2013 Nissan Leaf: owner complaints and recalls
Analysis of 81 owner complaints filed with NHTSA and 5 recall campaigns. Updated 2026-07-25.
81
Complaints
5
Recalls
11
Crash reports
1
Fire reports
4
Injuries
101.2
Severity index
Severity index 101.2 - High. This weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints; see methodology.
Among the 145 2013 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2013 Nissan Leaf ranks 31 of 145 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 79% of its model-year peers. See the full 2013 ranking.
What actually fails
| Component | Complaints | Share of complaints citing it |
|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES | 32 | 39.5% |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 18 | 22.2% |
| AIR BAGS | 17 | 21.0% |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 10 | 12.3% |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 5 | 6.2% |
| SEAT BELTS | 4 | 4.9% |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | 4 | 4.9% |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 4 | 4.9% |
The single most-reported system is SERVICE BRAKES, cited in 32 of 81 complaints (39.5%). One complaint can name several systems, so these shares overlap and do not total 100%.
Complaints filed per year
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 11 |
| 2014 | 13 |
| 2015 | 8 |
| 2016 | 6 |
| 2017 | 8 |
| 2018 | 9 |
| 2019 | 14 |
| 2020 | 2 |
| 2022 | 1 |
| 2023 | 6 |
| 2024 | 2 |
| 2025 | 1 |
Complaint volume is declining, consistent with a defect that was addressed by recall or that affected early builds.
Recall campaigns
| Campaign | Reported | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16V119000 | 29/02/2016 | 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 slo |
| 14V138000 | 25/03/2014 | 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. In the affected vehicles, the occupant classification system |
| 16V244000 | 26/04/2016 | 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 N |
| 13V069000 | 01/03/2013 | 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 suppr |
| 23V296000 | 26/04/2023 | 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. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the req |
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.