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KLUNK
KLUNK

2018 Nissan Leaf

The Verdict

84 Smooth Ride

The 2018 Nissan Leaf has 62 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are body (24 complaints) and engine (16 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 84/100, it earns a "Smooth Ride" rating. If you're shopping for a Nissan Leaf, consider the 2025 model year which has 88% fewer complaints.

Safe Bet

The 2025 has 88% fewer complaints

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84

Klunk Score: Smooth Ride

This vehicle year has significantly fewer complaints than average. A reliable choice.

How is this calculated?

The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.

Recalls 3

Active safety recalls from NHTSA for this vehicle year.

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...

Risk

Unintentional acceleration can increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy

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 1-80...

Reported Apr 11, 2026

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 ve...

Risk

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

Remedy

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....

Reported Feb 2, 2024

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 perform...

Risk

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 April 1, 2023. Owners may contact Niss...

Reported Feb 2, 2023

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Under the Hood

Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.

YearBodyBrakesElectricalEngineTransmission
20118225573
201211222130
201316312563
2014718711
20159801053
20162158100
2018241210160
20194910129389
202021379358
202112127101
202540210

By Category

Body
24
Engine
16
Brakes
12
Electrical
10

By Severity

1
27
2
23
3
2
4
10

Worst Problems

Complaints

Body 2

Fail component: mechanical linkage (transmission rod) between the motor and the wiper arms. The ball pops out of the socket resulting in the wipers not working despite motor running. This happened with full speed wipers running. I repaired it, and two weeks later it disconnected again while running wipers at full speed in heavy rain. This left me without windshield wipers in heavy rain on a road with a 55mph speed limit. If I had not been able to quickly exit this would have resulted in significant risk to myself and other motorists. I was able to drive home on slower side roads, but the lack of wipers remained a safety issue. I have not taken in into a dealer or shop to have it reproduced. I will take photos while fixing. No incident or police reports were filed. There were no warning lights or alarms before or after this occurred. It seems this is a known issue that is common to Nissan vehicles including the leaf.

1mo ago
Engine 2

This vehicle is equipped with a feature known as "e-pedal" also known as one-pedal driving which is quite common on EVs. When this mode is activated, the accelerator pedal acts as a speed command (vs. power) and when the pedal is not depressed, the vehicle applies brakes until it comes to a standstill. Recently, the system has demonstrated a fault condition, where the Vehicle Control Module (VCM) issues a fault warning and disengages the e-pedal mode. This appears to occur randomly after the vehicle has been at a standstill for over one minute (e.g. waiting at a traffic signal) where the driver is using the one-pedal system vs. continuously applying pressure to the brake pedal. The safety issue is that when the system detects a fault and disengages e-pedal, the vehicle starts to move forward, requiring the driver to take immediate action to stop unwanted motion. This can lead to a collision with a vehicle or pedestrian in front of the vehicle. The desired behavior is that when the VCM detects a fault with the e-pedal system, it should engage the Park mode and prevent the vehicle from moving forward. The driver must then depress the brake pedal and affirmatively command the Drive mode before moving. Just disengaging the e-pedal (brake) without prior warning of a fault is a safety hazard.

5mo ago
Body 4

On 1/6/2026, as I slowed down as I was turning into my parking lot. I had Eco and e-pedal ON for regenerative braking. As I was turning into the parking lot, the car suddenly accelerated, went over the curb, across the street, over another curb before finally stopping after colliding with a structure. I was driving slowly and distinctively recall braking. This sudden unintended acceleration put safety at risk and caused significant property damage. There were no warning signs or messages. The car is in the yard now and will be available for inspection.

6mo ago
Body 1

The front windshield wipers on this car fail in light ice or snow. They've broken every winter I've owned this car (four years). This results in me driving around without front windshield wipers until I can get it fixed, watching the weather forecast and hoping I don't get caught in rain or snow. It happens despite my best efforts not to use the wipers in freezing weather unless absolutely necessary, going so far as to drive in light snow or rain without wipers to avoid breaking them. I've fixed it myself (not easy, especially in winter weather) and paid a mechanic to fix it for me at least three times. Most recently, the mechanic replaced the entire motor and linkage assembly which was extra expensive, but the right wiper broke again this Thanksgiving. (Until this last time, both wipers have always broken together.)

