Check a VIN

Nissan Leaf adaptive cruise problems

10 of the 1,123 owner complaints about the Nissan Leaf describe adaptive cruise control problems, most of them for the 2018 model year.

owner complaints
10
worst model year
2018
Is there a fix? There are 3 recalls for this area of the car. See below

By model year

  • 2023
    1
  • 2020
    4
  • 2019
    1
  • 2018
    4

Often reported together

Wipers 1Sudden acceleration 1Overheating 1

Trouble codes mentioned

P33ED 1P3180 1P317E 1

What owners say

Filed Nov 9, 2026 · Electrical, Fuel system · AR

2020 Nissan LEAF, approx. 31,000 miles. On XXX, the vehicle received the software update for the federal safety agency Recall 24V‑700/Nissan Campaign R24B2, described as addressing battery overheating/fire risk during DC fast charging. On XXX, while traveling at 70 mph on a flat highway with a 75 mph speed limit and cruise control engaged, the vehicle suddenly lost propulsion without advance warning and slowed to approximately 30 mph. It would not accelerate normally. My children were inside. This abrupt loss of speed created a serious rear-end collision risk. This is my [XXX] daughter's daily driver, and I am concerned about a novice driver experiencing the same failure. An immediate independent diagnostic scan showed P33ED-00 (HV Battery Parallel Diagnosis), P3180-97 and P317E-97. Battery telemetry showed SOH 88.51% and Hx 57.24%. I request investigation into whether a battery defect and/or the recall software caused this highway propulsion loss. These readings have not yet been evaluated by a Nissan dealer. On XXX, Nissan Consumer Affairs/Roadside Assistance agents and supervisors refused complimentary towing from our residence, stating they would not accept third-party diagnostics and required dealer evaluation first. We were told to pay for towing or arrange transport ourselves. The vehicle remains at home with unresolved battery safety concerns. My daughter has lost her transportation; rental/loaner age restrictions prevent her from using a replacement. We still owe $12,158.09 on a vehicle that can not be driven because of a safety recall. I request the federal safety agency investigate the propulsion failure, adequacy of the R24B2 remedy and Nissan's refusal of towing assistance. I request Nissan provide safe flatbed transport, a permanent remedy and a vehicle buyback resolving the outstanding financing. Diagnostic records and recall service documentation are available. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Oct 27, 2026 · Brakes, Driver assistance · GA · crash

On 10/24/2026 at approximately 6:10 PM, I was driving this 2023 Nissan Leaf SV Plus (under 20,000 miles) southbound on I-575 in Woodstock, GA, with Intelligent Cruise Control and e-Pedal both engaged. When traffic ahead slowed, the vehicle did not slow down. I applied the brake pedal, but the vehicle did not decelerate as expected, and it struck the rear of the vehicle ahead. No warning I am aware of preceded the event. Earlier on the same drive, the vehicle also did not slow as expected when I braked for a yellow light, until I pressed the brake pedal very hard. No injuries. The vehicle sustained significant front-end damage. Police report: Woodstock PD Case WO26-003692. The vehicle is being preserved for inspection, including Event Data Recorder download. I will submit diagnostic and EDR results when available.

Filed Jun 23, 2026 · Driver assistance · CT

While driving with cruise control set to a certain speed (i do not recall the exact speed it was set to) I pressed the button that lowers the current speed it is set to, but instead of lowring by one mph it raised the speed, pressing again raised the speed again. this continued a few times until i turned off cruise control. The system has been buggy in the past, for example not responding to a button or raising by 2 or 3 mph instead of one (the Leaf goes one by one, not jumps like some vehicles). But this was the first time i saw it actually raise speed in response to a button that should lower it and that seems dangerous. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or service center. It has not been inspected by anyone since the incident occurred. There were no warning lamps or messages. The overall bugginess has been noticeable for a long time (perhaps always?) but this occurred (raising the speed instead of lowering it) for the first time yesterday.

Filed Mar 11, 2025 · Acceleration, Engine · KY

After hard acceleration then releasing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle does not slow as expected and, at times, will actually continue to accelerate. The vehicle will slow as expected when the brake is applied, but will again gradually accelerate when the brake is released. If slowed to a stop, the vehicle may begin to accelerate once the brake is released. This issue does not occur after normal acceleration. The issue may be related to the federal safety agency Recall Number 23V‑494, which repairs have not been addressed for the subject vehicle, although the issue occurs regardless of the state or change-of-state of the e-pedal switch or cruise control function, both of which are mentioned in that recall. This issue has occurred on multiple occasions in the time that I have owned the car (approx 13 months.) There is no correlation with weather conditions or initial or final speed. The only consistent variable is rate of acceleration.

Filed Jul 17, 2024 · Acceleration · 100 miles · WA

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated while driving on several occasions at various speeds with the cruise control activated, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle lunged forward. The contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V494000 (Vehicle Speed Control). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100.

Filed Dec 20, 2023 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · NY

About 3 months ago, I took this car in after receiving a recall notice for unexpected acceleration while on adaptive cruise control even though this was an issue I had never experienced before. But on monday, driving in stop and go traffic in light rain (intermittent wipers on slow setting), all of a sudden the car started accelerating directly towards the car 20 feet or so in front of us; the brakes had to be manually slammed on to bring the car to stop with now only 2-3 feet or so between the two cars. This was very alarming. When I spoke to the dealership about them needing to fix this safety issue and how I thought it must be related to the recall, they said it could not be given it first happened 3 months later and I would have to pay for an evaluation and if they found anything wrong for the repair. I am reporting this and would like to know if other Nissan Leafs are seeing the same issue post-recall repair. I will say it doesn't happen all the time since I like and use adaptive cruise control regularly. I carefully tried it after this event but with much more distance between me and the car in front and it did slow the car down as it normally does when traffic slowed, but again, I never got as close to the car as this time and it was not raining so who knows. I have reported this to Nissan corporate and was told someone would call me back in the next few days.

