2022 Nissan Leaf Problems and Top Complaints – Is Your Car A Lemon?

By Brian Jones | Updated on May 17th, 2022

When it comes to electric cars, few are as recognizable as the 2022 Nissan Leaf. The automaker claims it is “time to go electric,” but the top defects are causing drivers to second-guess their decisions. From the faulty electrical system to the malfunctioning service brakes, the Leaf is causing plenty of issues.

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Problems with the Electrical System

As an electric car, it would only make sense that the Leaf would be ready to hit the road with the latest features, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

One complaint on Inside EVs Forum states, “I’d make a call and couldn’t hear any sound. I bought a new 2022 Nissan Leaf SV Plus the week before. I thought perhaps my audio might be getting sent to my car in the garage by mistake? I know that sounds unlikely but did have my key fob in my pocket so thought there could be some kind of Bluetooth interference.”

For now, Nissan is refraining from talking about electrical defects because it doesn’t want to scare away more consumers. All that can be found in the communications is Service Bulletin #NTB17-045C which talks about how to clean the front and rear lamp assemblies. This information isn’t exactly helpful and shouldn’t be needed by the technicians that were trained by Nissan. Unless, of course, the technicians that are being hired these days are that incompetent, much like the automaker itself.

Problems with the Brakes

Stopping a vehicle should be one of the main priorities, but it appears to be an afterthought with the Leaf.

Here’s an important NHTSA complaint. “On my 2022 Nissan Leaf I use the epedal system, which is supposed to operate as a one-pedal driving, meaning when you the car is in epedal mode, you can drive the car with one pedal. When you press the accelerator the car will move forward and when you let go of accelerator the car will come to a stop. However, sometimes the car does NOT come to a stop and it will coast as if the epedal is not engaged. This happens regardless of the batteries SOC (state of charge), weather, angle of the road, temperature, or road condition. When epedal is engaged and you lift off the accelerator, the car should always come to a stop, and it doesn’t. This is dangerous because there have been many times where I have ran a stop sign or almost hit the car in front of me because I’ve had to slam on the brakes at the last seconds. Sometimes the epedal system works great and the car will come to a stop, but many times it does not. The braking should always be consistent and it is not, making this feature dangerous to use because you can easily hit the car/something in front of you. I know how the system works because this is my second Nissan Leaf. In my 2018 Nissan Leaf, the epedal was consistent with the braking; it always braked, no matter the situation. The 2022 does not, and it’s dangerous. I brought the car to the Nissan dealer and of course they can’t find anything wrong with it. There are several others I’ve found online that have the same issue: epedal braking is NOT consistent and it should be. There are no warning lamps or messages that come up on the dash. I’m asked to provide a date, but this happens every day. Every day the braking is inconsistent. His has been happening since the first day I bought the car in November of 2021.”

It’s true that the Leaf has some major issues to work on, including what’s outlined in Service Bulletin #PC858 2022 LEAF. This communication shows that the passenger knee air bag might not be working properly. Considering how the brakes might fail, it would be important to have all of the air bags working together in harmony. Otherwise, people in the cabin could get hurt. Because the automaker “is committed to a high level of customer service and satisfaction,” technicians are asked to get customer feedback on the issue. It’s unclear what feedback would be offered other than – fix the air bags. It’s unlikely Nissan would like to look at its satisfaction scores with this defect in place because they aren’t good.

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.

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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