Total Complaints
49 filings
NISSAN LEAF · model year
49 NHTSA complaints, 1 crash report, and 4 active recalls for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
4 / 5 ★
New Car Assessment Program
The 2016NISSANLEAF carries 49 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 1 crash, 2 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall 4/5 rating, with 4/5 front crash, 4/5 side crash, and 4/5 rollover scores derived from standardized barrier and dynamic tests.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2016 LEAF is service brakes with 15 filings, followed by electrical system (11) and fuel/propulsion system (8). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 4 active recall campaigns, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.
NHTSA currently has 54 investigation files overlapping the 2016 LEAF, and 5 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
49 filings
Crashes Reported
1 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES | 15 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 11 |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 8 |
| AIR BAGS | 3 |
| ENGINE | 3 |
| POWER TRAIN | 3 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY | 2 |
| STEERING | 2 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY | 1 |
EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2013-2017 LEAF vehicles. The Owner's Manual instructions for defroster operation are incorrect and may result in reduced defroster performance under specific conditions. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal
AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 Nissan Murano, Murano
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016 LEAF vehicles manufactured February 24, 2016, to March 23, 2016, and Sentra vehicles manufactured February 9, 2016, to March 4, 2016. The wiring harness connector may disconnect from the dual-stage passenger air bag.
AIR BAGS
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 LEAF and 2014, 2016 and 2017 Sentra vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error within the air bag inflators, the passenger frontal air bag may not properly deploy in the event of a crash.
When turning left there is a plasticky sticking feeling and sound like a plastic bushing is coming apart. this causes the steering to momentarily bind. this happens most often when making gentle curves on the highway. the feeling causes you to overcorrect the steering wheel. there are many complaints online of similar issues from 2016 Nissan leafs. The issue occurs near daily since purchasing the car back in 2023. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
On January 9, a little after 12:30 pm, on Indian Head Highway (MD route 210) northbound near the Manokeek exit, after limiting drive power owing to battery degradation and cold weather (about 30 F) drive power and power steering failed entirely. There was no warning to pull over so I suspect this is an undocumented failure mode. After the car was towed home, it would not charge when plugged in until after I disconnected the 12 v battery and reconnected it after about ten minutes. It would then charge and after a few minutes I checked and it would send power to the wheels and power steering again. The state of charge of the lithium ion battery was about 86% throughout. This was not a failure of the on board 12 v battery charging system or 12 v battery which the tow truck driver tested as good, it is quite new. After the reset of disconnecting the 12 v battery and reconnecting, the terminals show higher voltage when the car is on than when it is off. Attached please find a picture of
On January 9, a little after 12:30 pm, on Indian Head Highway (MD route 210) northbound near the Manokeek exit, after limiting drive power owing to battery degradation and cold weather (about 30 F) drive power and power steering failed entirely. There was no warning to pull over so I suspect this is an undocumented failure mode. After the car was towed home, it would not charge when plugged in until after I disconnected the 12 v battery and reconnected it after about ten minutes. It would then charge and after a few minutes I checked and it would send power to the wheels and power steering again. The state of charge of the lithium ion battery was about 86% throughout. This was not a failure of the on board 12 v battery charging system or 12 v battery which the tow truck driver tested as good, it is quite new. After the reset of disconnecting the 12 v battery and reconnecting, the terminals show higher voltage when the car is on than when it is off. Attached please find a picture of
On January 9, a little after 12:30 pm, on Indian Head Highway (MD route 210) northbound near the Manokeek exit, after limiting drive power owing to battery degradation and cold weather (about 30 F) drive power and power steering failed entirely. There was no warning to pull over so I suspect this is an undocumented failure mode. After the car was towed home, it would not charge when plugged in until after I disconnected the 12 v battery and reconnected it after about ten minutes. It would then charge and after a few minutes I checked and it would send power to the wheels and power steering again. The state of charge of the lithium ion battery was about 86% throughout. This was not a failure of the on board 12 v battery charging system or 12 v battery which the tow truck driver tested as good, it is quite new. After the reset of disconnecting the 12 v battery and reconnecting, the terminals show higher voltage when the car is on than when it is off. Attached please find a picture of
