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Everyone is in a race to create the perfect electric vehicle to keep up with demand. Some enthusiasts thought the 2019 Nissan Leaf would be the answer to prayer. Even the newer models are hailed by Nissan as being “our technology flagship.” Yet, customers couldn’t be more disappointed in the electric battery, electrical system and visibility.
Click on other model year to view more problems: 2018 2020 2021 2022
Contents
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NHTSA Complaints for the 2019 Nissan Leaf
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Electrical System | |
| Visibility/wiper | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Seat Belts | |
| Fuel/propulsion System | |
| Back Over Prevention: Camera System | |
| Power Train | |
| Equipment:electrical:infotainment | |
| Engine |
Problems with the Electric Battery
One of the most important parts of any electric vehicle is the battery system used. Yet, this is also one of the top complaints about the Leaf.
Read this Cars.com customer review. “Wait until you hit 12 months of owning this vehicle. The batteries that Nissan uses are terrible and dwindle fast. You will have great mileage on a full charge then one day it was drop, extremely low. We started out with ours at about 130 miles to the charge. 12 months in it dropped to 50. The dealership(s) won’t do anything because the vehicle is showing the batteries at more then 70% capacity. When you do the math of full charge to mileage, we are actually at about 50% capacity. None of the dealers will replace the batteries even though they are under warranty. The biggest problem Nissan has is their batteries are air cooled instead of liquid cooled. We will never buy, rent, lease a Nissan ever again after how the dealerships have treated us, corporate treated us, and mostly because of how the vehicle has treated us. Don’t take my word of advice alone, search the internet, you’ll find hundreds of dozens of people just like us.”
This customer is dead on with the assessment as countless other people are complaining about the same situation. Even the company knows there are issues with the battery. Service Bulletin #NTB20-017 discusses all of the reasons why the EV Battery Warning Light might come on, even though it shouldn’t. Maybe it’s time for the automaker to “turn over a new leaf.”
Problems with the Electrical System
While the battery is undoubtedly the most vital aspect of the electrical system, there is so much more that could go wrong – and has.
Here is one NHTSA complaint worth reading. “I was driving down the freeway going roughly 70 mph with Pro Pilot Cruise Control Enabled. The car sensed a car ahead and slammed on the brakes, but there were no cars in front of me and was almost rear ended by a car going 70+ mph on I5.”
What a dangerous situation this malfunction creates. However, it’s not the only safety system struggling. NHTSA Campaign Number 19V654000 states that over one million vehicles suffer from a non-functioning back-up camera. Without this image working correctly, pedestrians and other drivers are at risk, which is what sparked the massive recall. Yet, the general public is supposed to believe that the Leaf is Nissan’s “technology flagship?” It’s scary to think about the defective tech in the other models if that is true.
Problems with the Visibility
Aside from these inexcusable defects, there are other issues going unnoticed.
One NHTSA review states, “When the vehicle is in stop and go or heavy traffic, the air conditioning system throttles itself back to conserve power in the traction battery. Combined with the fact there are no rear seat vents (either in the console or the floor), it gets dangerously hot in the vehicle, especially in the back of the vehicle. According to Nissan, USA, this is the design of the vehicle. Temperatures of over 100 degrees have been recorded in my daughter’s car seat while in traffic with the air conditioning hardly running or running at a very low power. According to Nissan, this is the only way they can meet their advertised EPA range. Another area this problem effects is that when the windshield is foggy, and you are in traffic, it will not properly defrost causing a serious visibility problem. I have multiple videos of all of this. I contacted Nissan but they claim the car is operating as designed. I am contacting the BB Lemon Law section. My local representative has asked me to file an NHTSA complaint as they feel this is a serious safety issue.”
Obviously, there is little care about the safety of occupants inside the Leaf. If there were, the air conditioning would work as it should, without regard to the driving range. Yet, that’s not where Nissan’s goals are. Instead, the company would rather put lives in danger than have to admit that the car doesn’t perform the way it should. What could be worse than driving in a roasting hot vehicle? How about getting stuck in one? Service Bulletin #NTB18-042a goes on to further discuss how the front door can become inoperable, leading people to be trapped.
Your Lemon Law Legal Rights
Think you have a lemon? Sit back and let the experts work out your lemon case at no cost to you. The law makes Nissan pay legal fees. You may be able to get your lemon out of your life. Every year, auto manufacturers buy back, replace or pay cash settlements to thousands of ‘lemon’ owners like you.
