2016 Nissan Leaf: owner complaints and recalls
Analysis of 35 owner complaints filed with NHTSA and 4 recall campaigns. Updated 2026-07-25.
35
Complaints
4
Recalls
1
Crash reports
1
Fire reports
0
Injuries
28.6
Severity index
Severity index 28.6 - Low. This weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints; see methodology.
What actually fails
| Component | Complaints | Share of complaints citing it |
|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES | 15 | 42.9% |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 13 | 37.1% |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 8 | 22.9% |
| POWER TRAIN | 3 | 8.6% |
| ENGINE | 3 | 8.6% |
| AIR BAGS | 3 | 8.6% |
| STEERING | 2 | 5.7% |
| STRUCTURE | 1 | 2.9% |
The single most-reported system is SERVICE BRAKES, cited in 15 of 35 complaints (42.9%). One complaint can name several systems, so these shares overlap and do not total 100%.
Complaints filed per year
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 |
| 2017 | 4 |
| 2018 | 6 |
| 2019 | 5 |
| 2020 | 2 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 4 |
| 2023 | 3 |
| 2024 | 5 |
| 2025 | 2 |
Complaint volume is rising - the last three years carry 1.4x the filings of the three before them, which usually signals a wear-related defect surfacing with age.
Recall campaigns
| Campaign | Reported | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16V436000 | 15/06/2016 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE | Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016 LEAF vehicles manufactured February 24, 2016, to March 23, 2016, and Sentra vehicles manufactured February 9, 2016, to March 4, 2016. The wiring harness connector may disconnect from the dual-stage passenge |
| 17V253000 | 13/04/2017 | AIR BAGS | Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 LEAF and 2014, 2016 and 2017 Sentra vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error within the air bag inflators, the passenger frontal air bag may not properly deploy in the event of a crash. |
| 16V244000 | 26/04/2016 | AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION | Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 N |
| 23V296000 | 26/04/2023 | EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL | Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2013-2017 LEAF vehicles. The Owner's Manual instructions for defroster operation are incorrect and may result in reduced defroster performance under specific conditions. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the req |
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.