Used 2013 Nissan LEAF Hatchback Consumer Reviews
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2013 LEAF
eaa, 06/26/2013
updated 12/27/2019
2013 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
30 of 31 people found this review helpful
NOTE 2018 - Even after 10 years Nissan batteries now made by LG does not have liquid cooling and fail a lot. They wilt and lose capacity 10 times faster than any other Electric. They are ok in cooler areas but NEVER buy one in the Southern USA. We had a 2013 LEAF. we used to have the 2011 for 2 years and many wants have been added to the 2013 like ECO mode stays on, braking mode. Also better estimate of range. The Air Cond is also more efficient. The only BIG problem is the battery degrades in the heat. The 2011 thru 2014 have the same fatal problem. We lose 5-10% capacity a summer. It's lost forever. The warranty is sticky you have to lose 4 bars about 40% with in 60K miles and 5 years. They changed the software so that doesn't work and you lose 3. Yet range is bad and you can't drive. We used to love our LEAF. We lease and every 2 years can't wait to see how they improve it and lower the cost. Our daily commute is 44 miles round trip. It's easy with 50 60 left each trip. I can go about 70 miles on city streets when needed. Just lease so you don't get stuck with a LEAF with a low capacity battery pack. New models get lower pricing so selling your old one would be hard. The new 2018 LEAF will have more range. Near the end of 2018 it may top 200 miles but they haven't added Thermal battery control so I would not buy one. We now have a 2015 KIA SOUL EV that has Air Battery cooling. It is also failing. Only vehicles with liquid cooling like the Chevy SPARK EV , Bolt, or FORD FOCUS EV and world Leader Tesla model S , X and 3 have long long battery life and no heat problems. We finally got a Tesla model 3 in March 2018. It is amazing with no battery loss in over a year. EVen in the Phoenix heat. The range is about 350 miles on a charge or more if we just do city driving instead of Highways most of the time. PS Nissan still hasn't fix the fatal flaw in their LEAF. Never buy one in the Southwest USA. or any HOT climate.
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We love it so far...
mojobrown, 01/21/2015
updated 01/22/2018
2013 Nissan LEAF S 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
15 of 15 people found this review helpful
**UPDATE - January 2018** What can I say, other than I've never had a vehicle that I've loved as much as my Nissan Leaf. We're just over 56,000 miles at this point and still have no decrease in the original battery. The car loses a significant amount of range in the cold months when it's necessary to run the defrost. Personally, I could hold out a little longer from turning the heat on, but the windows will fog up. Therefore, you have to run defrost and that taxes the battery. In the winter months, I'm lucky to get 65 miles on a full charge, again, because I have to run defrost. However, the car actually performs great on slick roads because of the regenerative breaking. In eco mode, you simply release your foot from the fuel, and the vehicle slows down on it's own. It greatly reduces your chances of sliding when you don't have apply the break. And by allowing the vehicle to slow itself down, you recharge the battery and extend your range. The car is still reliable. It's still fun to drive. The maintenance costs are minimal (rotate the tires) and refill your own washer fluid. As we've become more comfortable with the battery, we've made it back home with only dashes on the battery charge remaining and the # of miles remaining. It's a little unsettling when you use all of the juice when driving, but we've never been stranded and the car has performed beautifully. **ORIGINAL REVIEW** I'm writing this in January 2015. We bought our 2013 Leaf at the end of May 2014. We overcame the anxiety of buying an all electric car with the comfort that we got a great deal. 7.5 months after buying, we're closing in on 10,000 miles and everything has been fantastic. The car is fun to drive. It's reliable. It's attractive. My kids love the heated back seats. We have a normal mini-van as our second vehicle and we drive it less and less frequently. The Leaf has always provided enough range to go where we want. On only two occasion did we decide NOT to take the Leaf and it's only because we didn't want to pay to charge while we were in downtown Indianapolis. It's a great car.