Filed Sep 20, 2023 · NC

1. Unexpected acceleration, AC power, Computer dash controls, and Computer programming for GPS coordinates for charging stations out of date and or tampered with (status was "out of range" and did not match range number on the odometer. Computer Programming for charge stations is a dynamic feature when it works right. Its a component of the vehicle to be able to operate and get people to where they need to go, and it was malfunctioning on a recent road trip and gave me bad intel, etc. Again, the intel did not match the instrument panel located under the steering column. 2. This vehicle has been serviced with a software update that was supposed to correct the Issues. It did not work. 3. Nissan put the situation back in my lap and asked me to drive them around (three times now to "replicate")?! I did on the second or third visit, and could not get the unexpected acceleration to replicate during that 45 minute drive. The other issues they have completely dismissed. Please note: These issues have been well documented by your website and EV Insiders (see recalls), and by ME (the consumer and purchaser of that car). 4. The chief network architects for Nissan according to LinkedIn are: Juan Valdez Cybersecurity and network architect, Shane Callahan CISO, and or Arnold Hahamyan Cheif Enterprise Architect (Nissan Americas). Can someone reach out to these guys to see what is chiefly responsible for the flaw in their gateway/software. And why a 2020 Leaf why the programing to find charging station is flawed and or corrupted? 5. Last, since whatever software change occurred and or cyber attack (assuming), Emode is the safest way to drive the car, economy drive has had the problem with unexpected acceleration. Note: Car sped up after taking foot off accelerator and between foot pedal breaking, this occurred coming up to Red lights, parking, car wash, etc. 6. Theres something wrong with the cruise control too, and it does not always work right.

Filed Jan 15, 2022 · Driver assistance · CA

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

Filed May 29, 2020 · Brakes, Electrical · 11,250 miles · WA

I was driving down the freeway going roughly 70mph with pro pilot cruise control enabled. The car sensed a car ahead and slammed on the brakes, but there were no cars in front of me and was almost rear ended by a car going 70+ MPH on i5 .

Filed May 9, 2018 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · 10 miles · TX

This nissan car is equipped with features named, pro-pilot assist (ppa), intelligent cruise control (icc) and emergency brake assist (eba). When engaged, it is supposed to keep lanes and follow distance if there is a car in front. When the car in front is stopped this car is supposed to stop as well. Ppa when engaged, if there are good road markings, will show a green stearing on the dash board, to show that car can steer it self. However if there is a car stopped in front on the same lane (ex. Stopped for a red light), this car do not detect that there is a car stopped, and keep going forward until crash into the stopped car, driver have to intevene to stop at this time to stop. I took car to dealer and they said this is normal. That is not what nissan advertise. This behavior is quite dangerous of these cars, and my expectation is the car need to stop if there is an obstruction in the road, when the green steering wheel on dash is showing that car is doing auto-steer.

Related recalls

Back over prevention: sensing system: cameraReported February 2, 2024 · 57,914 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2022 LEAF vehicles. Damage to the camera harness can cause distortion or loss of the rearview camera display image. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Risk
A rearview camera that does not properly display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will inspect the rearview camera and harness for damage and replace them as necessary. If no damage is found, the dealer will apply protective tape and reroute the rearview camera harness. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 9, 2024. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1‑800‑867‑7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R23D7.

Recall number 24V071000 · Recall details

Back over prevention: sensing system: cameraReported July 17, 2020 · 6,157 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020 LEAF electric vehicles. Under certain circumstances, the images for the back-up camera can disappear while in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Risk
The lack of an image in the back-up camera display increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the back-up camera software, free of charge. This recall began August 31, 2020. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1‑800‑867‑7669.

Recall number 20V412000 · Recall details

Back over prevention: sensing system: cameraReported September 12, 2019 · 1,228,830 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Nissan Altima, Armada, Frontier, Kicks, Leaf, Maxima, Murano, NV, NV200, Pathfinder, Rogue, Rogue Sport, Sentra, Titan, Titan Diesel, Versa Note and Versa Sedan vehicles, as well as Infiniti Q50, Q60, QX30 and QX80 vehicles. Additionally included are 2019 Nissan GT-R and Taxi and Infiniti QX50, QX60, Q70, Q70L vehicles. The back-up camera and display settings can be adjusted such that the rear view image is no longer visible and the system will retain that setting the next time the vehicle is placed in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Risk
The lack of an image in the back-up camera display increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Nissan will notify owners in phases, having dealers update the back-up camera settings software, free of charge. The recall began November 11, 2019 and all affected VINs should be activated. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1‑800‑867‑7669 or INFINITI customer service at 1‑800‑662‑6200.

Recall number 19V654000 · Recall details

Questions about the Nissan Leaf adaptive cruise

Which Nissan Leaf years have adaptive cruise control problems problems?

The model years with the most reports are 2018 (4 complaints), 2020 (4 complaints) and 2019 (1 complaints).

VIN decoder

See the problems and recalls for an exact car

Buying a used Nissan Leaf?

Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.

Check its history