Problems · NHTSA complaints

2011 Nissan Leaf problems

Owners filed 95 complaints about the 2011 Nissan Leaf with NHTSA between Jul 2011 and Apr 2025. The most-cited component is air bags (35).

Complaints
95
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
5
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
5
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Air bags35
  2. Electrical system29
  3. Service brakes16
  4. Seats7
  5. Vehicle speed control5
  6. Fuel/propulsion system4
  7. Service brakes, hydraulic4
  8. Power train3
  9. Structure3
  10. Engine2
  11. Service brakes, electric2
  12. Steering1
  13. Fuel system, other1
  14. Equipment1

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Oct 28, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20117
201215
20134
201410
20155
20166
20176
20186
201913
20206
20215
20223
20235
20242
20252

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Air bags

35 reports
“Car throws a B1018 DTC, which is for the passenger seat occupancy sensor. The seat occupancy sensor failing poses a major safety risk, as it causes the airbags to not deploy properly in the event of a crash. This is a very well known issue for the 2011-2012 LEAF, and the only option Nissan gives to fix this is a full seat replacement, which is cost prohibitive at over $3000. Previously, a recall was issued for 2013-2016 LEAFs for a similar issue, but the 2011-2012 was not included in that recall.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 17, 2025Air bags, SeatsODI 11655282

Electrical system

29 reports1 crash
“When applying brakes, at a point in the pedal travel the vehicle deceleration goes from too little to vastly too much. This makes the vehicle challenging to drive in traffic without colliding into the vehicle in front and not stopping so quickly as to cause the trailing vehicle to collide. The dealer has confirmed the behavior. There is a TSB to supposedly address the problem, and a receipt is attached of that TSB software update being applied. However, this has not changed the behavior. This is at least partially a software issue, since the vehicle blends physical brakes with EV regenerative braking.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 31, 2024Electrical system, Service brakesODI 11591749

Service brakes

16 reports1 crash
“THE BRAKES MALFUNCTION AT LOW SPEEDS, BUT ARE NOT INCLUDED IN A RECALL PROGRAM. NISSAN HAS NOT HELPED AND DOES NOT RESPOND TO EMAILS OR QUESTIONS ON TWITTER. AT LOW SPEEDS THE BRAKES WILL SPORADICALLY ENGAGE AND DISENGAGE WITH REGENERATIVE BRAKING ENABLED. THEY WILL SOMETIMES CATCH WHICH CAUSES SUDDEN STOPPING OR SKIDDING IN HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS. THEY WILL ALSO NOT ENGAGE UNTIL THEY ARE PRESSED EXTREMELY HARD WHICH WILL ALSO CAUSE SUDDEN BRAKING AND CAN BE HAZARDOUS IN TRAFFIC OR HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS. I'VE BEEN ATTEMPTING TO REACH NISSAN TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE, BUT THEY DO NOT RESPOND. THIS IS AN ONGOING ISSUE THAT MAKES THE VEHICLE DANGEROUS TO DRIVE AT TIMES.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 9, 2020Service brakesODI 11298175

Seats

7 reports
“Please see thread: [XXX] My 2011 Nissan Leaf's OCS has failed randomly. I pulled the code via an Bluetooth OBD reader and the LeafSpy Pro app installed on my phone: B1018-00 09 AIR BAG Occupant Sens [Unit Fail] SRC-41. I took the car to a local dealership and was quoted over $4k for a full seat replacement with no ETA as the part is on back order. There is no option to simply replace the OCS alone and there is no workaround from Nissan to re-enable the passenger airbag without paying the $4k for the new seat. Opened a case with Nissan Consumer Affairs who advised they could do nothing for me. The repair is more expensive than the value of the vehicle. Because Nissan offers no workaround other than paying $4k for a new seat, consumers are incentivized to bypass the airbag sensor using a 3rd-party box (see here [XXX] rather than properly repair it. This is a safety issue and Nissan should do the right thing in making the repair affordable or making an official way to bypass the sensor/enable the airbags.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 17, 2024Air bags, SeatsODI 11602884

Vehicle speed control

5 reports1 crash
“Vehicle doesn't slow down when taking foot of the acceleration pedal. Same both power settings. It will continue to move at slow speed on level ground. It behaves as though the minimum pedal.motor speed is too fast. My concern.is that it might get very fast without any pedal. Thank you.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 14, 2023Vehicle speed controlODI 11532380

Fuel/propulsion system

4 reports1 crash
“I RECENTLY PURCHASED A 2011 NISSAN LEAF VEHICLE FROM A PRIVATE PARTY. I QUICKLY NOTICED THAT MY BATTERY CAPACITY WAS AT 5 BARS AND THE VEHICLE HAS 73300 MILES. I ALSO NOTICED THE EV SYSTEM WARNING LIGHT WAS ON. I TOOK THE CAR TO MY LOCAL NISSAN DEALER AND LET THEM KNOW THAT I WAS GOING TO NEED A NEW BATTERY BUT WANTED TO KNOW THE HISTORY OF THE VEHICLES BATTERY BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT THE DEGRADATION OF THE VEHICLES BATTERY WOULD FALL INTO THE SEVERE CATEGORY AND BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS IN BETWEEN OWNERS AT THE TIME NO ONE TOOK IT IN FOR A BATTERY REPLACEMENT. CURRENTLY IN 2020 THE 2011 VEHICLE IS AT 5 BARS MEANING THAT IF THE BATTERY ONLY LOST ONE BAR IN THE LAST YEAR THE BATTERY WOULD HAVE TO HAVE LOST MORE THAN 50% CAPACITY WITHIN THE TIMEFRAME THAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED UNDER THE 8 YR/100,000MILES EXTENDED WARRANTY. THEY WOULD NOT PROVIDE ME WITH ANY VEHICLE BATTERY INFORMATION ALTHOUGH THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DEALER DID CONFIRM THAT THE WARRANTY WOULD HAVE BEEN IN EFFECT LAST YEAR. THEY THEN QUOTED ME $6600 FOR A BATTERY REPLACEMENT. AFTER RESEARCHING I FOUND A LETTER FROM NISSAN WHICH STATES THAT THE VEHICLE WARRANTY WOULD BE EFFECTIVE FOR 2011…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 15, 2020Electrical system, Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11324686
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 28, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.