On Friday, November 1, at about 3 pm, the brakes failed pulling away from the curb in a forward direction after loading equipment into the vehicle. Really stomping the brakes as though they had a fluid problem did get them to engage. I think the problem occured again backing out of my driveway prior to Monday the 4th when I fixed the problem. Again, really slamming the brake peddle got the brake to engage. You may look at the vehicle if you wish. On Friday, I was at a large senior center party and there were many pedestrian with limited mobility near the exit. An out of control vehicle could have been very dangerous. I applied experience from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles with brake problems and that fortunately worked, but brake fluid was NOT the problem and there is no clear documentation of the problem in the owner's manual. This problem is an EV problem. I can't really take the vehicle to the dealership because they have failed to perform warranty service and refused
On Friday, November 1, at about 3 pm, the brakes failed pulling away from the curb in a forward direction after loading equipment into the vehicle. Really stomping the brakes as though they had a fluid problem did get them to engage. I think the problem occured again backing out of my driveway prior to Monday the 4th when I fixed the problem. Again, really slamming the brake peddle got the brake to engage. You may look at the vehicle if you wish. On Friday, I was at a large senior center party and there were many pedestrian with limited mobility near the exit. An out of control vehicle could have been very dangerous. I applied experience from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles with brake problems and that fortunately worked, but brake fluid was NOT the problem and there is no clear documentation of the problem in the owner's manual. This problem is an EV problem. I can't really take the vehicle to the dealership because they have failed to perform warranty service and refused
Drove home at 7PM mild day (65-70 degrees). Stopped the car and turned it off for an hour. Had to leave home at 8PM. Turned on the car and backed up the driveway. Tried to stop but break wasn't working.. Pressed all the way that ABS started trickling. Used the hand break to stop the car. Turned off the car and turned it back on. This is when I noticed all the dashboard lights are on including break and ABS and had the same break not working issue.. Pulled the car into the driveway slowly and turned it off till tomorrow morning.. Started the car tomorrow morning and everything was back to normal and driving without an issue.
While climbing the incline section of the San Mateo Bridge in the fast lane, the Leaf shifted itself into Neutral and would not shift back into Drive. With no power, driver was forced to change lanes to the right with no power, but luckily made it over the top and down the decline to pull over. Vehicle did not want to shut off or shift. Dealer confirmed bad battery. This occured Nov. 27th, 2023. And the car is still at the dealership as of March 24, 2024, waiting for a replacement battery.
The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. The brake pedal had to be pushed to the floor to activate the service brakes. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed electronically driven intelligently braking unit and the electronically driven intelligently braking unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 93,000.
Mileage: 93,000
Goes into neutral in a matter of seconds while driving at highway speeds and goes into turtle mode while on highway. A scan of the vehicle showed a number of low battery voltage codes (P0AA0, P3180, P3182, P08AF) stored when the battery was disconnected. Nissan gave no ETA on battery replacement.
Goes into neutral in a matter of seconds while driving at highway speeds and goes into turtle mode while on highway. A scan of the vehicle showed a number of low battery voltage codes (P0AA0, P3180, P3182, P08AF) stored when the battery was disconnected. Nissan gave no ETA on battery replacement.
While driving at highway speeds (65mph) on a cold day (10-20F), the car lost all drive power with no warning. Driver was able to coast to the road margin. In another situation this could have been a catastrophic accident. Driver called 911 for police protection and tow. At this point car was completely unresponsive but still on. The car could not be turned off, turned on, shifted into drive, or any other action performed. The car has shown at least 3 other cold weather failures at highway speeds with various error states (ranging from turtle mode, a complete loss of the info display, and sudden power losses). Our mechanic said "I almost died today, this car is not safe to drive on the highway".
While driving at highway speeds (65mph) on a cold day (10-20F), the car lost all drive power with no warning. Driver was able to coast to the road margin. In another situation this could have been a catastrophic accident. Driver called 911 for police protection and tow. At this point car was completely unresponsive but still on. The car could not be turned off, turned on, shifted into drive, or any other action performed. The car has shown at least 3 other cold weather failures at highway speeds with various error states (ranging from turtle mode, a complete loss of the info display, and sudden power losses). Our mechanic said "I almost died today, this car is not safe to drive on the highway".
While driving at highway speeds (65mph) on a cold day (10-20F), the car lost all drive power with no warning. Driver was able to coast to the road margin. In another situation this could have been a catastrophic accident. Driver called 911 for police protection and tow. At this point car was completely unresponsive but still on. The car could not be turned off, turned on, shifted into drive, or any other action performed. The car has shown at least 3 other cold weather failures at highway speeds with various error states (ranging from turtle mode, a complete loss of the info display, and sudden power losses). Our mechanic said "I almost died today, this car is not safe to drive on the highway".
