2013 Nissan Leaf Recalls, Complaints & Specs
5 safety recalls list the 2013 Nissan Leaf, and owners have filed 81 complaints with NHTSA. Check your own VIN below.
5 safety recalls for the 2013 Nissan Leaf
Most recent first. Recall repairs are free at any authorised dealer. Click a recall for the full defect, consequence and remedy text.
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Owners/service/other manual (equipment) and defroster/defogger/hvac system (visibility)
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 requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number…
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. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at…
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Occupant classification (air bags)
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 Express,…
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,…
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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.
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Air bags: frontal and software (electrical system)
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 (OCS) software may incorrectly classify the passenger seat…
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.
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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.
81 owner complaints filed with NHTSA
Owners of the 2013 Nissan Leaf have filed 81 complaints with NHTSA; 11 describe a crash and 1 describe a fire. Reports cite 4 injuries and 0 deaths. The average mileage at failure in those reports is 31,175 miles. Complaints peaked in 2019 with 14 filed that year.
Most-reported components
What owners are reporting
“On 3 occasions the brakes have randomly failed when traveling. In 2 cases, stopping ability was non-existent except for the use of the parking brake. In the other case, stopping was significantly decr”
Owner complaint to NHTSA, January 13, 2025 · Service brakes
“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”
Owner complaint to NHTSA, December 12, 2024 · Vehicle speed control
Fuel economy and specs
EPA ratings for the 2013 Nissan Leaf. Ranges cover every tested configuration.
| Combined | 115 MPGe |
|---|---|
| City / Highway | 129 / 102 |
| Fuel | Electricity |
| EPA class | Midsize Cars |
| Transmission | Automatic (A1) |
Compare Nissan Leaf model years
Recall and complaint counts for every Nissan Leaf model year in NHTSA's database.
| Model year | Recalls | Complaints |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 Nissan Leaf | 0 | 1 |
| 2011 Nissan Leaf | 0 | 95 |
| 2012 Nissan Leaf | 0 | 57 |
| 2013 Nissan Leaf | 5 | 81 |
| 2014 Nissan Leaf | 6 | 34 |
| 2015 Nissan Leaf | 4 | 110 |
| 2016 Nissan Leaf | 4 | 36 |
| 2017 Nissan Leaf | 2 | 17 |
| 2018 Nissan Leaf | 4 | 66 |
| 2019 Nissan Leaf | 5 | 259 |
| 2020 Nissan Leaf | 6 | 167 |
| 2021 Nissan Leaf | 4 | 56 |
| 2022 Nissan Leaf | 4 | 95 |
| 2023 Nissan Leaf | 3 | 20 |
| 2024 Nissan Leaf | 0 | 5 |
| 2025 Nissan Leaf | 0 | 7 |
| 2026 Nissan Leaf | 2 | 2 |
Checking a specific 2013 Nissan Leaf
How do I know if my 2013 Nissan Leaf has an open recall?
Enter your 17-character VIN above. The VIN is on the driver's side dashboard (visible through the windshield), the driver's door jamb sticker, and your registration or insurance card. The check runs against NHTSA's live database and tells you which campaigns list your vehicle. 5 campaigns currently list the 2013 Nissan Leaf; your car may already have been repaired under some of them.
Is the recall repair free?
Yes. Under federal law, manufacturers must fix safety recalls at no charge for vehicles up to 15 years old from the date of sale to the first owner. Contact any authorised Nissan dealer with your VIN and the NHTSA campaign number (for example 13V069000).
What is the difference between a recall and a complaint?
A recall is a safety campaign filed by the manufacturer or ordered by NHTSA, with a defined defect and remedy. A complaint is a report an owner sent to NHTSA; it is not verified, but patterns of complaints are what trigger NHTSA investigations and, eventually, recalls.
Other Nissan models
- Altima15,472 complaints
- Pathfinder7,355 complaints
- Rogue7,322 complaints
- Maxima6,955 complaints
- Murano5,958 complaints
- Sentra5,954 complaints
- Frontier3,357 complaints
- Versa3,325 complaints
Source: NHTSA recall and complaint databases and EPA fuel economy data, October 2026. Complaint counts are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. Recall counts are safety campaigns that list this model year; whether a particular car was already repaired depends on its VIN. How this data is compiled.