6.1

fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
12,754 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2015 Nissan Leaf:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #12

Nov 032023

Leaf

  • miles
Warning lights, abs light and brake light illuminated out of nowhere. Unable to brake. Used a lot of force to get the car to slow down. Dealership inspected and said module short circuited.

- Langley, DC, USA

problem #11

Sep 162023

Leaf

  • miles
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request" The electronic braking system seems to have randomly failed due to some electrical glitch. Mechanically the braking system works fine but during this incident the ABS system kicked in causing the car to shutter and the brake petal went to the floor with 0 braking power. Was forced to put the car in Park and apply the emergency brake in the middle of the road in traffic to ensure it would stop. Cycled the car on and off multiple times to see if that would help reset the car but the problem persisted. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Putting other drivers on the road at risk if we were not able to stop the car could have caused property damage and personal injury to others on the road and my family who was in the car. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? The problem has been reproduced 3 times but the last time being more severe and power cycling the car didn-??t correct the issue like the prior two incidents. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? The vehicle is going to be inspected by myself and possibly the manufacturers dealership depending on my findings. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear" There was no prior warning all warnings come inline with the brake failure.

- Sandy, UT, USA

problem #10

Jul 242023

Leaf

  • miles
I approached a red light at an intersection intending to make a right turn. As I pressed the brakes to stop before the turn, the car did not slow and I was forced to make the turn against the red light. After the turn I was able to stop the car using the parking brake. After coming to a stop I noticed multiple warning lights on the instrument panel had come on which were not on previously.

- Fresno , CA, USA

problem #9

Jun 012023

Leaf

  • miles
Backup camera shows blank black screen intermittently. Shifting into park and back to reverse does not resolve. Several hours later it seems to resolve.

- Bellevue , NE, USA

problem #8

Apr 082022

Leaf

  • miles
Just after starting my car, it began moving in reverse on its own even though the car was in 'park' and my foot was firmly pressed down on the brake pedal. It wouldn't stop moving, even with the brake pedal pressed down, until I lifted my foot completely off the brake pedal and then pressed it again. A few days before this happened, a few lights on the dashboard began randomly lighting up, but none seemed related the braking issue. The battery light was one of them. (I don't remember which other ones light up.) So, I tried changing the 12V battery and that fixed the problem. A vehicle moving on it own when it is not supposed to be in motion and the brake pedal not working at the same time is a very serious safety issue. It is not common behaviour for a vehicle to move on its own when the 12v battery is low. This unexpected behaviour could lead to serious accidents. I did not bring this to the dealer since i was able to replace the 12v battery on my own and it resolved my problem.

- Los Altos, CA, USA

problem #7

Dec 052022

Leaf

  • miles
I was driving down the road and applied pressure to the brakes. The brakes did not respond and the dash lights lit up indicating several failures. It took 15-20 feet before I was able to completely stop. If this had happened on a busy street or freeway, the results would have been catastrophic. The vehicle is currently located a Nissan dealership and is available for inspection.

- West Valley City, UT, USA

problem #6

Oct 092020

Leaf

  • 34,500 miles
Electronic brake assist failed while driving in traffic, October 9th, 2020. Braking distance was extended and the brake pedal depressed much farther than normal, causing driver to stop car with emergency brake. Emergency lights illuminated on the dash. Errors codes indicate faults with the electronic driven intelligent brake control unit, the subject of safety campaign 16V119000. Subsequent Nissan recall, which applied 3nf9B firmware to the edib, had been applied 5/13/16. Failures re-occurred in cold weather in November 8th, 2020. Problem is sporadic and dealer cannot reproduce. However, a video of the failure was recorded and has been shown to them. Replacement part carries yet a new firmware, 4np3E. This firmware should be made available under the safety campaign if it more fully addresses the problem with the brakes.

- Portland, OR, USA

problem #5

Aug 032020

Leaf

  • 31,000 miles
While I was accelerating to 60mph from a stop light on us 287 and isabelle road in boulder county, Colorado, the car continued to accelerate uncontrolled to over 70. Accelerator pedal seemed to not work at all. I braked and slowed down but it was fighting the maximum acceleration. I tried pumping the brakes and kept slowing down and the car lost all engine power and seemed to brake itself. I pulled over to the side and turned off the car. Turned it back on and all seemed normal. I am concerned that others may panic in this situation and not be able to control the car. The 2015 Nissan Leaf I drive has 31,000 miles on it now and has had all updates and services.