7mo ago
Engine 2

I was traveling north on Freeway 57 at approximately 70mph. The dash lit up red with 12v and charging warnings. Power was shut off and car went into Neutral and warned me to pull over. This is an incredibly busy freeway and I was in the far left lane. I barely made it to the shoulder coasting before car started shuttering and jerking and stopped rolling. I could have been killed.

7mo ago
Body 1

Vehicle failed inspection due to a rusted out front subframe which seems premature for a 7 year old vehicle with 27,599 miles on it. According to local mechanic, they've seen this issue with many Nissan Leaf models. This is a critical piece of the vehicle hence it failing inspection due to rust. The vehicle has not (yet) been inspected by the local dealership to confirm the issue and there were no warning symptoms prior to it failing inspection.

7mo ago
Electrical 1

After four years of owning this vehicle purchased new, the passenger side seatbelt warning light came on the dash. It indicated the seatbelt was not buckled while no one was sitting in the passenger seat. When buckled the light went out. Brought it to the attention of Nissan, Service every year when they would clear the code and it would be good for a month or two, and the light would come back on like before. Last month on May 9, I brought the vehicle in again and asked for a thorough assessment. Nissan service said to make the light go out they would have to replace two passenger side occupancy sensors, totaling $1800 parts and labor. They did not have the parts on hand, I left with the vehicle only to find out that the intermittent seatbelt light that would go out when buckled, stayed on continuous now. Also noticed the illuminated airbag light stating the airbag was off. And that was also on at all times whether someone was in the passenger seat or not. When purchasing the vehicle new we also purchased a gold preferred extended warranty, that I believed would cover these parts. But Nissan, consumer affair said the the warranty will not cover those items. After a month of trying to get Nissan, service and consumer affairs to work with me, still no help. Searching online I found Nissan, has had numerous issues and even some recalls with occupancy sensors in the seats of many vehicles. It seems to be an ongoing issue with Nissan, regarding earlier model vehicles and newer models. Thank you for your time and your help.

13mo ago
Body 4

On [XXX], I was slowly pulling into my driveway, took my foot off the accelerator and turned the steering wheel slightly to the right as the driveway is L shaped. Suddenly, the car sped up towards the garage door. I looked down quickly to see if I’d somehow pressed the accelerator by accident but I had not. I slammed on the brakes as hard as I could but the car kept going and smashed into the garage door and the corner of the garage, causing close to $20k in property damage. The hood and front bumper were badly caved in at the point of impact and pieces of the undercarriage were on the ground. The air smelled like rubber and there were tire marks on the driveway here I had slammed on the brakes. The airbags did not deploy. The Automatic Braking System did not work. There were no warning messages or lamps. The only unusual symptom that I noticed was that on my way home from Kona, when I was pulling up slowly to a traffic light, the car seemed to hesitate a couple of times, which seemed odd but not severe enough for me to be concerned about a wreck. That occurred about a half hour before the incident. I was not physically injured but I have been very shook up and depressed since the incident. If this had happened on the highway, I could have been killed and the car could have killed others on the road. I reported the collision to USAA immediately and, on their advice, I had it towed to Kona Nissan, the dealership where I purchased the vehicle and where I have had it serviced. The expectation was that they would perform diagnostics on the vehicle but they won’t touch it, nor will they talk to USAA. I had taken the car in when it was recalled for the VCM issues and I don’t believe it was fixed properly. Or the repair wasn’t effective. The car is at Gerber Body Shop in Kona, Hawaii. Please arrange inspection with them. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

14mo ago
Engine 2

After hard acceleration then releasing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle does not slow as expected and, at times, will actually continue to accelerate. The vehicle will slow as expected when the brake is applied, but will again gradually accelerate when the brake is released. If slowed to a stop, the vehicle may begin to accelerate once the brake is released. This issue does not occur after normal acceleration. The issue may be related to NHTSA Recall Number 23V-494, which repairs have not been addressed for the subject vehicle, although the issue occurs regardless of the state or change-of-state of the e-pedal switch or cruise control function, both of which are mentioned in that recall. This issue has occurred on multiple occasions in the time that I have owned the car (approx 13 months.) There is no correlation with weather conditions or initial or final speed. The only consistent variable is rate of acceleration.