Complaint Data
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Mar 15, 2023 |
| State | OR |
| Description | Rear camera shows black screen when backing up. Guidance lines are still present. Research online indicates this to be a common issue with my vehicle. |
| Category | Power Train |
| Date | Feb 24, 2023 |
| State | UT |
| Description | Stuck in a snow drift, slightly down hill, rocking the car forward and back, twice it went into an uncommanded full throttle forward. Even after removing my foot from the accelerator with no other control inputs the car was in high speed forward mode. I had to hit the brake each time to get it to shut down. Glad there was nothing to hit each time. |
| Category | Electrical System, Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Jan 27, 2023 |
| State | ME |
| Description | Backup camera stopped working. There has been no damage or known circumstance that may have contributed to this failure. |
| Category | Visibility/wiper |
| Date | Dec 13, 2022 |
| State | HI |
| Description | I read "due to a software issue in these leaf hatchbacks, the back-up camera display can suddenly disappear when the car is in reverse and be replaced with the previous image. " mine has same problem but doesn't have recall yet. Thank you. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Oct 31, 2022 |
| State | OR |
| Description | Car backup camera stopped working. Screen is black or showing green and pink static lines. Several months prior the car entertainment system would come on momentarily for few seconds when the car was off (not powered). Other occasional issues related to blue tooth not recognizing phone ( not sure if all of these issues are related) |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Oct 29, 2022 |
| State | CA |
| Description | The issue with our car is that the distance-to-empty (dte) calculation for miles remaining for battery charge is very inaccurate. This issue causes the car to prematurely alert the driver that the battery is depleted when it truly is not depleted. While not a true safety issue, it's a driver distraction that can certainly lead to a safety issue. Here's an example of the problem: 1. Fully charge vehicle- the dte registers 223 miles remaining; reset trip meters. The leafspy application shows a 215. 9 miles which appears the more accurate reading. 2. Drive 158 miles, the dte now says only 3 miles remaining. (the dte dramatically drops after 100 miles of driving each time). The car's historic miles/kwh is 3. 9 and is consistent so issue is not related to lost efficiency. 3. Drive another 14 miles to 172 miles, leafspy indicates a 23. 8% battery state of charge and 49. 5 miles remaining to 2% charge 5. Check the math for leafspy: 216 - 172 = 44 miles 6. I have been auditing the car for a few months and leafspy is super accurate. The battery is good, the nissan dte calculation is not. We have taken the car to two dealers and have contacted nissan ev customer support (1-877-664-2738). I warned nissan I was going to issue a report so things get documented more. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Oct 11, 2022 |
| State | CA |
| Description | The rear view mirror camera does not display an image on the console. Visibility behind the car is very poor without this camera due to the car's design, creating a hazardous driving condition. |
| Category | Electrical System, Service Brakes |
| Date | Oct 05, 2022 |
| State | GA |
| Description | A warning light came on with a circle and exclamation mark and when I starting to back up my brake pedal was not stopping the car it kept on going it was very scary , then another warning light came on with a picture of a car and exclamation. Sign and everything stopped working the car will not moved , took the car to the dealer and they said the 12 volt battery was defective |
| Category | Electrical System, Visibility/wiper |
| Date | Aug 01, 2022 |
| State | CO |
| Description | Backup camera fails to display when in reverse. Dangerous reduced visibility of surroundings while reversing vehicle. Called dealership and they confirmed that my vin is not on the recall list, but I am having the issue! They said I would be charged service to repair this federal safety requirement. Blank screen when entering reverse mode. |
| Category | Equipment:electrical:infotainment |
| Date | Jul 14, 2022 |
| State | FL |
| Description | The ability to make calls through apple carplay was an important consideration when I purchased both of these cars. This was especially the case because my insurance company, for safety reasons, monitors whether I make handheld calls while driving. Both cars have an issue when you try to do a phone call through apple carplay. When I try to make a phone call, it is choppy and full of static, and makes a loud cracking sound, making phone calls nearly impossible. The problem is not intermittent; it happens with every call. The inability to make handheld calls while driving presents a significant safety risk. I have tried 4 different usb cables, and I have tried different phones. My phone is an apple iphone 12 pro with software version 15. 4. 1. I have also tried an iphone 13 pro. I took both cars to nissan dealerships to try to have the problem fixed. |
| Category | Service Brakes |
| Date | Jun 30, 2022 |
| State | CA |
