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2015 Nissan Leaf

Verified August 31, 2026Sources: NHTSA · EPA · vPIC

Compare
Safety
4
of 5 stars
Recalls
4
on record
MPG
29.6
combined

Open recalls on record

4 safety recalls. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer — check the VIN before you buy.

Vehicle Summary

2015 Nissan Leaf

4 recalls
107 complaints
29.6225 MPG combined
4/5 safety rating

Before You Buy

Confirm all 4 recalls were repaired — a dealer checks by VIN, free
Read the 8 complaints reporting a crash
Review the 107 owner complaints on record
Get a pre-purchase inspection
Check vehicle history report
Verify title is clean

Safety record at a glance

Recall campaigns
4
Owner complaints
107
Complaints citing a crash
8

These are raw counts from NHTSA records. They are not normalized by how many of these vehicles are on the road, so a model that sold in large numbers will tend to show more of everything. We do not publish a composite safety or reliability score.

4 Recalls on Record

These recalls have been issued by the manufacturer. Contact any authorized dealer to verify they have been completed — repairs are free.

Enter your VIN to check if specific recalls apply to your vehicle.

Safety recalls

4 NHTSA campaigns affecting this model year.

  • 17V253000high

    Airbag system issue

    AIR BAGS

    Nissan 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.

    Consequence

    In the event of a crash, if the front passenger air bag doesn't deploy properly, it can increase the risk of injury to passengers.

    Remedy

    Nissan 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.

    Full campaign record
  • 16V119000high

    Brake system issue

    SERVICE BRAKES

    Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 LEAF vehicles manufactured November 19, 2012, to July 31, 2015. During very cold temperatures, the relay inside the electronic brake booster may freeze, requiring the driver to exert more effort to slow the vehicle down.

    Consequence

    If the brake relay fails, longer distances or additional brake effort would be required to stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

    Remedy

    Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the Intelligent Brake Control Unit software, free of charge. The recall began on March 28, 2016. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

    Full campaign record
  • 16V244000high

    Airbag system issue

    AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION

    Nissan 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 crash.

    Consequence

    If 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.

    Remedy

    Nissan 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 parts become available. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669, Infiniti customer service at 1-888-833-3216 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.

    Full campaign record
  • 23V296000high

    Equipment issue

    EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL

    Nissan 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."

    Consequence

    Reduced defroster performance can limit visibility out of the windshield, increasing the risk of a crash.

    Remedy

    Nissan 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.

    Full campaign record

NHTSA crash-test ratings

NCAP star ratings and the underlying test breakdown for the 2015 Nissan Leaf.

  • Frontal crash

    Driver
    5 / 5
    Passenger
    3 / 5
  • Side crash

    Driver
    5 / 5
    Passenger
    3 / 5
    Side pole
    5 / 5
  • Rollover

    Rollover risk
    10.9%
    Dynamic tip
    No Tip

Driver-assistance technologies

Electronic stability control
Standard
Forward collision warning
No
Lane departure warning
No

What the ratings mean

NHTSA gives the 2015 Nissan Leaf 4 out of 5 stars overall, below the 5-star median for the 21 comparable 2015 vehicles NHTSA rated in this class.

NHTSA published results for every NCAP test in this program, so the overall star rating rests on a complete set of crash and rollover results.

NHTSA's dynamic test put this vehicle's rollover probability at 10.9% in a single-vehicle crash — the figure behind the rollover star rating, published here because the star alone hides how wide each band is.

NHTSA crash tests

2015 Nissan Leaf Frontal crash crash test
Frontal crash Video
2015 Nissan Leaf Side crash crash test
Side crash Video
2015 Nissan Leaf Side pole crash test
Side pole Video

Fuel economy & emissions

EPA figures for the 2015 Nissan Leaf, with tailpipe CO₂ and class context.

29.6

City

33.3

Hwy

29.6

Comb

Annual fuel cost
$650
Charge time
8 hours (240V)

How this compares

At 29.6 MPGe combined, the 2015 Nissan Leaf ranks 4th of 23 midsize cars EPA rated for 2015 — 5.6 MPGe better than the 24 MPGe median for that group.

That places it in the upper third of its class. Fuel cost is unlikely to be the deciding factor against its direct rivals.

EPA puts annual fuel spend at about $650, $1,900 less than the $2,550 typical for the class. Over five years at 15,000 miles a year that is roughly $3,250, a $9,500 difference against a class-median vehicle.

Consumer complaints

107 owner reports filed with NHTSA.

107
Total
8
Crashes
0
Fires
3
Injuries

Most reported components

  • BRAKES81
  • AIR BAGS8
  • OTHER5
  • ENGINE4
  • ELECTRICAL3

Notable Issues

107 consumer complaints filed with NHTSA. 3 reports involve injuries. 8 reports involve a crash.

Most reported problems

brake problems (soft pedal, noise, failure)81
airbag concerns (warning light, deployment issues)8
miscellaneous issues5

Safety timeline

Every dated recall and NHTSA investigation for the 2015 Nissan Leaf, newest first.

  1. Investigation closed

    NHTSA closed investigation DP22005

    Pedestrian alert sounds

  2. Recall

    Recall 23V296000

    Reduced defroster performance can limit visibility out of the windshield, increasing the risk of a crash.

  3. Investigation opened

    NHTSA opened investigation DP22005

    Pedestrian alert sounds

  4. Recall

    Recall 17V253000

    In the event of a crash, if the front passenger air bag doesn't deploy properly, it can increase the risk of injury to passengers.

  5. Recall

    Recall 16V244000

    If 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.

  6. Recall

    Recall 16V119000

    If the brake relay fails, longer distances or additional brake effort would be required to stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

Dates are the NHTSA report-received date for recalls and the ODI open/close date for investigations. Crash-test ratings are not shown here because the source does not provide a reliable publication date for them.

Specifications & ratings

Specifications

Body class
Midsize Cars
Drive type
Front-Wheel Drive
Engine
0L 0-cyl
Fuel type
Unknown
Transmission
Automatic (A1)
Seats
0

Fuel economy

29.6

City

33.3

Hwy

29.6

Comb

Annual cost
$650
Fuel
Electricity

NHTSA crash ratings

Overall
Frontal
Side
Rollover

Explore related

Adjacent model years

All Nissan Leaf years

Common problems

Nissan Leaf problems

674 owner complaints analyzed

Systems recalled

Safety timeline

Full timeline
  1. Investigation closed

    NHTSA closed investigation DP22005

    Pedestrian alert sounds

  2. Recall

    Recall 23V296000

    Reduced defroster performance can limit visibility out of the windshield, increasing the risk of a crash.

  3. Investigation opened

    NHTSA opened investigation DP22005

    Pedestrian alert sounds

  4. Recall

    Recall 17V253000

    In the event of a crash, if the front passenger air bag doesn't deploy properly, it can increase the risk of injury to passengers.

  5. Recall

    Recall 16V244000

    If 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.