80,000 Nissan Leaf EVs Recalled over Risk of Unintended Acceleration

Nissan is recalling more than 80,000 Leaf EVs in the U.S. to fix a problem with the vehicle control module software.As reported by Bloomberg News, the problem could cause sudden acceleration after exiting cruise control or could cause the electric motor to stop functioning during driving.The recall affects several Nissan models and nearly a million total vehicles in countries outside the U.S., but in this country only the 2018 through 2022 model Leaf is affected, Nissan said.

Nissan will be recalling 2018 through 2022 Leaf EVs to fix a problem with the vehicle control module. Reportedly the problem can cause a short circuit that could make an electric motor stop while the vehicle is being driven or could cause sudden vehicle acceleration after exiting cruise control.

A Nissan spokesperson described the issue to Car and Driver this way: “When certain actions are taken immediately after turning off the cruise control (including Intelligent Cruise Control and Pro-PILOT), some e-POWER and electric vehicles may experience unintended acceleration.” The spokesperson did not elaborate on what the “certain actions” were other than to say: “These actions were discovered in internal vehicle testing and are not normally performed in the real world. Nissan has not received any reports of issues or accidents.”

Worldwide, several Nissan models produced between 2017 and 2023, totaling nearly a million vehicles, are included in the recall, but in the U.S. only the Leaf is affected. Nissan said the recall will include 80,952 U.S. Leaf EVs from model years 2018 through 2023.

A Nissan spokesperson told Car and Driver that the company will install updated vehicle control module software, which will require owners to bring the vehicles to a dealer.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has not yet published documentation on the recall, but owners of potentially affected Leaf EVs can check the Nissan recall website or the NHTSA recall site to see if their vehicle is affected.

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Laura Sky Brown has been involved in automotive media for a very long time, and she sees it as her calling to guard the legacy and help ensure the continued high quality of Car and Driver. She was one of the first staffers at Automobile Magazine in the ’80s and has worked for many other car magazines and websites as a writer, editor, and copy editor ever since. It has been her privilege to edit many of the greats of automotive journalism over the years, including the ones who currently write for C/D.