8.1

pretty bad
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
4,588 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 fuel system problems

fuel system problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2016 Nissan Leaf:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2016 Nissan Leaf Owner Comments

problem #7

Nov 272023

Leaf

  • miles

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

While climbing the incline section of the San Mateo Bridge in the fast lane, the Leaf shifted itself into Neutral and would not shift back into Drive. With no power, driver was forced to change lanes to the right with no power, but luckily made it over the top and down the decline to pull over. Vehicle did not want to shut off or shift. Dealer confirmed bad battery. This occured Nov. 27th, 2023. And the car is still at the dealership as of March 24, 2024, waiting for a replacement battery.

- Hayward, CA, USA

problem #6

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 #5

Jan 272023

Leaf

  • miles
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 #4

Dec 212022

Leaf

  • miles

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

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 #3

May 192019

Leaf

  • 29,750 miles
Using the J-1772 charge port at a shopping mall while going for a walk; on sun 5/19 as we approached the car to leave, we noticed a strong electrical smell. I disengaged the charger, inspected it and saw no issues. Our car, however showed distortion in the port at the upper right. The next morning, 5/20, I took the car to the dealer, and had the certified Leaf technician try to plug it in and check the charging. He found resistance as he tried to plug it in, looked at the distorted plastic, and said "you need to replace that port" it's June 1st today; the dealer said they had to contact Nissan. After a week of no response or callback, I finally was told that we must have damaged it, and it wouldn't be covered. They had no basis for that assertion, and they offered no explanation or advice about the damage on the port. I've contacted Nissan customer service, waiting to hear back from Nissan warranty division. In the mean time, I'm charging with the chademo port whenever possible, and still using the J-1772, although with no explanation of what caused the problem I feel like it's a risk every time. Obviously the charging is basic for the vehicle's function.

- Birmingham, MI, USA

Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...

problem #2

Nov 202017

Leaf

  • 2,364 miles
Battery degradation occurring much quicker than reasonably expected. Details follow. Car purchased in June 2016. After driving a total of 6,150 miles under conditions of moderate temperature, conservative driving (not exceeding 65 mph on the highway, using eco mode as recommended in the manufacturer's manual to enhance battery life) and rarely charging the battery to more than 80% nor making use of frequent quick-charging (also as recommended in manufacturer's manual), I noticed that 1 out of 12 "bars" of battery capacity were lost. Use of software to determine state of health (soh) of the battery indicated that after only 2,300 miles (and 4 months of ownership), soh was 89%. most recently (Nov. 2016), soh is less than 84%. car is always kept in garage when not in use, never parked outside overnight. Contacted manufacturer in Oct. 2016 and Nov. 2017 about this problem. Service department declined to acknowledge any problems in Oct. 2016 with soh was only 89%. conclusion: Since car has been driven and charged under optimal circumstances without any evidence of overheating while in owner's possession, it appears likely that there is either a defect in the battery per SE or poor handling of the vehicle before time of sale. There is no way for a consumer get an accurate measure of battery capacity at the time of purchase. I can make a spreadsheet of battery soh over time as measured by 3rd party software available to NHTSA at your request.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

problem #1

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

Not what you are looking for?