2018 Nissan Leaf Driver assistance Problems

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.

NHTSA ID

11709726

Incident

Jan 6, 2026

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.

NHTSA ID

11706074

Incident

Dec 19, 2025

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)

NHTSA ID

11661349

Incident

Apr 28, 2025

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.

NHTSA ID

11647735

Incident

Mar 10, 2025

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.

NHTSA ID

11630622

Incident

Dec 13, 2024

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.

NHTSA ID

11603813

Incident

Jun 22, 2024

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.

NHTSA ID

11602871

Incident

Oct 8, 2018

Mileage

100 mi

I was driving at 65 MPH on the freeway and the car was acting/driving normally. Without any warning at all, many lights appeared on the dashboard at the same time that the car placed itself into neutral and lost all power to drive. My speed was reduced so quickly without any notice and I had no pull out lane near me, so I was forced to move across 5 lanes of traffic in rush hour speeds of 60-85 MPH traffic in order to get to safety in a pull out lane while my car was quickly losing speed at 30 MPH and below. I tried to put the car back into drive but it was impossible and the dashboard read "EV maintenance needed". Of note, my entire battery was replaced less than 6 months prior and the Nissan Peoria (AZ) dealership reported no other issues with the vehicle. Upon inspection, the dealership reported the traction motor inverter needs replacement, and again there were no indications this was failing.

NHTSA ID

11580112

Incident

Mar 28, 2024

I was pulling slowly into a parking spot. The vehicle accelerated all of a sudden on its own very fast. I slammed on the brakes and the vehicle did not stop. It ran us on a sidewalk and crashed into a pole. Luckily no one hurt. Progressive is calling the car a total loss, but they have done nothing The car is still at a parking lot near the crash. Nissan is also doing nothing. I feel that I deserve better treatment. I have a good driving record and my rates are going to go up. I have not been offered a replacement car. The car is very dangerous and I would never drive another Nissan

NHTSA ID

11559018

Incident

Nov 28, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle at low speeds, the vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own. As a result, the vehicle jumped the wheel stop, coming to a complete stop after colliding with a tree. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed, and no injuries were reported. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who did not provide a specific diagnosis but advised the contact that a BCM reprogramming was required. The vehicle was repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related it to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V494000 (Vehicle Speed Control), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 12,300.

NHTSA ID

11548731

Incident

Sep 19, 2023

Mileage

12,300 mi

The malfunction warning light came on to indicate that the automatic braking system was not working. I brought the car to the dealership, which quoted me $1900 for a new sensor. I have read about accidents and near collisions due to the malfunctioning of this system and am now worried that there might be sudden braking that others have experienced. I would like to get this system fixed, but do not believe consumes should need to pay $2000 to repair a defective system.

NHTSA ID

11540384

Incident

Aug 21, 2023

Around 45 degree weather, while driving on the freeway, a warning light indicating the AEB had been turned off started flashing on my dashboard without any collision, jerky movements, sudden stops, or changes to settings. At the same time this happened, my electric battery mileage started to fluctuate erratically (73% to 8% to 14% back to 70% and finally to 60%). This is extremely concerning because of the car immediately brakes or if the battery dies on the freeway, it could cause a major collision.

NHTSA ID

11492170

Incident

Nov 2, 2022

AEB system malfunction around 25000 miles. Dealer diagnose as the front radar failed and cause the cruise control not available.

NHTSA ID

11447574

Incident

Dec 15, 2021

2 incidents have occurred with this vehicle. The first earlier this year (2021) is that upon slowly accelerating to move closer to vehicle that moved up in a turn lane, the automatic emergency brake system engaged, abruptly stopped the vehicle and many lights lit up across the dashboard. The brakes then released and all lights on the dashboard disappeared. I was not close enough to the car ahead or at any rate of speed that should have caused this abrupt brake reaction. The 2nd incident and most dangerous happened on 8/13/21. I was slowly reversing out of a parking spot at a crowded location, when I saw a car behind my vehicle. I went to brake (not hard brake just regular), and the brakes did not work. I continued to slowly roll back towards the car behind me. I tried pressing the brakes repeatedly and it would not stop rolling backwards. I then pulled the emergency brake and the car came to a stop. No lights appeared on the dashboard. I turned the car off and powered it on again and slowly moved forward into the parking space and tried reversing again. The car was driving completely fine just after. I had a short trip home & didn't drive the rest of the evening. I didn't charge the car as there was still 85% left on the battery. The next morning, the car would not start and a message showing "Service EV System No Power" appeared on the dashboard with multiple lights lit. I called a tow truck to take it to the dealer and they found that the 12v battery was completely dead. Battery light not lit on dashboard prior to the complete outage. The dealer said it was the 12v battery that was likely the cause of these incidents and they replaced it. The brake issues could not be reproduced at the dealer after the new battery installed. Also note, that I just had the vehicle in for a multi-point inspection in June where nothing was found to be faulty. They did recommend a brake fluid exchange, so this was done as well as tire rotation.

