Leaf (ZE1)
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Complaint Breakdown
Known Issues
Battery & Propulsion Reliability
Battery Electric (BEV)
Battery & propulsion complaint analysis for the 2018-2024 Nissan Leaf
That's roughly 7.5x the typical rate for BEVs in this dataset (median 5.5 per year). This generation has materially more battery & propulsion complaints than its peers, even after accounting for sales volume.
What kind of battery complaint?
Among the 275 battery-related complaints, here's the type mix. These percentages describe what the complaints are about — not how reliable the vehicle is overall.
Propulsion battery defects, capacity loss, BMS faults, replacement claims.
Battery fires, smoke, thermal runaway. Includes any complaint with fire reported.
Charge port, cable, mobile connector, or session failures.
Loss of power, drive unit, inverter, traction motor, DC-DC converter.
Low-voltage battery deaths, common on EVs and hybrids that use a 12V for accessories.
Regen brake feel, one-pedal driving, B-mode complaints.
Battery & propulsion recalls (2)
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2019-2020 LEAF vehicles equipped with a Level 3 quick charging port. The lithium-ion battery may overheat during Level 3 charging.
Consequence: A quick charging battery that overheats increases the risk of a fire.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2021-2022 LEAF vehicles equipped with a Level 3 quick charging port. The lithium-ion battery may overheat during Level 3 charging.
Consequence: A quick charging battery that overheats increases the risk of a fire.
Sample complaint excerpts
High-Voltage Battery
- [2022] Nissan Recall R25C8 (NHTSA ID: 25V655), Incomplete, remedy not available Primary Issue: High-voltage battery fire risk during Level 3 (DCFC) charging due to excessive lithium deposits. I have been told by Nissan not to use Level 3 fast charging. This has significantly impaired the utility of my vehicle due to: - Limited Range/Utility: Without fast charging, I can't use the car for trips beyond i
- [2022] The high-voltage battery on my 2022 Nissan Leaf SL is subject to Recall NHTSA ID: 25V-655. The recall notice states that the battery cells can develop excessive lithium deposits, which increases electrical resistance and can cause rapid battery heating during Level 3 fast charging. Nissan instructs owners not to use Level 3 charging at all until a “remedy” is available. The issue is that the reme
- [2022] The high-voltage battery on my 2022 Nissan Leaf is subject to Recall 25V655. The recall notice states that the battery cells can develop excessive lithium deposits, which increases electrical resistance and can cause rapid battery heating during Level 3 fast charging. Nissan instructs owners not to use Level 3 charging at all until a “remedy” is available. The issue is that the remedy described b
Thermal Events
- [2022] Nissan Recall R25C8 (NHTSA ID: 25V655), Incomplete, remedy not available Primary Issue: High-voltage battery fire risk during Level 3 (DCFC) charging due to excessive lithium deposits. I have been told by Nissan not to use Level 3 fast charging. This has significantly impaired the utility of my vehicle due to: - Limited Range/Utility: Without fast charging, I can't use the car for trips beyond i
- [2022] The high-voltage battery on my 2022 Nissan Leaf SL is subject to Recall NHTSA ID: 25V-655. The recall notice states that the battery cells can develop excessive lithium deposits, which increases electrical resistance and can cause rapid battery heating during Level 3 fast charging. Nissan instructs owners not to use Level 3 charging at all until a “remedy” is available. The issue is that the reme
- [2022] The high-voltage battery on my 2022 Nissan Leaf is subject to Recall 25V655. The recall notice states that the battery cells can develop excessive lithium deposits, which increases electrical resistance and can cause rapid battery heating during Level 3 fast charging. Nissan instructs owners not to use Level 3 charging at all until a “remedy” is available. The issue is that the remedy described b
Charging System
- [2022] Nissan Recall R25C8 (NHTSA ID: 25V655), Incomplete, remedy not available Primary Issue: High-voltage battery fire risk during Level 3 (DCFC) charging due to excessive lithium deposits. I have been told by Nissan not to use Level 3 fast charging. This has significantly impaired the utility of my vehicle due to: - Limited Range/Utility: Without fast charging, I can't use the car for trips beyond i
- [2022] The contact owns a 2022 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that while attempting to charge the vehicle, the vehicle failed to charge using the fast-charging mode. The vehicle was charged in the slow-charging mode, which took 8 hours to charge the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and confirmed that the
- [2022] I bought my vehicle used, in May 2025. Then, in October (if not earlier), a safety recall was issued relating to the fast charging of the EV battery. This recall tells me that I’m not to use the CHAdeMO charging port due to battery fire risk. Now, almost 6 months later, there still isn’t a remedy available. Not being able to fast charge puts a huge restriction on where I’m able to go in my car. N
Electric Propulsion
- [2022] “2022 Nissan Leaf with 63,000 miles. Vehicle loses propulsion, unable to accelerate above 40 mph, and goes into turtle mode. Dealer opened the high-voltage battery and found multiple swollen modules. Nissan refuses to replace swollen modules and will only replace one cell despite EV system failure. Vehicle is unsafe to drive.”
