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What 57 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 Nissan Leaf Plus

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (57)Crash / fire / injury (7)Brakes (22)Electrical system (15)Airbags (11)Speed control (4)Seat belts (3)Visibility & wipers (3)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (2)Engine (2)Seats (2)Equipment (1)

3 of 57 complaints match · Seat belts · clear filters

Oct 22, 2013Seat beltsEquipment

PAGE 1-21 OF THE 2012 NISSAN LEAF OWNER MANUAL HAS AN ILLUSTRATION OF A FORWARD-FACING CONVERTIBLE CHILD RESTRAINT INCORRECTLY INSTALLED, WITH THE CAPTION "LATCH WEBBING-MOUNTED ATTACHMENT". THE ILLUSTRATION SHOWS THE FORWARD-FACING CONVERTIBLE CHILD RESTRAINT INSTALLED WITH THE LOWER ANCHORAGE FLEXIBLE CONNECTOR STRAP (LATCH WEBBING) ROUTED THROUGH THE REAR-FACING CHILD RESTRAINT BELT PATH. NO WEBBING IS ROUTED THROUGH THE FORWARD-FACING CHILD RESTRAINT BELT PATH. THIS ILLUSTRATION MAY SUGGEST TO USERS THAT THIS IS HOW TO ROUTE THE "LATCH WEBBING" IN A FORWARD-FACING CHILD RESTRAINT ILLUSTRATION, WHICH MAY LEAD TO INJURY. THIS ILLUSTRATION IS COMMON TO MANY MODELS OF 2003 AND LATER NISSAN VEHICLES, NOT JUST THE LEAF. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10549016

Oct 5, 2013Seat belts

WITH THE CAR PARKED AND ALL SEATS UPRIGHT, I FOUND THE CENTER REAR SEATBELT RETRACTOR LOCKED. IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE TO USE THE SEATBELT. I FOLDED THE SEAT DOWN, THEN BACK UP, AND IT WAS LOCKED TIGHTER. MY LOCAL NISSAN DEALER REPLACED THE BELT FREE OF CHARGE THE NEXT WEEK. THE SERVICE MANAGER SAID THAT THEY SERVICE SEVERAL LINES OF CARS, FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC, AND OCCASIONALLY SEE SEATBELT RETRACTORS LOCKED UP IN SEVERAL LINES OF CARS. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10546822

Dec 23, 2012Seat belts

THE DESIGN OF THE VEHICLES REAR SEAT BELT BUCKLES PROHIBITS SUCCESSFUL BUCKLING OF THE REAR SEAT BELTS. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10489565

Working with the data? Download all 57 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 19, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2012 Nissan Leaf Plus verdict →