2020 Nissan LEAF - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2020 Nissan LEAF has received an impressive overall safety rating of 5 out of 5, indicating excellent safety features and crash test performance. In specific crash scenarios, such as front and side crashes, the LEAF scored high ratings, with the driver-side front crash rating at 5 and the passenger-side front crash rating at 4. Additionally, the vehicle scored 5 out of 5 in side crash ratings and side pole crash ratings, highlighting its robust safety measures.

Moreover, the Nissan LEAF comes equipped with standard electronic stability control, forward collision warning, and lane departure warning systems, enhancing its safety features and assisting drivers in avoiding potential accidents. These advanced technologies contribute to making the driving experience safer and more secure for both the driver and passengers.

In terms of complaints and recalls, the vehicle has had 18 complaints reported, which is a relatively low number considering the model's popularity and production volume. There have been 4 recalls issued for the LEAF, indicating that Nissan takes proactive measures to address any potential safety issues promptly. Overall, the 2020 Nissan LEAF stands out as a top choice for consumers looking for a safe and reliable electric vehicle option.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

18

Recall Count

4

Investigation Count

1

Safety Rating

5/5

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Safety Features

2020 Nissan LEAF (40 KWh Battery) 5 HB FWD Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2020 Nissan LEAF (40 KWh Battery) 5 HB FWD

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

Standard
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

Standard

2020 Nissan LEAF (40 KWh Battery) 5 HB FWD Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2020 Nissan LEAF (40 KWh Battery) 5 HB FWD Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2011 Score 2020 Score 2021 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating 4 4 4
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 4 5 5
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 4 4 4

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2011 Score 2020 Score 2021 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating 5 5 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 5 5 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front 5 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear 5 5 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating 5 5 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2011 Score 2020 Score 2021 Score
Rollover Rating 4 4 4
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating 4 5 5

Complaints for the 2020 Nissan LEAF

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"i was driving on interstate highway h-3, uphill at 55 mph, when the % charge on the high-voltage battery instantaneously dropped from 18 to 5%. the warning light also came on. i was not using the a/c at the time. over the next 30 seconds or so, the gauge quickly went from 5...4...3...2....1. by dumb luck, as the gauge hit 1%, i hit peak elevation on the mountain pass, and was able to coast in neutral until the freeway starts going downhill. normally, an 18% charge would have been more than enough to comfortable complete my trip home from where i was on h-3 at the time. a sudden drop in battery % could lead to a cutoff of the motor, which at high-speed on a highway could cause a serious accident. i have subsequently done a battery health test and found the state of health rating to be 90%. there don't appear to be any bad cells in the battery that would explain the sudden drop while driving. my hunch is that this problem is related to the firmware update i received at the nissan dealer to address nhtsa campaign number: 23v494000."
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2023-01-11

Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2020 nissan leaf. the contact stated that the battery gauge was reading incorrectly. the contact stated that while doing a 70-mile roundtrip with 173 miles battery life, the battery gauge indicated the battery level was at 70 miles remaining. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was informed of failure and informed the contact that they were unable to assist. the failure mileage was approximately 10,000."
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2021-08-08

Complaint:
"on several occasions in both rural and suburban environments, regardless of weather temperature outside and during normal forward driving motion, the car reports that the forward camera overheats and immediately renders the collision avoidance system and propilot inoperative. dash lights picture included.1st overheating occurrence happened on april 15, 2020 and the after 2 more occurrences i took a picture on july 6, 2020. nissan service refuses to acknowledge this as a safety issue and dismisses the issue when i request service, stating that it is "normal operation.""
Components Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of incident: 2021-03-04

Recalls for the 2020 Nissan LEAF

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"nissan north america, inc. (nissan) is recalling certain 2020 leaf electric vehicles. under certain circumstances, the images for the back-up camera can disappear while in reverse. as such, these vehicles fail to comply with federal motor vehicle safety standard (fmvss) number 111, "rear visibility.""
Consequence:
The lack of an image in the back-up camera display increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy:

Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the back-up camera software, free of charge. This recall began August 31, 2020. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669.

Component(s) Involved: BACK OVER PREVENTION > SENSING SYSTEM > CAMERA
Date of incident: 2020-07-17

NISSAN Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

NISSAN ranks 5 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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