What 63 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Nissan Leaf (40 Kwh Battery)

On 1/6/2026, as I slowed down as I was turning into my parking lot. I had Eco and e-pedal ON for regenerative braking. As I was turning into the parking lot, the car suddenly accelerated, went over the curb, across the street, over another curb before finally stopping after colliding with a structure. I was driving slowly and distinctively recall braking. This sudden unintended acceleration put safety at risk and caused significant property damage. There were no warning signs or messages. The car is in the yard now and will be available for inspection.

NHTSA ODI 11709726

On [XXX], I was slowly pulling into my driveway, took my foot off the accelerator and turned the steering wheel slightly to the right as the driveway is L shaped. Suddenly, the car sped up towards the garage door. I looked down quickly to see if I’d somehow pressed the accelerator by accident but I had not. I slammed on the brakes as hard as I could but the car kept going and smashed into the garage door and the corner of the garage, causing close to $20k in property damage. The hood and front bumper were badly caved in at the point of impact and pieces of the undercarriage were on the ground. The air smelled like rubber and there were tire marks on the driveway here I had slammed on the brakes. The airbags did not deploy. The Automatic Braking System did not work. There were no warning messages or lamps. The only unusual symptom that I noticed was that on my way home from Kona, when I was pulling up slowly to a traffic light, the car seemed to hesitate a couple of times, which seemed odd but not severe enough for me to be concerned about a wreck. That occurred about a half hour before the incident. I was not physically injured but I have been very shook up and depressed since the incident. If this had happened on the highway, I could have been killed and the car could have killed others on the road. I reported the collision to USAA immediately and, on their advice, I had it towed to Kona Nissan, the dealership where I purchased the vehicle and where I have had it serviced. The expectation was that they would perform diagnostics on the vehicle but they won’t touch it, nor will they talk to USAA. I had taken the car in when it was recalled for the VCM issues and I don’t believe it was fixed properly. Or the repair wasn’t effective. The car is at Gerber Body Shop in Kona, Hawaii. Please arrange inspection with them. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11661349

Car was descending towards Kailua on the [XXX] on Oahu, HI. Dash lit up with warnings and acceleration and brake pedals stopped working. Brake pedal went to the floor with erratic pulsing sensation and very little brake power. Driver drove car into jersey wall to slow and stop vehicle. Battery state was 60% and battery was replaced under warranty about 1 year ago. While waiting for tow, powered on vehicle and symptoms remained as far as I could check. Brakes had no power and had to use ebrake to keep vehicle from rolling. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11635657

The incident occurred at a stop sign where I was waiting behind one other vehicle. The vehicle ahead of me accelerated from the stop sign to turn into traffic, but abruptly slammed on their brakes. I had began accelerating up to the stop sign and was unable to stop before impacting the car in front of me. As soon as I saw the vehicle was braking, I immediately slammed on the brake pedal. Braking did not immediately occur. My wife said she was afraid that I had slammed the gas pedal because she could hear my foot hit the brake pedal and neither of us felt any braking. The Nissan Leaf was in Eco Mode and ePedal at the time of the incident. I believe that the transition from regenerative braking to mechanical braking delayed the stopping of my vehicle. We were lucky that this happened in a very low consequence situation, but if this happened with a pedestrian or at a higher speed where emergency braking is required, this delay in braking could be dire. In addition, this vehicle is equipped with automatic emergency braking. I have heard this feature go off before in this specific car when a car is braking faster than I am. In this case, the alarm and assisted braking did not go off, despite a car stopping within extremely close proximity.

NHTSA ODI 11630622

Our 2018 Nissan Leaf experienced an error message when we tried to start it saying "Warning Service EV System No Power". Mileage: 29,862. It would go into neutral, but not into drive. We called GEICO to have it towed to dealership Leith Nissan on [XXX]. On [XXX], John Day from Leith Nissan called to request permission to install a new 12V battery. I approved the cost of replacing the battery. They said that they were able to drive the car after the 12V battery was replaced. But then they plugged it into the charger, and got an error message "EV System No Power", and they couldn't drive it anymore. Sometime after that there was a thermal event that caused the Power Distribution Module to explode and for soot to pour out of it. These incidents are described by the technician Ryan in these videos [XXX] Nissan indicated that the electric power train is no longer under warranty. Our Q:When did you receive the car? ([XXX] repair order opened [XXX]) When did you first start working on the car? [XXX] When did the thermal event occur? (unsure of occurrence date) When did you replace the 12 volt battery? [XXX] when were you told to replace the high voltage battery? [XXX] when did you replace the high voltage battery? [XXX] Is the replacement high voltage battery a new battery or a used battery? (new battery) Has the replacement high voltage battery been maintained at a charge or is it at 0% charge? And what charge is it at now? (SOC unknown at this time) when were you told the pdm needed to be replaced? ([XXX] after HV battery was installed and further diag was performed) When did you replace the pdm? (not yet completed -- were in process but stopped due to BUS bar bolt discovery) Vehicle was left unattended with no HV warnings with service plug removed but inside vehicle with no cover over port to HV battery. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11586167

I was pulling slowly into a parking spot. The vehicle accelerated all of a sudden on its own very fast. I slammed on the brakes and the vehicle did not stop. It ran us on a sidewalk and crashed into a pole. Luckily no one hurt. Progressive is calling the car a total loss, but they have done nothing The car is still at a parking lot near the crash. Nissan is also doing nothing. I feel that I deserve better treatment. I have a good driving record and my rates are going to go up. I have not been offered a replacement car. The car is very dangerous and I would never drive another Nissan

NHTSA ODI 11559018

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle at low speeds, the vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own. As a result, the vehicle jumped the wheel stop, coming to a complete stop after colliding with a tree. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed, and no injuries were reported. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who did not provide a specific diagnosis but advised the contact that a BCM reprogramming was required. The vehicle was repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related it to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V494000 (Vehicle Speed Control), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 12,300.

