2013 NISSAN LEAF Complaints

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.

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"

The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Leaf. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a whistling sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the failure was unofficially diagnosed as a failed air condition hose or a failed air condition line connector. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, however, the contact declined to pay the diagnostic fee. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was advised to have the vehicle diagnosed by the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 29,000.

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, but not available from Nissan. This issue also causes early degradation of 12v batteries, and replacement of the 12v does not cure the issue. The most recent occurrence of loss of power was 11/30/23, but it has happened repeatedly in the past.

The Nissan Leaf has a 6,600 watt charger that is attached to the top of the 26,000 watt electrical motor. A 30 Amp Nissan charging cord connects the 220 volt electrical outlet (dryer) to the Leaf via a Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J1772 Plug. Unknown to me a desert rat had chewed the insulation down to the wires of the charging cord, leaving the wires bare. The desert rat was not electrocuted because the onboard charger safety system in the vehicle turns off the 220 volts AC before it reaches the car using the control box that is part of the the charging cable. But when I plugged the J1772 Plug into the Leaf Nissan's "safety system" sent 220 volts form the dryer plug to the Nissan Leaf creating an electrocution hazard where the rat removed the insulation. I saw a series of sparks and felt the electricity through my electric car safety gear rubber Crocs. Nissan's "safety system" ensures that there is NO arc of electric current when you unplug the J1772 connector. Unfortunately for me and possibly for tens of thousands of other EV drivers Nissan did not envision a rat eating the wire and causing the system to momentarily electrocute a person attempting to charge their car. Nissan 220 volt charging cord no longer charges the Leaf and the Leaf's entire charging system on top of the motor in no longer operational. I suspect the two, 220 volt wires in the Nissan charging cable shorted to the two safety wires (pilot and proximity wires) which is has about 1/16 of an inch separation, and fired Nissans onboard charger. The cost to replace Nissans onboard charging system is about $7,000 for parts and labor. What does Nissan LEAF’s EV warranty coverage include? Your confidence gets a boost with Nissan LEAF’s New Electric Vehicle Limited Warranty. Coverage includes — but is not limited to — Motor, Inverter Unit, VCM, Reduction Gear, DC/DC Converter, Onboard Charger, Onboard Charger Connector, and Trickle Charge Cable. [*]

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?

I was driving and wanted to slow the vehicle to turn on a side street. I pressed the brake and nothing happened. The vehicle did not slow down at all. I pushed harder, still nothing. The brakes completely failed to work. Due to this brake failure, I was unable to make the turn I wanted to make because I was going too fast. I continued going straight, and because the road was slightly uphill, the vehicle eventually stopped and I was able to ease off the road when the vehicle had slowed sufficiently. Fortunately, there were no injuries or accidents. After the vehicle had stopped I looked to see if it was low on brake fluid. It was not. The brake fluid level was at manufactures specification. After I had stopped I did notice several warning lights on the dash, including ABS and other symbols I don't know the meaning of. (I'd have to read the vehicle owner's manual to figure out what they mean). I have not taken the vehicle anywhere to be repaired yet. I thought that maybe the NHTSA might want to inspect it before it was looked at by a mechanic or manufacturer.

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.

SRS Airbag light has been flashing for about a year. Code reader shows B00A0 0009 code indicating a problem with the OCS / Occupancy sensor. I believe this puts all passengers in the front seat at risk since the airbag may not operate in an accident. The car is available for inspection. It has not been inspected by the manufacturer or others.

Due to a manufacturing issue certain 2011-2019 LEAF vehicles' lithium-ion battery bonding plates may not meet Nissan internal standards and may fail. Unfortunately the recommended servicing facility does not service electric vehicles. The next nearest facility is beyond the range of the now degraded lithium ion battery. This makes it impossible to drive the vehicle to a servicing facility so that to affect this voluntary recall will require a tow both ways. Nissan refuses to address this issue and I am concerned first regarding the seriousness of this repair and secondly my out of pocket expense to affect this repair.