2012 Nissan Leaf Recalls
No NHTSA recalls on record for the 2012 Nissan Leaf. That means NHTSA has no open safety campaign for this vehicle — it does not guarantee the absence of problems. Owners have filed 71 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the service brakes. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Complaints by component
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“High voltage battery keeps shorting out stalling while driving on interstate almost got hit by 18 wheeler a few times it's a very unsafe car to drive and I keep smelling something like an odor from the battery I've been trying to get help to do the door ship nissan consumer affairs and seem to be…”
“Lithium batteries depletion”
“Dealer is mike erdman nissan merritt island fl 32953 airbag warning light flashing red on console. Paid $260 for diagnostic check on july 21, 2024. They cannot fix it as an airbag sensor on the passenger side seat is malfunctioning and the entire passenger side seat must be replaced and part is…”
“My nissan leaf is showing a warning sign that front passenger side airbag is disabled. I see that this is a common complaint from many 2011-12 nissan leaf owners. I would like to add my name to the list of owners who had a similar complaint and please update if you make nissan do a recall for this…”
“Car stops completely due to a defective battery should be recalled by dealer manufacturer”
“Car stops completely due to a defective battery should be recalled by dealer manufacturer”
“The brakes on the vehicle jerk alot when going under 15, causing everyone in the vehicle to get jerked forward multiple times and are touchy resulting in almost being in an accident. Airbag sensor for front passenger also no longer works and nissan refuses to repair any defect”
“The brakes on the vehicle jerk alot when going under 15, causing everyone in the vehicle to get jerked forward multiple times and are touchy resulting in almost being in an accident. Airbag sensor for front passenger also no longer works and nissan refuses to repair any defect”
Defect investigations
Front Occupant Classification System Mat
A defect petition (see DP19-002) was received July 23, 2019 alleging that the occupant classification system (OCS) sensor (mat) in model year (MY) 2011 Nissan Leaf vehicles is defective and affects the proper deployment of the passenger front air bag. The petitioner provided a list of potentially related NHTSA…
Pedestrian alert sounds
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for…
Front Occupant Classification System Mat
Preliminary Evaluation (PE) 19-015 was opened as a result of Defect Petition (DP) 19-002 which alleged that model year (MY) 2011 and 2012 Nissan Leaf were affected by the same defect addressed in an earlier recall, NHTSA Safety Recall 16V-244, but were not included in the scope of that recall.NHTSA 16V-244 involved a…
Front Occupant Classification System Mat
Preliminary Evaluation (PE) 19-015 was opened as a result of Defect Petition (DP) 19-002 which alleged that model year (MY) 2011 and 2012 Nissan Leaf were affected by the same defect addressed in an earlier recall, NHTSA Safety Recall 16V-244, but were not included in the scope of that recall.NHTSA 16V-244 involved a…
Front Occupant Classification System Mat
Preliminary Evaluation (PE) 19-015 was opened as a result of Defect Petition (DP) 19-002 which alleged that model year (MY) 2011 and 2012 Nissan Leaf were affected by the same defect addressed in an earlier recall, NHTSA Safety Recall 16V-244, but were not included in the scope of that recall.NHTSA 16V-244 involved a…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2012 Nissan Leaf as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.