2014 NISSAN LEAF — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 34 complaints · 6 recalls

Verdict & Safety Summary

Most-reported system: SERVICE BRAKES (15 complaints · 44.1%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 3
  • Fires 2
  • Injuries 2
  • Deaths 0
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution SERVICE BRAKES appears in 15 of 34 owner complaints (44.1%) in this vehicle snapshot. SERVICE BRAKES: 15 complaints, 44.1% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 15 · 44.1% AIR BAGS: 3 complaints, 8.8% of reports AIR BAGS 3 · 8.8% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 3 complaints, 8.8% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 3 · 8.8% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports STEERING: 2 complaints, 5.9% of reports STEERING 2 · 5.9% · 1 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 2 complaints, 5.9% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 · 5.9% · 1 crash reports VISIBILITY: 2 complaints, 5.9% of reports VISIBILITY 2 · 5.9% POWER TRAIN: 1 complaints, 2.9% of reports POWER TRAIN 1 · 2.9% SEAT BELTS: 1 complaints, 2.9% of reports SEAT BELTS 1 · 2.9% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 7 complaints, 20.6% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 7 · 20.6% · 1 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
SERVICE BRAKES 15 44.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 3 8.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 3 8.8% 1 crashes · 1 fires
STEERING 2 5.9% 1 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 5.9% 1 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 2 5.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 1 2.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 1 2.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 7 20.6% 0 crashes · 1 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Apr 2014; the first recall shown was reported in Mar 2014. 2014-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2015-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Mar 2014 Jul 2024 Recall campaign 14V138000 ◆ Recall campaign 14V138000 Recall campaign 14V192000 ◆ Recall campaign 14V192000 Recall campaign 14V263000 ◆ Recall campaign 14V263000 Recall campaign 16V119000 ◆ Recall campaign 16V119000 Recall campaign 16V244000 ◆ Recall campaign 16V244000 Recall campaign 23V296000 ◆ Recall campaign 23V296000 Investigation RQ15001 ● Investigation RQ15001 Investigation EA15004 ● Investigation EA15004 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005
  • Campaign 16V244000 was reported 669 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 23V296000 was reported 2,942 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2014-Q2 Owner reports 2
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2015-Q1 Owner reports 3
2015-Q2 Owner reports 2
2015-Q3 Owner reports 1
2016-Q1 Owner reports 2
2016-Q2 Owner reports 1
2016-Q4 Owner reports 1
2017-Q1 Owner reports 1
2017-Q3 Owner reports 1
2017-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 2
2018-Q3 Owner reports 1
2018-Q4 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 1
2019-Q3 Owner reports 2
2019-Q4 Owner reports 1
2020-Q4 Owner reports 1
2021-Q1 Owner reports 1
2021-Q2 Owner reports 2
2021-Q4 Owner reports 1
2022-Q1 Owner reports 2
2022-Q3 Owner reports 1
2023-Q2 Owner reports 1
2024-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 14V138000
Recall campaign 1 14V192000
Recall campaign 1 14V263000
Recall campaign 1 16V119000
Recall campaign 1 16V244000
Recall campaign 1 23V296000
Defect investigation 1 RQ15001
Defect investigation 1 EA15004
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (6)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 14V138000

    Report date
    Component:
    AIR BAGS
    Consequence:
    If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger airbag would be deactivated. Failure of the passenger airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to the passenger.
    Remedy:
    Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on April 14, 2014. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 14V192000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    Missing welds may effect the vehicle's integrity in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury to the vehicle's occupants.
    Remedy:
    Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect to see if any of the welds are missing. Any vehicle missing welds will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began on June 2, 2014. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 14V263000

    Report date
    Component:
    HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    An unexpected vehicle shut down increases the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the inverter, free of charge. The recall began in July 2014. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 16V119000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  5. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 16V244000

    Report date
    Component:
    AIR BAGS
    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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  6. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 23V296000

    Report date
    Component:
    EQUIPMENT
    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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 34 complaints · page 1 of 2

No complaints match the current filters.

EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources