The 2012 Nissan Leaf has 57 owner-filed NHTSA complaints and 0 recalls on record. The most-reported areas are service brakes and electrical system. Owners most often flag severe battery degradation and cold-weather performance loss (gen1: 2011-2013): rapid loss of battery capacity, "lizard" battery issues, catastrophic range loss in cold weather, leading to unusable vehicles. frequency: very frequent.
Source: NHTSA complaints and recalls filed for 2012 Nissan Leaf vehicles (US, public record).
Across the 6 Leaf model years we track, complaint volume runs from 1 (2010) to 372 (2019). With 57 complaints, the 2012 Leaf sits about the same asthe model's median of 57.
These are raw NHTSA complaint totals, not adjusted for how many cars sold or how long each model year has been on the road. Older and higher-selling years accumulate more complaints.
Sentiment is sharply divided by generation and use case. For the first-generation models (notably 2011-2013), feedback is overwhelmingly negative due to severe battery degradation, loss of remote access services, and poor cold-weather…
Owner insights cover all generations of the Leaf. See the full Leaf owner picture and every model year.
Compare every Leaf year side by side to see how 2012 ranks against the rest.