- Safety
- 4
- of 5 stars
- Recalls
- 4
- on record
- MPG
- —
- combined
Open recalls on record
4 safety recalls. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer — check the VIN before you buy.
Vehicle Summary
2016 Nissan Leaf
Before You Buy
Safety record at a glance
- Recall campaigns
- 4
- Owner complaints
- 35
- Complaints citing a crash
- 1
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 We do not publish a composite safety or reliability score.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.
Safety recalls
4 NHTSA campaigns affecting this model year.
- 16V436000high
Airbag system issue
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
Nissan 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.
Consequence
If the wiring harness disconnects, the passenger air bag may not to deploy during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Full campaign recordRemedy
Nissan 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.
- 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.
Full campaign recordRemedy
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.
- 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.
Full campaign recordRemedy
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.
- 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.
Full campaign recordRemedy
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.
NHTSA crash-test ratings
NCAP star ratings and the underlying test breakdown for the 2016 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 2016 Nissan Leaf 4 out of 5 stars overall. NHTSA does not publish enough comparable results for this class and year to rank it against peers.
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.
Fuel economy & emissions
The EPA holds no fuel-economy record for this model year.
The EPA does not publish a record for every model year.
Consumer complaints
35 owner reports filed with NHTSA.
- 35
- Total
- 1
- Crashes
- 1
- Fires
- 0
- Injuries
Most reported components
- BRAKES15
- ENGINE6
- ELECTRICAL5
- FUEL SYSTEM4
- AIR BAGS3
Normal Range
35 consumer complaints filed with NHTSA. 1 report involves a crash.
Most reported problems
Safety timeline
Every dated recall and NHTSA investigation for the 2016 Nissan Leaf, newest first.
- Investigation closed
NHTSA closed investigation DP22005
Pedestrian alert sounds
- Recall
Reduced defroster performance can limit visibility out of the windshield, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Investigation opened
NHTSA opened investigation DP22005
Pedestrian alert sounds
- Recall
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.
- Recall
If the wiring harness disconnects, the passenger air bag may not to deploy during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
- Recall
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.
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
- Unknown
- Drive type
- Unknown
- Engine
- 0L 0-cyl
- Fuel type
- Unknown
- Transmission
- Unknown
- Seats
- 0
NHTSA crash ratings
- Overall
- Frontal
- Side
- Rollover
Explore related
Systems recalled
Safety timeline
Full timeline- Investigation closed
NHTSA closed investigation DP22005
Pedestrian alert sounds
- Recall
Reduced defroster performance can limit visibility out of the windshield, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Investigation opened
NHTSA opened investigation DP22005
Pedestrian alert sounds
- Recall
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.
- Recall
If the wiring harness disconnects, the passenger air bag may not to deploy during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.