Problems · NHTSA complaints

2018 Nissan Leaf problems

Owners filed 67 complaints about the 2018 Nissan Leaf with NHTSA between May 2018 and Oct 2026. The most-cited component is electrical system (19).

Complaints
67
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
9
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
3
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Electrical system19
  2. Service brakes19
  3. Fuel/propulsion system13
  4. Forward collision avoidance13
  5. Vehicle speed control12
  6. Engine7
  7. Air bags5
  8. Steering5
  9. Structure4
  10. Visibility/wiper3
  11. Power train3
  12. Seat belts2
  13. Wheels1
  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
20185
20196
20205
20216
20226
202310
202410
202511
20268

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

Electrical system

19 reports1 crash1 fire
“I purchased this EV in 2021 with ~30k miles on it. On cold days ~20 degrees, the battery would drop rapidly under a load (going uphill, high speeds, etc) It would continue to drop until you were not under load anymore. The dealer said nothing was wrong until I had my family in the vehicle and it totally shut down on the highway going 70 mph and i lost all brakes, steering, etc. They finally took me seriously and put a new battery in at ~55k miles in 2022. I continued to have similar issues in the winter on really cold days, but not nearly as bad so i lived with it. At about 100k miles, it started doing a very similar issue, but way worse, and at any temperature. It got so bad i couldn't drive without the battery always being fully charged. Took it to the first dealer who said nothing is wrong with it even though i had videos of it happening. I then called nissan corporate and opened up a case and asked them directly "before i take it to another dealer for a second opinion, is this something that you can offer financial assistance with" and that lady said "yes, we can offer assistance for sure". I took it to another dealer who did some tests and confirmed it…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 14, 2026Electrical system, Engine, Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11771090

Service brakes

19 reports5 crashes
“vehicle was being driven like normal with no warning lights or icons. vehicle was bring driven at 35 miles an hour when suddenly the ABS fault message appeared on the dash, the dash started beeping and brakes became very hard to press.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 31, 2026Service brakesODI 11753926

Fuel/propulsion system

13 reports1 crash
“Car was fast charged on July 9th. 2026. After fast charging from 13% to 80%, and driving for a few miles, the overheating warning came on and car was forced to stop on the side of a busy highway until the engine cooled off. While there is an active recall for a similar problem (24V700), my car is not included and we were not notified.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 11, 2026Electrical system, Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11749783

Forward collision avoidance

13 reports2 crashes
“I was traveling north on Freeway 57 at approximately 70mph. The dash lit up red with 12v and charging warnings. Power was shut off and car went into Neutral and warned me to pull over. This is an incredibly busy freeway and I was in the far left lane. I barely made it to the shoulder coasting before car started shuttering and jerking and stopped rolling. I could have been killed.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 19, 2025Electrical system, Fuel/propulsion system, Forward collision avoidanceODI 11706074

Vehicle speed control

12 reports4 crashes1 related recall
“On 1/6/2026, as I slowed down as I was turning into my parking lot. I had Eco and e-pedal ON for regenerative braking. As I was turning into the parking lot, the car suddenly accelerated, went over the curb, across the street, over another curb before finally stopping after colliding with a structure. I was driving slowly and distinctively recall braking. This sudden unintended acceleration put safety at risk and caused significant property damage. There were no warning signs or messages. The car is in the yard now and will be available for inspection.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 8, 2026Vehicle speed controlCrash reportedODI 11709726

Engine

7 reports2 crashes1 fire
“After hard acceleration then releasing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle does not slow as expected and, at times, will actually continue to accelerate. The vehicle will slow as expected when the brake is applied, but will again gradually accelerate when the brake is released. If slowed to a stop, the vehicle may begin to accelerate once the brake is released. This issue does not occur after normal acceleration. The issue may be related to NHTSA Recall Number 23V-494, which repairs have not been addressed for the subject vehicle, although the issue occurs regardless of the state or change-of-state of the e-pedal switch or cruise control function, both of which are mentioned in that recall. This issue has occurred on multiple occasions in the time that I have owned the car (approx 13 months.) There is no correlation with weather conditions or initial or final speed. The only consistent variable is rate of acceleration.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 11, 2025Vehicle speed control, EngineODI 11647735
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.