Model year record

2013 Nissan Leaf

5 recall campaigns on file for this model year. 121 owner complaints on file.

Recalls

Recall campaignNHTSA 23V296000

Equipment: other: owners/service/other manual

Component
Equipment: other: owners/service/other manual
Manufacturer
Nissan North America, Inc.
Vehicles affected
94,343
Reported to NHTSA
2023-04-26
Owners notified
2023-05-30

Defect description

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 103, "Windshield Defrosting and Defogging Systems."

Safety risk

Reduced defroster performance can limit visibility out of the windshield, increasing the risk of a crash.

Manufacturer 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 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R23A1.

Recall campaignNHTSA 16V244000

Air bags: sensor: occupant classification

Component
Air bags: sensor: occupant classification
Manufacturer
Nissan North America, Inc.
Vehicles affected
3,296,947
Reported to NHTSA
2016-04-26
Owners notified
2016-06-10

Defect description

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, 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles. In these vehicles, the front seat passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) may incorrectly classify an adult passenger as a child or classify the seat as empty despite it being occupied. As a result, the passenger frontal air bag may be turned off and not deploy in the event of a crash.

Safety risk

If the passenger frontal air bag does not deploy as intended in the event of a crash, the passenger is at an increased risk of injury.

Manufacturer 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, Rogue, and Sentra vehicles, and replace the OCS ECU in LEAF, NV200, NV200 Taxi, Pathfinder, Infiniti Q50, JX35, and QX60 and Chevrolet City Express vehicles, free of charge. Interim notices were sent to owners on May 31, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669, Infiniti customer service at 1-888-833-3216 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.

Recall campaignNHTSA 16V119000

Service brakes

Component
Service brakes
Manufacturer
Nissan North America, Inc.
Vehicles affected
46,859
Reported to NHTSA
2016-02-29
Owners notified
2016-03-28

Defect description

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.

Safety risk

If the brake relay fails, longer distances or additional brake effort would be required to stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

Manufacturer 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.

Recall campaignNHTSA 14V138000

Electrical system: software

Component
Electrical system: software
Manufacturer
Nissan North America, Inc.
Vehicles affected
989,701
Reported to NHTSA
2014-03-25
Owners notified
2014-04-14

Defect description

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 as empty, when it is occupied by an adult.

Safety risk

If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger airbag would be deactivated. Failure of the passenger airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to the passenger.

Manufacturer 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.

Recall campaignNHTSA 13V069000

Air bags

Component
Air bags
Manufacturer
Nissan North America, Inc.
Vehicles affected
82,038
Reported to NHTSA
2013-03-01
Owners notified
2013-05-06

Defect description

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.

Safety risk

If the vehicle is involved in a crash necessitating airbag deployment and the passenger airbag is suppressed, there may be an increased risk of personal injury.

Manufacturer 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.

Owner complaints

A complaint is one person's report to a federal agency. It is not a finding.

ComponentComplaintsMedian mileage
Service brakes3336,000 mi
Electrical system188,100 mi
Air bags1717,379 mi
Unknown or other1039,600 mi
Vehicle speed control524,000 mi
Fuel/propulsion system49,400 mi
Seat belts4
Steering4200 mi
Visibility/wiper4800 mi
Wheels432,000 mi
Electronic stability control (ESC)336,000 mi
Power train32,600 mi
Engine2500 mi
Seats21,500 mi
Suspension217,379 mi
Tires25,880 mi
Equipment adaptive/mobility117,000 mi
Structure1
Structure: body1
Visibility: defroster/defogger/hvac system: engine coolant hoses and fittings129,000 mi

The 2012 model has about 1.5 times as many complaints as this one. The 2014 model has 3 times as many complaints as this one. These figures reflect raw complaint counts, not failure rates. Higher-selling model years naturally receive more complaints.

Safety recall repairs are provided free of charge by franchised dealers, regardless of vehicle age or mileage. This page displays aggregated data for the model year. To check recall status for a specific vehicle, search its VIN at nhtsa.gov.