Nissan Leaf vs KIA Forte

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure	Nissan Leaf	KIA Forte
Complaints on file	1,497	3,596
Model years covered	2010–2026	2009–2024
Worst model year	2019	2017
Best model year	2025	2024
Crashes reported	110	378
Fires reported	19	201
Injuries reported	39	228
Deaths reported	0	21
Most complained-about part	Electrical System	Engine & Cooling
Share of complaints involving harm	11.2%	23%

Nissan Leaf by year

1 117 71 120 45 144 50 27 117 320 221 77 136 30 7 10 4

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Electrical System 512 34.2%

Brakes 241 16.1%

Other & Unspecified 161 10.8%

Fuel & Propulsion 130 8.7%

Airbags 92 6.1%

Transmission & Drivetrain 59 3.9%

Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance 59 3.9%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 56 3.7%

KIA Forte by year

1 317 214 404 272 644 325 202 432 188 216 101 95 42 97 46

09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 1,175 32.7%

Electrical System 321 8.9%

Other & Unspecified 320 8.9%

Airbags 292 8.1%

Brakes 218 6.1%

Transmission & Drivetrain 215 6.0%

Lights 178 4.9%

Steering 160 4.4%