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World Of EVEditorial

2021 Nissan Leaf problems & recalls

NHTSA has issued 4 recalls covering the 2021 Nissan Leaf and owners have filed 56 complaints. The most-reported area is electrical system (32 complaints). 5 complaints describe a fire and 2 complaints describe a crash.

Recalls
4
Complaints
56
Crash reports
2
Fire reports
5
Injuries
1

Recalls (4)

Oct 1, 2025#25V655000

Electrical system › Propulsion system › Traction battery

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2021-2022 LEAF vehicles equipped with a Level 3 quick charging port. The lithium-ion battery may overheat during Level 3 charging.

Risk: A quick charging battery that overheats increases the risk of a fire.

Fix: Owners are advised not to use Level 3 quick charging until the remedy is completed. Dealers will update the battery software, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed June 16, 2026. Owners may contact Nissan's Customer Service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R25C8. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning October 4, 2025.

Feb 2, 2024#24V071000

Back over prevention › Sensing system › Camera

Nissan 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."

Risk: A rearview camera that does not properly display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.

Fix: Dealers 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.

Jul 17, 2023#23V494000

Vehicle speed control

Nissan 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.

Risk: Unintentional acceleration can increase the risk of a crash.

Fix: Dealers 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.

Feb 2, 2023#23V048000

Equipment › Other › Owners/service/other manual

Nissan 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."

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

Fix: 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 April 1, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R22C5.

Owner complaints (56)

What owners reported to NHTSA, by component. One complaint can name several components.

  • Electrical system32
  • Unknown or other13
  • Fuel/propulsion system9
  • Engine6
  • Visibility/wiper6
  • Forward collision avoidance4
  • Back over prevention3
  • Power train3
  • Exterior lighting2
  • Air bags2
  • Service brakes1
  • Wheels1

Complaints over time

Jun 2021: 1 complaintJul 2021: 0 complaintsAug 2021: 0 complaintsSep 2021: 0 complaintsOct 2021: 0 complaintsNov 2021: 0 complaintsDec 2021: 0 complaintsJan 2022: 0 complaintsFeb 2022: 1 complaintMar 2022: 0 complaintsApr 2022: 2 complaintsMay 2022: 0 complaintsJun 2022: 0 complaintsJul 2022: 0 complaintsAug 2022: 0 complaintsSep 2022: 0 complaintsOct 2022: 1 complaintNov 2022: 0 complaintsDec 2022: 0 complaintsJan 2023: 1 complaintFeb 2023: 1 complaintMar 2023: 0 complaintsApr 2023: 1 complaintMay 2023: 0 complaintsJun 2023: 0 complaintsJul 2023: 0 complaintsAug 2023: 0 complaintsSep 2023: 1 complaintOct 2023: 1 complaintNov 2023: 2 complaintsDec 2023: 1 complaintJan 2024: 1 complaintFeb 2024: 0 complaintsMar 2024: 1 complaintApr 2024: 1 complaintMay 2024: 1 complaintJun 2024: 1 complaintJul 2024: 0 complaintsAug 2024: 0 complaintsSep 2024: 0 complaintsOct 2024: 0 complaintsNov 2024: 0 complaintsDec 2024: 0 complaintsJan 2025: 0 complaintsFeb 2025: 1 complaintMar 2025: 0 complaintsApr 2025: 0 complaintsMay 2025: 0 complaintsJun 2025: 0 complaintsJul 2025: 0 complaintsAug 2025: 1 complaintSep 2025: 2 complaintsOct 2025: 3 complaintsNov 2025: 4 complaintsDec 2025: 3 complaintsJan 2026: 5 complaintsFeb 2026: 2 complaintsMar 2026: 7 complaintsApr 2026: 2 complaintsMay 2026: 1 complaintJun 2026: 2 complaintsJul 2026: 1 complaintAug 2026: 2 complaintsSep 2026: 2 complaints20222023202420252026
Complaints filed per month. Peak: 7 in Mar 2026. Hover a bar for its count.
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Recent owner reports

Sep 29, 2026Forward collision avoidance

The Automatic Emergency Braking system on my 2021 Nissan Leaf S Plus engaged erroneously (phantom braking) twice. One time was on a sunny day in August 2026 when I had just backed out of my driveway onto my residential street. There was a person walking well to the right side of the road about 100 feet ahead of me. I had just finished backing out and put the car in drive and stepped on the accelerator when the AEB system suddenly engaged despite there being nothing at all directly in front of the car. The second incident was in August or September 2026 when I had come to a stop at a stop sign…

Sep 13, 2026Electrical system, Fuel/propulsion system

Incident Summary & Ineffective Recall Remedy: I am reporting an acute high-voltage battery cell collapse on my 2021 Nissan LEAF (VIN: [XXX]). The vehicle previously received the software update for NHTSA Recall #25V655 (Nissan Recall #R25C8) at Kings Nissan. The software patch failed to repair the underlying defective battery hardware. Following a second service visit on XXX where Kings Nissan tested only the auxiliary 12V lead-acid battery to dismiss my complaint, I purchased an independent CAN-bus diagnostic tool. On XXX (63,702 miles), LeafSpy telemetry confirmed Cell #31 is severely degra…

Aug 31, 2026Engine⚠ Fire

The contact owned a 2021 Nissan Leaf. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V655000 (Electrical System). The contact stated that while at a dealer charging the vehicle for approximately 15- 20 minutes, there was a fire coming from the front of the vehicle. The fire was extinguished by the fire department after several hours. A Police report was not filed. No injuries, medical attention, or damages were reported. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot and was deemed a total loss. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 25,000.

Aug 24, 2026Unknown or other, Back over prevention

A recall fix was done for the back up camera about a year ago. That was a national recall for an issue with the system. My car started the same exact issue about 3 weeks ago. No back up camera, pink or blue screen, glitchy. I contacted Nissan about it and it didn't seem like they wanted to make the repair again or fix the issue at no cost. I was wondering if other owners have had the same issue and if you can intervene. Thank you

Jul 26, 2026Unknown or other⚠ Fire

Our vehicle was affected by recall 25V655 for defective battery. The vehicle was serviced at the Nissan dealer and the software update to resolve the recall was applied. Yesterday the vehicle spontaneously combusted during DC fast charging despite the software update. It appears that the software update was ineffective at mitigating the fire hazard.

Jun 22, 2026Electrical system, Engine

Recall for FAST CHARGE LEVEL 3 CHADEMO has been issued for over 6 months. I am advised not to fast charge due to risk of devastating fire. Very dangerous to continue to use this car in an urban setting. Buyback was denied and told to wait for a fix. No fix yet! I can't get out of Philadelphia in this car. Tesla wouldn't let this happen!

Jun 11, 2026Electrical system

Level 3 quick charging was not working, and only Level 2 charging is working now. That creates a risk of not working if Level 2 charging does not work as well. Nissan issued the letter on 3/18/2026 to recall but not yet provided the detailed repair plan as of today. Please advise. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

May 3, 2026Electrical system, Unknown or other

I own a 2021 Nissan Leaf with an open safety recall (NHTSA Recall 25V-655, Nissan Recall R25C8) issued on September 30, 2025. The recall involves a battery defect that creates a safety risk during DC fast charging (Level 3). As a result, I am unable to use public fast-charging networks such as EVgo. The recall currently has no remedy available and has been unresolved for over 7 months. I do not have access to home charging, and without fast charging, the vehicle cannot be used in a practical or reasonable way for daily transportation. This has resulted in a complete loss of use of my vehicl…

Nissan Leaf news

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recall and complaint records, updated Oct 1, 2026. Complaints are owner reports and are not verified by NHTSA. Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.