NHTSA ODI 11548731

I was stopped at a light, in a long line of cars, my foot on the brake, a few feet away from the car in front of me, and the same in back. All of a sudden, the car started moving, accelerating, jerking forward. I was shocked, pushed down on the brake, nothing happened. starting pulling the car out of line because I was going to hit the car in front of me. I was pumping the brake, and NOTHING HAPPENED. Clipped the car in front's rear left bumper, wrecked my front right bumper. Finally pulled into the turn lane and finally the brakes caught. It was like someone had taken a gizmo and turned on my car (like the OnStar mess a few years ago.). Nothing like this has ever happened to me, in any car, including this one, until 5/12 at 2:00 pm. It was terrifying.

NHTSA ODI 11525019

Plastic/metal from steering wheel become dislodged/detached/warped, caused major laceration to my right ring finger when making left turn 5/6/23 4PM. Went to urgent care as a result, had to get tetanus shot.

NHTSA ODI 11521565

Steering wheel paint chipping causes multiple lacerations on finger during turn

NHTSA ODI 11436355

THIS NISSAN LEAF HAS AN EZ-PEDAL FEATURE. WHEN ENABLED, TAKING YOUR FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR SLOWS YOU DOWN QUICKLY UNTIL YOU COME TO A FULL STOP. AND THEN THE CAR DOES NOT MOVE. AND THIS NON-MOVEMENT DOES NOT REQUIRE DEPRESSING THE BRAKE. WHILE A CONVENIENCE, THERE IS A DESIGN FLAW. WHEN ENABLED AND THE CAR IS STOPPED (BUT IN DRIVE), THE BRAKE LIGHTS DO NOT COME ONE. IN CONTRAST, WHEN STOPPED USING THE BRAKES, THE BRAKE LIGHTS ARE ILLUMINATED. THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD! DRIVERS APPROACHING FROM BEHIND DON'T EXPECT A STOPPED CAR TO NOT HAVE BRAKE LIGHTS ON. THEY MAY REALIZE RATHER LATE THAT THE CAR IS STOPPED. IN OTHER WORDS, THE VISUAL CUE OF "BRAKE LIGHTS ON MEANS CAR IS STOPPED OR SLOWING DOWN" IS NOT EVIDENT. WHICH CAN LEAD TO MISTAKES BY DRIVERS WHO ARE NOT PAYING FULL ATTENTION. THIS HAPPENED TO ME RECENTLY. I WAS STOPPED BEHIND A CAR WAITING AT A CROSSWALK. ON A 3 LANE 40MPH STREET, WITH NO LIGHTS OR STOP SIGNS FOR A MILE. A FAST STRETCH WITH NO EXPECTATION OF STOPPING!. I, IN MY LEAF, HAD EZ PEDAL ENABLED. I WORRIED THAT SOMEONE MIGHT HIT ME, SINCE I WAS STOPPED IN A PLACE THAT IS UNUSUAL TO STOP IN. AND 15 SECONDS AFTER STOPPING I WAST REAR ENDED! NO PERSONAL DAMAGE, BUT $1500 IN REPAIR (AND MORE FOR THE CAR THAT HIT ME). SINCE I WAS NOT AT FAULT, I WILL GET FULL INSURANCE. BUT IT IS NOT A GOOD THING! I CHECKED LATER - AND INDEED THE BRAKE LIGHTS DO NOT GO ON WHEN THE CAR IS STOPPED IN EZ-PEDAL MODE. THIS NEEDS TO BE RESOLVED! I IMAGINE THIS IS A SOFTWARE UPDATE. I SUGGEST THAT FOR CARS (LEAF OR OTHER) IN DRIVE, WITH EZ-PEDAL ENABLED: WHEN THE CAR IS FULLY STOPPED THE BRAKE LIGHTS MUST GO ON. AND, WHEN THE CAR IS DECELERATING QUICKLY (WHEN YOU TAKE YOUR FOOT OF THE ACCELERATOR WHILE MOVING), THE BRAKE LIGHTS SHOULD GO ON. THANKS. I COULD OF PUT ON MY EMERGENCY FLASHERS, BUT IT IS NOT EASY TO THINK OF SUCH A TRICK ON THE FLY.*DT*JB *DT*JB

NHTSA ODI 11301859

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 NISSAN LEAF. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THEIR SPOUSE WAS DRIVING THE FAMILY VEHICLE AND WAS ABOUT TO COME TO A STOP WHEN ANOTHER VEHICLE CRASHED INTO THE CONTACT'S SPOUSE FROM THE REAR. THEY ATTEMPTED TO BRAKE HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE SLID UNTIL IT HIT CURB. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THE CONTACT'S SPOUSE WAS NOT INJURED. THERE WAS KNOW ONE ELSE IN THE VEHICLE WITH THE CONTACT'S SPOUSE. THE PERSON THAT CRASHED INTO THE REAR OF THE CONTACT'S SPOUSE WAS NOT INJURED. THEIR WAS NO MEDICAL ATTENTION NEEDED. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS DEEMED TOTALED BY THE INSURANCE COMPANY. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 13,000.

NHTSA ODI 11240675