| Description | The electronic parking brake does not automatically engage, even when the circumstances described in the owner's manual apply. This could cause some cars to be improperly secured, if drivers expect the parking brake to apply automatically but it does not. I don't think this is an issue with my car specifically as many others on the internet have reported similar issues. See for example https://www. Reddit. Com/r/leaf/comments/oxzrne/how_does_the_electric_parking_brake_work/ this problem seems to be pervasive enough that many owners concluded their car simply does not have this feature, despite it being clearly described in the owner manual. |
| Category | Seat Belts |
| Date | May 04, 2022 |
| State | CO |
| Description | My nissan does not have an audible reminder to buckle my seat belt. The dealer says this is the way the car is designed. Should my car be recalled? Federal motor vehicle safety standards require seat belt reminders to have an audible signal that lasts for four to eight seconds and a visual alert that lasts at least one minute whenever the driver's seat belt is not on. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | May 01, 2022 |
| State | KS |
| Description | Backup camera issue on a fairly frequent basis the backup camera does not function. The other cameras (side mirror, front, etc) always work correctly. Closing the rear hatch "firmly" typically resolves the issue and restores the clrear camera function. Opening/closing the rear hatch at some later point may or may not cause the camera to fail again. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Apr 30, 2022 |
| State | FL |
| Description | The backup camera on our 2019 nissan leaf (vin : [xxx] works sporadically. There's a recall for the same issue but it doesn't cover our model year. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6). |
| Category | Electrical System |
| Date | Feb 16, 2022 |
| State | NY |
| Description | 1. The vehicle infotainment screen has been rebooting multiple times over the last few months while driving and the navigation maps screen goes black during the reboot, this is very distracting . 2. The navigation map turn by turn directions intermittently stops working independent of this reboot, causing missed turns, again distracting. 3. The rear camera video intermittently is grayed out instead of showing the rear camera video. I took the car to multiple dealers. The 1st dealer (nissan of new rochelle, ny; odometer @ approximately 18,470 miles) said unless the problem is repeatable while in for service there is nothing they can do about it. The other dealer (star nissan of flushing, ny; odometer at 20,470 miles) did a av software update. Since that av update on 1/28/2022, problem #1 and #3 so far have not returned. It may be too early to declare success since today is 2/16/2022. Problem #2 remains! I also noticed that when using apple car play (using a usb wired connection to the infotainment system) received phone call audio is poor and sounds like someone is gargling. If I switch the phone connection to wireless bluetooth the audio quality is perfect, so it is not a carrier or phone connection to the network issue. This may be related to problem #2, where the navigation audio stops working. Btw when the navigation audio stop working,I also lose the ability to change the radio audio. It shows it is changing visually from 0 to +40 on the screen, but the sound audio level remains unchanged. Usually if the car is turned off for more than an hour all returns to normal, at least initially until the next intermittent repeat of the issue. If I turn off the car and turn it back after only a minute or two, the audio problem remains the same. |
| Category | Engine, Fuel/propulsion System |
| Date | Feb 05, 2022 |
| State | VT |
| Description | About january 19, 2022 when the temperature was about -10 degrees f I drove my 2019 nissan leaf about 5 miles. When I turned on the car the battery level was at 60%. After I had been driving for about ½ mile I got a dashboard message that the battery was cold and power would be reduced. I got a similar message a few days before which did not result in any difference in power levels, so I ignored the message. At about 3 miles I had to go up a 10% grade hill of about 1/4 mile in length. As soon as I started up the hill and was accelerating I got the power reduction message again. At that point I was traveling about 50mph. Then in the next 10 seconds, and while I was about half way up the hill, the battery indicator on the dashboard dropped all the way down to 1%. The car lost all of its power and I had to pull over to the side of the road. As soon as I stopped the battery indicator started to rise and within the next 30 seconds had returned to 60%. I continued up the hill, and noticed that the power was decreasing and the battery indicator was dropping again. I made it to the top of the hill and stopped again. The battery indicator returned to 60%. I had to stop one more time to allow the battery to recover, but made it to my destination without further problems. Two hours later I started for home and the car operated normally. Between that day and february 5 there have been no further incidents, even though early morning temperatures have ranged from -7 degrees to -28 degrees on 13 days. I took the car to freedom nissan in south burlington, vt on feb. 2. However, they told me that there was no record of such an incident on the computer and they would do nothing without such a record. To have the car go from full power to zero power in a 10 second period is a very disconcerting experience. It should have provoked an error message in the onboard computer. I think this is a safety problem and would like you to look into it. |
