2023 Nissan Leaf

Routine

Owners filed 20 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the unknown or other. It has been recalled 3 times.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Unknown or Other6
100
Vehicle Speed Control5
400
Visibility/Wiper2
000
Fuel/Propulsion System2
000
Forward Collision Avoidance › Automatic Emergency Braking2
000
Electrical System2
000
Service Brakes1
100

3 safety recalls

Part 573 reports
Vehicle Speed Control23V494000
Filed Jul 17, 202366,159 vehiclesNissan North America, Inc.

Defect. 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.

Risk. Unintentional acceleration can increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy. Dealers will reprogram the vehicle control module (VCM), free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed August 30, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R23A6.

Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Foundation Components › Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings23V362000
Filed May 22, 2023758 vehiclesNissan North America, Inc.

Defect. Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2023 LEAF vehicles. The right-hand brake tubes may have been damaged during production and could corrode, possibly causing a hole in the brake line and a brake fluid leak.

Risk. A brake fluid leak can reduce braking performance and extend the distance required to stop, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy. Dealers will inspect and replace the right-hand brake tube, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed July 7, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is PC976.

Equipment › Other › Owners/Service/Other Manual23V048000
Filed Feb 2, 202364,732 vehiclesNissan North America, Inc.

Defect. 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."

Risk. Reduced defroster performance can limit visibility out of the windshield, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy. Nissan will mail an addendum with updated instructions on how to operate the defroster, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed April 1, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R22C5.

What owners reported

Newest filings
Fuel/Propulsion System
Filed Sep 4, 2026CA

My Nissan Leaf entered turtle mode on the freeways 8 times over the course of about a week and a half. This causes the car to slow itself down, and severely limit acceleration. The first time was on August 16th, 2026. This is incredibly dangerous, especially on the interstate. No one expects a car to be going 35mph on I-10, or any highway, therefore, this could have easily caused a severe rear end accident. I took it to Nissan of Mission Hills in Los Angeles for inspection after the first 4 times, they claimed that they couldn’t touch it without permission from corporate, and the next day said everything is fine. Due to severe safety concerns, I didn’t want to be driving it any longer and had to give it up for bank repossession. I have attached the photo of the slip from the dealer that did not fix the issue and a photo of the warning light.

Unknown or Other
Filed Jun 16, 2026NY

The image displayed on the dashboard when backing up is, occasionally, blank. This only happens sporadically. When it does happen, it is annoying and dangerous.

Fuel/Propulsion System
Filed Jun 12, 2026CA

The vehicle has experienced approximately ten+ incidents while driving at freeway speeds on dry roads where the traction-control indicator illuminated and the vehicle unexpectedly lost power. During these events, the vehicle would not accelerate normally despite accelerator input, and vehicle speed decreased significantly. The incidents occurred under normal driving conditions and were not associated with any apparent loss of traction. The vehicle was inspected by a Nissan dealership, but the concern could not be reproduced and no root cause has been identified. A case has been opened with Nissan North America. I am reporting this because unexpected loss of propulsion at highway speeds creates a potential safety hazard. The speed decreases from 70mph to around 30-40mph on the freeway suddenly.

Electrical System
Filed Apr 6, 2026FL

Backup camera image intermittently goes out and just shows a mostly black image. It appears to match a previous recall that does not yet cover our model year (2023): 24V071000. The image can sometimes be restored by slamming the hatchback shut, but it is not a permanent fix.

Unknown or Other
Filed Nov 18, 2025MN

Heat from HVAC system stops working at temperatures below 20 degrees F. It starts blowing cold air and cannot keep up with the cold, to the point that it becomes dangerously cold in the car, especially for my young children.

Unknown or Other
Filed Mar 15, 2025NY

Rear camera sometimes does not work when backing up. When the problem occurs, the screen inside the car that is supposed to show an image of the area in back of the vehicle is completely black. The problem does not occur often. It is not easily reproducible. The vehicle can be made available for inspection upon request. If the rear camera does not work, the car could back into objects or people. The problem is hard to reproduce. The vehicle was last inspected by a Nissan dealer in December 2024 for an unrelated problem. The rear camera problem had not occurred at that time. The vehicle will be inspected by a NY State licensed mechanic (not a dealer) later in March 2025. There were no warning messages.

