FaultScore

Nissan Leaf driver assist problems

59 of the 1,497 complaints filed about the Nissan Leaf are about the driver-assist systems — 4% of everything owners reported. The worst model year for it is 2018.

59

Complaints

4%

Share of all complaints

10

Crashes

0

Fires

Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance complaints by model year

2017 Leaf 1 1.7%
2018 Leaf 17 28.8%

Median failure at 18,000 miles

2019 Leaf 15 25.4%

Median failure at 20,000 miles

2020 Leaf 13 22.0%

Median failure at 3,650 miles

2021 Leaf 6 10.2%

Median failure at 14,000 miles

2022 Leaf 3 5.1%
2023 Leaf 4 6.8%

What owners said

2019 Nissan Leaf at 30,000 miles Kent, WA

BACK OVER PREVENTION

The contact owns a 2019 Nissan Leaf. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V700000 (Electrical System), 24V071000 (Back Over Prevention), and 23V494000 (Vehicle Speed Control); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the battery level dropped from 100% to zero, causing the vehicle to lose motive power. There were several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence, where the battery was replaced; however, the failure recurred, and the vehicle was towed back to the residence. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

NHTSA complaint #11749388 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2020 Nissan Leaf New Haven, CT

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

While driving with cruise control set to a certain speed (i do not recall the exact speed it was set to) I pressed the button that lowers the current speed it is set to, but instead of lowring by one mph it raised the speed, pressing again raised the speed again. this continued a few times until i turned off cruise control. The system has been buggy in the past, for example not responding to a button or raising by 2 or 3 mph instead of one (the Leaf goes one by one, not jumps like some vehicles). But this was the first time i saw it actually raise speed in response to a button that should lower it and that seems dangerous. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or service center. It has not been inspected by anyone since the incident occurred. There were no warning lamps or messages. The overall bugginess has been noticeable for a long time (perhaps always?) but this occurred (raising the speed instead of lowering it) for the first time yesterday.

NHTSA complaint #11746000 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2019 Nissan Leaf Port Angeles, WA

BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA

I had intermittent loss of back-up camera picture, with initial repair paid by me on 8/3/22. The problem persisted intermittently, I was told the only option was to replace the camera, which I found with online search didn't fix the problem. 9/11/24 the dealer "fixed" the problem when a recall was issued. It worked for a short time. I returned 11/11/24 with the same problem, but because it was intermittent they could not find an issue. I have photos of 8 more intermittent failures since then, my partner doesn't document problems when she's using the vehicle. I have seen no change in the frequency or effects of the backup camera malfunctions since it first began prior to the first visit for repair in 2022.

NHTSA complaint #11744625 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2020 Nissan Leaf Carrollton, TX

BACK OVER PREVENTION

The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Leaf. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V700000 (Electrical System) and 24V071000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available for the recall repairs. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.

NHTSA complaint #11720503 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2021 Nissan Leaf Sacramento, CA

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

Brakes problem: During rain season the moisture can get into the brake system. When backing up, the brakes feel partially seized, and make squeeze sound. The problem is more serious when pulling the parking brake during overnight parking. Somehow the sound is coming out of front brakes. The sound will diminish after break several times during normal breaking. Forward Collision warning system: The system only alerts driver with deeps and lights on dashboard. It doesn’t enables the brake system to slow or stop the car.

NHTSA complaint #11712902 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2018 Nissan Leaf Placentia, CA

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.

NHTSA complaint #11706074 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2020 Nissan Leaf Westborough, MA

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

the front collision detection system frequently stops working, especially when there is wet weather. The little light on the dash comes on that shows it's not working. ALSO. My car has a serious battery issue that is not related to the fast-charging issue with the current recall. The battery frequently loses charge while driving, and I have to cut trips short and head home in "turtle mode".

