Problems · NHTSA complaints

2013 Nissan Leaf problems

Owners filed 81 complaints about the 2013 Nissan Leaf with NHTSA between May 2013 and Jan 2025. The most-cited component is service brakes (32).

Complaints
81
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
11
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
4
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Service brakes32
  2. Electrical system18
  3. Air bags17
  4. Vehicle speed control5
  5. Seat belts4
  6. Visibility/wiper4
  7. Fuel/propulsion system4
  8. Wheels4
  9. Steering4
  10. Electronic stability control (esc)3
  11. Power train3
  12. Suspension2
  13. Structure2
  14. Tires2

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 8, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
201311
201413
20158
20166
20178
20189
201914
20202
20210
20221
20236
20242
20251

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Service brakes

32 reports7 crashes1 related recall
“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 decreased. 13-Jan-2025, when traveling straight on a 40mph road towards a busy intersection, when the brakes were applied to slow to the intersection they failed and a red indicator light came on. Stopping ability was significantly reduced, but not completely gone. The car was able to safely divert into a parking lot without incident. When the car was powered off then on, the error went away and the brakes functioned. There were 2 other incidents prior to this, traveling at low speeds in residential areas. Braking was completely gone and I had to use the parking brake pedal to stop the vehicle. Again, after powering the car off then on, the braking system functioned normally.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 13, 2025Service brakesODI 11635731

Electrical system

18 reports1 fire1 related recall
“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. The DC-DC converter has a sense line that senses the voltage of the 12v battery, but the programming of the converter is defective such that it does not actually maintain the battery at a healthy level. This is a commonly reported and discussed issue on Nissan Leaf ownership forums. Reprogramming of the DC-DC converter is necessary,…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 30, 2023Electrical systemODI 11557774

Air bags

17 reports2 crashes2 related recalls
“Warning light is flashing and the airbag warning light is flashing. I took it to the dealership and they tell me this is not covered under a recall notice but I have hear other Nissan Leafs do have a recall notice for airbags. It is expensive to fix. Is there a mistake and it is covered under a recall notice?”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 2, 2023Air bagsODI 11529990

Vehicle speed control

5 reports2 crashes
“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"”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 12, 2024Vehicle speed control, Unknown or other, Service brakesCrash reportedODI 11630366

Seat belts

4 reports1 crash
“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.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 12, 2023Air bags, Seat beltsODI 11521771

Visibility/wiper

4 reports
“THE PASSENGER SIDE WIPER JUST SUDDENLY STOPPED WORKING AT 40,000 MILES, THE DRIVER SIDE WORKS FINE.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 14, 2019Visibility/wiperODI 11268245
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 8, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.