2016 Nissan Leaf problems and recalls

Owners filed 10 complaints on the 2016 Nissan Leaf in the last three full years, out of 36 on record. The most cited component is the Service Brakes.

36
Complaints
4
Recalls
1
Crash reports
1
Fire reports
0
Injuries
52.2
Severity index

Severity index 52.2 Medium. The index weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints. How it is calculated.

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 52.2p25 46p75 80cleanestworst
Severity index against the quartile range for all tracked vehicles.

Components cited in complaints

Service BrakesService Brakes: 16 complaints (44.4%)16 44%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 13 complaints (36.1%)13 36%Fuel/Propulsion SystemFuel/Propulsion System: 8 complaints (22.2%)8 22%Power TrainPower Train: 3 complaints (8.3%)3 8%EngineEngine: 3 complaints (8.3%)3 8%Air BagsAir Bags: 3 complaints (8.3%)3 8%SteeringSteering: 2 complaints (5.6%)2 6%StructureStructure: 1 complaints (2.8%)1 3%
A single complaint can cite more than one component, so shares total over 100%.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
SERVICE BRAKES1644.4%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1336.1%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM822.2%
POWER TRAIN38.3%
ENGINE38.3%
AIR BAGS38.3%
STEERING25.6%
STRUCTURE12.8%

Complaints filed per year

0362016: 32017: 42018: 62019: 52020: 22021: 12022: 42023: 32024: 52025: 22026: 1 (partial year)16171861920212223242526
Complaints by the calendar year they were filed. The hatched bar is the current year to date.
YearComplaints
20163
20174
20186
20195
20202
20211
20224
20233
20245
20252
2026 (year to date)1
Filings in 2023 to 2025 ran 1.4x those in 2020 to 2022 (10 against 7).

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
16V43600015/06/2016AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULENissan 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
17V25300013/04/2017AIR BAGSNissan 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.
16V24400026/04/2016AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATIONNissan 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
23V29600026/04/2023EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUALNissan 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

Other Nissan Leaf model years

Severity index for every other model year on file. Compare all 9 years side by side.

Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-08-07. Complaints are unverified consumer reports. Totals vary with units sold and years on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.