NHTSA complaint #11705098 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2020 Nissan Leaf at 5,000 miles Staten Island, NY

BACK OVER PREVENTION

The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Leaf. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V700000 (Electrical System), 24V071000 (Back Over Prevention) and 23V494000 (Vehicle Speed Control); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle control module (VCM) had failed and was replaced several times; however, the failure persisted. The contact stated that the vehicle was difficult to start. The contact also stated that the rear driver's side seat belt was locked and inoperable. The Local dealer, Edison Nissan (401 US-1, Edison, NJ 08817), and an unknown dealer were contacted for the recall repairs and informed the contact that a technician for the Nissan Leaf was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 5,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available for NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V700000 (Electrical System). Parts distribution disconnect for NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V071000 (Back Over Prevention) and 23V494000 (Vehicle Speed Control).

NHTSA complaint #11669529 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2018 Nissan Leaf Waikoloa, HI Crash

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)

NHTSA complaint #11661349 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2019 Nissan Leaf at 82,000 miles Pomona, CA Crash 2 injured

BACK OVER PREVENTION

The contact owned a 2019 Nissan Leaf. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 23V494000 (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL), 24V700000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM), and 24V071000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION). The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 MPH and coming up to an intersection, the vehicle ahead of the contact had stopped in front of the contact due to a crash. The contact attempted to stop the vehicle; however, the vehicle failed to stop. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated and crashed into the rear of the vehicle ahead. The contact stated that the vehicle came to a stop at the intersection under the traffic light after the crash. There were no warning lights illuminated; however, there was a beeping sound while attempting to stop the vehicle. The driver’s and passenger’s side air bags deployed as needed. The contact was unsure if a Police report was filed. The contact stated that the vehicle was driven to the residence. The contact sustained an injury to the right knee from the impact, sciatic nerve injury, shoulder pain, and emotional distress. The contact went to the Emergency room and had since received physical therapy. The contact believed that one other person in one of the other vehicles had sustained injuries. The contact stated that the vehicle had been towed to an auto body shop, and the contact stated that the body shop had deemed the vehicle a total loss. The contact stated that the dealer had contacted the body shop and had been harassing her as well as the body shop about returning the vehicle to the dealer. The contact then took the vehicle home with an abnormal clinking sound. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and suggested that there would be an investigation into the failure. The failure mileage was 82,000.

NHTSA complaint #11652665 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2019 Nissan Leaf San Leandro, CA

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

I've had four incidents of the automatic braking system engaging and braking when there was no object in front of the car that should have required it to stop. There doesn't seem to be a common factor. Twice in a lighted garage. Once on a highway while making a turn during daylight, and once on a highway going straight at night. It's very dangerous.

NHTSA complaint #11640618 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2020 Nissan Leaf San Diego, CA

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

Hello. I have a 20/20 Nissan Leaf SV Plus. This morning I had a total brake failure for lack of a better term. The E-Pedal system, which I always use, suddenly failed while I was driving, showing a warning on screen that said E-Pedal system malfunction... Please use pedal to break. When I went to use the pedal to break nothing happened except for this horrible sound and feel in the pedal. It barely just finally grabbed a little bit enough to stop before I hit the car ahead of me. But it was nothing short of a total brake failure, both E-Pedal and manual pedal. Extremely distressing. What I want to know is how on earth when the E-Pedal fails, the normal manual brake pedal doesn't work either. One thing to note, I let it sit almost all day while I was at work, went out and tried it, and it suddenly was working. I drove around the parking lot, turned it off...back on ..and then The E-Pedal warning came up again. I then went and purchased a 12 volt battery, as I read in some forums that it's possibly due to that. That also did nothing. Got the same E-pedal malfunction. The main reason I'm letting your agency know, is because I would consider this a total break failure, and completely unacceptable. By sheer luck I was only going about 5 mph when it first happened, and I could still barely break in time. Any help on the Federal level...would be great. Thank you so much for your time.

NHTSA complaint #11636177 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2018 Nissan Leaf Waikoloa, HI Crash

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

The incident occurred at a stop sign where I was waiting behind one other vehicle. The vehicle ahead of me accelerated from the stop sign to turn into traffic, but abruptly slammed on their brakes. I had began accelerating up to the stop sign and was unable to stop before impacting the car in front of me. As soon as I saw the vehicle was braking, I immediately slammed on the brake pedal. Braking did not immediately occur. My wife said she was afraid that I had slammed the gas pedal because she could hear my foot hit the brake pedal and neither of us felt any braking. The Nissan Leaf was in Eco Mode and ePedal at the time of the incident. I believe that the transition from regenerative braking to mechanical braking delayed the stopping of my vehicle. We were lucky that this happened in a very low consequence situation, but if this happened with a pedestrian or at a higher speed where emergency braking is required, this delay in braking could be dire. In addition, this vehicle is equipped with automatic emergency braking. I have heard this feature go off before in this specific car when a car is braking faster than I am. In this case, the alarm and assisted braking did not go off, despite a car stopping within extremely close proximity.