NHTSA ID

11429682

Incident

Aug 13, 2021

I WAS DRIVING ALONE AT 4:20PM AT ABOUT 30 MPH, WITH NO OTHER CARS OR PEDESTRIANS AROUND WHEN THE BRAKES SUDDENLY ACTIVATED, AND THE ACCELERATOR WENT TO IDLE. THE BRAKING LASTED ABOUT ONE SECOND AND DID NOT STOP THE CAR COMPLETELY. THIS OCCURRED ON A CITY STREET. THESE EVENTS HAVE BEEN HAPPENING SEVERAL TIMES A MONTH.

NHTSA ID

11394518

Incident

Feb 3, 2021

Mileage

19,000 mi

WAS DRIVING AT APPROX. 30 MPH ALONE ON A LOCAL HIGHWAY WITH NO TRAFFIC AROUND, NO PEDESTRIANS OR OBSTRUCTIONS IN THE ROAD, WHEN THE ACCELERATOR DISENGAGED AND THE BRAKES CAME ON. THE BRAKING ONLY LASTED ABOUT ONE TO TWO SECONDS AND DID NOT STOP THE CAR. A TRIANGULAR WARNING SIGN APPEARED ON THE DASH DURING THE BRAKING, AND WENT OFF WHEN THE BRAKES RELEASED. I BELIEVE THE PROBLEM IS A MALFUNCTION OF THE FORWARD COLLISION WARNING SYSTEM.

NHTSA ID

11391083

Incident

Jan 14, 2021

Mileage

18,000 mi

NISSAN PROPILOT HAS A SERIOUS SAFETY FLAW. WHEN USING PROPILOT ON MY 2018 NISSAN LEAF SV IN STOP AND GO HIGHWAY TRAFFIC, SOMETIMES WHEN MY NISSAN LEAF COASTS TO AN ALMOST COMPLETE STOP 15 FEET BEHIND A "BOXY" VEHICLE LIKE A SEMI-TRUCK, THE LEAF SUDDENLY ACCELERATES LIKE IF THERE IS NO VEHICLE DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ME AND IF I AM NOT COMPLETELY ATTENTIVE AND IF I DO NOT IMMEDIATELY APPLY THE BREAKS, THE NISSAN LEAF WOULD REAR END THE SEMI-TRUCK. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME 4 TIMES OVER THE PAST 6 MONTHS WHEN FOLLOWING A SEMI-TRUCK WITH TRAILER AND THIS MORNING IT OCCURRED AGAIN A FIFTH TIME BUT THIS TIME I WAS BEHIND A SEDAN. I HAVE A DASHCAM VIDEO OF THE INCIDENT FROM THIS MORNING. I HAVE REPORTED THIS ISSUE TO NISSAN BUT THEY HAVE DONE NOTHING ABOUT IT. I HAVE TAKEN MY 2018 NISSAN LEAF IN TO THE LOCAL NISSAN SERVICE CENTER BUT THEY SAY THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE SENSORS AND THEY DO NOT SEE ANY ISSUES AND NO ERROR CODES REPORTED BY THE CAR. I BELIEVE THIS IS A SOFTWARE PROBLEM WHERE THE SOFTWARE IGNORES THE RADAR IMAGE OF THE TRUCK IN FRONT BECAUSE IT THINKS IT IS AN OVERHEAD SIGN AND NOT ANOTHER VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY IN FRONT, THE CAMERA INPUT OF THE VEHICLE IN FRONT ALSO APPEARS TO BE IGNORED BY THE SOFTWARE IN THIS SITUATION. ADDITIONALLY, I HAVE HAD AT LEAST TWO INCIDENTS (ALSO OCCURRED THIS MORNING) WHERE PROPILOT LANE KEEPING FEATURE SHUTS OFF AND AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BREAKING IS ALSO SHUT OFF AND DEACTIVATED FOR AND EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME FOR NOW APPARENT REASON (IN EXCELLENT WEATHER AND CLEAR CONDITIONS, NO OBSTRUCTIONS OF SENSORS, ETC.), I HAVE VIDEO OF THIS AS WELL.