Vehicle Speed ControlCrash
Filed Dec 17, 2024CA

ACCIDENT:Date: [XXX] Time: [XXX] Location: Balboa Park – San Diego – Morley Field Sports Center – Parking lot Parking lot - Google Maps Driver – Geico Insurance coverage || no passengers What: Nissan Leaf 2023 Model SV+ - 8410 miles -- Unintended Acceleration Incident Backing up to leave parking lot – with seat belt on – looked at rear view camera – clear. Backed up slowly – then intersected with the rear bumper of a Honda – slowly I braked – then went into Drive mode to get out of the intersection. Then I lost control of the car. Car went lurching forward fast – zoomed up over parking curb – 5 in – side-swiped the side of a tree with right front bumper – gashed with parts flying all over the grass. Crashing noises from jumping the curb and hitting the tree. I braked hard and got vehicle to stop = approx. 3 feet from another tree – which I would have hit straight on. No airbags were deployed. It all happened at high acceleration in an instant. After I recovered from the shock, I assessed the situation. The dashboard showed a malfunction – right front tire – no air pressure. Contacted my insurance company – GEICO – and opened a claim. GEICO arranged for my vehicle to be towed by ASAP Towing to my home. Took photos of the wreckage – collected all the pieces I could in a bucket – some were too large to fit into my car = air dam or some sort of under side cover – made of gray bendable plastic. Called ASAP - the towing company – asked about a flat bed as my front right tire was fl

Electrical System
Filed Oct 30, 2024NV

The Electoral System gives a red warning on the Dashboard Stating, " NO POWER SERVICE EV SYSTEM." The EV goes completely dead even with a charged battery it takes several times trying to restart the car aprox 20minutes to more then a hour until finally the car turns over. I believe this is safety risk as it strands its occupants in sometime dangerous or unknown locations or even in the middle of nowhere. It has put me at risk by similar situations. There has been several owners of this vehicle complaining about the same thing so I know im not the only owner that is having this trouble. The vehicle is going to the dealership tomorrow maybe they have answers but for how new this car is a 2023 Nissan leaf S with under 9,000 miles on it, is unacceptable. When the red box comes up there is NO Prior Warnings that the car will restart or will completely die when driving.

Forward Collision Avoidance › Automatic Emergency Braking
Filed Sep 2, 2024NM

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

Vehicle Speed Control
Filed Aug 26, 20248,000 milesTX

The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was swerving to the right and then accelerated unintendedly. The contact stated that the vehicle decelerated as needed upon depressing the brake pedal. Additionally, the contact stated that after the driver pulled over to the side of the road and released the accelerator pedal, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly. The contact stated that the driver immediately depressed the brake pedal, and the vehicle stopped. The contact stated that upon releasing the brake pedal, the failure recurred, and the vehicle accelerated to 45 MPH unintendedly. Additionally, the steering was pulling to the right and to the left independently. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that upon depressing the "Cancel" button on the steering wheel to cancel the driver's assist features, the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The driver was able to control the steering wheel by using physical strength. Additionally, the driver depressed the brake pedal and stopped the vehicle. The driver was able to drive to the residence nearby. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 8,000.

Unknown or Other
Filed May 20, 2024KY

Rear camera stopped working.

Vehicle Speed ControlCrash
Filed May 14, 20247,000 milesFL

The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that while driving at low speeds in a parking area, the vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own. As a result, the contact lost control of the vehicle and came to a complete stop after colliding with another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and deemed a total loss by the contact's insurance provider. A police report was filed, and no injuries were reported. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 7,000.

Vehicle Speed ControlCrash
Filed May 9, 2024FL

After backing up and then putting the car in Drive, without warning the car accelerated uncontrollably accelerted, spun around twice and struck another vehicle before stopping.

Service BrakesCrash
Filed Mar 20, 2024MN

I pulled into a parking spot and to ensure I stopped when I wanted to, I braked. The car accelerated, smashing into a building. I always drive in eco mode and generally use the e-pedal which was on at the time. I’m not sure if either or a combination of those may have been a factor in what happened. The car is available for inspection upon request. I was fine, but very shaken. The car is driveable, but the front bumper is mangled and the left blinker no longer works. The headlights are functional. The charger panel releases and I can pry it open, though it no longer pops up. No airbags were deployed. The car was going slow enough, there seems to be no damage to the building. I'm concerned what could happen when we drive into our garage or, worse, if there is a car or pedestrian in front of our car and rather than braking the car accelerates. I have seen several reports of similar experiences, though no resolutions or suggestions. I can imagine this being a one-time occurrence, but I am deeply concerned it is not. I've been at a loss in who and how this can be addressed. I have called several Nissan dealers. The service people that I spoke with were not optimistic about what they could discern and, more importantly, did not seem concerned. As a result, I called my long-time car mechanic who did some initial diagnostics, but they were inconclusive. There have been no other inspections. I have reported this to Nissan USA and have opened a case/claim. I don’t recall any warnings

Vehicle Speed ControlCrash
Filed Oct 31, 2023150 milesTX

The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that while in the drive position, the vehicle erroneously accelerated backward and crashed into a second vehicle that was also parked in the driveway. No injuries were reported and no police report was taken. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed that the vehicle was included in the NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V494000 (Vehilcle Speed Control). The local dealer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 150.

