2015 Nissan LEAF - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

"brake pedal goes to the floor with no braking power. grinding sounds, then finally brakes engage, but feels like the emergency brake. super dangeraous, happened on the freeway. checked 12v battery, based on what i read on line, battery had and still has strong charge. next day, brakes work just fine. no problems. happened again on highway a few days later, again, no braking power until just at the end, cant drive the car at any speed now, battery still fine. no cold weather here (unlike the many other 2015 leaf owners reporting the same issue. all dash warning lamps come on. again, car drives fine the next day. nissan denies any recall being needed, despite the hundreds of reports of similar dangerous problems."

"when vehicle is cold, i start driving and the first time i try to brake the brake light comes on, an orange triangle with expalnation mark comes on and the brake pedal pushes to the floor without providing braking power. one time, i was on a hill and the car started rolling backward even though the brake was pushed fully to the floor. i had to turn off the car and turn it back on to reset? the problem. i had to do this twice yesterday. the problem is happening more often over the past 1week."

"the contact owns 2015 nissan leaf. the contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the brake pedal was almost depressed to the floorboard with the t/m (transmission-transaxle) warning light illuminated. the contact called the dealer but was unable to speak with a service tech. the contact was then scheduled an appointment. upon investigation, the contact discovered nhtsa campaign number: 16v119000 (service brakes) which he linked to the failure. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 52,000"

"upon starting the car and putting the vehicle into reverse or drive, the brakes fail to work and must be compressed completely to the floor to stop the vehicle. a pulsing sound is heard from the brake system in the engine compartment. the rear brakes make a loud sound when the vehicle is finally stopped. the issue is intermittent, e.g. it happened to me twice within one week of daily driving. the failure is likely to result in a low-speed collision as the vehicle is put into drive or reverse. the nissan dealer is unable to diagnose the issue and recommended replacing the braking system."

"on monday, 11/14/2022, while driving at 25 mph in approximately 28 degree temperatures, the brakes completely failed on my 2015 nissan leaf and the parking brake light, abs light and traction control warning light suddenly illuminated on the dashboard. i glided to a stop in the breakdown lane, and while in both drive and in park when i pressed the brake pedal to the floor there were odd buzzing/knocking sounds towards the front of the vehicle (where the motor, etc. are located) and a vibration under foot accompanied by a clicking noise similar to that experienced during anti-skid braking. i turned the ignition on and off several times but the system malfunction was still present. i was able to drive 100 yards into a parking lot with minimal braking ability (the emergency brake served as a backup). i left the car parked, and when i returned two hours later to meet the tow-truck, the vehicle started normally with no lights on the dash. brake functionality had returned, at least temporarily. i thus drove very carefully three miles home without incident. (however, had this occurred on the highway or while in traffic, a fatal accident could have occurred.) i have since found many reports from others who have experienced the same issue, which seems to be common enough to justify a recall, particularly as the brake failure reoccurs (see https://www.carproblemzoo.com/nissan/leaf/2015/service-brakes-problems.php). tomorrow i bring the car to the dealer to diagnose the problem."

"complete brake failure due to the intelligent brake unit. driving on the freeway when multiple warning lights flashed at once and i lost brake functionality. i used to emergency brake to slow to a stop. this is an intermittent failure because after it sat for 30 minutes brake functionality returned. i'm very concerned about this issue and have seen multiple people reporting this issue for nissan leafs."

"the intelligent brake control unit has gone bad. i was driving home and i was preparing to stop at a stop sign . i pressed on the brake pedal and the would not stop. luckily there were no other cars or else i would have been involved in a car accident. i had the car towed home then i drove it to the nissan dealership. they ran a diagnostic and they said that they found multiple codes for the brake booster. they recommend that the intelligent brake control unit be replaced. at the time of the incident, the abs light went on, and the traction motor light went on. when i pressed on the brake there was a squealing noise coming from the pedal. that was the first time that ever happened. i reached out to nissanconsumeraffairs.com for assistance to help with the cost of the part. they said that they could not help. my case number is [xxx] and the person that was my contact was [xxx]. her number is [xxx]. i have read various accounts of where the same part has failed on many nissan leafs. this should be a recall where this part should be fixed for free. it is putting many lives in danger. i hope that you can help me out as well as the many people that drive this car make and model. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)."

"i was driving my 2015 nissan leaf and attempted to decrease my speed for an upcoming right turn. when i put my foot to the pedal i realized it became stiff and my vehicle was unable to slow or come to a stop. i was able to make the turn safely as i was not at an itial high speed, however, as i approached a red light, i continued to observe the spottiness of my brakes before ultimately pulling over at the nearest gas station about 10 ft further from the right turn where my brakes first failed."

"this is to update my report from earlier this month, nhtsa id number: 11455211, because i don't see any way to revise it. the dealer repaired the brake failure at a cost to me of $4329, in addition to the $155 i had paid when they could not find the cause of the problem two weeks before. so my total cost is almost $4500 for what certainly appears to be a well-known manufacturing flaw affecting drivers around the world. the dealer told me in no uncertain terms that the car was unsafe to drive, and they knew of no other fix than to replace the entire intelligent braking assembly, so i had no choice. i believe a recall is in order before there is a serious accident, if there hasn't already been one. consumer stated he did not qualify to be part of that recall. car has been repaired."

"on feb. 16, in about 25 degrees f, my wife pressed the brake pedal and the car did not react at all. she then jammed the brake pedal to the floor and it seemed that the anti-lock brakes stopped the car. she turned the car off and on again, and drove right back home, only about a mile away. i drove the car carefully that day without incident. we took it to middletown nissan as soon as they could get us in, the next day. they could not duplicate the problem and tested various components. everything passed their tests, so we assumed the problem was isolated. then, today, march 4, at 29 degrees f, the brakes failed for me on a very busy road. again, it was at a slow speed, as i was approaching a red light. again, it took pushing very hard to the floor to get the car to stop. all the warning lights on the dash lit up, and there was an odd buzzing sound coming from under the hood. i drove the 3 miles home very slowly and carefully, and the brakes failed in this same way every time i tried them. i called nissan customer service and they (lydia) indicated that they had no information about this problem and suggested i go back to the dealership for further investigation. this is what i will do. i am waiting for a call back from them now, but it's friday afternoon and i am not hopeful that they will be able to get my car in there today. it's very frightening and unsafe when you don't know if your brakes are going to work. i mention the outdoor temperatures because i've seen some information about 2015 leafs being recalled for a cold-weather brake failure. it's not been in extreme cold that we have had the issue."