issue with many Nissan Leaf models. This is a critical piece of the vehicle hence it failing inspection due to rust. The vehicle has not (yet) been inspected by the local dealership to confirm the issue and there were no warning symptoms prior to it failing inspection.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11665950June 9, 2025
AIR BAGS, SEAT BELTS
After four years of owning this vehicle purchased new, the passenger side seatbelt warning light came on the dash. It indicated the seatbelt was not buckled while no one was sitting in the passenger seat. When buckled the light went out. Brought it to the attention of Nissan, Service every year when they would clear the code and it would be good for a month or two, and the light would come back on like before. Last month on May 9, I brought the vehicle in again and asked for a thorough assessment. Nissan service said to make the light go out they would have to replace two passenger side occupancy sensors, totaling $1800 parts and labor. They did not have the parts on hand, I left with the vehicle only to find out that the intermittent seatbelt light that would go out when buckled, stayed on continuous now. Also noticed the illuminated airbag light stating the airbag was off. And that was also on at all times whether someone was in the passenger seat or not. When purchasing the vehicle new we also purchased a gold preferred extended warranty, that I believed would cover these parts. But Nissan, consumer affair said the the warranty will not cover those items. After a month of trying to get Nissan, service and consumer affairs to work with me, still no help. Searching online I found Nissan, has had numerous issues and even some recalls with occupancy sensors in the seats of many vehicles. It seems to be an ongoing issue with Nissan, regarding earlier model vehicles and newer models. Thank you for your time and your help.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11661349May 15, 2025
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, UNKNOWN OR OTHER, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
On [XXX], I was slowly pulling into my driveway, took my foot off the accelerator and turned the steering wheel slightly to the right as the driveway is L shaped. Suddenly, the car sped up towards the garage door. I looked down quickly to see if I’d somehow pressed the accelerator by accident but I had not. I slammed on the brakes as hard as I could but the car kept going and smashed into the garage door and the corner of the garage, causing close to $20k in property damage. The hood and front bumper were badly caved in at the point of impact and pieces of the undercarriage were on the ground. The air smelled like rubber and there were tire marks on the driveway here I had slammed on the brakes. The airbags did not deploy. The Automatic Braking System did not work. There were no warning messages or lamps. The only unusual symptom that I noticed was that on my way home from Kona, when I was pulling up slowly to a traffic light, the car seemed to hesitate a couple of times, which seemed odd but not severe enough for me to be concerned about a wreck. That occurred about a half hour before the incident. I was not physically injured but I have been very shook up and depressed since the incident. If this had happened on the highway, I could have been killed and the car could have killed others on the road. I reported the collision to USAA immediately and, on their advice, I had it towed to Kona Nissan, the dealership where I purchased the vehicle and where I have had it serviced. The expectation was that they would perform diagnostics on the vehicle but they won’t touch it, nor will they talk to USAA. I had taken the car in when it was recalled for the VCM issues and I don’t believe it was fixed properly. Or the repair wasn’t effective. The car is at Gerber Body Shop in Kona, Hawaii. Please arrange inspection with them. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11647735March 11, 2025
ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
After hard acceleration then releasing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle does not slow as expected and, at times, will actually continue to accelerate. The vehicle will slow as expected when the brake is applied, but will again gradually accelerate when the brake is released. If slowed to a stop, the vehicle may begin to accelerate once the brake is released. This issue does not occur after normal acceleration. The issue may be related to NHTSA Recall Number 23V-494, which repairs have not been addressed for the subject vehicle, although the issue occurs regardless of the state or change-of-state of the e-pedal switch or cruise control function, both of which are mentioned in that recall. This issue has occurred on multiple occasions in the time that I have owned the car (approx 13 months.) There is no correlation with weather conditions or initial or final speed. The only consistent variable is rate of acceleration.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11644634February 24, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that after his wife had parked in a parking garage, the vehicle was restarted and driven in 17-degree Fahrenheit weather when the vehicle lost motive power. The "Service EV System, No Power" message was displayed. The contact's wife pulled over and had the vehicle towed to the dealer. The contact stated that the battery had previously been replaced. The dealer determined that the failure was caused by a frozen battery. After the battery had thawed, the battery was able to be recharged. No repair was recommended. The contact related the failure to the variable voltage control system and the 12-Volt battery amp-hours (Ah). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 79,545.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11642814February 14, 2025
POWER TRAIN, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
Vehicle randomly shuts down when car is underload traveling at highway speed up an incline and with the climate on. Diagnostics are showing multiple cells that are bad in the main battery manufacturer is stating that it is normal wear and it is normal. I’ve only had the car for 300 miles. It was a previously owned car that was supposed to carry an eight year warranty on the drivetrain and battery. They are not honoring the warranty and the vehicle is dangerous to drive and in fact cannot be driven the situation occurred on three occasions where the vehicle just randomly shuts down on the freeway in the middle of the highway. This is a serious concern that will definitely cause injury or death. I attached photos of two occasions when the battery discharged almost immediately, and the one photo shows on the vehicle was completely disabled. I have more supportive photographs and computer printouts from diagnostics if requested..
