2013 Nissan LEAF Nissan LEAF 2013

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2013 Nissan LEAF repairs by problem area

Engine (8%)

Transmission and Drivetrain (4%)

Brakes and Traction Control (15%)

Suspension and Steering (4%)

Electrical and Air Conditioning (54%)

Paint, Rust, Leaks, Rattles, and Trim (7%)

Other (7%)

Chart based on 72 repairs.
See TSBs and recalls for the 2013 Nissan LEAF.

2013 Nissan LEAF repair cost distribution

$2500+ (0%)

$1000 - $2499 (0%)

$500 - $999 (4%)

$100 - $499 (20%)

< $100 (76%)

Worried about potential repair costs? An extended warranty can provide peace of mind.

Chart based on 46 repair trips. The repair cost chart excludes repairs made under warranty, do-it-yourself repairs, and repair trips that include maintenance.

2013 Nissan LEAF 4dr Hatch

107-horsepower Electric 1-speed automatic FWD

Nissan LEAF in Michigan, United States
Aug 2014 - Jul 2020
Mar 2015

5000 mi
AC failed. Dealer found that another dealer had severely overtightened connections, threads tore off compressor. Had to replace it as well as lines. 
May 2016

22700 mi
The air conditioning failed for the third time in the exact same manner as previous times. Had to replace AC line set. First time was before bought car. Second was in Q1 2015, because connections overtightened in first repair. 
Jun 2018

49000 mi

US $350
Vehicle abruptly started not charging properly. It would fault out during the charging process after a short time. Nissan "reflashed the computer" to fix the faults. 
Dec 2018

51000 mi
Vehicle developed a growl in the passenger front wheel bearing. Nissan first charged then refunded a $90 service fee to diagnose. Parts replaced under warranty. 
Nov 2019

61000 mi

US $200
12V battery abruptly failed causing vehicle to refuse to start. Vehicle had to be towed despite a new battery being installed. 
Nissan LEAF in Georgia, United States
Sep 2014 - Sep 2015
Sep 2015

19000 mi
AC wouldn't get cold. 
Nissan LEAF in Oregon, United States
Nov 2015 - Jun 2016
Apr 2016

38000 mi
Hose to AC leaking and needed to be replaced, and freon recharged 
Nissan LEAF in North Carolina, United States
Aug 2014 - Jun 2015
Sep 2014

26000 mi
12v accessory battery replaced 
Jun 2015

38000 mi
12v accessory battery occasionally dies overnight, requiring jump start. Technician unable to find parasitic draw. No repair made. 
Nissan LEAF in Alabama, United States
Apr 2014 - Sep 2016
Oct 2015

10300 mi
Leak; replaced components under warranty 
Nissan LEAF in Utah, United States
Dec 2013 - Jun 2014
Mar 2014

3000 mi
Peeling coating on front brand medallion. Trim alignment around shifter. 
Nissan LEAF in California, United States
Feb 2014 - Dec 2014
Jun 2014

6000 mi
Software update to improve the grabby/difficult to modulate brakes. Was successful in my case as brakes are now okay. Not great, just OK in terms of modulation... would much rather have Tesla-style brake control on this car. 
Nissan LEAF in Connecticut, United States
Feb 2014 - Mar 2016
Jun 2015

8000 mi
air conditioning hose leak. 
Nissan LEAF in Georgia, United States
Sep 2015 - Jul 2022
Jun 2016

26000 mi

US $120
Ok, it's outside the 24,000 mile limit. But the 12v battery died, rendering a fully electric car incapable of motion. That's pretty nuts for a 3-model-year old vehicle. There are many reports of the early death of these batteries. 
Aug 2021

60000 mi

US $110
12v lead acid battery died after 3 years of service, which is the longest a 12v battery has ever lasted in the thing. I think I'm on 12v battery number 6 or something crazy like that. There must be an issue with overcharging or something, as many other Leaf owners have noted the same trend towards them eating 12v batteries. 
Nissan LEAF in Minnesota, United States
Nov 2016 - Jan 2018
Dec 2016

27000 mi

US $200
Upgraded Telamatics unit to 3G so that it would work with cellular again in my area. copay $200. 
Apr 2017

30000 mi
Harness for Telematics unit was bad and had to be replaced. Took them a long time to source the issue. Covered under warranty. 
Nissan LEAF in California, United States
May 2015 - Dec 2020
May 2018