16mo ago
Electrical 2

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that after his wife had parked in a parking garage, the vehicle was restarted and driven in 17-degree Fahrenheit weather when the vehicle lost motive power. The "Service EV System, No Power" message was displayed. The contact's wife pulled over and had the vehicle towed to the dealer. The contact stated that the battery had previously been replaced. The dealer determined that the failure was caused by a frozen battery. After the battery had thawed, the battery was able to be recharged. No repair was recommended. The contact related the failure to the variable voltage control system and the 12-Volt battery amp-hours (Ah). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 79,545.

16mo ago
Engine 2

Vehicle randomly shuts down when car is underload traveling at highway speed up an incline and with the climate on. Diagnostics are showing multiple cells that are bad in the main battery manufacturer is stating that it is normal wear and it is normal. I’ve only had the car for 300 miles. It was a previously owned car that was supposed to carry an eight year warranty on the drivetrain and battery. They are not honoring the warranty and the vehicle is dangerous to drive and in fact cannot be driven the situation occurred on three occasions where the vehicle just randomly shuts down on the freeway in the middle of the highway. This is a serious concern that will definitely cause injury or death. I attached photos of two occasions when the battery discharged almost immediately, and the one photo shows on the vehicle was completely disabled. I have more supportive photographs and computer printouts from diagnostics if requested..

17mo ago
Body 1

The Power Distribution Module failed in my 2018 Nissan Leaf at 77k miles. It left me stranded with no way of getting home. The Power Distribution Module is supposed to last 10 years 100k miles but Nissan warranty only has is warranted to 60k miles. The dealership said the PDM only lasts around 70k miles however it is $5k to fix which is half of what the car is worth. They are unwilling to do a good faith repair because I didn’t service the car with their dealership even though I only serviced it at Nissan dealerships for the life of the car. This seems like really bad business to put a part in the car that the dealership knows will go bad at 70k miles but only warranty it up to 60k miles when it is a major electrical component to the vehicle and is over the half the value of the vehicle to fix. On top of the PDM there are other codes that the vehicle has that relate to the master brake cylinder but the dealership said they won’t know if there are more issues until I pay the 5 k to fix the PDM then they can assess if I have to pay another 5k to fix the other part. I drove the car very safely and treated it very well for the whole time I’ve had the vehicle. I’ve read of multiple other PDM issues with Nissan leaf and I’m curious how this part is not recalled?

17mo ago
Electrical 2

I did not have an incident(accident), I noticed issues with my car, that seem to be prevalent with other Nissan Vehicles. This report is mostly proactive. I took the vehicle to the dealer for inspection and repair however was unable to come to a conclusion due to multiple inspection charges done by dealer but no fixes. Issue 1. Airbag Fault Warning Light on the dash. Turns on when I start the car, and stays. I took car to dealer and they have done a computer reset to reset the light (based on an internal Nissan bulletin on how to repair that issue, with mention in the repair notes that a lot of vehicles have that issue.) The reset didnt work and the light is back, now the dealer is saying that a whole sensor needs replacing as its prone to failure. Initial repair mentioned "code B00A0 stored for occupant detection system, but will not relearn." Zero Point Relearn will not complete. Referred to NTB19-071D... Ran the 75H Reset, code clears." Secondary repair: 'B00A0 Returned. Performed database search and found similar cases. Nissan recommends OSC and sensor replacement. Performed Bulletin again and error code is now 24H, not 75H. Zero point will not relearn. Started a case with Nissan and was advised to replace ...[OCS]... and strain sensors..." Issue 2: Loud clanking or grinding noise when turning vehicle left or right until wheel stops. Went to get this repaired and was told that dealer found bulletin 12-055J and will "need to replace axle nuts and apply Molykote." Paid for repair, and after picking up the car the sound is even worse, and upon bringing it back the dealer is saying that the noise is not due to past repair but vehicle will now need "Both front Strut mounts and bearings replaced." The sound is the same, and a cursory online search shows that this issue is prevalent across multiple vehicles. Also, recently when attempting a U-turn, the steering locked up momentarily when I was trying to straighten out the vehicle, with that noise (clunk sound)

