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2017 Nissan Leaf

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Limited comparison data

There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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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

Limited mileage data: 8 of 17 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

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.

  • Air Bags. Review the 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Fuel/propulsion System. Review the 3 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

2 crash reports0 fire reports1 injury reports

Fuel/propulsion System complaints

3 reports
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Mileage unknown · Jan 13, 2021
Electrical SystemFuel/propulsion System

HELLO! I HAVE MY 2017 NISSAN LEAF SV WITH 30KWH BATTERY IN AT NISSAN OF TROY, MAINLY DUE TO TWO PROBLEMS. THIS IS A 2017 NISSAN LEAF WITH 30KWH BATTE HELLO! I HAVE MY 2017 NISSAN LEAF SV WITH 30KWH BATTERY IN AT NISSAN OF TROY, MAINLY DUE TO TWO PROBLEMS. THIS IS A 2017 NISSAN LEAF WITH 30KWH BATTERY WITH A DC-FC FAST CHARGE …

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HELLO! I HAVE MY 2017 NISSAN LEAF SV WITH 30KWH BATTERY IN AT NISSAN OF TROY, MAINLY DUE TO TWO PROBLEMS. THIS IS A 2017 NISSAN LEAF WITH 30KWH BATTE HELLO! I HAVE MY 2017 NISSAN LEAF SV WITH 30KWH BATTERY IN AT NISSAN OF TROY, MAINLY DUE TO TWO PROBLEMS. THIS IS A 2017 NISSAN LEAF WITH 30KWH BATTERY WITH A DC-FC FAST CHARGE PLUG THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO CHARGE THE BATTERY ROUGHLY 15X FASTER THAN 6.6K LEVEL2/3 CHARGERS. THE KEY TWO PROBLEMS ARE AS FOLLOWS: A. DCFC FAILS TO CHARGE ON 2017 NISSAN LEAF AND CAUSES J1772 TO BE UNABLE TO CHARGE IT ANYMORE SUBSEQUENTLY GETTING A CHARGE IN A PINCH LEADS TO REALLY NEEDING A TOW TRUCK!! B. THE RANGE ON THE BATTERY DROPS DRASTICALLY ON A REGULAR DAY TO DAY DRIVE... THE OTHER DAY I LEFT FOR A 4.5MILE TRIP WITH 17MILES ON GOM AND BY TIME I DROVE 2 MILES RANGE WENT DOWN TO 11MILES. BEFORE I WAS 1/2 WAY LOW BATTERY INDICATOR WENT OFF AND ~1.5MILES TO HOME VERY LOW BATTERY KICKS IN. - I BELIEVE THE CAR GOM ALWAYS OVER ESTIMATES THE RANGE TO WHAT I'M ABLE TO DRIVE. IT CAN NEVER DRIVE UP TO THE SUGGESTED RANGE SO I MUST HAVE EITHER A BAD BATTERY OR A FAULTY BATTERY MANAGEMENT MODULE OF SOME SORTS ???

NHTSA ODI #11387954

61,749 miles · Oct 15, 2020
Electrical SystemFuel/propulsion SystemPower Train

A SUDDEN LOSS OF PROPULSION WITH OUT AN AUDIBLE WARNING. THE VEHICLE OPERATES AT CREEP SPEED. I NOTICE IT BECAUSE THE CAN NOT ACCELERATE. A MOMENT OF CONFUSION SETS IN IN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS GOING ON. A TELL TALE LIGHT OF A TURTLE COMES ON. I HAVE TO WORK MY WAY THROUGH TRAFFIC TO PULL ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THIS…

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A SUDDEN LOSS OF PROPULSION WITH OUT AN AUDIBLE WARNING. THE VEHICLE OPERATES AT CREEP SPEED. I NOTICE IT BECAUSE THE CAN NOT ACCELERATE. A MOMENT OF CONFUSION SETS IN IN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS GOING ON. A TELL TALE LIGHT OF A TURTLE COMES ON. I HAVE TO WORK MY WAY THROUGH TRAFFIC TO PULL ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THIS IS A CONCERN ON A BUSY HIGHWAY. THE TELL TALE LIGHT GOES AWAY AFTER CYCLING THE POWER BY TURNING THE CAR OFF AND STARTING IT ALL OVER. IT GIVES ME THE IMPRESSION THAT THE TROUBLE WENT AWAY. THIS ISSUE OCCURRED ONCE A YEAR. I DIDN'T THINK MUCH OF IT. IT IS NOW HAPPENING ONCE A WEEK IN THE PAST TWO MONTHS. SOMEONE CAN GET HURT IN THE WORST CASE SCENARIO. I BELIEVE THE WARNING LIGHT SHOULD REMAIN ON UNTIL THE ISSUE IS RESOLVED. I NOTICED THE ISSUE HAPPENS WHEN THE CLIMATE IS HOT AND I AM DRIVING WITH THE AC ON. THE BATTERY TEMPERATURE IS IN THE SAFE ZONE. NISSAN DIDN'T TAKE IT SERIOUSLY. I TOOK A PICTURE OF IT.

NHTSA ODI #11364521

29,500 miles · Aug 20, 2019
Electrical SystemFuel/propulsion SystemUnknown Or Other

WHEN DRIVING OUR 2017 NISSAN LEAF ELECTRIC VEHICLE AT ABOUT 65 MPH UP A STEEP HILL / STEEP INCLINE, WE ARE EXPERIENCING A LOUD CLUNK FROM THE BATTERY AREA WHEN THE VEHICLE CLIMBS OVER 2000FT ELEVATION WITHIN A SHORT DISTANCE (16 MILES). THE CLUNK ALWAYS HAPPENS WITHIN THE SAME 1 MILE STRETCH OF ROAD AND HAPPENS EVERY TIME WE DR…

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WHEN DRIVING OUR 2017 NISSAN LEAF ELECTRIC VEHICLE AT ABOUT 65 MPH UP A STEEP HILL / STEEP INCLINE, WE ARE EXPERIENCING A LOUD CLUNK FROM THE BATTERY AREA WHEN THE VEHICLE CLIMBS OVER 2000FT ELEVATION WITHIN A SHORT DISTANCE (16 MILES). THE CLUNK ALWAYS HAPPENS WITHIN THE SAME 1 MILE STRETCH OF ROAD AND HAPPENS EVERY TIME WE DRIVE THE CAR FROM SALT LAKE CITY, UT (4,226 FEET) TO SUMMIT PARK, UT (6,887 FEET). WE FIRST NOTICED IT THIS SUMMER 2019. THERE IS AN AUDIBLE CLUNK AND IT CAN BE FELT THROUGH THE PASSENGER FOOT-WELL BEHIND THE DRIVER'S SEAT. THERE IS A THREAD ON THE MYNISSANLEAF.COM DISCUSSION FORUM THAT DESCRIBES THE SAME ISSUE (HTTP://WWW.MYNISSANLEAF.COM/VIEWTOPIC.PHP?F=30&T=19883&P=565545#P565545). THE CONTRIBUTORS THINK IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE ELECTRIC BATTERY CASE EXPANDING OR CONTRACTING UNDER PRESSURE. I'M PLANNING ON LETTING THE NISSAN DEALERSHIP KNOW AND POINTING THEM TO THE DISCUSSION FORUM (THE DISCUSSION INFORMATION IS HERE: HTTP://WWW.MYNISSANLEAF.COM/VIEWTOPIC.PHP?F=30&T=19883&P=565545#P565545)

NHTSA ODI #11245292

Official recalls

2

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.

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.