2015 NISSAN LEAF — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 109 complaints · 4 recalls
Most-reported system: SERVICE BRAKES (66 complaints · 60.6%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 8
  • Fires 0
  • Injuries 3
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2014 →
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 66 of 109 owner complaints (60.5%) in this vehicle snapshot. SERVICE BRAKES: 66 complaints, 60.5% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 66 · 60.5% · 7 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 13 complaints, 11.9% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 13 · 11.9% AIR BAGS: 6 complaints, 5.5% of reports AIR BAGS 6 · 5.5% · 1 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 5 complaints, 4.6% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 5 · 4.6% POWER TRAIN: 2 complaints, 1.8% of reports POWER TRAIN 2 · 1.8% VISIBILITY: 2 complaints, 1.8% of reports VISIBILITY 2 · 1.8% WHEELS: 2 complaints, 1.8% of reports WHEELS 2 · 1.8% FUEL SYSTEM: 1 complaints, 0.9% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 1 · 0.9% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 13 complaints, 11.9% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 13 · 11.9% 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 66 60.5% 7 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 13 11.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 6 5.5% 1 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 5 4.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 2 1.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 2 1.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
WHEELS 2 1.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 1 0.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 13 11.9% 0 crashes · 0 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 Oct 2014; the first recall shown was reported in Feb 2016. 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2015-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2015-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2016-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2016-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2016-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2019-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2019-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2021-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2021-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2022-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2023-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2023-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2023-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2025-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2026-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2026-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 Owner reports Oct 2014 Jul 2026 Recall campaign 16V119000 ◆ Recall campaign 16V119000 Recall campaign 16V244000 ◆ Recall campaign 16V244000 Recall campaign 17V253000 ◆ Recall campaign 17V253000 Recall campaign 23V296000 ◆ Recall campaign 23V296000 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005
  • Campaign 16V244000 was reported 488 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 23V296000 was reported 2,772 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q1 Owner reports 4
2015-Q2 Owner reports 2
2015-Q3 Owner reports 3
2015-Q4 Owner reports 7
2016-Q1 Owner reports 4
2016-Q2 Owner reports 4
2016-Q3 Owner reports 2
2016-Q4 Owner reports 2
2017-Q1 Owner reports 1
2017-Q3 Owner reports 2
2017-Q4 Owner reports 2
2018-Q1 Owner reports 2
2018-Q2 Owner reports 1
2018-Q3 Owner reports 1
2018-Q4 Owner reports 7
2019-Q1 Owner reports 3
2019-Q2 Owner reports 1
2019-Q3 Owner reports 5
2019-Q4 Owner reports 1
2020-Q1 Owner reports 2
2020-Q2 Owner reports 1
2020-Q3 Owner reports 2
2020-Q4 Owner reports 2
2021-Q1 Owner reports 3
2021-Q2 Owner reports 3
2021-Q3 Owner reports 1
2021-Q4 Owner reports 2
2022-Q1 Owner reports 6
2022-Q3 Owner reports 2
2022-Q4 Owner reports 5
2023-Q1 Owner reports 1
2023-Q2 Owner reports 3
2023-Q3 Owner reports 4
2023-Q4 Owner reports 2
2024-Q1 Owner reports 2
2024-Q3 Owner reports 2
2024-Q4 Owner reports 1
2025-Q1 Owner reports 1
2025-Q2 Owner reports 2
2025-Q3 Owner reports 1
2025-Q4 Owner reports 2
2026-Q2 Owner reports 2
2026-Q3 Owner reports 2
Recall campaign 1 16V119000
Recall campaign 1 16V244000
Recall campaign 1 17V253000
Recall campaign 1 23V296000
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (4)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. 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 →

  2. 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 →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 17V253000

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

  4. 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 109 complaints · page 1 of 5

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