Home · 2020 Nissan Leaf Bev · Complaints

What 158 owners told NHTSA about the 2020 Nissan Leaf Bev

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 (158)Crash / fire / injury (1)Electrical system (117)Fuel system (31)Transmission & drivetrain (12)Driver assistance (7)Engine (7)Backup camera & sensors (5)Brakes (3)Visibility & wipers (3)Speed control (2)Suspension (2)

Newest first · 158 complaints · page 7 of 7

Feb 3, 2022Visibility & wipers

Defroster is not working at all. Spoke to dealer, needs new part and Nissan corporate. Nothing moving. Live in denver, having a working defroster is extremely important.

NHTSA ODI 11450148

Sep 28, 2021Backup camera & sensors

BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA - RECALL NO 20V412000 - For a week at a time on a monthly basis the back-up camera will disappear while in reverse. And therefore our vehicle no longer complies with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111 "Rear Visibility". - Yes the vehicle is available for inspection upon request. - My safety and the safety of others continues to be put at risk due to the lack of an image in the back-up camera display which increases the risk of a crash. - We have taken the vehicle into the Nissan dealership 4 times and every time they state they cannot recreate the error even though the error is occurring as I am dropping the vehicle off at the dealership. - There has been no other warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. This has been a re-occurring problem since vehicle was purchased in December 2020.

NHTSA ODI 11434735

Sep 28, 2021Backup camera & sensors

When putting my car in reverse my back up camera intermittently will not work. I have called the dealership that I purchased the vehicle (Rossen of Madison on the Beltline). I have taken the car multiple times, I have called multiple times. Nissan has yet to include my vehicle make and model into the recall. Even though it is a 2020 model. My car is at the dealership today as my camera stopped working last week and was still not working this morning. However the dealership is now telling me "it worked when it arrived and they have been unable to recreate the issue". This is frustrating and needs to have an official recall PLEASE!

NHTSA ODI 11434729

Aug 9, 2021Electrical system

The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that the battery gauge was reading incorrectly. The contact stated that while doing a 70-mile roundtrip with 173 miles battery life, the battery gauge indicated the battery level was at 70 miles remaining. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of failure and informed the contact that they were unable to assist. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.

NHTSA ODI 11428439

Feb 10, 2021Body & structureDriver assistanceCrash

"AUTOMATIC BRAKING SYSTEM FAILED TO ENGAGE" ON A OFFRAMP LANE FROM FREEWAY 5 SOUTHBOUND TO CROWN VALLEY PARKWAY OFF RAMP WHILE TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 25MPH I REAR ENDED A VEHICLE THAT WAS AT DEAD STOP AND THAT VEHICLE REAR ENDED A SECOND VEHICLE. CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL WAS CALLED AND REPORT WAS DOCUMENTED WHICH IS ATTACHED. THIS HAPPENED ON DECEMBER 22,2020 AT ABOUT 7PM, DARK CLEAR EVENING IN THE CITY OF MISSION VIEJO. IT WAS ON THE STRAIGHT FREEWAY LANE LEADING TO THE OFFRAMP WITH OTHER LANES ON THE FREEWAY MOVING FREELY. UPON DISCUSSION WITH NISSAN INVESTIGATION (CLAIM NO. 42994813) 615 725 7590, THEY SUMMARIZED 10 PAGE DISCLAIMER FROM OWNERS MANUAL STATING THAT BRAKING SYSTEM IS NOT 100%. ITS UNDERSTANDABLE IF THE VEHICLE WAS OLD BUT THIS IS A NEW VEHICLE WITH WHAT IS ADVERTISED AS A AUTOMATIC BRAKING SYSTEM AND THAT SYSTEM DID NOT WORK. I MANUALLY BRAKED TO A CRASH.

NHTSA ODI 11395644

Jan 28, 2021Suspension

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2020 NISSAN LEAF. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS A THUMPING NOISE WAS PRESENT COMING FROM THE FRONT SUSPENSION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE LOCAL DEALER HARBOR NISSAN LOCATED AT 4336 TAMIAMI TRAIL, PORT CHARLOTTE, FL 33980 WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE DRIVESHAFT AND CV JOINT WAS FAULTY AND THE AXLE NUT NEEDED TO BE RETORQUED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE CONTACT HAD NOT YET RETRIEVED THE VEHICLE AND WAS CONCERNED THAT THE REPAIR FAILED TO ADEQUATELY ADDRESS THE SAFETY ISSUE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE BUT, NO ASSISTANCE WAS OFFERED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 720.

NHTSA ODI 11390469

Oct 29, 2020

THE REVERSE CAMERA SYSTEM THAT ACTIVATES WHEN THE CAR IS IN REVERSE IS SO BLURRY THAT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DISTINGUISH OBJECTS. YOU CAN'T TELL IF THAT'S A BOX IN THE DRIVEWAY BEHIND YOUR CAR OR A BABY SEAT WITH A BABY IN IT. FOR TEST PURPOSES A SIGN WITH 3-INCH LETTERS PLACED 48 INCHES FROM THE CAMERA IS COMPLETELY ILLEGIBLE ON SCREEN. NISSAN REPORTS THAT THIS IS NORMAL OPERATION FOR THE 2020 LEAF REAR CAMERA. I AM ATTACHING A PICTURE OF THE REAR CAMERA SCREEN ALONG WITH A PICTURE OF THE EXACT SAME SCENE TAKEN WITH A CELL PHONE. THE QUALITY DIFFERENCE IS QUITE STRIKING, AND ILLUSTRATES HOW POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS THE 2020 LEAF REAR CAMERA COULD BE FOR DRIVERS.

NHTSA ODI 11367047

Sep 15, 2020Electrical system

ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS IN BOTH RURAL AND SUBURBAN ENVIRONMENTS, REGARDLESS OF WEATHER TEMPERATURE OUTSIDE AND DURING NORMAL FORWARD DRIVING MOTION, THE CAR REPORTS THAT THE FORWARD CAMERA OVERHEATS AND IMMEDIATELY RENDERS THE COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM AND PROPILOT INOPERATIVE. DASH LIGHTS PICTURE INCLUDED.1ST OVERHEATING OCCURRENCE HAPPENED ON APRIL 15, 2020 AND THE AFTER 2 MORE OCCURRENCES I TOOK A PICTURE ON JULY 6, 2020. NISSAN SERVICE REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THIS AS A SAFETY ISSUE AND DISMISSES THE ISSUE WHEN I REQUEST SERVICE, STATING THAT IT IS "NORMAL OPERATION."

NHTSA ODI 11355182

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Working with the data? Download all 158 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 24, 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 2020 Nissan Leaf Bev verdict →