Buyer Research

2021 Nissan Leaf — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $13,000–$21,000. There are 2 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 15 Nissan Leaf years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

For four years the 2021 Leaf had a quiet record — 18 complaints through 2024. Then in October 2025 Nissan extended the fast-charging fire recall to 2021–2022 cars as 25V655, told owners to stop using CHAdeMO chargers, and the file doubled in six months. This year's record carries five fire reports, two of them cars that burned while charging. 45 of the 54 complaints are that recall: the waiting, the missed March 2026 remedy date, and owners pointing out that the software fix detects a bad cell and may shut the car down rather than repair anything. The Leaf itself is a comfortable, cheap-to-run commuter, and a 62 kWh Plus barely needs a fast charger. But do not buy one until 25V655 shows closed on the VIN, and price it as a home-charged car either way.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 54 owner complaints for the 2021 Nissan Leaf, and 4 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. 57% of them are about one thing — electrics and electronics. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.

4 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2021 Nissan Leaf

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Traction battery can overheat during DC fast charging — fire-risk recall 25V655, five fires on this year's recordHigh — wallet impact

Recall 25V655, issued October 2025 for 2021–2022 Leafs with the Level 3 port: lithium deposits in some battery cells raise resistance and can heat the pack rapidly during CHAdeMO fast charging. Owners were told not to fast charge until a battery software update was ready; Nissan's stated target was late March 2026 and several owners here were still waiting in April. Two complaints describe the car actually catching fire — one at a dealer after 15–20 minutes on a charger, one totaled — and another a battery-overheat message followed by a freeway stall at 5 mph. Owners also note the remedy is detection software that may disable the car, not a cell repair. Check the VIN for the recall closed, ask whether the seller has fast-charged since and how the car behaved, and run LeafSpy: one owner's pack showed 40% Hx, which is a badly degraded battery.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (31), the fuel system (8), the engine (6); 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Unintended acceleration after cancelling cruise control (recall 23V494)High — wallet impact

Recall 23V494 covers 2018–2023 Leafs: switching drive mode — D to B, e-Pedal on, ECO — after disengaging cruise control can make the car accelerate unintentionally. Dealers reprogram the vehicle control module free. No speed-control complaints sit on this year's record, which is what a well-completed recall looks like, but it stays a VIN-printout line to confirm; do not try to reproduce it on a test drive.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Backup camera distorted, blank or solid pink — harness recall 24V071, plus a wiper and headlamp reportMedium

Recall 24V071 (2018–2022 Leafs) has dealers inspect the rearview camera harness for damage that distorts or kills the picture, replacing parts or adding protective tape. Owners here describe a blurred view, no view, or a solid pink screen in Reverse, and the six visibility complaints add a passenger wiper that stopped and high beams that would not switch on in a storm. Recall 23V048 is a mailed manual correction for defroster use. Select Reverse several times during the viewing and confirm a clean live image; run both wipers and flick the high beams.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $150–$500 for a wiper motor or a headlamp switch

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under glass, wipers and mirrors (6), back over prevention (3); 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Automatic emergency braking activating on an open roadMedium

Three forward-collision-avoidance complaints, one of them a crash. On Nissans of this generation the pattern is the radar mistaking an overpass, a curve-side parked car or a shadow for an obstacle and braking hard with nothing ahead; sometimes the sensor faults and the system switches itself off with a warning. No Leaf recall covers it. Drive under a low bridge and past a line of parked cars on the test drive; a recalibration is cheap, a radar unit is not.

Repair cost (estimate): $150–$400 for a radar recalibration; $600–$1,500 for a radar sensor

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the driver-assist and automatic braking systems (3).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Recall 25V655 still open on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✗Any battery-overheat, 'Service EV System' or power-limit message on the dash
✗Seller will not demonstrate a CHAdeMO session or says the car has not fast-charged since 2025
✗Backup camera blurred, blank or pink when Reverse is selected
✗Hard braking with nothing ahead on the test drive

Good Signs

✓Recall 25V655 closed on the NHTSA VIN lookup, with a fast-charge session started since
✓All four recalls closed, printout in hand
✓A LeafSpy state-of-health above 88% that you watched taken
✓62 kWh Plus trim with home Level 2 charging as its daily routine
✓A clean live backup camera image every time Reverse is selected
✓Remaining Nissan battery warranty (8 years / 100,000 miles) confirmed on this VIN by a dealer