Unknown or OtherCrash
Filed Oct 8, 2023CA

Soon after I leased this Leaf, I noticed shifting interference. It grew steadily worse over the 3 or so months I kept the Leaf. Toward the end of that time period, it took a great deal of maneuvering of the shift knob to get into the correct direction. It would flip back from position before it engaged the forward or reverse motion. I got involved in a fender bender incident which was at least partially a result of the shifting confusion. At one point I put 3-in-1 oil into the top of the shifting pad. It helped for a very short time. Finally, I could not get the car to move either forward or back. I had the car towed to the dealer. The dealer said that foreign something had gotten into the shifting mechanism. I noted that the shifting mechanism in this car is located directly adjacent to a drink cup holder. So, apparently splash from my drink caused problem. If true, at the least, the shifting mechanism ought to be water proofed from outside fluid and particulate travels. An unsafe regular occurrence, I think.

Visibility/Wiper
Filed Aug 13, 2023MI

The windshield of my Nissan Leaf spontaneously cracked without being hit by anything externally. Upon inspection, it's pretty clear that the windshield didn't crack because of anything hitting it from the outside (which is what the dealer claimed), since the outside of the windshield is still completely smooth. The crack somehow started from the bottom of the inside of the windshield and propagated itself across the entire windshield. When the car was purchased, my dealer recommended warranty purchase because of the fragile windshield, which suggested that the windshield design may be faulty.

Unknown or Other
Filed Jun 5, 2023MA

This car was delivered with no plastic panel covering the area above the driver's feet. The steering column, insulation, wiring, diagnostic port, and structural elements are visible. The selling dealer's initial reaction was that there should be a panel there, but they had not noted it as missing in their inspection. Another, closer, dealer saw photos and agree to install the panel, but did not have the correct part, and told me that another similar car on their lot did not have this panel, so perhaps it was supposed to be missing. My assumption is that it is not safe for these things to be exposed, especially the steering column. I will attach a photo of the area.

Visibility/Wiper
Filed Apr 5, 2023VA

I am in possession of NHTSA Recall 22V-048 for my Nissan Leaf, received on 04/05/2023. This recall remedy is in my opinion clearly deficient. Although a owner's manual supplement is included, the supplement does not: (1) replace the current, defective owner's manual (2) provide any way to mark the current manual to indicate that there's a problem and to refer to the supplement or (3) Even identify what page the problematic instructions are on. Even if someone follows the recall notice to the letter (which is to place the supplement with the owner's manual), someone looking up the instructions in the owner's manual for defrosting will not know to refer to the supplement instead of the original manual. This recall needs to be re-done, either by sending an entirely new manual (instructing owners to discard the old one) or at the very least to identify the affected page and provide a sticker to cover up the incorrect information and tell people to refer to the supplement instead.

Forward Collision Avoidance › Automatic Emergency Braking
Filed Dec 31, 2022CA

The car (2023 Nissan Leaf SV Plus) was being driven down an urban street during daylight hours and in good weather (no precipitation). The car was being driven in the middle lane, between the right lane and the left turn lane, and at slow speed, as it had been stopped for a stop light. There was a truck parked in the right lane with a "cherry picker" on it that was involved in tree trimming. The truck was not moving. As the Nissan Leaf started to accelerate from the stoplight, the car suddenly applied it's brakes, rapidly slowing the car to a stop, and almost causing the car following to strike the Leaf from behind.

20 of 20 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2019
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20262200Routine
20257000Routine
20245000Routine
2023 — this page20300Routine
202293400Routine
202155450Routine
2020164600Routine
2019254520Above average
201866410Routine
201717200Routine
201636410Routine
2015110400Routine
201434620Routine
201381510Routine
201257000Routine
201195000Routine
20101000Routine

Compare every Leaf year →

Reading this record

No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Recall repairs are free for as long as the recall stands. Check whether a specific car still has open work at NHTSA's VIN lookup.

Most recent recall on file: Jul 17, 2023. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.