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Nissan · Midsize car

2018 Nissan Leaf

Electric
Midsize Cars
1 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-09-11
C
Safety Signal
73 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record
RecallsNHTSA campaigns4
Complaintsowner reports to NHTSA66
Crash ratingNHTSA overall—
EV rangebest configuration, EPA151 mi
20262025202420232022202120202019201820172016

The 2018 Nissan Leaf is sold in the U.S. as a electric midsize car. Its longest-range version, the Leaf, is EPA-rated at 151 miles with 112 MPGe combined efficiency. NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of C. Owners have filed 66 complaints, most often about the service brakes.

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov
ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombRangekWh/100miCharge (240V)Annual fuel*
LeafElectricFWD110 kW DCPM125100112 MPGe151 mi30.08 h$700

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 39860.

Factory warranty running out?

The 2018 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

Back Over Prevention

R23D7
57,914 vehicles
ProblemNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2022 LEAF vehicles. Damage to the camera harness can cause distortion or loss of the rearview camera display image. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."RiskA rearview camera that does not properly display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.FixDealers will inspect the rearview camera and harness for damage and replace them as necessary. If no damage is found, the dealer will apply protective tape and reroute the rearview camera harness. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 9, 2024. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R23D7.
NHTSA campaign 24V071000reported Feb 2, 2024Nissan North America, Inc.
▲high

Vehicle Speed Control

R23A6
66,159 vehicles
ProblemNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2023 LEAF vehicles. The vehicle may accelerate unintentionally if the driving mode is changed ("D" to "B"; e-Pedal "On"; or "ECO" mode) after disengaging the cruise control.RiskUnintentional acceleration can increase the risk of a crash.FixDealers will reprogram the vehicle control module (VCM), free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed August 30, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R23A6.
NHTSA campaign 23V494000reported Jul 17, 2023Nissan North America, Inc.
▲high

Visibility

R22C5
64,732 vehicles
ProblemNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2023 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 April 1, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R22C5.
NHTSA campaign 23V048000reported Feb 2, 2023Nissan North America, Inc.
○minor

Back Over Prevention

1,228,830 vehicles
ProblemNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Nissan Altima, Armada, Frontier, Kicks, Leaf, Maxima, Murano, NV, NV200, Pathfinder, Rogue, Rogue Sport, Sentra, Titan, Titan Diesel, Versa Note and Versa Sedan vehicles, as well as Infiniti Q50, Q60, QX30 and QX80 vehicles. Additionally included are 2019 Nissan GT-R and Taxi and Infiniti QX50, QX60, Q70, Q70L vehicles. The back-up camera and display settings can be adjusted such that the rear view image is no longer visible and the system will retain that setting the next time the vehicle is placed in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numRiskThe lack of an image in the back-up camera display increases the risk of a crash.FixNissan will notify owners in phases, having dealers update the back-up camera settings software, free of charge. The recall began November 11, 2019 and all affected VINs should be activated. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669 or INFINITI customer service at 1-800-662-6200.
NHTSA campaign 19V654000reported Sep 12, 2019Nissan 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
66complaints filed

9 involved a crash · 1 a fire · 3 injuries · 0 deaths reported

Filed per year: 2018: 5 · 2019: 6 · 2020: 5 · 2021: 6 · 2022: 6 · 2023: 10 · 2024: 10 · 2025: 11 · 2026: 7

Most-cited components

Service Brakes19
Electrical System18
Forward Collision Avoidance17
Vehicle Speed Control12
Fuel/Propulsion System12
Unspecified7

What owners describe

“Front passenger seat occupancy sensor has failed resulting in an illuminated seat belt warning even when the front passenger seat is unoccupied. Workaround is either to clip the seatbelt in all the time or put a black piece of tape over the warning light. Either workaround degrades safety as the intended operation of t…”Mar 28, 2024 · Seat Belts · NHTSA owner report
“When I was drivimg on the highway, the battery rapidly plummeted from 50% to 5%. The car urged me to pull over. After pulling over, the battery rose back up to 50%. If I had not pulled over, the car would have entered "turtle mode," which limits the motor's power and can reduce the car's top speed to below 20mph. These…”Feb 22, 2024 · Fuel/Propulsion System · NHTSA owner report
“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 …”Dec 7, 2023 · 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

NHTSA has not published 5-Star crash ratings for this model year.

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

B

2017 Nissan Leaf

2 recalls · 17 complaints

D

2016 Nissan Leaf

4 recalls · 36 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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