AutoUtility currently tracks 36 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2016 Nissan Leaf. Brakes & Traction Control issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 16 complaints (44.4% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 1 filing cites a crash, 1 cites a fire.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 36 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Brakes & Traction Control (16 reports • 44.4% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Electrical System (13), Fuel & Propulsion System (8)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 0 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2016 Nissan Leaf
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Brakes & Traction Control
Electrical System
Fuel & Propulsion System
Powertrain & Transmission
Air Bags & Restraints
NHTSA records list 3 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #16V244000 AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION
- Campaign #16V436000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
- Campaign #17V253000 AIR BAGS
Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 Nissan Leaf
Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis
AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.
Reduced Braking / Brake Pedal to Floor
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 Nissan Leaf
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME intermittently AT FIRST ... NOW permanently AND CANNOT BE DIAGNOSED BY NISSAN. IHAD TOTAL BRAKE FAILURE WHILE ON THE FWY AT 60MPH, THE DASH LIGHTS FOR ALL BRAKE COMPONENETS CAME UP WITH TIRE AS WELL...ALMOST ALL WARNINGS LIT UP AND THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR AND I HAD..."
"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..."
"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..."
"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..."
"Drove home at 7PM mild day (65-70 degrees). Stopped the car and turned it off for an hour. Had to leave home at 8PM. Turned on the car and backed up the driveway. Tried to stop but break wasn't working.. Pressed all the way that ABS started trickling. Used the hand break to stop the car. Turned off..."
Complaint History for Nissan Leaf
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Nissan Leaf | 109 | 8 | 4 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Nissan Leaf Current Page | 36 | 1 | 4 | Current |
| 2017 Nissan Leaf | 0 | 0 | 2 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Nissan Leaf | 66 | 9 | 4 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 Nissan Leaf | 253 | 4 | 5 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Nissan Leaf | 162 | 1 | 6 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Nissan Leaf | 53 | 2 | 4 | View 2021 Problems → |
| 2022 Nissan Leaf | 90 | 7 | 4 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Nissan Leaf | 19 | 6 | 3 | View 2023 Problems → |
| 2024 Nissan Leaf | 5 | 0 | 0 | View 2024 Problems → |
| 2025 Nissan Leaf | 7 | 0 | 0 | View 2025 Problems → |
| 2026 Nissan Leaf | 0 | 0 | 2 | View 2026 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2016 Nissan Leaf
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 14 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (1)
Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)
Pedestrian alert sounds
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 ra...
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.