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking, Service Brakes, Vehicle Speed Control |
| Date | Jan 19, 2022 |
| State | TX |
| Description | the incident happened on a bright afternoon while I was entering our two car parking garage in our home ; steering wheel steered to the utmost right to enter the right parking space in our garage. I was driving an almost dead battery (8% charge remaining and 13 miles left) and the 2019 model nissan leaf car (20k miles driven) was already very heavy while entering our alley (backyard parking). I was driving at 10 mile speed or under when our fence door was in the process of opening (half way opened) and the car garage was already opened; the car jerked forward with a sudden speed, dashed through the fence door and did not stop on drive way (brakes failed) and entered into the garage, hitting the storage racks built to the wall and the toilet right behind it. Things fell on the windshield, obstructed the car when it finally stopped (had to hit the stop button by force). I was scared to death if the car was going to get on a fire or would result in an electric short circuit. Luckily I was saved with no major injuries and god was beside me and saved me from causing any damage to anyone or other's properties. I am sure there might have been other such complaints on nissan leaf and want to bring this to light. |
| Category | Back Over Prevention: Camera System, Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Dec 31, 2021 |
| State | NJ |
| Description | Backup camera is a blank screen or pink screen. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Oct 03, 2021 |
| State | TX |
| Description | 2019 nissan leaf. On multiple occasions during hard acceleration the throttle would stick wide open and not release. 06/15/21, 06/29/21, 07/23/21, 10/01,21. I would have to stomp on the brake pedal and make several attempts before I could get the throttle to release. I have reported the issue to the nissan dealership and on 10/02/2021 they diagnosed it as a braking issue and said they found no problem or faults. The issue is intermittent and has been reported by other nissan leaf owners. Very dangerous issue that needs resolved!! |
| Category | Back Over Prevention: Camera System, Electrical System |
| Date | Sep 23, 2021 |
| State | CO |
| Description | The backup camera only works intermittently and if it is not working it will not begin working again unless the car is completely turned off and restarted. The failure seems more likely to occur if the car is started and then quickly put into reverse. The failure seems less likely to occur, but still does periodically, if the car is started and then not put into motion until 10-20 sec after the dash start-up graphics have finished. When the camera is failing the display is solid magenta colored with static-lines scrolling through it. The safety issue is that the rear camera cannot be used. We have not yet shown this problem to anyone else. There were no warning lights or alarms indicating a failure. The failure occurrence was very infrequent when we bought the car (new) in 2019, but now is happening at least 50% of the time that we back out of our garage. |
| Category | Electrical System, Fuel/propulsion System |
| Date | Aug 19, 2021 |
| State | CO |
| Description | Vehicle suddenly loses power while driving, no warnings prior to power loss. 1st incident vehicle lost power and all check engine lights came on. Unable to shift gears or accelerate. Towed to nissan. This has happened twice again in the past week. Complete power loss while driving, have to coast to a stop and get towed again! 3 times total. Huge safety issue to be without power in the middle of the road. Nissan tried to “reset†it but this has not worked. The 3rd time we picked it up from service it happened again less than a mile away. Screens say “when parked apply parking brake†while I'm driving. Other screen said “power supply failure. To avoid accident injury or death do not driveâ€. This car is dangerous. |
| Category | Visibility/wiper |
| Date | May 03, 2021 |
| State | WA |
| Description | The rear hatchback window shattered when the hatch was closed with normal force and without any objects obstructing closure or touching the window. The vehicle was stationary in a driveway at the time. |
| Category | Air Bags |
| Date | Feb 04, 2021 |
| State | CO |
| Description | While driving on the highway my vehicle ran over a spare trailer tire that had fallen off another vehicle. My vehicle almost cleared it but the tire just barely lodged underneath in the undercarriage,just past the front tires. Even though there was no front collision or sudden reduction in speed; the airbags deployed rendering the vehicle undriveable. This is a flaw and safety issue. While the vehicle did sustain some damage to the undercarriage, there was no need for airbag deployment and doing so exacerbated an already hazardous situation. The airbag startled me, obstructed my view, and could easily have caused me to collide with another vehicle at highway speeds. I believe this is a design flaw and serious safety hazard. I reported it to nissan usa. I was contacted by nissan incident investigations and they have disavowed any responsibility for the incident and claim that the systems are working as intended. I am a firefighter and have dealt with many car wrecks. I know when an airbag is supposed to deploy and it is clear to me that the system in the vehicle is not operating as it should and is presenting a safety hazard. Further, both the tow truck driver and the attendant at the repair shop expressed confusion as to why the airbag deployed. The airbag replacement alone will cost nearly ,000 and, since the parts are on backorder, will take nearly a month. |