39000 mi
Had a flat tire, flat repair pump/sealant kit did not work, clogged up tire valve, and had to have car towed. Manual recommended to take to dealer. Dealer could not deal with problem (didn't have tires in stock-said I also needed a new tire air pressure sensor and a new tire) .This would take a day to get parts. Next day, parts didn't come and I asked that they fix the tire valve stem and inflate the tire so I could take it to a tire shop. 
Nissan LEAF in California, United States
Mar 2016 - Jul 2022
Jun 2017

26000 mi
replace battery 
Nissan LEAF in Washington, United States
Jan 2017 - Nov 2021
Nov 2021

82000 mi

US $300
reduction gearbox had a bearing go bad in it and started to make a whirring noise as speed went up. 
Nissan LEAF in California, United States
Dec 2016 - Feb 2018
Jan 2018

46000 mi

US $110
4 tiny welds that hold the power window assembly in place broke in the driver's door, causing the only screw holding the motor in place to loosen and damage its mounting hole. The window would no longer fully open or close, as the regulator was likewise affected. Shop drilled new holes to attach more screws to the motor assembly. 
Nissan LEAF in British Columbia, Canada
May 2016 - Jun 2018
Jan 2018

29140 mi

C $5
Blown fuse, infotainment system 
Nissan LEAF in California, United States
Aug 2013 - Jun 2018
Jun 2017

33000 mi

US $168
Deteriorated, weak 12V battery: vehicle would not start 
Nissan LEAF in Texas, United States
Apr 2017 - Jun 2022
Apr 2017

26486 mi
Tire Rotation 
Sep 2018

35403 mi

US $705
Replaced all tires due to cracking on sidewall 
Nissan LEAF in Georgia, United States
Nov 2013 - Dec 2015
Mar 2015

15000 mi
AC stopped blowing cold air. Connection tube was cracked causing Freon leak 
Nissan LEAF in Colorado, United States
Sep 2013 - Jun 2018
Dec 2015

22000 mi
Brakes stayed on after a brake tap slowing the car from 50MPH to 25MPH. Brakes did not release as commanded. They downloaded new system software which was a recall type campaign. The problem seems to be gone. 
Feb 2017

31000 mi
Recall to replace controller for passenger airbag seat sensor. 
Nissan LEAF in California, United States
May 2013 - Jun 2015
Aug 2013

2000 mi
Audible clicking sound from front axle area when accelerating from rest or when slowing down and coasting to a stop. Dealer removed front axle shafts, cleaned, lubed, re-torqued, replaced cotter pins. 
Nissan LEAF in North Carolina, United States
Jun 2013 - Oct 2013
Aug 2013

2100 mi
Electric car, problem charging. 
Nissan LEAF in Illinois, United States
Feb 2013 - Nov 2013
Aug 2013

8000 mi
Loose trim pieces x2. Axle knocking sound when braking or accelerating. TSB applied to lube parts 
Nissan LEAF in New York, United States
Apr 2013 - Jun 2018
Nov 2013

7400 mi
charger halted before finished charging Heater in steering wheel and seats cuts out after a few minutes. door sensor failure, which caused problems with auto-headlights, auto-lock (locking me out of the car), drained my 12V battery, overhead lighting not working, and brake pedal issues. 
May 2014

13000 mi
Coming to a full stop, and accelerating from a full stop resulted into a single but loud click. There is a TSB for this issue, which involves applying lubrication and swapping out some washers. Parts weren't in stock, so I have to return. Brakes extremely sensitive under 15 MPH. Known issue with 2011 and 2012 MY, 'new' to 2013. There was a TSB for it (SB 2013 LEAF; Brake Pedal Sensitive at Speeds Below 15 MPH,NTB14017), which involved applying a software update. 
Jun 2014

14000 mi
Follow up to the previously reported clicking noise. Parts were ordered, and have been installed. Noise is mostly gone (I can hear it, but it's much quieter). Mostly concerned this problem will come back. 
May 2015

25000 mi
Clicking noise, addressed during a previous dealer visit, returned. This time, they've come to the conclusion that the reduction gear is the source of the noise, and will have to be replaced. Part has been ordered. When driving over a pothole or bump in the road, regen braking becomes disabled (so only mechanical brakes are working), which can be quiet dangerous. Dealer hasn't been able to duplicate this, so I'll be taking them for a test drive. Seat heaters and steering wheel heater shuts down after reaching proper temperature. Once this happens, you can't use it again for another 5-10 minutes, even in -20F weather. Just like last time, dealer told me it's working as designed. 
Aug 2015

