2015 Nissan Leaf problems & reliability
107 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2015 Nissan Leaf, alongside 4 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
3 complaints report injuries (3 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2015 Nissan Leaf vehicles were involved in 4 fatal crashes with 1 occupant death. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes | 81 | 76% |
| Electrical System | 16 | 15% |
| Unknown OR Other | 9 | 8% |
| Air Bags | 8 | 7% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 8 | 7% |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 3 | 3% |
| Engine | 3 | 3% |
| Power Train | 3 | 3% |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 2 | 2% |
| Visibility/wiper | 2 | 2% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 29,000 miles (middle 50% between 10,000 and 38,774 miles), based on 67 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“This is the third time my brakes have failed while driving, which seems to have something to do with the 12-volt battery. At least at first, I disconnected my 12-volt battery and reconnected it; this fixed the issue, at least for a while. The other day, I was driving down a road near my house and the brakes failed…”
Electrical System · filed Apr 23, 2026
“Was driving the car in a neighborhood setting only going 20 mph, ABS light turned on the dashboard, traction control light or some other light regarding traction came on as well, brakes failed. Had to use parking brake to stop the vehicle.”
Service Brakes · filed Dec 11, 2025
“While driving normally, yellow brake warning lights came on but I arrived home without incident. Next time I drove, the warning lights were all off, but suddenly the brakes failed almost completely. I pushed the pedal to the floor and heard a grinding/clicking sound, and barely any stopping power. I was only going 25…”
Service Brakes · filed Dec 7, 2025
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Pedestrian alert sounds
Defect Petition DP22005 · opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · led to recall 22V063000
Technical service bulletins
113 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2015 Nissan Leaf. The 10 most recent:
CERTIFICATION LABEL AND VIN PLATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE INFORMATION Because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “Certification Label” or “VIN Plate/Label” may be needed. HINT: Certification Label =…
NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 13, 2026
CERTIFICATION LABEL AND VIN PLATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE INFORMATION Because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “Certification Label” or “VIN Plate/Label” may be needed. HINT: Certification Label =…
NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 13, 2026
DTC B00A0-00 STORED This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin. IF YOU CONFIRM DTC B00A0-00 (OCCUPANT DETECTION SENSOR UNIT) is stored, AND…
NTB19-071D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 19, 2024
VEHICLE KEY NOT DETECTED / AUTHENTICATED, ENGINE WILL NOT START This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB13-107G · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2024
CAN COMMUNICATION – NETWORK DIAGNOSTIC FLOW CHART This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB13-027D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2024
CAN COMMUNICATION CODES – DIAGNOSTIC TIPS AND GUIDELINES This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB10-066C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2024
WINDOW GLASS WARRANTY INFORMATION This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB17-019H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 30, 2024
REMOVING FOREIGN MATERIAL FROM THE WINDOW GLASS This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB13-028I · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 30, 2024
WINDSHIELD CRACKING This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB09-081K · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 30, 2024
DIAGNOSIS OF VEHICLE PULL (DRIFT) AND/OR STEERING WHEEL OFF-CENTER This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB08-097L · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 21, 2023
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2015 Nissan Leaf has 4 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2015 Nissan Leaf?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 29,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.