NHTSA complaint #11630622 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2018 Nissan Leaf Waikoloa, HI Crash

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

The incident occurred at a stop sign where I was waiting behind one other vehicle. The vehicle ahead of me accelerated from the stop sign to turn into traffic, but abruptly slammed on their brakes. I had began accelerating up to the stop sign and was unable to stop before impacting the car in front of me. As soon as I saw the vehicle was braking, I immediately slammed on the brake pedal. Braking did not immediately occur. My wife said she was afraid that I had slammed the gas pedal because she could hear my foot hit the brake pedal and neither of us felt any braking. The Nissan Leaf was in Eco Mode and ePedal at the time of the incident. I believe that the transition from regenerative braking to mechanical braking delayed the stopping of my vehicle. We were lucky that this happened in a very low consequence situation, but if this happened with a pedestrian or at a higher speed where emergency braking is required, this delay in braking could be dire. In addition, this vehicle is equipped with automatic emergency braking. I have heard this feature go off before in this specific car when a car is braking faster than I am. In this case, the alarm and assisted braking did not go off, despite a car stopping within extremely close proximity.

NHTSA complaint #11630622 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2020 Nissan Leaf San Clemente, CA

BACK OVER PREVENTION

The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Leaf. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V700000 (Electrical System) and 24V071000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that the remedy parts were not available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA complaint #11628907 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2019 Nissan Leaf Las Vegas, NV

BACK OVER PREVENTION

The contact owns a 2019 Nissan Leaf. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V071000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION) and 24V700000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA complaint #11623485 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2023 Nissan Leaf Rio Rancho, NM

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

My front collision system will sporadically start flashing when there is nothing in front of me. One time a dealer was able to read a code saying that it overheated, and told me that was a known issue with no solution. It was 100F, but I have had the same issue at 35F. The dealership and corporate cannot tell me how the safety system will respond with this error, either disabling my crash prevention system or possibly automatically breaking for no reason. I have taken it to the dealership 4 times. One refused to even try to read the code as it was happening. Another read the code but refused to record it. The other times they kept the car for a total of 8 days and didn’t even look at the component. It seems like they know that this safety issue exists and have no plans to address it. They also refuse to answer my question about liability if it causes my car to automatically break and cause an accident. This has happened at speeds between 0 and 75 mph

NHTSA complaint #11612153 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2023 Nissan Leaf Rio Rancho, NM

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

My front collision system will sporadically start flashing when there is nothing in front of me. One time a dealer was able to read a code saying that it overheated, and told me that was a known issue with no solution. It was 100F, but I have had the same issue at 35F. The dealership and corporate cannot tell me how the safety system will respond with this error, either disabling my crash prevention system or possibly automatically breaking for no reason. I have taken it to the dealership 4 times. One refused to even try to read the code as it was happening. Another read the code but refused to record it. The other times they kept the car for a total of 8 days and didn’t even look at the component. It seems like they know that this safety issue exists and have no plans to address it. They also refuse to answer my question about liability if it causes my car to automatically break and cause an accident. This has happened at speeds between 0 and 75 mph

NHTSA complaint #11612153 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2019 Nissan Leaf Arvada, CO

LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION

The rear view camera, activated when the vehicle is in reverse, works on and off. The inconsistent nature of the rear cameras view presents a danger everytime I backup.

NHTSA complaint #11607976 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2019 Nissan Leaf Arvada, CO

BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING

The rear view camera, activated when the vehicle is in reverse, works on and off. The inconsistent nature of the rear cameras view presents a danger everytime I backup.

NHTSA complaint #11607976 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Other Nissan Leaf problems