28700 mi
Part finally arrived after waiting for close to a month. Reduction gear was replaced, but noise didn't go away, so the tech and Nissan decided to replace the motor, which I'm now waiting for (back-ordered as well). 
Sep 2015

29000 mi
New electric motor has arrived, and installed. This seems to have addressed the issue. 
Apr 2016

35500 mi
Nissan finally announced a recall for the brake software, which also covered the multiple issues I've been reporting since the beginning. Software has been updated, and most of the issues have been addressed. 
May 2018

60000 mi
Airbag sensor went bad, was covered under powertrain warranty. 
Nissan LEAF in Georgia, United States
Apr 2013 - Mar 2014
Dec 2013

8000 mi
SW upgrade, and replaced dome light bulb that had been humming since we took delivery. 
Nissan LEAF in California, United States
Apr 2013 - Sep 2014
Jun 2013

5000 mi
power distribution module (PDM) failed. PDM replaced. 
Aug 2014

19900 mi
passenger seat belt sensor lit("off") when there's an adult in the seat. 
Nissan LEAF in Arizona, United States
Feb 2013 - Aug 2013
Jun 2013

5000 mi
EV Errors, had to have the Program Control Module replaced. It will be a while before it's clear whether this fixed the problem. 
Nissan LEAF in Washington, United States
Jul 2013 - Nov 2014
Feb 2014

2000 mi
Electrical issues, could not turn car off, kept rebooting, had to replace VCM and BCM, took 3 weeks wait time for some parts. 
Nov 2014

6000 mi
Car disabled while driving, could only have it in neutral or park, was basically in Accessories mode (not "Ready") and could not turn off. Message on dash "I-key error system fault". Replaced Power Ign Switch to fix problem. 
Nissan LEAF in South Carolina, United States
Aug 2013 - Aug 2015
Apr 2014

6700 mi
AC line had failed and was not holding refrigerant. The line was replaced under warranty. 
Nissan LEAF in Iowa, United States
Nov 2013 - Nov 2016
Jan 2014

1300 mi
Dealer replaced 12V battery. 
Nov 2014

10000 mi
Rattle noise from dashboard (instrument cluster area) 
Dec 2014

11000 mi
Dead battery 3 days in the row in the morning. Dealer could not replicate even with it left there for 24h. 
Jan 2016

5300 mi
Factory recall, software update 
Nov 2016

34000 mi
The dashboard rattle was never fixed, though I reported it every time I took the car in for service. They either said they couldn't hear it or that it was normal in cold temps. 
Nissan LEAF in North Carolina, United States
Nov 2013 - Apr 2019
Sep 2014

17000 mi
Charger failed. PDM error. 
Nissan LEAF in Pennsylvania, United States
Dec 2013 - Jun 2016
Apr 2014

5000 mi
Resistance heater failed, common problem. Part was on back order so repair was delayed. 
Nissan LEAF in North Carolina, United States
Oct 2013 - Mar 2016
Mar 2015

21000 mi
Grabby brakes. Problem was not resolved. TSB exists but they said it didn't apply to this vehicle. 
Dec 2015

33000 mi
Grabby brakes. Finally came up with a firmware update. 
Nissan LEAF in California, United States
Aug 2013 - Jul 2018
Feb 2015

6000 mi
Leaking upper AC hose 
Nissan LEAF in Washington, United States
Aug 2013 - Mar 2018
May 2014

8000 mi
broken refrigerant pipe, replaced and recharged 
Nov 2015

25000 mi
Updated brake software. 
Nissan LEAF in Quebec, Canada
Jun 2013 - Mar 2019
Feb 2015

29140 mi
Block heater broke down. Known problem with early 2013 LEAF. Complete replacement. Sulfated battery 
Jun 2015

34720 mi
Radiator thermostat broken. 
Nissan LEAF in Indiana, United States
Apr 2013 - Jun 2022
Mar 2015

18000 mi
switch for driver side heated seat went bad. Quick warranty fix. 
Jan 2017

32300 mi
Telecommunications unit (TCU) was designed by Nissan to use the 2G cellular network which is being shutdown so needed to upgrade to newer cellular connection. Frustrating to see this lack of future proofing on the part of Nissan. Passenger air-bag light was on. This is the 2nd or 3rd time we've been in for the same problem. 
Jun 2018

45000 mi

US $600
replacement of bad wheel bearing 

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2013 Nissan LEAF Repair Histories

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