Nissan Leaf

Where it stands out against its peers

• Electrical system: more complaints than 98% of 2019 cars — 68% of its 253 complaints, where an ordinary 2019 car has 20%.

Same model year only, at least 30 peer cars, zeros included. Every car has a worst part; this shows which, and how far from ordinary it is. A high share means more to check, not a verdict.

Before you buy one

Built from what this car fails on, not from general knowledge of the model.

• ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — 131 owners reported this
• FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM — 17 owners reported this
• VISIBILITY/WIPER — 8 owners reported this
• ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM — 7 owners reported this

Crash test

Crash-tested by NHTSA, the American road safety agency.

Specification

Recalls

Filed by the manufacturer with a regulator. A recall is repaired free of charge, whoever owns the car now.

37% of 2022 cars have more recall campaigns than this one, and an ordinary one has 3. More of them means more to check the service record for, not a worse car.

• 13V069000

  If the vehicle is involved in a crash necessitating airbag deployment and the passenger airbag is suppressed, there may be an increased risk of personal injury.

  Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ODS sensors and replace them as neccessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 6, 2013. Owners may contact Nissan Customer Service at 1-800-647-7261.

• 14V138000

  If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger airbag would be deactivated. Failure of the passenger airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to the passenger.

  Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on April 14, 2014. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.

• 14V192000

  Missing welds may effect the vehicle's integrity in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury to the vehicle's occupants.

  Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect to see if any of the welds are missing. Any vehicle missing welds will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began on June 2, 2014. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.

• 14V263000

  An unexpected vehicle shut down increases the risk of a crash.

  Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the inverter, free of charge. The recall began in July 2014. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

• 16V119000

  If the brake relay fails, longer distances or additional brake effort would be required to stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

  Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the Intelligent Brake Control Unit software, free of charge. The recall began on March 28, 2016. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

• 16V244000

  If the passenger frontal air bag does not deploy as intended in the event of a crash, the passenger is at an increased risk of injury.

  Nissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in Altima, Maxima, Murano, Rogue, and Sentra vehicles, and replace the OCS ECU in LEAF, NV200, NV200 Taxi, Pathfinder, Infiniti Q50, JX35, and QX60 and Chevrolet City Express vehicles, free of charge. Interim notices were sent to owners on May 31, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669, Infiniti customer service at 1-888-833-3216 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.

• 16V436000

  If the wiring harness disconnects, the passenger air bag may not to deploy during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

  Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the wiring harness connector for proper engagement and, if necessary, replace the passenger air bag module and main body harness, free of charge. The recall began on August 9, 2016. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

• 17V253000

  In the event of a crash, if the front passenger air bag doesn't deploy properly, it can increase the risk of injury to passengers.

  Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began June 7, 2017. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

9 more campaigns have been filed against this model. A dealer can check by VIN which apply to one car.

Regulator investigations

Opened by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation is a question the regulator asked about a possible defect, not a fault it found — most end without a recall.

• Pedestrian alert sounds

  Defect petition, opened January 2023, closed August 2023.

• Front Occupant Classification System Mat

  Preliminary evaluation, opened October 2019, closed June 2020.

• Front Occupant Classification System Mat

  Defect petition, opened August 2019, closed October 2019.

• Occupant Classification System Failure

  Engineering analysis, opened August 2015, closed May 2017.

• Occupant Classification System Failure

  Recall query, opened March 2015, closed September 2015.

What the maker told its dealers

Service bulletins are the manufacturer's own repair guidance to dealers, filed with NHTSA. A bulletin is not a defect finding; the count rises with how many things a maker writes down, not only with how many go wrong.

Nissan filed 6 bulletins about the 2026 Leaf.

• Electrical system: 3
• Structure: 2
• Visibility/wiper: 1

• CERTIFICATION LABEL AND VIN PLATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE INFORMATION Because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “Certification Label” or “VIN Plate/Label” may be needed. HINT:… · April 2026
• CERTIFICATION LABEL AND VIN PLATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE INFORMATION Because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “Certification Label” or “VIN Plate/Label” may be needed. HINT:… · April 2026
• DEFROST FEATURES UNAVAILABLE IN APP DUE TO SHORTING TERMINAL POSITION APPLIED VEHICLES: 2026 LEAF (ZE2) APPLIED DATES: Built on or before August 14, 2025 IF YOU CONFIRM The Remote Rear Defrost, Front… · April 2026
• EFFICIENCY DISPLAYS LOWER THAN EXPECTED, BUT ACTUAL DRIVING RANGE OK IF YOU CONFIRM The efficiency display in the meter appears to be lower than what would be expected for the mileage that was… · February 2026
• *****Dealer Announcement***** To ensure continued customer satisfaction and confidence, Nissan is conducting a Dealer Quality Action on certain model year 2026 Nissan LEAF vehicles identified in… · October 2025
• PROCESS FOR 12V BATTERY TESTING APPLIED VEHICLES: 2026 LEAF (ZE2) SERVICE INFORMATION Due to changes to the DC-DC control logic, 12V battery testing may take an extra 20 minutes or more. To perform a… · October 2025

Grouped by NHTSA's top-level system; a bulletin filed under a sub-heading counts toward its system.