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11640866February 5, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The Power Distribution Module failed in my 2018 Nissan Leaf at 77k miles. It left me stranded with no way of getting home. The Power Distribution Module is supposed to last 10 years 100k miles but Nissan warranty only has is warranted to 60k miles. The dealership said the PDM only lasts around 70k miles however it is $5k to fix which is half of what the car is worth. They are unwilling to do a good faith repair because I didn’t service the car with their dealership even though I only serviced it at Nissan dealerships for the life of the car. This seems like really bad business to put a part in the car that the dealership knows will go bad at 70k miles but only warranty it up to 60k miles when it is a major electrical component to the vehicle and is over the half the value of the vehicle to fix. On top of the PDM there are other codes that the vehicle has that relate to the master brake cylinder but the dealership said they won’t know if there are more issues until I pay the 5 k to fix the PDM then they can assess if I have to pay another 5k to fix the other part. I drove the car very safely and treated it very well for the whole time I’ve had the vehicle. I’ve read of multiple other PDM issues with Nissan leaf and I’m curious how this part is not recalled?
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11635657January 13, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Car was descending towards Kailua on the [XXX] on Oahu, HI. Dash lit up with warnings and acceleration and brake pedals stopped working. Brake pedal went to the floor with erratic pulsing sensation and very little brake power. Driver drove car into jersey wall to slow and stop vehicle. Battery state was 60% and battery was replaced under warranty about 1 year ago. While waiting for tow, powered on vehicle and symptoms remained as far as I could check. Brakes had no power and had to use ebrake to keep vehicle from rolling. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11635668January 13, 2025
AIR BAGS, STEERING, WHEELS
I did not have an incident(accident), I noticed issues with my car, that seem to be prevalent with other Nissan Vehicles. This report is mostly proactive. I took the vehicle to the dealer for inspection and repair however was unable to come to a conclusion due to multiple inspection charges done by dealer but no fixes. Issue 1. Airbag Fault Warning Light on the dash. Turns on when I start the car, and stays. I took car to dealer and they have done a computer reset to reset the light (based on an internal Nissan bulletin on how to repair that issue, with mention in the repair notes that a lot of vehicles have that issue.) The reset didnt work and the light is back, now the dealer is saying that a whole sensor needs replacing as its prone to failure. Initial repair mentioned "code B00A0 stored for occupant detection system, but will not relearn." Zero Point Relearn will not complete. Referred to NTB19-071D... Ran the 75H Reset, code clears." Secondary repair: 'B00A0 Returned. Performed database search and found similar cases. Nissan recommends OSC and sensor replacement. Performed Bulletin again and error code is now 24H, not 75H. Zero point will not relearn. Started a case with Nissan and was advised to replace ...[OCS]... and strain sensors..." Issue 2: Loud clanking or grinding noise when turning vehicle left or right until wheel stops. Went to get this repaired and was told that dealer found bulletin 12-055J and will "need to replace axle nuts and apply Molykote." Paid for repair, and after picking up the car the sound is even worse, and upon bringing it back the dealer is saying that the noise is not due to past repair but vehicle will now need "Both front Strut mounts and bearings replaced." The sound is the same, and a cursory online search shows that this issue is prevalent across multiple vehicles. Also, recently when attempting a U-turn, the steering locked up momentarily when I was trying to straighten out the vehicle, with that noise (clunk sound)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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