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What 81 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Nissan Leaf Bev

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (81)Crash / fire / injury (13)Brakes (32)Electrical system (18)Airbags (17)Speed control (5)Visibility & wipers (5)Fuel system (4)Seat belts (4)Steering (4)Wheels (4)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (3)

Newest first · 81 complaints · page 4 of 4

Aug 8, 2013Visibility & wipers

WASHER FLUID NOZZLES SPRAY AIMED TOO LOW. CANNOT CLEAN WINDSHIELD EFFECTIVELY. ONLY THE LOWER PORTION OF WINDSHIELD IS SPRAY LEAVING THE MIDDLE TO TOP PORTION NOT CLEAN. VERY DANGEROUS DURING WINTER AS THE SALT FROM ROAD WILL BLOCK VISION. WIPER WITH POOR SPRAYED FLUID AMOUNT/LOCATION WILL ONLY SMEAR THE WINDSHIELD AND CAUSE POOR VISIBILITY. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10534176

Jul 24, 2013Electrical systemBrakes

WHEN STARTING THE CAR, ALL LIGHTS ON THE DASHBOARD ILLUMINATED AND CAR WOULD DO NOTHING. SHUT DOWN AND RESTARTED THE CAR AND EVERYTHING WAS CLEAR. PUT THE CAR INTO REVERSE AND HAD NOMINAL BRAKING. IT TOOK 10 FEET OF SLAMMING THE BRAKE PEDAL TO BRING THE CAR TO A STOP AT 2 MPH IN REVERSE. IT LITERALLY FELT LIKE NO BRAKE PRESSURE. STOPPED AND RESTARTED AGAIN AND THINGS WERE SEEMINGLY BACK TO NORMAL. TOOK IT TO DEALERSHIP WHO BLAMED IT ON LOW 12V BATTERY. BRAKING WAS PATHETICALLY WEAK AT THE ONE TIME... IT WAS NOT JUST THE TYPICAL LACK OF REGENERATIVE AND MOTOR ASSISTED BRAKING YOU WOULD GET DURING A FAULT. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10531552

Jun 27, 2013Fuel system

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 NISSAN LEAF. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT RE-CHARGE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS AND THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE SOFTWARE WOULD NEED TO BE UPDATED BUT IT WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 5,000.

NHTSA ODI 10522140

Jun 18, 2013Electrical system

VEHICLE IS UNABLE TO HAVE CONTINUING CHARGE SHUTS OFF RANDOMLY LEAVING ME UNABLE TO DRIVE SOMETIMES DUE NOT BE FULLY CHARGED WHEN YOU EXPECT TO BE CHARGED AND HAVING PROBLEMS ON DIFFERENT CHARGING STATIONS CONTACT NISSAN 06/13/13 AND WAS ADVISED TO TAKE TO THE DEALER AND 6/14/13 LEFT THE CAR AT DEALER COMMONWEALTH NISSAN THAT DID NOT FIND ANY PROBLEM AND CLAIM VEHICLE IS WORKING AS DESIGNED THEY WAS UNABLE TO REPRODUCE PROBLEM AND NEXT DAY 06/15/13 HAD PROBLEM AGAIN UNABLE ME TO DRIVE HOME AND NEED TO RESTART CHARGE COUPLE TIMES UNTIL GET ENOUGH CHARGE TO DRIVE HOME ON 6/17/13 TOOK THE CAR AGAIN TO DEALER COMMONWEALTH NISSAN AND THEY BEFORE LOOK THE CAR SAID THE PROBLEM IS THE CHARGING STATION ON MY HOUSE THEY RESET THE VEHICLE AND PUT TO CHARGE ON THEIR CHARGING STATION AND PROBLEM ALSO HAPPEN PROVING THE PROBLEM IS THE VEHICLE THEY GAVE THE KEYS BACK SAYING THEY ORDER A CHARGING PORT DID NOT GAVE ME ANY DATE OR IDEA WHEN THE PART WILL ARRIVE HANDLE ME THE KEY OF A DEFECTIVE CAR THAT CAN LEAVE ME STRAND ON THE STREET ANYTIME. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10520480