- Erie, CO, USA

problem #4

Jan 062019

Leaf

  • 51,000 miles
Brakes failed upon starting the car. Multiple warning lights on the dashboard (brake, ABS, traction control, and brake system) resulting in total brake failure - cannot stop the car with normal braking even while just putting the car into drive/reverse from park. Started happening ~3 weeks ago. The only thing that stops the car is the emergency / parking brake. If pressing the brake pedal all the way, just before hitting the floor there is a loud popping / grinding noise and the parking brake (?) engages. The first time, turning the car off/on fixed it. We took it to our local Nissan dealer, they said "could not find the issue in their system" and said it was a "fluke" and wouldn't happen again. Happened again a few days later and turning the car off/on didn't help, and the car was stuck in our driveway. Tried replacing the 12V battery, which fixed the issue temporarily. Happened again a few days after that and had to get it towed back to Nissan.* they found the issue in their system and think it's the "driven intelligent brake unit" and costs $2600+ to fix. They also say the "main engine harness" may need to be replaced for some reason as well, costing another $2400+. have contacted Nissan usa, they told me they don't have a record of this being a problem with Leafs (even though there are dozens of complaints on here) and refuses to provide assistance. This brake system is *extremely unsafe* for the driver & passengers, and everyone around it. My kids could have been near the car when it started moving on its own even though I was pushing the brake pedal. No one needs to die or get gravely injured because of this faulty system.

- North Ridgeville, OH, USA

problem #3

Jun 052018

Leaf

  • 30,000 miles
When the 12-volt battery failed on my 2015 Nissan Leaf, the car would still turn on and would move forward without pushing on the accelerator. The brakes did not work either. This happened to me both in a grocery store parking lot at night and then the next morning on a residential street. Similarly, when it turned the car on in my driveway, I put it in reverse, and the car moved without me pushing on the accelerator and the brakes did not engage when I pushed on them. The car behaved this way 4 times, including once for the Nissan dealership service worker who had to pull the car forward in the line of cars waiting to be serviced. After Nissan replaced the 12-volt battery, the problem disappeared. Several Leaf owners have told me to report the problem, because it is a safety concern that the car can move but the brakes do not work when the 12-volt is failing. I called Nissan to notify them of this problem but did not get a response beyond a call from consumer repairs saying she would make a note of it.

- Encino, CA, USA

problem #2

Jan 312016

Leaf

  • 1,500 miles
I've only had the car for 2 months, and the brakes have failed repeatedly, once about every 5 days on average. Every time they have failed, it was when I start up the car, and put it in either forward or reverse. I usually pull forward into a parking spot, so I go in reverse much more frequently after starting up, but it has happened when going forward too. This is the failure mode. I start the car, while holding down the brake pedal, and then I put it in reverse. At that point the car starts rolling backwards, even though I'm still holding down the brake pedal. The brake pedal gets soft and when I floor the brake pedal, the car finally slows down and stops. Another way to stop it is to put it back in park, but that causes it to jerk to a halt. Needless to say, this is a scary scenario, and this frequently happens at my kids' school, where there are many kids and parents walking through the parking lot. In addition, the car also has some other problems. It sometimes starts a long uninterrupted beep when I turn off the car to get out. The beep goes on for minutes, and sometimes I see a warning light on the dashboard. Finally, the card completely stopped working today. An error message of "T/M system malfunction" appeared on the dashboard, and I was not even able to put the car into neutral for the tow truck. The driver window did not work anymore. After attaching a battery charger to the 12V battery, I was able to put it into neutral, but not able to put it in reverse or drive, or even back in park. The car had more than half of its battery cells full, so the problem was not because it ran out of charge.

- Redwood City, CA, USA

problem #1

Apr 272015

Leaf

  • 5,050 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Leaf. While driving 20 mph, the vehicle suddenly stalled and failed to restart without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 5,050. The VIN was not available.

- Novato , CA, USA