- [2022] High-voltage traction battery / propulsion system repeatedly malfunctions. First incident – Aug 2023 (~91,000 mi). Vehicle displayed “EV System No Power” with DTC P31E7. After parking, the car would not restart; I was stranded > 2 hours on a surface road until towed. Nissan dealer (Napleton St Louis) replaced a battery module under warranty and cited Nissan TSB NTB23-024 (bent retention plate in
- [2018] I was traveling home from work at approximately 60MPH (speed limit) and I experienced a rapid drop in the state of charge from ~60% to ~25% in 15-20 seconds. I slowed the vehicle to 55MPH and it recovered most of the state of charge. When accelerating to 60MPH a few miles later I experience the same behavior and was forced to maintain 55MPH. I was forced to turn off the electric cabin heater, heat
12V Auxiliary Battery
- [2018] The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that after his wife had parked in a parking garage, the vehicle was restarted and driven in 17-degree Fahrenheit weather when the vehicle lost motive power. The "Service EV System, No Power" message was displayed. The contact's wife pulled over and had the vehicle towed to the dealer. The contact stated that the battery had previously been re
- [2018] Our 2018 Nissan Leaf experienced an error message when we tried to start it saying "Warning Service EV System No Power". Mileage: 29,862. It would go into neutral, but not into drive. We called GEICO to have it towed to dealership Leith Nissan on [XXX]. On [XXX], John Day from Leith Nissan called to request permission to install a new 12V battery. I approved the cost of replacing the battery. They
- [2018] The PTC Heater and A/C compressor failed on my 2018 Nissan Leaf, just as the winter of 2022 was getting started. The vehicle passed prior service inspections, with no mention of issues on either of these components. The failure of the PTC heater and A/C compressor results in a "Service EV System" error message, and indication that the vehicle would not restart after powering off. When this error
Regenerative Braking
- [2022] On my 2022 Leaf I use the epedal system, which is supposed to operate as a one-pedal driving, meaning when you the car is in epedal mode, you can drive the car with one pedal. When you press the accelerator the car will move forward and when you let go of accelerator the car will come to a stop. However, sometimes the car does NOT come to a stop and it will coast as if the epedal is not engaged. T
- [2018] This vehicle is equipped with a feature known as "e-pedal" also known as one-pedal driving which is quite common on EVs. When this mode is activated, the accelerator pedal acts as a speed command (vs. power) and when the pedal is not depressed, the vehicle applies brakes until it comes to a standstill. Recently, the system has demonstrated a fault condition, where the Vehicle Control Module (VCM)
- [2022] On my 2022 Leaf I use the epedal system, which is supposed to operate as a one-pedal driving, meaning when you the car is in epedal mode, you can drive the car with one pedal. When you press the accelerator the car will move forward and when you let go of accelerator the car will come to a stop. However, sometimes the car does NOT come to a stop and it will coast as if the epedal is not engaged. T
Source: classified from NHTSA complaint and recall data. "Battery-related" includes high-voltage propulsion battery, charging system, hybrid drivetrain, electric propulsion, regenerative braking, 12V auxiliary battery, and thermal-event complaints. Other complaints (suspension, steering, brakes, infotainment) appear in the engine and vehicle-level sections. Rates are absolute counts, not normalized per-VIN — high-volume models naturally produce more raw complaints than low-volume ones. Self-reported death and injury counts are capped per complaint to limit form abuse.
