2017 Nissan Leaf
Electric Midsize car
The 2017 Nissan Leaf is sold in the U.S. as a electric midsize car. Its longest-range version, the Leaf, is EPA-rated at 107 miles with 112 MPGe combined efficiency. NHTSA lists 2 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of B. Owners have filed 17 complaints, most often about electrical system.
Specs & fuel economy (EPA)
| Configuration | Powertrain | Drive | Engine / motor | City | Hwy | Comb | Range | kWh/100mi | Charge (240V) | Annual fuel* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leaf | Electric | FWD | 80 kW DCPM | 124 | 101 | 112 MPGe | 107 mi | 30.0 | 6 h | $650 |
*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.
Out of factory warranty soon?
The 2017 Nissan Leaf is in the years where high-voltage electronics and module repairs land on the owner. Compare extended-coverage quotes in about two minutes.
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Recalls (2)
Visibility
highProblem: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2013-2017 LEAF vehicles. The Owner's Manual instructions for defroster operation are incorrect and may result in reduced defroster performance under specific conditions. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 103, "Windshield Defrosting and Defogging Systems."
Risk: Reduced defroster performance can limit visibility out of the windshield, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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 May 26, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R23A1.
Air Bags
highProblem: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 LEAF and 2014, 2016 and 2017 Sentra vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error within the air bag inflators, the passenger frontal air bag may not properly deploy in the event of a crash.
Risk: In the event of a crash, if the front passenger air bag doesn't deploy properly, it can increase the risk of injury to passengers.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began June 7, 2017. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.
NHTSA investigations
Electrical System:Propulsion System — Pedestrian alert sounds (closed)
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 pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matt
Opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · action DP22005
Owner complaints
17 complaints filed
2 involved a crash, 0 a fire, 1 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.
Filed by year — 2017: 2 · 2018: 2 · 2019: 1 · 2020: 3 · 2021: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2024: 1 · 2026: 3
Most-cited components
- Electrical System — 4
- Air Bags — 4
- Unknown Or Other — 3
- Fuel/Propulsion System — 3
- Power Train — 3
Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.
Crash ratings
| Configuration | Overall | Frontal | Side | Rollover | Rollover risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 HB FWD | not rated | ★★★★☆ | not rated | ★★★★☆ | 11% |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.
Other Leaf model years
2026 Leaf
2 recalls · 2 complaints
A2025 Leaf
0 recalls · 7 complaints
A2024 Leaf
0 recalls · 5 complaints
C2023 Leaf
3 recalls · 20 complaints
D2022 Leaf
4 recalls · 92 complaints
D2021 Leaf
4 recalls · 54 complaints
F2020 Leaf
6 recalls · 164 complaints
F2019 Leaf
5 recalls · 253 complaints
C2018 Leaf
4 recalls · 66 complaints
D2016 Leaf
4 recalls · 36 complaints
Sources & method
Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.
EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records (ids 38428). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.