On March 8, 2023, my 2016 NISSAN LEAF main EV battery failed at 75% charge power going up an incline on the freeway. The car shut down in the center lane with no warning at 60mph and could not be moved or shifted to be driven off the freeway. The car is available for inspection. My safety and the safety of others was put at EXTREME risk. I could have been killed or rear ended. I called 911 for the highway patrol and a county or city tow truck got me off the freeway. Previously, the main EV battery was diagnosed by the dealer as dropping in capacity to 8 bars in December 2022. I was told the car was safe to drive still although they did put in a warranty claim for a new battery which I was told was on back order and could take up to one year. Yet, I was told the car was 100% safe and drove it from December 2022 until this week. After the March 8 incident I had the car towed immediately to the dealer repair facility and the dealer service again confirmed the battery was compromised and t
Car shifted into neutral at highway speeds and would not go back into drive on 3 separate occasions over the past 6 days. Car is an EV and there was no warning and the battery SOC was 50% or more on all occasions. Can can be shifted from neutral to park only, not drive or reverse. Very unsafe to have to cruise to a stop on busy highways without much or any shoulder depending on where the car stops with snow banks. Had to have car towed. The incidents happened separately on 1/27, 1/28, and 2/2 all on the highway at ~60mph. I will upload some pictures of the dtc codes and battery stats for the vehicle. After the incident on 1/27, I replaced my 12v battery with a new one (having done some searching for possible cause), but the issue happened again on 1/28 and 2/2 after the 12v replacement.
Car shifted into neutral at highway speeds and would not go back into drive on 3 separate occasions over the past 6 days. Car is an EV and there was no warning and the battery SOC was 50% or more on all occasions. Can can be shifted from neutral to park only, not drive or reverse. Very unsafe to have to cruise to a stop on busy highways without much or any shoulder depending on where the car stops with snow banks. Had to have car towed. The incidents happened separately on 1/27, 1/28, and 2/2 all on the highway at ~60mph. I will upload some pictures of the dtc codes and battery stats for the vehicle. After the incident on 1/27, I replaced my 12v battery with a new one (having done some searching for possible cause), but the issue happened again on 1/28 and 2/2 after the 12v replacement.
Car shifted into neutral at highway speeds and would not go back into drive on 3 separate occasions over the past 6 days. Car is an EV and there was no warning and the battery SOC was 50% or more on all occasions. Can can be shifted from neutral to park only, not drive or reverse. Very unsafe to have to cruise to a stop on busy highways without much or any shoulder depending on where the car stops with snow banks. Had to have car towed. The incidents happened separately on 1/27, 1/28, and 2/2 all on the highway at ~60mph. I will upload some pictures of the dtc codes and battery stats for the vehicle. After the incident on 1/27, I replaced my 12v battery with a new one (having done some searching for possible cause), but the issue happened again on 1/28 and 2/2 after the 12v replacement.
We were driving the car on a highway (the 405 in Los Angeles) in the midafternoon on December 21. We were going uphill and in the flow of traffic. I'd say the speed was about 60-65. The car was functioning well. Then, the driver accelerated to pass a car and suddenly the car lost all power and went into neutral. Fortunately, we made our way to the freeway shoulder without an accident. But, it could have been very different, as we were on a fast-moving highway and there could have been a pile-up. The car had plenty of battery power (around 47 miles) but it would not shift back into drive. We turned the car on and off and it was stuck in neutral. A tow truck came by and suggested a jump start. That worked and we took the car immediately to a Nissan dealership. The dealership found an error code (I believe it's P3398 but I am unsure) and says that a part of the lithium battery is malfunctioning and the car is unsafe to drive. It is under warranty but they say they are unable
We were driving the car on a highway (the 405 in Los Angeles) in the midafternoon on December 21. We were going uphill and in the flow of traffic. I'd say the speed was about 60-65. The car was functioning well. Then, the driver accelerated to pass a car and suddenly the car lost all power and went into neutral. Fortunately, we made our way to the freeway shoulder without an accident. But, it could have been very different, as we were on a fast-moving highway and there could have been a pile-up. The car had plenty of battery power (around 47 miles) but it would not shift back into drive. We turned the car on and off and it was stuck in neutral. A tow truck came by and suggested a jump start. That worked and we took the car immediately to a Nissan dealership. The dealership found an error code (I believe it's P3398 but I am unsure) and says that a part of the lithium battery is malfunctioning and the car is unsafe to drive. It is under warranty but they say they are unable
Driver Airbag Inflator Rupture
Inner Tie Rod Failures
Side curtain air bags may deploy inadvertently
Reduced Power After Engine Stall
Loss of motive power due to broken crankshaft with no ability to restart.
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.