NHTSA ID

11286815

Incident

Dec 4, 2019

Mileage

12,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE, WITHOUT WARNING THE CAR STOPPED ITSELF SIMULATING A "SLAMMING ON THE BRAKES" AFFECT. THERE WAS NO WARNING, THE CAR JUST STOPPED. AFTER THE CAR STOPPED, AN ERROR APPEARED ON THE SCREEN SAYING "POWER SUPPLY FAILURE. TO AVOID ACCIDENT, SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH DO NOT DRIVE. CONTACT DEALER FOR SERVICE." THE CAR STOPPING SUDDENLY IS VERY DANGEROUS, IF THERE WAS ANOTHER CAR BEHIND ME, OR IF I WAS ON THE FREEWAY, I WOULD HAVE GOTTEN REAR ENDED.

NHTSA ID

11208166

Incident

May 12, 2019

Mileage

21,150 mi

THE VEHICLE'S BLIND SPOT DETECTOR TURNS OFF AT LOW SPEEDS POTENTIALLY PUTTING THE DRIVER AT RISK IF THE DRIVER DEPENDS ON THE BLIND SPOT DETECTOR. THE COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM IS UNRELIABLE. WHEN THE CAR IN FRONT SWITCHES LANES AND THERE IS A STOPPED CAR IN FRONT THE VEHICLE STARTS TO SLOW DOWN BUT RELEASES THE BREAKS ABOUT 50 FT FROM THE STOPPED CAR AND STARTS WARNING OF IMPENDING COLLISION. AND THE BREAKS ARE NOT APPLIED.

NHTSA ID

11164720

Incident

Dec 21, 2018

Mileage

2,500 mi

NISSAN LEAF WITH PRO-PILOT ASSIST PACKAGE. INTERMITTENTLY THE SYSTEM WARNING LIGHT FOR AUTOMATIC FORWARD EMERGENCY BRAKING AND/OR LANE KEEP ASSIST WILL FLASH INDICATING SYSTEM UNAVAILABLE. THIS HAS OCCURRED ON MULTIPLE OVASSIONS AND AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS. DEALER HAS BEEN UNABLE TO ISOLATE CAUSE OR EFFECT REPAIR. I ALSO HAD THIS HAPPEN ON A NISSAN SENTRA LOANER CAR THEY PROVIDED SO ISSUE MAY BE WITH SYSTEM AND NOT JUST THE LEAF MODELS

NHTSA ID

11163616

Incident

Oct 24, 2018

Mileage

3,200 mi

THIS ISSUE OCCURS WITH THE NISSAN E-PEDAL ENGAGED/ENABLED. IT HAPPENS INTERMITTENTLY AFTER DRIVING OFF. SYMPTOM REGENERATIVE BREAKING/E-BRAKE DOES NOT ENGAGE. VEHICLE COASTS. NO BLUE BARS LIGHT UP ON THE DASH TO INDICATE THAT REGENERATIVE BREAKING IS ACTIVE. BREAK PEDAL HAS BE BE ENGAGED FOR IT TO STOP. I HAVE REPRODUCED IT SEVERAL TIMES USUALLY AFTER VEHICLE HAS BEEN PARKED FOR A LONG TIME. CHARGE LEVEL BETWEEN 30-80%. ISSUE HAS BEEN REPORTED TO DEALER (10/23/18). WAITING FOR A RESPONSE.

NHTSA ID

11142217

Incident

Oct 22, 2018

Mileage

7,500 mi

WHILE DRIVING FORWARD, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY, UNEXPECTEDLY AND VIOLENTLY APPLIES THE BRAKES WITHOUT ANY DRIVER INPUT WHATSOEVER! THERE ARE NO OTHER VEHICLES OR PEDESTRIANS IN THE VICINITY AT THE TIME. THIS SUDDEN BRAKING PROBLEM BEGAN ON OR ABOUT 5/15/18 AND HAPPENED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS AFTER THAT. TWICE WHILE ENTERING THE UNDERGROUND PARKING GARAGE AT AN OFFICE BUILDING AND TWICE WHILE DRIVING ON A CITY STREET. VEHICLE HAS BEEN AT THE LOCAL NISSAN DEALER FOR OVER A WEEK BUT NEITHER THE DEALERSHIP NOR THE MANUFACTURER APPARENTLY HAS ANY IDEA HOW TO FIX THE PROBLEM. THEY THINK THAT THERE IS A FAULT IN THE AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING SYSTEM. THE SERVICE MANAGER TOLD ME THAT OTHER INSTANCES OF THE SAME ISSUE HAVE BEEN REPORTED TO NISSAN. THE SALESPERSON INDICATED THAT THERE WERE 4 OTHER SIMILAR CASES AT THEIR DEALERSHIP ALONE.THEY ALSO WILL NOT LET US TAKE THE VEHICLE HOME WITHOUT SIGNING A RELEASE OF LIABILITY DOCUMENT. THE OBVIOUS CONCERN IS THAT THE EMERGENCY BRAKING SYSTEM WILL AGAIN RANDOMLY ACTIVATE WHILE TRAVELING AT A HIGHER SPEED AND CAUSE AN ACCIDENT RESULTING IN SERIOUS PROPERTY DAMAGE AND INJURIES!

