Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2012 Nissan Leaf owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
As I am approaching a stop, and the car is under ~15mph, and I touch the brakes, the will grab strongly and slam the car to a stop; people in the car lurch forward, and the driver behind me is surprised by the sudden stop and has to slam on their brakes. I notice there are 2 campaigns for this issue, one just before my VIN, and one after my VIN, but it looks to be the same problem. It is dangerously strong and difficult to control.
When applying the brakes at low speed the brakes grab suddenly causing the car to lurch to a stop. The problem is intermittent, and therefore difficult to predict, but occurs frequently. This behavior is an ongoing hazard to the driver and passengers while also increasing the risk of a rear end collision if someone is following too closely.
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
Tl* the contact owned a 2012 Nissan Leaf. While driving 40 MPH, the contact depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle failed to slow down as expected. The contact fully depressed the brake pedal, but the ABS failed to activate and the vehicle still failed to slow down as expected. As a result, the contact crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The driver's side air bag deployed. The contact and the driver of the other vehicle suffered minor back pain, but no medical attention was required. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer and the contact's insurance company confirmed that the vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure, although the contact had previously been in contact with them about similar brake issues. The manufacturer attempted to repair the vehicle. The contact was advised to file a complaint with NHTSA. …
The brakes on this car often become grabby, especially in either cold or wet weather. It is often difficult to modulate the brakes smoothly and the amount of braking action is not linear with pedal pressure. This will change during a single trip where the brakes will start out grabby but then get better. Sometimes the brakes are normal at the start of a trip and then get grabby in the middle of the trip. I have also experienced a modulation in braking when holding the brake pedal with steady pressure as I'm slowing for traffic. This modulation is about one cycle per second and feels like I am pumping the brakes but I'm not. The worst part of this is it often happens during a cold morning with snow and ice on the road, so the brakes jam on with very little pedal pressure causing the car to skid unexpectedly. …
I have observed the transient grabby brake syndrome in my Leaf during cold weather months in the past couple years. I complained to my Nissan dealerships service department a couple times about it, but the problem could not be replicated at the time. I also noticed on the energy screen that the regenerative braking was cycling between 10 and 20 % coincident with these brake intensity pulsations. It only happens when I am lightly braking with very steady light pressure on the brake pedal. I suspect a possible cause to be the sensor that determines brake pedal position for the regen braking May be defective or non-linear at some portion of the travel, or the regen braking program May have a problem, or the hydraulic braking system has a faulty component and the regen system is just responding to the cycling between hard and light braking. …
I was coming to a stop sign there was a little sand on the road and the car started to skid in the front wheels. I let go of the brake but the wheels did not stop braking. This happens every time you try and stop hard even on clean dry pavement. The front wheels lock up and don't unlock even with your foot off the brakes. This will cause an accident one day when someone is following me. I have also had 4 instances one which left me stranded where I can feel a drag on the car and the battery drains twice as fast. I have tried to turn off the traction control when this happens and it did not help. It was towed to the dealer and was told it had to fully charge before being reset. Then they reluctantly scanned the car but found "nothing wrong" the range perdition on the dash board is always way off. I have to add at least 10-15 miles on top of whatever distance I want to go. …
Brakes grab and lurch the car to a stop. This occurs especially at low speeds in stop-and-go traffic and thus is dangerous. A driver following close behind will be surprised by the very rapid deceleration. It happens often, always at speeds below about 10 - 15 MPH, but not every time I brake, and it is unpredictable. The problem has been widely reported on blogs. I have informed my Nissan service department on many occasions. About 6 years ago Nissan released a firmware patch, which was installed in my car. That did not fix the problem. The service department acknowledges the existence of the problem but doesn't have a solution. It's almost certainly a software/firmware issue.
Driving my 2012 Leaf on a secondary road on Sunday afternoon, at 45 MPH, I applied my brakes to turn right on to another street. After moderately pressing the brake pedal the brakes locked, bringing the vehicle to a complete stop in the roadway. My foot had not been on the brake pedal for at least a full second while my vehicle continued to abruptly stop. A vehicle behind me rear-ended the Leaf. I and my two passengers received neck injuries. This is absolutely a defect in the braking system that needs to be resolved. I consider Nissan at fault and not the driver of the vehicle that rear ended us.
The car continues to brake even after the brake pedal is no longer pressed. This happens when the ABS kicks in. I had to slam on the brakes after someone pulled out in front of me. I did not want to completely stop as I could have been rear ended but the car continued to apply full brakes even when I no longer wanted to stop and no longer pressed the brake. This has happened 4 times total, always when I had to brake very hard to avoid a collision. Very lucky I have not been rear ended after any of these incidents, one person drove off the road to avoid me after the car decided to stop fully.
Brake complaints in other Leaf years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2012 Nissan Leaf?
NHTSA has 22 complaints about the brakes of the 2012 Nissan Leaf, 39% of the model year's 57 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2012 Nissan Leaf brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes recall for the 2012 Nissan Leaf. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2012 Nissan Leaf brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 19,000 miles, and 68% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 5 crashes, 0 fires and 5 injuries to brakes problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.