Jun 15, 2013Transmission & drivetrainElectrical system

I WAS DRIVING IN HEAVY TRAFFIC ON THE 101 FREEWAY IN CAMARILLO, CA ON THE WAY TO WORK. CAR SUDDENLY FLASHED MULTIPLE CONFLICTING DIAGNOSTIC CODES (TRACTION CONTROL, BRAKE SYSTEM, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) AND REDUCED POWER TO THE CAR AND PUT IT IN TURTLE MODE. I WAS ABLE TO MOVE FROM THE MIDDLE LANE (OF THREE LANES) TO THE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY AND CALLED NISSAN SERVICE. POWER WAS ONLY AVAILABLE TO THE DASHBOARD AND CAR WOULD NOT GO INTO FORWARD OR REVERSE. CAR WAS TOWED TO DEALER AFTER CALLING NISSAN ROAD SIDE ASSISTANCE. DEALER REPLACED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL PRESSURE SENSOR AND RETURNED CAR BACK TO ME AFTER CAR WAS IN SERVICE FOR THREE DAYS. CAR DROVE FINE FOR TWO DAYS ON VERY SHORT TRIPS. MY WIFE DROVE THE CAR AGAIN AND IT DIED AGAIN ON HIGHWAY 33 IN OJAI IN TOWN. SHE HAD NO POWER TO MOVE THE CAR OUT OF TRAFFIC. SHE POWERED DOWN THE CAR AND POWERED IT BACK UP AND WAS SURPRISED TO FIND THAT POWER WAS RESTORED. SHE WAS ABLE TO DRIVE IT BACK HOME (ABOUT A MILE) AND WE HAD NISSAN ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE TOW IT BACK TO THE DEALER. CAR HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP NOW FOR ALMOST TWO WEEKS. DEALER IS IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE FACTORY TO GET A NEW COMPUTER THAT CONTROLS THE POWER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM TO OTHER CAR COMPONENTS. HOWEVER, DEALER CANNOT GIVE US AN ESTIMATED DELIVERY DATE OF THE PART. IT SEEMS THEY MAY HAVE TO GET IT FROM JAPAN. DEALER IS VERY FRIENDLY BUT IS NOT ABLE TO GET CAR FIXED IN A TIMELY MANNER. I ALSO AM CONCERNED THAT THEY DON'T REALLY KNOW THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM. I AM VERY CONCERNED THAT IF THE PROBLEM HAPPENS AGAIN, EITHER MY WIFE OR I WILL GET INTO AN ACCIDENT ON THE FREEWAY. CAR WAS IS JUST A MONTH OLD WHEN THIS STARTED WITH NO OTHER APPARENT PROBLEMS. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10519929

May 3, 2013Engine

WHEN IN OPERATION THE CAR EMITS A HIGH PITCHED SOUND THAT AFTER DRIVING IT DAILY FOR 3 WEEKS CAUSES MY EARS TO CONSTANTLY RING AFTER DRIVING. NISSAN AND THE SERVICE CENTER CHECKED THE CAR AND DETERMINED THERE ARE NO ENGINE ERROR CODES AND THE CAR DRIVES GREAT. THEY DROVE THE CAR AND WERE NOT ABLE TO HEAR THIS HIGH PITCHED SOUND, YET I HEAR IT EVERY TIME I DRIVE IT AND I WORRY THAT IT MIGHT BE CAUSING AUDITORY DAMAGE OR BE GENERALLY UNHEALTHY. IT WOULD BE REASSURING TO HAVE THE FREQUENCY OF OPERATION CHECKED TO MAKE SURE THIS IS NOT OPERATING AT AN UNHEALTHY FREQUENCY/INTENSITY LEVEL. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10510535

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Working with the data? Download all 81 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 24, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2013 Nissan Leaf Bev verdict →