NHTSA ID

11103747

Incident

May 15, 2018

Mileage

675 mi

THIS NISSAN CAR IS EQUIPPED WITH FEATURES NAMED, PRO-PILOT ASSIST (PPA), INTELLIGENT CRUISE CONTROL (ICC) AND EMERGENCY BRAKE ASSIST (EBA). WHEN ENGAGED, IT IS SUPPOSED TO KEEP LANES AND FOLLOW DISTANCE IF THERE IS A CAR IN FRONT. WHEN THE CAR IN FRONT IS STOPPED THIS CAR IS SUPPOSED TO STOP AS WELL. PPA WHEN ENGAGED, IF THERE ARE GOOD ROAD MARKINGS, WILL SHOW A GREEN STEARING ON THE DASH BOARD, TO SHOW THAT CAR CAN STEER IT SELF. HOWEVER IF THERE IS A CAR STOPPED IN FRONT ON THE SAME LANE (EX. STOPPED FOR A RED LIGHT), THIS CAR DO NOT DETECT THAT THERE IS A CAR STOPPED, AND KEEP GOING FORWARD UNTIL CRASH INTO THE STOPPED CAR, DRIVER HAVE TO INTEVENE TO STOP AT THIS TIME TO STOP. I TOOK CAR TO DEALER AND THEY SAID THIS IS NORMAL. THAT IS NOT WHAT NISSAN ADVERTISE. THIS BEHAVIOR IS QUITE DANGEROUS OF THESE CARS, AND MY EXPECTATION IS THE CAR NEED TO STOP IF THERE IS AN OBSTRUCTION IN THE ROAD, WHEN THE GREEN STEERING WHEEL ON DASH IS SHOWING THAT CAR IS DOING AUTO-STEER.

NHTSA ID

11092604

Incident

Apr 14, 2018

Mileage

10 mi

WHEN THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED MODERATELY AT AROUND 40MPH TO SLOW DOWN, AND IF A WHEEL GO ON TOP OF SOME BUMPS OR POT HOLES, CAR SEEMS TO LOOSE BRAKING POWER, BRAKE PADEL DROP ABOUT 1 INCH, HAVE TO PEDAL HARD TO GET THE BRAKES BACK. AT ONE TIME I SAW A MESSAGE ON DASHBOARD "NOT AVAILABLE" WHICH I WAS NOT ABLE TO READ AND CONFIRM, AS THIS HAPPENED IN A PANIC SITUATION. THIS IS OCCATIONAL BUT HAS HAPPENED TO BE 4 - 5 TIMES NOW. MY GUESS IS CAR TRY TO APPLY REGENERATIVE BRAKES FIRST, IF THAT CANNOT WORK DUE TO EXCESSIVE, BUMP / POT-HOLE ON THE ROAD, IT GIVE UP, AND AS A RESULT, CAR LOOSE BRAKING POWER FOR 1-2 SECONDS. THIS 2 SECONDS CAN BE LIFE AND DEATH IN AN EMERGENCY BRAKING SITUATION. I TOOK THE CAR TO DEALER, AND THEY SAID, NO ISSUES FOUND. THIS PROBLEM IS HARD TO REPRODUCE, BUT CAN BE REPRODUCED. THIS HAPPENED IN LOCAL ROADS WITH 45MPH SPEED LIMIT. ONE TIME WHEN THERE WAS ROUGH ROAD DUE TO CONSTRUCTION. ANOTHER TIME WHEN ONE TIRE WAS GOING ON TOP OF ROAD DIVIDERS WHICH ARE ABOUT 1 INCH TALL AND 1 FOOT APART, IT HAD MANY OF THESE NEXT TO EACH OTHER, WHEN I WAS APPLYING BRAKE.

NHTSA ID

11092600

Incident

May 5, 2018

Mileage

40 mi