What are the common problems with the 2013 Nissan Leaf?
Owners of the 2013 Nissan Leaf have filed 81 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the brakes (32) and the electrical system (18). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 60 of them list a mileage; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
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See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 81 owner complaints on the 2013 Nissan Leaf. Owners named the brakes most often: 32 complaints, and half of the 28 that list a mileage came after 35,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 81 complaints, 11 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 4 report an injury (4 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
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Common problems with the 2013 Leaf
NHTSA's file holds 81 owner complaints on the 2013 Nissan Leaf. Owners named the brakes most often: 32 complaints, and half of the 28 that list a mileage came after 35,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes | 32 | 28 | 36,000 |
| Electrical System | 18 | 13 | 8,100 |
| Air Bags | 17 | 7 | 30,000 |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 5 | 4 | Under 5 mileages |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 4 | 3 | Under 5 mileages |
Of the 81 complaints, 11 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 4 report an injury (4 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 2013 Leaf
The 60 mileages owners gave run from 200 to 340,076 miles. A quarter are at or under 7,500 miles, half at or under 24,000, three quarters at or under 42,000 and nine in ten at or under 52,000; 1 (2%) came after 100,000 miles, 1 (2%) after 150,000 and 1 (2%) after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2013 Leaf wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Most of these reports came early in the vehicle's life: 59 of the 60 came at or under 100,000 miles, so they say nothing about how many miles a 2013 Leaf can cover.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 200 miles |
| 25th percentile | 7,500 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 24,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | 42,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 52,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 340,076 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 1 (2%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 1 (2%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | 1 (2%) |
Every model year together: Half of the 381 NHTSA owner complaints on the Nissan Leaf that list mileage came after 21,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Nissan Leaf last? →
Is the 2013 Leaf a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2013 is a good or a bad Leaf: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2013 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 81 complaints, the 2013 ranks 6th of the 13 Nissan Leaf model years from 2011 to 2023 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2019 (261). The fewest: the 2017 (17).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 Leaf | 95 | 76 | 25,725 |
| 2012 Leaf | 57 | 42 | 13,500 |
| 2013 (this page) | 81 | 60 | 24,000 |
| 2014 Leaf | 34 | 26 | 16,500 |
| 2015 Leaf | 111 | 68 | 25,000 |
| 2016 Leaf | 36 | 19 | 20,000 |
| 2017 Leaf | 17 | 8 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2018 Leaf | 68 | 24 | 7,000 |
| 2019 Leaf | 261 | 25 | 30,000 |
| 2020 Leaf | 168 | 15 | 12,000 |
| 2021 Leaf | 59 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2022 Leaf | 97 | 8 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2023 Leaf | 23 | 4 | Under 10 mileages |
2013 Nissan Leaf recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 5 recall campaigns that name the 2013 Nissan Leaf. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 23V296000 | Apr 26, 2023 | EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL |
| 16V244000 | Apr 26, 2016 | AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION |
| 16V119000 | Feb 29, 2016 | SERVICE BRAKES |
| 14V138000 | Mar 25, 2014 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE |
| 13V069000 | Mar 1, 2013 | AIR BAGS |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2013 Leaf lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2013 Leaf.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 21 of the 81 complaints on the 2013 Nissan Leaf give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: LEAF. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: LEAF.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2013 Nissan Leaf questions
What are the most common 2013 Nissan Leaf problems?
NHTSA's file holds 81 owner complaints on the 2013 Nissan Leaf. Owners named the brakes most often: 32 complaints, and half of the 28 that list a mileage came after 35,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 81 complaints, 11 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 4 report an injury (4 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 2013 Nissan Leaf?
Of the 60 complaints on the 2013 Nissan Leaf that list mileage, the middle half came between 7,500 and 42,000 miles; 1 (2%) came after 100,000 miles, 1 (2%) after 150,000 and 1 (2%) after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 2013 Leaf can cover.
Is the 2013 Nissan Leaf a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2013 is a good or a bad Leaf: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2013 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 81 complaints, the 2013 ranks 6th of the 13 Nissan Leaf model years from 2011 to 2023 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2019 (261). The fewest: the 2017 (17).
How many recalls does the 2013 Nissan Leaf have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 5 recall campaigns that name the 2013 Nissan Leaf. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2013 Nissan Leaf before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2013 Nissan Leaf.