2012 Nissan Leaf problems
NHTSA has received 71 complaints about the 2012 Nissan Leaf, and 31% of them involve brakes. Next are electrical system (21%) and air bags (15%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 71 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 31% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 9 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 6 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 14,000 miles 51 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 27 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 13 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 7 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 3 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 1 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 51 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 14,000 miles. For brakes specifically, the median reported mileage is about 19,000 miles (19 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 9 complaints mention a crash; 6 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2012 ranks 9th most-complained-about out of 13 model years of the Nissan Leaf with enough data (39 complaints in that window).
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Driving my 2012 leaf on a secondary road on sunday afternoon, at 45 MPH, I applied my brakes to turn right on to another street. After moderately pressing the brake pedal the brakes locked, bringing the vehicle to a complete stop in the roadway. My foot had not been on the brake pedal for at least a full second while my vehicle continued to abruptly stop. A vehicle behind me rear-ended the leaf. I and my two passengers received neck injuries.
Tl* the contact owned a 2012 nissan leaf. While driving 40 MPH, the contact depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle failed to slow down as expected. The contact fully depressed the brake pedal, but the ABS failed to activate and the vehicle still failed to slow down as expected. As a result, the contact crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The driver's side air bag deployed. The contact and the driver of the other vehicle suffered minor back pain, but no medical attention was required.
New car headrests are angled too far forward. I do not want to slouch, so I would like to sit with my seat upright. This forces my head into a very unnatural position, causing me pain. Even with the seat tilted back, the headrest still forces my head forward, and creates a difficult driving position with my shoulders slumped forward and my head tilted. This causes headaches & distraction.
Brake system failed and ignition started and thrusted car forward. It seemed like the brake got soft and then would not function. This incident caused the car to damage private property and caused major damage to front end of the vehicle.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 nissan leaf. The contact stated that the windshield washer sprays the rear edge of the hood and not the glass. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 2,500. The VIN was not available.