Home · 2020 Nissan Leaf Plus · Complaints

What 158 owners told NHTSA about the 2020 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 (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)

7 of 158 complaints match · Driver assistance · clear filters

Jun 23, 2026Driver assistance

While driving with cruise control set to a certain speed (i do not recall the exact speed it was set to) I pressed the button that lowers the current speed it is set to, but instead of lowring by one mph it raised the speed, pressing again raised the speed again. this continued a few times until i turned off cruise control. The system has been buggy in the past, for example not responding to a button or raising by 2 or 3 mph instead of one (the Leaf goes one by one, not jumps like some vehicles). But this was the first time i saw it actually raise speed in response to a button that should lower it and that seems dangerous. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or service center. It has not been inspected by anyone since the incident occurred. There were no warning lamps or messages. The overall bugginess has been noticeable for a long time (perhaps always?) but this occurred (raising the speed instead of lowering it) for the first time yesterday.

NHTSA ODI 11746000

Dec 15, 2025Electrical systemDriver assistance

the front collision detection system frequently stops working, especially when there is wet weather. The little light on the dash comes on that shows it's not working. ALSO. My car has a serious battery issue that is not related to the fast-charging issue with the current recall. The battery frequently loses charge while driving, and I have to cut trips short and head home in "turtle mode".

NHTSA ODI 11705098

Jan 15, 2025Electrical systemBrakesDriver assistance

Hello. I have a 20/20 Nissan Leaf SV Plus. This morning I had a total brake failure for lack of a better term. The E-Pedal system, which I always use, suddenly failed while I was driving, showing a warning on screen that said E-Pedal system malfunction... Please use pedal to break. When I went to use the pedal to break nothing happened except for this horrible sound and feel in the pedal. It barely just finally grabbed a little bit enough to stop before I hit the car ahead of me. But it was nothing short of a total brake failure, both E-Pedal and manual pedal. Extremely distressing. What I want to know is how on earth when the E-Pedal fails, the normal manual brake pedal doesn't work either. One thing to note, I let it sit almost all day while I was at work, went out and tried it, and it suddenly was working. I drove around the parking lot, turned it off...back on ..and then The E-Pedal warning came up again. I then went and purchased a 12 volt battery, as I read in some forums that it's possibly due to that. That also did nothing. Got the same E-pedal malfunction. The main reason I'm letting your agency know, is because I would consider this a total break failure, and completely unacceptable. By sheer luck I was only going about 5 mph when it first happened, and I could still barely break in time. Any help on the Federal level...would be great. Thank you so much for your time.

NHTSA ODI 11636177

Dec 20, 2023Speed controlDriver assistance

About 3 months ago, I took this car in after receiving a recall notice for unexpected acceleration while on adaptive cruise control even though this was an issue I had never experienced before. But on monday, driving in stop and go traffic in light rain (intermittent wipers on slow setting), all of a sudden the car started accelerating directly towards the car 20 feet or so in front of us; the brakes had to be manually slammed on to bring the car to stop with now only 2-3 feet or so between the two cars. This was very alarming. When I spoke to the dealership about them needing to fix this safety issue and how I thought it must be related to the recall, they said it could not be given it first happened 3 months later and I would have to pay for an evaluation and if they found anything wrong for the repair. I am reporting this and would like to know if other Nissan Leafs are seeing the same issue post-recall repair. I will say it doesn't happen all the time since I like and use adaptive cruise control regularly. I carefully tried it after this event but with much more distance between me and the car in front and it did slow the car down as it normally does when traffic slowed, but again, I never got as close to the car as this time and it was not raining so who knows. I have reported this to Nissan corporate and was told someone would call me back in the next few days.

NHTSA ODI 11561110

May 5, 2023Electrical systemBrakesDriver assistance

A yellow warning ️ and two cars crashing comes on and during driving the car applies sudden breaking. I took the car in for repairs but no time line was given for repairs or parts. Also even though it's under warranty the dealer and the headquarter would not give me a rental car until the repairs are made.

NHTSA ODI 11520616

Sep 29, 2022Driver assistance

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? AEB may have malfunctioned. Yes, I will provide the car for official inspection. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Possible injuries from abrupt braking; possible and likely rear-end collision if drivers behind me. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? No. I have not contacted Nissan. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No. I have not contacted any gov agency or insurance carrier. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? Yes. I saw three red flashes and associated sounds warning of imminent collision - even though NOTHING was in front of the car that would cause the AEB to engage. Below is my incident description: My work has an underground garage. I was entering the garage, went down one level, and then on my way back up the next level. There are speed bumps going down and going up, so you cannot go very fast. On my way back up (incline), the AEB unexpectedly activated with red buttons flashing about three times with sound (as if I was about to crash into something) and then the car abruptly stopped. I stepped on the accelerator to try and go and it would not budge. I'm still on the incline. If there were cars behind me, I would have most likely been rear-ended because this incident came out of nowhere and my car just stopped. There were no moving cars in front of me that would indicate a near collision, only parked cars. I had driven this route in the past so I don't know what was different today. Car just stopped. I am still on incline; placed car in park; waited few seconds; placed car in drive and was finally able to move the car.

NHTSA ODI 11487085

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

Working with the data? Download all 158 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 2020 Nissan Leaf Plus verdict →