| Category | Visibility/wiper |
| Date | Nov 16, 2020 |
| State | MN |
| Description | When using android auto in the infotainment, one cannot see the climate (hvac) status, so it creates a dangerous distraction to adjust the heating/air conditioning, fan speed, defrost, etc. When in normal menus and an adjustment is made to the climate settings, it is displayed on the top of the screen in a banner. This is the only place where this information is visible, and generally works fine. However, when using android auto, this banner does not activate and is not visible. As a result, changing the climate settings involves multiple touchscreen interactions in addition to using the physical controls. This could and should be updated via a software update. I will also make a youtube video showing the problem for further illustration. |
| Category | Electrical System, Service Brakes, Unknown Or Other |
| Date | May 29, 2020 |
| State | WA |
| Description | I was driving down the freeway going roughly 70mph with pro pilot cruise control enabled. The car sensed a car ahead and slammed on the brakes, but there were no cars in front of me and was almost rear ended by a car going 70+ mph on i5 . *tr |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | May 23, 2020 |
| State | FL |
| Description | On friday 5/22/2020 at 8:59 pm a 2019 nissan leaf was in motion driving at less than 7 miles per hours when the main screen displayed: 'warning: service ev system powered reduced'. Within seconds, the operator stopped the vehicle and took a photo of the screen. Immediately following the operator saw smoke coming from the front of vehicle. The operator quickly exited the vehicle. Very shortly after the vehicle was engulfed in flames. Fire department put the flames out. See attached photos of warning screen, trip report, vehicle on fire, and vehicle after fire was put out. *tr*dt*jb |
| Category | Back Over Prevention, Electrical System, Unknown Or Other |
| Date | May 19, 2020 |
| State | CA |
| Description | Leaf backup screen turns pink when in reverse. Unable to backup safely!!! Called and drove leaf to dealer who inspected the leaf.. Dealer said there would be a 'box delivered next week' and they would call me. *tr |
| Category | Service Brakes |
| Date | Feb 15, 2020 |
| State | NY |
| Description | It seems to me that the e-pedal has not been designed correctly for the heavier weight of the 62kw battery. This is especially true for those of us that have a previous year 42 kw battery model. I purchased the 2019 nissan leaf plus sl trim and traded in my 2018 nissan leaf sl on 2/8/2020. I noticed the braking distance with e-pedal has increased dramatically, by about 2x this distance. That seems to be out of line and should be corrected. |
| Category | Visibility/wiper |
| Date | Nov 12, 2019 |
| State | MA |
| Description | When the windshield is foggy, and you are in traffic, it will not properly defrost causing a serious visibility problem. |
| Category | Seat Belts |
| Date | Oct 11, 2019 |
| State | CO |
| Description | 2019 nissan leaf sl. Consumer writes in regard to vehicle having no audible warning when front seat belt is not buckled. *as *js |
| Category | Unknown Or Other, Visibility/wiper |
| Date | Sep 03, 2019 |
| State | RI |
| Description | When the vehicle is in stop and go or heavy traffic, the air conditioning system throttles itself back to conserve power in the traction battery. Combined with the fact there are no rear seat vents (either in the console or the floor), it gets dangerously hot in the vehicle, especially in the back of the vehicle. According to nissan, usa, this is the design of the vehicle. Temperatures of over 100 degrees have been recorded in my daughter's car seat while in traffic with the air conditioning hardly running or running at a very low power. According to nissan, this is the only way they can meet their advertised epa range. Another area this problem effects is that when the windshield is foggy, and you are in traffic, it will not properly defrost causing a serious visibility problem. I have multiple videos of all of this. I contacted nissan but they claim that the car is operating as designed. I am contacting the bbb lemon law section. My local representative has asked me to file a nhtsa complaint as they feel this is a serious safety issue. |
| Category | Visibility/wiper |
| Date | Mar 04, 2019 |
| State | MD |
| Description | After a very light snow, wipers stopped working. Dealer said wiper arm was stressed and bent making wipers inoperable. Claimed it was not a warranty repair. |
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About the Author:
Brian Jones spent more than 20 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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