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2018 Nissan Leaf forward collision avoidance problems

13 owner reports2 crashes

What owners report

  • “I was traveling north on Freeway 57 at approximately 70mph. The dash lit up red with 12v and charging warnings. Power was shut off and car went into Neutral and warned me to pull over. This is an incredibly busy freeway and I was in the far left lane. I barely made it to the shoulder coasting before car started shuttering and jerking and stopped rolling. I could have been killed.”

    NHTSA complaint · filed 12/19/2025

  • “On [XXX], I was slowly pulling into my driveway, took my foot off the accelerator and turned the steering wheel slightly to the right as the driveway is L shaped. Suddenly, the car sped up towards the garage door. I looked down quickly to see if I’d somehow pressed the accelerator by accident but I had not. I slammed on the brakes as hard as I could but the car kept going and smashed into the garage door and the corner of the garage, causing close to $20k in property damage. The hood and front b…”

    NHTSA complaint · filed 05/15/2025 · crash

  • “The incident occurred at a stop sign where I was waiting behind one other vehicle. The vehicle ahead of me accelerated from the stop sign to turn into traffic, but abruptly slammed on their brakes. I had began accelerating up to the stop sign and was unable to stop before impacting the car in front of me. As soon as I saw the vehicle was braking, I immediately slammed on the brake pedal. Braking did not immediately occur. My wife said she was afraid that I had slammed the gas pedal because she c…”

    NHTSA complaint · filed 12/13/2024 · crash

  • “Twice now - both times on the South Bound Richmond Bridge, the Automatic Emergency Braking lights came on and slammed on my brakes for me, as if I was about to crash when I was going 65 mils per hour, no one in front or behind me and no traffic, accident or reason. I almost lost control of the vehicle and would have caused an accident had anyone been closer to me.”

    NHTSA complaint · filed 07/22/2024

  • “The malfunction warning light came on to indicate that the automatic braking system was not working. I brought the car to the dealership, which quoted me $1900 for a new sensor. I have read about accidents and near collisions due to the malfunctioning of this system and am now worried that there might be sudden braking that others have experienced. I would like to get this system fixed, but do not believe consumes should need to pay $2000 to repair a defective system.”

    NHTSA complaint · filed 08/23/2023

  • “Around 45 degree weather, while driving on the freeway, a warning light indicating the AEB had been turned off started flashing on my dashboard without any collision, jerky movements, sudden stops, or changes to settings. At the same time this happened, my electric battery mileage started to fluctuate erratically (73% to 8% to 14% back to 70% and finally to 60%). This is extremely concerning because of the car immediately brakes or if the battery dies on the freeway, it could cause a major colli…”

    NHTSA complaint · filed 11/03/2022

  • “AEB system malfunction around 25000 miles. Dealer diagnose as the front radar failed and cause the cruise control not available.”

    NHTSA complaint · filed 01/15/2022

  • “2 incidents have occurred with this vehicle. The first earlier this year (2021) is that upon slowly accelerating to move closer to vehicle that moved up in a turn lane, the automatic emergency brake system engaged, abruptly stopped the vehicle and many lights lit up across the dashboard. The brakes then released and all lights on the dashboard disappeared. I was not close enough to the car ahead or at any rate of speed that should have caused this abrupt brake reaction. The 2nd incident and m…”

    NHTSA complaint · filed 08/19/2021

Unverified owner reports from NHTSA's public complaint database.

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How common are 2018 Nissan Leaf forward collision avoidance problems?
13 owners reported forward collision avoidance issues to NHTSA for the 2018 Nissan Leaf, 2 involving a crash. Counts scale with how many were sold.
Is there a recall for 2018 Nissan Leaf forward collision avoidance problems?
No matching recall is on file. Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls for the latest.

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