'“The G36 apparently has an accuracy problem in high temperatures and also when it's overheated from firing,” von der Leyen said.
She added that following a report from Bundeswehr (German army) chief of staff Volker Wieker the army will limit use of the weapon.
Reuters reported that in the long term, soldiers may have to be equipped with a different rifle.
The Bundeswehr has bought 176,000 G36 rifles from German weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch since 1996.
It has also been exported to dozens of other countries for use by soldiers, police and special forces all over the world.
Several thousand were recently sent to Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in Iraq for the struggle against Isis.
In July last an internal Bundeswehr report criticised accuracy problems with the G36, although the Defence Ministry has tried to influence them - as the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported in November.
Von der Leyen assembled a committee of military and civilian experts in mid-2014 to look into the weapons.
Although it has yet to report, von der Leyen has previously said that its conclusions “tend in a definite direction”.
Heckler & Koch would not immediately comment on Von der Leyen's comments when contacted by The Local.
Defence expert Tobias Lindner of the opposition Green party said that the problems show "that in the Bundeswehr there are massive problems with the simplest kinds of basic equipment".
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