← New search

2015 Nissan Leaf

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Leaf years

Owner complaints for the 2015 Nissan Leaf are substantially higher than the model-year median of 55.

About this comparison →

How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

Other model years Selected year
Compare all Leaf years →

Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

68 reports with mileage · 42 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Service Brakes. Review the 84 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 18 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Air Bags. Review the 8 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

8 crash reports0 fire reports3 injury reports

Power Train complaints

3 reports
Clear category filter
Mileage unknown · Nov 30, 2022
Power Train

The car stopped responding to accelerator pedal and eventually stopped in the middle of the road just before a hill. Haven't noticed any error messages and instrument panels seemed normal. Switched off power and then turned on again, the car worked normally. I am going to bring the car to a service center but it seems hard to …

Read full complaint

The car stopped responding to accelerator pedal and eventually stopped in the middle of the road just before a hill. Haven't noticed any error messages and instrument panels seemed normal. Switched off power and then turned on again, the car worked normally. I am going to bring the car to a service center but it seems hard to find an appointment.

NHTSA ODI #11495515

118,521 miles · Apr 14, 2020
Power Train

CAR GOES INTO TURTLE MODE, LOSING ALL POWER. HAS HAPPENED A FEW TIMES, EACH TIME HAS BEEN COMING OFF A HIGHWAY OR HEADING UP A STEEP HILL AND THEN TRAVELING AT LOW SPEEDS. WHEN CAR IS TURNED OFF AND ON, CODES RESET. I HAVE A READER FOR THE OBD, IT IS SHOWING FAULT P2138 000A EV/ HEC ACC PEDAL POS SENS 1,2, ERR EVC-196. A…

Read full complaint

CAR GOES INTO TURTLE MODE, LOSING ALL POWER. HAS HAPPENED A FEW TIMES, EACH TIME HAS BEEN COMING OFF A HIGHWAY OR HEADING UP A STEEP HILL AND THEN TRAVELING AT LOW SPEEDS. WHEN CAR IS TURNED OFF AND ON, CODES RESET. I HAVE A READER FOR THE OBD, IT IS SHOWING FAULT P2138 000A EV/ HEC ACC PEDAL POS SENS 1,2, ERR EVC-196. AS POWER IS COMPLETELY LOST, THIS COULD EASILY CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. ONCE RESET THE CAR ACTS LIKE NORMAL. EVERY INSTANCE HAS HAPPENED WITH A BATTERY STATE OF CHARGE OF OVER 30%. *TR

NHTSA ODI #11321156

700 miles · Jan 23, 2015
Power TrainService BrakesVehicle Speed Control

MY 2015 LEAF S IS 3 WEEKS OLD WITH LESS THAN 700 MILES. I WAS DESCENDING AN 8% GRADE HILL IN B MODE WITH A SHARP BEND AT THE BOTTOM. AS I WENT TO APPLY THE BRAKES, THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR AND B MODE CUT OUT. THE CAR WAS NOW ROLLING DOWN THE HILL AND ACCELERATING UNDER GRAVITY WITH NO BRAKES AND WITHOUT B MODE SLOWING THE …

Read full complaint

MY 2015 LEAF S IS 3 WEEKS OLD WITH LESS THAN 700 MILES. I WAS DESCENDING AN 8% GRADE HILL IN B MODE WITH A SHARP BEND AT THE BOTTOM. AS I WENT TO APPLY THE BRAKES, THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR AND B MODE CUT OUT. THE CAR WAS NOW ROLLING DOWN THE HILL AND ACCELERATING UNDER GRAVITY WITH NO BRAKES AND WITHOUT B MODE SLOWING THE CAR. I WAS EXPECTING TO HIT A BRICK WALL AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HILL WHEN SUDDENLY, AFTER NO MORE THAN TWO SECONDS, THE BRAKES AND B MODE CAME BACK ON AND I SAFELY STOPPED. ON REFLECTION AFTER THE INCIDENT, IT WAS AS IF THE WHOLE COMPUTER/ELECTRONICS MOMENTARILY SHUT DOWN AND THEN REBOOTED. I DIDN'T NOTICE IF THE DASH LIGHTS WENT OFF OR NOT. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10678538

Official recalls

4

23V296000 · Equipment:other:owners/service/other Manual ; Visibility:defroster/defogger/hvac System

Apr 26, 2023

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2013-2017 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."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: 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 May 26, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R23A1.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Equipment:other:owners/service/other Manual

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2013-2017 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."

Consequence: 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 May 26, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R23A1.

Visibility:defroster/defogger/hvac System

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2013-2017 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."

Consequence: 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 May 26, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R23A1.

17V253000 · Air Bags

Apr 13, 2017

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 LEAF and 2014, 2016 and 2017 Sentra vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error within the air bag inflators, the passenger frontal air bag may not properly deploy in the event of a crash.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: In the event of a crash, if the front passenger air bag doesn't deploy properly, it can increase the risk of injury to passengers.

Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began June 7, 2017. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

16V244000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification

Apr 26, 2016

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 Nissan Murano, Murano Hybrid, and Chevrolet City Express, 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles. In these vehicles, the front seat passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) may incorrectly classify an adult passenger as a child or classify the seat as empty despite it being occupied. As a result, the passenger frontal air bag may be turned off and not deploy in the event of a crash.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the passenger frontal air bag does not deploy as intended in the event of a crash, the passenger is at an increased risk of injury.

Remedy: Nissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in Altima, Maxima, Murano, Rogue, and Sentra vehicles, and replace the OCS ECU in LEAF, NV200, NV200 Taxi, Pathfinder, Infiniti Q50, JX35, and QX60 and Chevrolet City Express vehicles, free of charge. Interim notices were sent to owners on May 31, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669, Infiniti customer service at 1-888-833-3216 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.

16V119000 · Service Brakes

Feb 29, 2016

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 LEAF vehicles manufactured November 19, 2012, to July 31, 2015. During very cold temperatures, the relay inside the electronic brake booster may freeze, requiring the driver to exert more effort to slow the vehicle down.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the brake relay fails, longer distances or additional brake effort would be required to stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the Intelligent Brake Control Unit software, free of charge. The recall began on March 28, 2016. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

1

DP22005 · Pedestrian Alert Sounds

Opened Jan 27, 2023 · Closed Aug 7, 2023

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Electrical System:propulsion System

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.