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Safe bet for a used car
Ray Murray, 11/14/2015
updated 05/31/2018
2013 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
21 of 22 people found this review helpful
This continues to be an excellent car. I still favor it for everyday driving. I now live in a single location in Maryland. I have my own charging station. Yesterday I charged the car from 35% to 98% in two hours of non-peak time on the BGE Electric Vehicle Schedule. That cost about $1.60 for 55 miles of driving. I've found this car easier to live with having a Level II charger at home. Previously I was charging it at my condo overnight using the 110V charger. I purchased this car used to see for myself what living with an electric car is really like. I kept my older cars just in car just in case I found it too difficult to deal with the electric car at times. This car has substantially exceeded my expectations as a car I can live with. It has become my favorite car to drive. I live in two locations in the Washington D.C area on the Beltway. I was expecting to only use this car at one location for local driving. Instead, I find that I can also go between the locations on weekends without range anxiety. This car works very well in the DC area, now the worst commuter area in the nation. When in nasty traffic jams on the DC beltway, the BW parkway, and other major roads this car doesn't get grossly worse energy economy as is the case with my other cars (one a hybrid). In some cases the economy even improves in when you get into a major traffic slowdown. In the DC area that means 99% of the time. I find that a used purchase of a Leaf is a safe bet. I purchased a certified used one with 0% financing for extra security. From what I see now, I think that a non-certified one could have been a good buy too. I got the advantage of someone else claiming the $7500 tax credit, which made my cost lower since people buying new ones have that incentive. I noticed that people buying new 2015 or 2016 models can get very good purchase, financing, and lease deals too. I figured out that that some people won't get the full 7500 incentive since they don't pay 7500 in federal taxes anyway. If they purchase used, or even lease a new one, they effectively get the advantage of that credit. As far as living with the car goes, you learn to "plan" your driving a bit more, to make sure it has adequate charge. For me it is nice my older cars in reserve. I have not purchased a charging station yet, so I depend on my trickle charger and public charging stations. I end up going to businesses (restaurants, malls, grocery stores, etc) having charging stations. Whatever I've saved in gasoline cost in the last month I've ended up spending that (and more) at those businesses. In some cases such charging stations are a mile or two from where I need to be. That has help pushed me to get some more much-needed and pleasant exercise by doing some more walking. As I walk along roads I wish a lot more more people had electric cars so I wouldn't have to hear as much noise, or breath as much exhaust. I do not find that there are yet enough charging stations in the overall DC metro area area. They tend to be common in some areas and very absent in other areas. The campus where my suburban Maryland employer center is doesn't seem to want to make them available. I like the free ones at some businesses, but realistically I'd like some more paid stations that price the power roughly around the cost I pay at home, plus some extra cost for occupying the space beyond a reasonable charging time. It is nice that Walgreens has stations, and I'd like to see them at all of their locations, however, their cost of $2.00 per hour makes it more expensive to power a Leaf than powering my Honda Civic Hybrid at current gasoline prices. I found that living with the hybrid for 9 years, learning how to leverage the regenerative braking, has helped me transition to living with the Leaf. Buying a Leaf used is a safe bet. You can learn to live with it's range quite well. 5/22/2015. I've had this car 7.5 months now and have put 6000 miles on it. I use it much more than my other cars. I have to make a point of driving them periodically to make sure they don't sit too long. I am ready to get rid of one of them. I have come to appreciate the quietness of the car, and it's decent sound system. I've averaged 4.6 miles/kilowatt in nasty DC/Baltimore area traffic, which comes out to about 115 mpg, although I am paying BGE and Virginia power the equivalent of about $4.00/gallon. I still rely on 110V charging overnight for most of my charging, though I'd like to have a 240V charging station. I have found some free charging stations, that I end up using about 25% of the time. The whole charging station situation is not ready for prime time yet. I did find that charging stations are easier to find in the city of Washington D.C. than gas stations. Overall I continue to be very pleased with this used Leaf. A used one is a safe bet. Traded.
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Going EV - Sooner the better!!
blue_dog, 04/07/2014
2013 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
12 of 12 people found this review helpful
I sat on it for 6 months before i pulled the trigger. My daily commute is 40 to 60 miles (one way) and I spend $600.00 a month on gas. model:SL with 360 all around view with Bose sound system I stopped by my health club (before or after work) to charge my car while I work out. Travel takes more planning than driving ICE vehicles but eventually becomes systemic. at times when I get low on battery capacity, i just move over to slower lane. i watch power meter like a hawk and rarely go over the 4th circle.
Loving it! It handles like a sports car.
luand, 12/06/2013
2013 Nissan LEAF S 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
9 of 9 people found this review helpful
I absolute love driving the 2013 Nissan Leaf S model that we have leased. It reminds me of the driving dynamics of the Mini Cooper that we used to own. The biggest problem is that I tend to drive about 15 miles above the speed limit with the Leaf because it's so quiet and smooth. One thing that I'd wish for is better/smoother braking when regenerative braking is being applied. Another is better location of some of the control buttons on the left side of the steering wheel. The majority of these buttons are not illuminated and are hidden by the steering wheel.
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