18mo ago
Engine 4

Car was descending towards Kailua on the [XXX] on Oahu, HI. Dash lit up with warnings and acceleration and brake pedals stopped working. Brake pedal went to the floor with erratic pulsing sensation and very little brake power. Driver drove car into jersey wall to slow and stop vehicle. Battery state was 60% and battery was replaced under warranty about 1 year ago. While waiting for tow, powered on vehicle and symptoms remained as far as I could check. Brakes had no power and had to use ebrake to keep vehicle from rolling. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

18mo ago
Engine 1

I was traveling home from work at approximately 60MPH (speed limit) and I experienced a rapid drop in the state of charge from ~60% to ~25% in 15-20 seconds. I slowed the vehicle to 55MPH and it recovered most of the state of charge. When accelerating to 60MPH a few miles later I experience the same behavior and was forced to maintain 55MPH. I was forced to turn off the electric cabin heater, heated seats, and heated steering wheel as well. I have been able to recreate the issue if the battery is: cold (outside temperature less than 15F and the vehicle has been outside for 8+ hours), less than 60% charged, and put under high load (going up a steep grade/60MPH+) the vehicle will register a battery discharge rate of ~5%/second and continue until the vehicle puts itself into turtle mode, the load is reduced, or I assume, shut off. Battery discharge is "phantom" where the vehicle, when under less load (i.e. slower/slowing), will return to a higher charge, and when no load (i.e. stopped), will return to close to the original charge. Depending on how long the high load is maintained it can drastically reduce the real state of charge on the battery. The Nissan dealership identified it as at least one bad battery module, but no fault codes were registered by the vehicle outside of experiencing turtle mode. This issue forces the driver to slow down to reduce load on the vehicle and abrupt speed changes may be required to keep the vehicle operational. This can put the driver into a dangerous situation of being forced to slow down regardless of road conditions or other driver behaviors. If all of the conditions for the battery listed in the first sentence are met, the vehicle will register a rapid battery state of charge decline, it may indicate turtle mode is active (helps reduce battery load), and it will indicate low charge around 10% state of charge. I have personally experienced all of this as the driver, and any assumptions I have made I have identified.

19mo ago
Brakes 4

The incident occurred at a stop sign where I was waiting behind one other vehicle. The vehicle ahead of me accelerated from the stop sign to turn into traffic, but abruptly slammed on their brakes. I had began accelerating up to the stop sign and was unable to stop before impacting the car in front of me. As soon as I saw the vehicle was braking, I immediately slammed on the brake pedal. Braking did not immediately occur. My wife said she was afraid that I had slammed the gas pedal because she could hear my foot hit the brake pedal and neither of us felt any braking. The Nissan Leaf was in Eco Mode and ePedal at the time of the incident. I believe that the transition from regenerative braking to mechanical braking delayed the stopping of my vehicle. We were lucky that this happened in a very low consequence situation, but if this happened with a pedestrian or at a higher speed where emergency braking is required, this delay in braking could be dire. In addition, this vehicle is equipped with automatic emergency braking. I have heard this feature go off before in this specific car when a car is braking faster than I am. In this case, the alarm and assisted braking did not go off, despite a car stopping within extremely close proximity.

19mo ago
Electrical 1

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, there was a rapid battery discharge. There was no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 53,000.

19mo ago
Body 2

Enel X Way recently announced that they were terminating operations in North America. With that in mind my Juicebox level 2 charger now becomes a dumb charger with no app functionality to turn down the amps produced by the charger. The Juicebox model I have is a plug-in version rated at 32 amps max. My service panel/circuit breaker is only rated to 30 amps. With a constant 32 amps on a 30 amp circuit breaker there is a potential to start a fire at the plug socket end and/or the breaker end, at the very least the breaker might trip every time I charge. For fear of that happening, I'm reluctant to even use it. I'm filing an issue/complaint here because in recent days there have been others who have complained about Enel X Way shutting down and causing problems similar to mine according to an article I read at [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

21mo ago
Brakes 1

Twice now - both times on the South Bound Richmond Bridge, the Automatic Emergency Braking lights came on and slammed on my brakes for me, as if I was about to crash when I was going 65 mils per hour, no one in front or behind me and no traffic, accident or reason. I almost lost control of the vehicle and would have caused an accident had anyone been closer to me.

24mo ago
Body 1

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated while driving on several occasions at various speeds with the cruise control activated, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle lunged forward. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V494000 (Vehicle Speed Control). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100.

24mo ago

62 total

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