Most common 2013 Nissan Leaf problems
Share of the 81 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Nissan Leaf complaints by model year
Best Leaf years: 2017, 2024, 2014. Years to avoid: 2019, 2020, 2022, 2015, 2011. Compare all years →
2013 Nissan Leaf recalls (5)
Equipment › Other › Owners/service/other manual
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2013-2017 LEAF vehicles. The Owner's Manual instructions for defroster operation are incorrect and may result in reduced defroster performance under specific conditions.
Remedy: Nissan will mail an addendum with updated instructions on how to operate the defroster, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed May 26, 2023.
Air bags › Sensor › Occupant classification
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 Nissan Murano, Murano Hybrid, and Chevrolet City…
Remedy: Nissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in Altima, Maxima, Murano,…
Service brakes
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 LEAF vehicles manufactured November 19, 2012, to July 31, 2015. During very cold temperatures, the relay inside the electronic brake booster may freeze, requiring the driver to exert more effort to slow the vehicle down.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the Intelligent Brake Control Unit software, free of charge. The recall began on March 28, 2016. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.
Electrical system › Software
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, and Sentra, model year 2013 NV200 (aka Taxi) and Infiniti JX35 and model year 2014 Infiniti Q50 and QX60 vehicles.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on April 14, 2014. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Air bags
Nissan is recalling certain model year 2013 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, Sentra, and Infiniti JX35 vehicles. Sensors within the passenger Occupant Detection System (ODS) may have been manufactured out of specification. This may cause the system to malfunction and permanently suppress the passenger airbag.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ODS sensors and replace them as neccessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 6, 2013. Owners may contact Nissan Customer Service at 1-800-647-7261.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 3 possible defects involving the 2013 Nissan Leaf:
Occupant Classification System Failure
In April 2014, Nissan North America launched Safety Recall 14V-138 to address problems with the Occupant Classification System (OCS) algorithm in the following vehicles: model year (MY) 2013-2014 Nissan Altima, Pathfinder, Sentra and LEAF; MY 2013 Infiniti JX35; MY 2014 Infiniti QX60 and Q50; and MY 2013 Nissan NV 200/Taxi vehicles.According to Nissan, the OCS may misclassify adult front passenger occupants and turn…
Occupant Classification System Failure
In May 2016, Nissan North America issued a safety recall (16V-244) to address the problem of improper classification of adult front seat passengers in approximately 3.3 million vehicles, including those in the scope of this investigation when it was opened (almost one million vehicles) and additional vehicles, as shown below.Nissan models: certain model year 2013-2016 Altima, 2013-2016 LEAF, 2016-2017 Maxima,…
Pedestrian alert sounds
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles.
What 2013 Nissan Leaf owners say
Brakes all 32 →
I put the car in park as I was pulling in without turning it off to grab trash from the curb and take it to the car, but the car keep accelerating. I jumped in and slammed on the bricks but it hit the brick wall to the house. I see more recent years were recalled for "unintended acceleration" and "brake issues"
I was driving and wanted to slow the vehicle to turn on a side street. I pressed the brake and nothing happened. The vehicle did not slow down at all. I pushed harder, still nothing. The brakes completely failed to work. Due to this brake failure, I was unable to make the turn I wanted to make because I was going too fast. I continued going straight, and because the road was slightly uphill, the vehicle eventually stopped and I was able to ease off the road when the vehicle had slowed sufficiently. Fortunately, there were no injuries or accidents. After the vehicle had stopped I looked to see if it was low on brake fluid. It was not. The brake fluid level was at manufactures specification. After I had stopped I did notice several warning lights on the dash, including ABS and other symbols I don't know the meaning of. …
Electrical system
The car suddenly lost power during freeway driving. The brake system appeared compromised. Turning off 12v accessories - which includes safety critical functions such as the defrost blower - was necessary to restore functionality. This is caused by a defective DC-DC converter that fails to properly charge the 12V battery, risking and repeatedly causing sudden loss power, loss of braking, and loss of safety critical functions. This is not the result of damage to the DC-DC converter or other such damage. This is proven by the fact that activation of the wipers triggers the DC-DC converter to temporarily raise the charging voltage to a level sufficient to restore power and charge the 12v battery. Due to defective programming of the DC-DC converter, the power provided to the 12v battery and system quickly returns to unsafe low levels. …
Due to a manufacturing issue certain 2011-2019 LEAF vehicles' lithium-ion battery bonding plates may not meet Nissan internal standards and may fail. Unfortunately the recommended servicing facility does not service electric vehicles. The next nearest facility is beyond the range of the now degraded lithium ion battery. This makes it impossible to drive the vehicle to a servicing facility so that to affect this voluntary recall will require a tow both ways. Nissan refuses to address this issue and I am concerned first regarding the seriousness of this repair and secondly my out of pocket expense to affect this repair.
Air bags
The left curtain and driver seat airbags were spontaneously deployed while driving. The driver seatbelt pre-tensioner was engaged and locked. There was no collision or abrupt motion. My wife sustained minor abrasions to her left arm and swerved to the right shoulder of the road. The car would not shift into drive and was towed. The cause is unknown and without warning.
SRS Airbag light has been flashing for about a year. Code reader shows B00A0 0009 code indicating a problem with the OCS / Occupancy sensor. I believe this puts all passengers in the front seat at risk since the airbag may not operate in an accident. The car is available for inspection. It has not been inspected by the manufacturer or others.
2013 Nissan Leaf engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electric | Single-speed | FWD | 129 / 102 / 115 MPGe | 75 mi |
EPA ratings. Class: Midsize car.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2013 Nissan Leaf a good car?
Based on 81 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2013 Leaf rates use caution: 1.7× as many complaints as a typical year of the Leaf at the same age. It is one of the Leaf years we suggest avoiding. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 2013 Nissan Leaf?
The brakes — 32 complaints, 40% of all complaints for this model year. Next are the electrical system (18) and air bags (17).
How many recalls does the 2013 Nissan Leaf have?
There are 5 recalls for the 2013 Nissan Leaf, the most recent from April 26, 2023 (owners/service/other manual). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Nissan Leaf?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2017, 2024 and 2014. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2019, 2020, 2022, 2015 and 2011. See the full Nissan Leaf years comparison.
At what mileage do 2013 Nissan Leaf problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 24,000 miles; 83% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
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.