Battery: Nissan Leaf Gen2 (40/62 kWh)
Pack overview
Known issues
How this pack ages (industry context)
Industry fleet aggregates: 2.3% average annual capacity loss across 22,700 EVs / 21 models (Geotab, 2026), and 95% range retention at 5 years on average across 30,000+ vehicles (Recurrent, 2026).
OEM warranty floor on this pack: 8 yr / 100k mi to 67% capacity.
Public per-pack degradation curves are not available for most models. Individual results vary materially with climate, charging behavior, and DC fast-charge frequency.
Vehicle-Level Issues
These issues affect the Nissan Leaf regardless of engine variant.
Recalls (8)
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2021-2022 LEAF vehicles equipped with a Level 3 quick charging port. The lithium-ion battery may overheat during Level 3 charging.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2019-2020 LEAF vehicles equipped with a Level 3 quick charging port. The lithium-ion battery may overheat during Level 3 charging.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2022 LEAF vehicles. Damage to the camera harness can cause distortion or loss of the rearview camera display image. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2023 LEAF vehicles. The vehicle may accelerate unintentionally if the driving mode is changed ("D" to "B"; e-Pedal "On"; or "ECO" mode) after disengaging the cruise control.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2023 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 Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 103, "Windshield Defrosting and Defogging Systems."
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020 Altima, Maxima and Leaf vehicles. The rear window glass may not remain properly secured to the vehicle.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020 LEAF electric vehicles. Under certain circumstances, the images for the back-up camera can disappear while in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Nissan Altima, Armada, Frontier, Kicks, Leaf, Maxima, Murano, NV, NV200, Pathfinder, Rogue, Rogue Sport, Sentra, Titan, Titan Diesel, Versa Note and Versa Sedan vehicles, as well as Infiniti Q50, Q60, QX30 and QX80 vehicles. Additionally included are 2019 Nissan GT-R and Taxi and Infiniti QX50, QX60, Q70, Q70L vehicles. The back-up camera and display settings can be adjusted such that the rear view image is no longer visible and the system will retain that setting the next time the vehicle is placed in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility."
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Alternatives in Compact Hatchback
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most common 2018-2024 Nissan Leaf problems?
The 2018-2024 Nissan Leaf has accumulated 571 NHTSA complaints. The most frequently reported problem areas are Electrical System, Fuel System, Safety Systems. As with any used vehicle, an inspection before buying and a vehicle history report are recommended.
Which Nissan Leaf engine is most reliable?
The 2018-2024 Nissan Leaf was offered with 1 engine option. Based on NHTSA complaint data, the Nissan Leaf Unidentified Engine has the lowest complaint density and is considered the most reliable choice for buyers.
Is the 2018-2024 Nissan Leaf a good used car?
The 2018-2024 Nissan Leaf can be a sound used car depending on trim, mileage, and maintenance history. With 571 total NHTSA complaints on record, prospective buyers should review the known problem areas and check for open recalls before buying.
How many NHTSA complaints does the 2018-2024 Nissan Leaf have?
The 2018-2024 Nissan Leaf has 571 complaints filed with NHTSA as of our latest data pull. Complaint counts reflect owner-reported issues and do not necessarily indicate defects or safety risks on their own.
What recalls affect the 2018-2024 Nissan Leaf?
There are 8 NHTSA recalls affecting some 2018-2024 Nissan Leaf vehicles. Recall status varies by VIN — check the NHTSA recall database at recalls.nhtsa.dot.gov with your specific VIN to confirm which campaigns apply.
What should I check before buying a used Nissan Leaf?
Before buying a used Nissan Leaf, verify all open recalls are completed via the NHTSA VIN lookup tool. Pay particular attention to Electrical System, Fuel System, Safety Systems, which are the most commonly reported problem areas. Request maintenance records, have an independent mechanic inspect the vehicle, and run a vehicle history report to check for prior accidents or title issues.
What are the NHTSA crash test ratings for the Leaf?
The 2024 Nissan Leaf received an overall 5-star safety rating from NHTSA. Frontal crash: 4 stars. Side crash: 5 stars. Rollover: 4 stars (10.7% rollover probability). Electronic Stability Control: Standard. Forward Collision Warning: Standard. Lane Departure Warning: Standard. These ratings are based on standardized crash tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Data from NHTSA federal complaints database. 571 complaints analyzed. Data confidence: high. Last updated: 2026-05-23.