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2016 Nissan Leaf

Electric
Midsize Cars
2 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-09-11
D
Safety Signal
68 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record
RecallsNHTSA campaigns4
Complaintsowner reports to NHTSA36
Crash ratingNHTSA overall4★
EV rangebest configuration, EPA107 mi
20262025202420232022202120202019201820172016

The 2016 Nissan Leaf is sold in the U.S. as a electric midsize car with 2 EPA-rated configurations. Its longest-range version, the Leaf (30 kW-hr battery pack), is EPA-rated at 107 miles with 112 MPGe combined efficiency. NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of D. Owners have filed 36 complaints, most often about the service brakes. NHTSA crash-tested it at 4 stars overall.

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov
ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombRangekWh/100miCharge (240V)Annual fuel*
Leaf (24 kW-hr battery pack)ElectricFWD80 kW DCPM126101114 MPGe84 mi29.68 h$650
Leaf (30 kW-hr battery pack)ElectricFWD80 kW DCPM124101112 MPGe107 mi30.06 h$650

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 37066, 37067.

Factory warranty running out?

The 2016 Nissan Leaf is in the years where high-voltage electronics and module repairs land on the owner. Compare extended-coverage quotes in about two minutes.

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Recalls (4)

Source: NHTSA recall database
▲high

Visibility

R23A1
94,343 vehicles
ProblemNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2013-2017 LEAF vehicles. The Owner's Manual instructions for defroster operation are incorrect and may result in reduced defroster performance under specific conditions. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 103, "Windshield Defrosting and Defogging Systems."RiskReduced defroster performance can limit visibility out of the windshield, increasing the risk of a crash.FixNissan will mail an addendum with updated instructions on how to operate the defroster, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed May 26, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R23A1.
NHTSA campaign 23V296000reported Apr 26, 2023Nissan North America, Inc.
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Air Bags

30,038 vehicles
ProblemNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 LEAF and 2014, 2016 and 2017 Sentra vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error within the air bag inflators, the passenger frontal air bag may not properly deploy in the event of a crash.RiskIn the event of a crash, if the front passenger air bag doesn't deploy properly, it can increase the risk of injury to passengers.FixNissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began June 7, 2017. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.
NHTSA campaign 17V253000reported Apr 13, 2017Nissan North America, Inc.
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Electrical System

4,355 vehicles
ProblemNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016 LEAF vehicles manufactured February 24, 2016, to March 23, 2016, and Sentra vehicles manufactured February 9, 2016, to March 4, 2016. The wiring harness connector may disconnect from the dual-stage passenger air bag.RiskIf the wiring harness disconnects, the passenger air bag may not to deploy during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.FixNissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the wiring harness connector for proper engagement and, if necessary, replace the passenger air bag module and main body harness, free of charge. The recall began on August 9, 2016. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.
NHTSA campaign 16V436000reported Jun 15, 2016Nissan North America, Inc.
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Air Bags

3,296,947 vehicles
ProblemNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 Nissan Murano, Murano Hybrid, and Chevrolet City Express, 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles. In these vehicles, the front seat passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) may incorrectly classify an adult passenger as a child or classify the seat as empty despite it being occupied. As a result, the passenger frontal air bag may be turned off and not deploy in the event of a crashRiskIf the passenger frontal air bag does not deploy as intended in the event of a crash, the passenger is at an increased risk of injury.FixNissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in Altima, Maxima, Murano, Rogue, and Sentra vehicles, and replace the OCS ECU in LEAF, NV200, NV200 Taxi, Pathfinder, Infiniti Q50, JX35, and QX60 and Chevrolet City Express vehicles, free of charge. Interim notices were sent to owners on May 31, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy par
NHTSA campaign 16V244000reported Apr 26, 2016Nissan North America, Inc.

NHTSA defect investigations

Electrical System:Propulsion System — Pedestrian alert sounds closed

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matt

Opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · action DP22005

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database
36complaints filed

1 involved a crash · 1 a fire · 0 injuries · 0 deaths reported

Filed per year: 2016: 3 · 2017: 4 · 2018: 6 · 2019: 5 · 2020: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2022: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2025: 2 · 2026: 1

Most-cited components

Service Brakes16
Electrical System13
Fuel/Propulsion System8
Air Bags3
Engine3
Power Train3

What owners describe

“When turning left there is a plasticky sticking feeling and sound like a plastic bushing is coming apart. this causes the steering to momentarily bind. this happens most often when making gentle curves on the highway. the feeling causes you to overcorrect the steering wheel. there are many complaints online of similar …”Apr 10, 2025 · Steering · NHTSA owner report
“On January 9, a little after 12:30 pm, on Indian Head Highway (MD route 210) northbound near the Manokeek exit, after limiting drive power owing to battery degradation and cold weather (about 30 F) drive power and power steering failed entirely. There was no warning to pull over so I suspect this is an undocumented fai…”Jan 9, 2025 · Power Train · NHTSA owner report
“On Friday, November 1, at about 3 pm, the brakes failed pulling away from the curb in a forward direction after loading equipment into the vehicle. Really stomping the brakes as though they had a fluid problem did get them to engage. I think the problem occured again backing out of my driveway prior to Monday the 4th w…”Nov 5, 2024 · Service Brakes · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP
ConfigurationOverallFrontalSideRolloverRollover risk
5 HB FWD★★★★☆★★★★☆★★★★☆★★★★☆11%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.

Other Leaf model years

C

2026 Nissan Leaf

2 recalls · 2 complaints

A

2025 Nissan Leaf

0 recalls · 7 complaints

A

2024 Nissan Leaf

0 recalls · 5 complaints

C

2023 Nissan Leaf

3 recalls · 20 complaints

D

2022 Nissan Leaf

4 recalls · 92 complaints

D

2021 Nissan Leaf

4 recalls · 54 complaints

F

2020 Nissan Leaf

6 recalls · 164 complaints

F

2019 Nissan Leaf

5 recalls · 253 complaints

C

2018 Nissan Leaf

4 recalls · 66 complaints

B

2017 Nissan Leaf

2 recalls · 17 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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