Nissan Leaf: which model years to avoid
Complaint and recall totals for every Nissan Leaf model year we track, ranked by severity.
| Model year | Complaints | Recalls | Crashes | Fires | Severity | Most-reported system |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 57 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 126.3 High | SERVICE BRAKES |
| 2013 | 81 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 101.2 High | SERVICE BRAKES |
| 2014 | 34 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 117.6 High | SERVICE BRAKES |
| 2015 | 107 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 52.3 Medium | SERVICE BRAKES |
| 2016 | 35 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 28.6 Low | SERVICE BRAKES |
| 2018 | 64 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 103.1 High | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2019 | 251 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 27.1 Low | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2020 | 158 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2.5 Low | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2021 | 51 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 66.7 Medium | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
Across 9 model years, the 2012 Nissan Leaf carries the highest severity index (126.3, driven by service brakes), while the 2020 is the cleanest at 2.5.
Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs. Complaint counts are not normalised by units sold; a high-volume seller will attract more filings than a rare trim.