2016 Nissan Leaf: problems, recalls and reliability
4 recalls and 36 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is service brakes (46% of complaints); the 2017 model year looks more trouble-free.
Data updated weekly · latest recall Apr 2023
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 36 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“Drove home at 7PM mild day (65-70 degrees). Stopped the car and turned it off for an hour. Had to leave home at 8PM. Turned on the car and backed up the driveway. Tried to stop but break wasn't working.. Pressed all the way that ABS started trickling. Used the hand break to stop the car. Turned off the car and turned it back on. This is when I noticed all the dashboard lights are on including break and ABS and had the same break not working issue.. Pulled the car into the driveway slowly and turned it off till tomorrow morning.. Started the car tomorrow morning and everything was back to normal and driving without an issue.”Owner report · Service Brakes · Apr 2024
“The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. The brake pedal had to be pushed to the floor to activate the service brakes. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed electronically driven intelligently braking unit and the electronically driven intelligently braking unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 93,000.”Owner report · Service Brakes · Mar 2024
“Goes into neutral in a matter of seconds while driving at highway speeds and goes into turtle mode while on highway. A scan of the vehicle showed a number of low battery voltage codes (P0AA0, P3180, P3182, P08AF) stored when the battery was disconnected. Nissan gave no ETA on battery replacement.”Owner report · Engine · Jan 2024
Show 7 more owner reports
“When turning left there is a plasticky sticking feeling and sound like a plastic bushing is coming apart. this causes the steering to momentarily bind. this happens most often when making gentle curves on the highway. the feeling causes you to overcorrect the steering wheel. there are many complaints online of similar issues from 2016 Nissan leafs. The issue occurs near daily since purchasing the car back in 2023. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)”Owner report · Steering · Jan 2024
“While climbing the incline section of the San Mateo Bridge in the fast lane, the Leaf shifted itself into Neutral and would not shift back into Drive. With no power, driver was forced to change lanes to the right with no power, but luckily made it over the top and down the decline to pull over. Vehicle did not want to shut off or shift. Dealer confirmed bad battery. This occured Nov. 27th, 2023. And the car is still at the dealership as of March 24, 2024, waiting for a replacement battery.”Owner report · Fuel/Propulsion System · Nov 2023
“The driver's side door handle broke on my 2016 Nissan LEAF. Investigating the issue online, I found that many owners have had this issue, and the fix often breaks again. It's a safety issue for owner or emergency responders wouldn't be able to get the driver's door open without breaking the glass.”Owner report · Structure · Apr 2022
“The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the "Low Battery Mode" warning message was displayed while the battery was fully charged, which caused the vehicle to inadvertently decelerate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer replaced the capacitor and three cells in the battery; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired and had an upcoming appointment with the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact to take the vehicle to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The failure mileage was approximately 54,000.”Owner report · Electrical System · Feb 2022
“During conditions of low 12v battery charge, the vehicle will occasionally start, go into a drive mode ("r" or "d") but the brakes will not operate. I stress that this only happens when the 12v battery has low charge, but not too low that the vehicle will refuse to start. I am not the only person to report this. Note the comment about brakes failing in this posting: https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=12959&p=588304#p587949”Owner report · Service Brakes · Jul 2020
“While driving at speeds of 70 mph, my car turns off in the middle of the highway! I have a video of this ordeal that I'd be happy to send over.”Owner report · Electrical System · Oct 2019
“No brakes at startup. No previous problems. Drove 20 miles night before. Brake pedal went to floor while backing out of garage.”Owner report · Service Brakes · Oct 2019
When filing, owners marked a crash in 1 of these complaints and injuries in 0 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 4 campaigns
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 passenger air bag.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the wiring harness connector for proper engagement and, if necessary, replace the passenger air bag module and main body harness, free of charge. The recall began on August 9, 2016. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.
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 requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 103, "Windshield Defrosting and Defogging Systems."
Remedy: Nissan will mail an addendum with updated instructions on how to operate the defroster, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed May 26, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R23A1.
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.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began June 7, 2017. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.
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 Nissan Murano, Murano Hybrid, and Chevrolet City Express, 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles. In these vehicles, the front seat passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) may incorrectly classify an adult passenger as a child or classify the seat as empty despite it being occupied. As a result, the passenger frontal air bag may be turned off and not deploy in the event of a crash.
Remedy: Nissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in Altima, Maxima, Murano, Rogue, and Sentra vehicles, and replace the OCS ECU in LEAF, NV200, NV200 Taxi, Pathfinder, Infiniti Q50, JX35, and QX60 and Chevrolet City Express vehicles, free of charge. Interim notices were sent to owners on May 31, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669, Infiniti customer service at 1-888-833-3216 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.
How other years compare
Check your exact Leaf by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 2016 Nissan Leaf reliable?
NHTSA has 36 owner complaints and 4 recall campaigns on record for the 2016 Nissan Leaf. The most complained-about area is service brakes (46% of complaints).
At what mileage do 2016 Nissan Leaf problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 20,000 miles or less.
Does the 2016 Nissan Leaf have open recalls?
4 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module. Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.