6.2

fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
12,159 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2016 Nissan Leaf electrical problems

electrical problem

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2016 Nissan Leaf Owner Comments

problem #10

Jan 102024

Leaf

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Goes into neutral in a matter of seconds while driving at highway speeds and goes into turtle mode while on highway. A scan of the vehicle showed a number of low battery voltage codes (P0AA0, P3180, P3182, P08AF) stored when the battery was disconnected. Nissan gave no ETA on battery replacement.

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

problem #9

Jan 082023

Leaf

  • miles
While driving at highway speeds (65mph) on a cold day (10-20F), the car lost all drive power with no warning. Driver was able to coast to the road margin. In another situation this could have been a catastrophic accident. Driver called 911 for police protection and tow. At this point car was completely unresponsive but still on. The car could not be turned off, turned on, shifted into drive, or any other action performed. The car has shown at least 3 other cold weather failures at highway speeds with various error states (ranging from turtle mode, a complete loss of the info display, and sudden power losses). Our mechanic said "I almost died today, this car is not safe to drive on the highway".

- Medford, MA, USA

problem #8

Mar 082023

Leaf

  • miles
On March 8, 2023, my 2016 NISSAN LEAF main EV battery failed at 75% charge power going up an incline on the freeway. The car shut down in the center lane with no warning at 60mph and could not be moved or shifted to be driven off the freeway. The car is available for inspection. My safety and the safety of others was put at EXTREME risk. I could have been killed or rear ended. I called 911 for the highway patrol and a county or city tow truck got me off the freeway. Previously, the main EV battery was diagnosed by the dealer as dropping in capacity to 8 bars in December 2022. I was told the car was safe to drive still although they did put in a warranty claim for a new battery which I was told was on back order and could take up to one year. Yet, I was told the car was 100% safe and drove it from December 2022 until this week. After the March 8 incident I had the car towed immediately to the dealer repair facility and the dealer service again confirmed the battery was compromised and told me not to drive the car anymore. So far NISSAN corporate has not asked to inspect the vehicle. The only warning the car gave was it was having a loss of power going up hills from December 2022 to this week but the car never showed a warning or gave a warning light on the dash.

- Tujunga , CA, USA

problem #7

Jan 272023

Leaf

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Car shifted into neutral at highway speeds and would not go back into drive on 3 separate occasions over the past 6 days. Car is an EV and there was no warning and the battery SOC was 50% or more on all occasions. Can can be shifted from neutral to park only, not drive or reverse. Very unsafe to have to cruise to a stop on busy highways without much or any shoulder depending on where the car stops with snow banks. Had to have car towed. The incidents happened separately on 1/27, 1/28, and 2/2 all on the highway at ~60mph. I will upload some pictures of the dtc codes and battery stats for the vehicle. After the incident on 1/27, I replaced my 12v battery with a new one (having done some searching for possible cause), but the issue happened again on 1/28 and 2/2 after the 12v replacement.

- Eagan, MN, USA

problem #6

Dec 212022

Leaf

  • miles
We were driving the car on a highway (the 405 in Los Angeles) in the midafternoon on December 21. We were going uphill and in the flow of traffic. I'd say the speed was about 60-65. The car was functioning well. Then, the driver accelerated to pass a car and suddenly the car lost all power and went into neutral. Fortunately, we made our way to the freeway shoulder without an accident. But, it could have been very different, as we were on a fast-moving highway and there could have been a pile-up. The car had plenty of battery power (around 47 miles) but it would not shift back into drive. We turned the car on and off and it was stuck in neutral. A tow truck came by and suggested a jump start. That worked and we took the car immediately to a Nissan dealership. The dealership found an error code (I believe it's P3398 but I am unsure) and says that a part of the lithium battery is malfunctioning and the car is unsafe to drive. It is under warranty but they say they are unable to replace the battery for many months. I saw no warning lamps prior to the failure (apart from a recurring message about tire maintenance that we had addressed repeatedly). For what it is worth, I had just had the brake pads checked that morning at a local mechanic who said the brakes were in excellent shape.

- Santa Monica, CA, USA

problem #5

Oct 222019

Leaf

  • 87,500 miles
While driving at speeds of 70 mph, my car turns off in the middle of the highway! I have a video of this ordeal that I'd be happy to send over.

- Union City, CA, USA

problem #4

Jun 232019

Leaf

  • 10,087 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I do not have much range. At 100% charged I'm getting a range of 64 miles. Considering the car only has 10K miles on it, that's terrible range. My car was sitting still, in park and turned on when I took this image.

- Murfreesboro, TN, USA

problem #3

Oct 232017

Leaf

  • miles
My battery lost 2 of my 12 range bars and Nissan does not see any of this as an issue, October 06, 2016 - 110 mile range March 04, 2017 - August 28, 2017 - 76 mile range ' 1 bar loss October 23, 2017 - 65 - 72 mile range ' 2 bar loss I can no longer make my commute after 1 year of usage. Leased 2016 Nissan Leaf October 8, 2016 dealer purchased from: Avondale Nissan [xxx] 10/8/2016 service date mileage charged 100% = range dealer name concern 10/8/2016 odomiter 110 miles avondale Nissan battery depletes at a rapid pace when it reaches 20% charge, 3/17/2016 8,193 pinnacle Nissan estimated for every mile driven it drops 5 miles in capacity. 8/5/2017 16,329 82 miles pinnacle Nissan battery degradation 8/28/2017 17,296 72 miles avondale Nissan battery degradation lost 1st bar 10/23/2017 19,623 68 miles avondale Nissan battery degradation lost 2nd bar 38.18% range loss on battery in one year I find the dealership and Nissan intentionally providing misleading and false information. Do I have any recourse in small claims or other actions. The lemon law will not work in this situation because they tell me it is not broke and they have not attempted to fix anything? Nissan claims this is normal and to be expected, who would buy that for over 30K. After two years of service what will happen to the battery degradation. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Scottsdale, AZ, USA

problem #2

Jul 202017

Leaf

  • 10,000 miles
Traction motor inverter failure on 2016 Nissan Leaf. When this incident occurred, I was not able to charge or start the car.

- San Ramon, CA, USA

problem #1

Nov 292016

Leaf

  • 14,000 miles
December 07, 2016 I bought Nissan Leaf 2016 in June 30, 2016. On November 29, 2016, it just stopped and not going in reverse or forward, just stay on neutral and park. It has two recalls issued by Transport Canada (# 2016179 an # 2016302). Nissan Canada never send my any notification about recalls. On November 29, 2016 it was towed to the dealership, 401/dixie mississauga, on Canada.since then service department is working and after repeated call, they are unable to tell me whats wrong with the vehicle. They do not know how long it will take to fix the problem. I requested a replacement vehicle while they are fixing my vehicle and the request was denied. It look like a manufacturing defect associated with safety issue. Service department is not releasing any information about the problem.it is more than one week now. I hope this information may be helpful for owners and potential buyers.December 7, 2016 8:15

- Missisauga, Ontario L5r 2h8, NY, USA

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