Selling a junk Nissan Leaf
Any Leaf sells for scrap or parts, running or not. Below: what owners report most often for each model year, the recalls on file, and which of those change the offer. Enter your ZIP for a buyer near you.
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What owners report about the Nissan Leaf
NHTSA has 1,478 owner complaints on file for the Nissan Leaf, model years 2010 to 2022, the 227th-most of the 423 models in our data. The most-reported components are electrical system (515, 35%), brakes (237, 16%), other (166, 11%). 100 complaints involved a crash, 21 a fire, and 69 say the vehicle had to be towed. The median mileage when the problem was reported is 25,000 miles. The 2019 model year has the most complaints (328). Data as of 2026-10-12.
When the top complaint is electrical system, the question for a seller is whether a buyer will resell the car, pull the parts or scrap it. Read our guide to selling a car that doesn't run: it explains which offers assume the part works and how to describe the car so the price holds at pickup.
Nissan Leaf by model year
| Year | Complaints | Most reported | Crash | Fire | Recalls | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1 | Brakes | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2011 | 117 | Air bags | 7 | 0 | 0 | 33,750 |
| 2012 | 71 | Brakes | 9 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2013 | 120 | Brakes | 17 | 2 | 5 | 30,000 |
| 2014 | 45 | Brakes | 5 | 3 | 6 | 32,300 |
| 2015 | 146 | Brakes | 9 | 0 | 4 | 31,000 |
| 2016 | 50 | Brakes | 1 | 2 | 4 | 17,000 |
| 2017 | 27 | Electrical system | 3 | 0 | 2 | — |
| 2018 | 117 | Brakes | 19 | 3 | 4 | 12,000 |
| 2019 | 328 | Electrical system | 8 | 3 | 5 | 30,000 |
| 2020 | 229 | Electrical system | 3 | 0 | 6 | — |
| 2021 | 83 | Electrical system | 6 | 7 | 4 | — |
| 2022 | 144 | Electrical system | 13 | 1 | 4 | — |
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not confirmed defects. Median miles is the odometer reading owners gave when they reported a problem, shown only where 20 or more reports include it.
Nissan Leaf recalls
NHTSA lists 17 recall campaigns across these model years, most often for air bags (4), electrical system (3), driver assistance (3). Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer. Before you sell, check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a buyer who plans to resell the car will.
- 2021 model year, electrical system (campaign 25V655000, Oct 2025): Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2021-2022 LEAF vehicles equipped with a Level 3 quick charging port. The lithium-ion battery may overheat during Level 3 charging.
- 2019 model year, electrical system (campaign 24V700000, Sep 2024): Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2019-2020 LEAF vehicles equipped with a Level 3 quick charging port. The lithium-ion battery may overheat during Level 3 charging.
- 2018 model year, driver assistance (campaign 24V071000, Feb 2024): Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2022 LEAF vehicles. Damage to the camera harness can cause distortion or loss of the rearview camera display image. As such, these vehicles fail to comply wit…
- 2018 model year, speed control (campaign 23V494000, Jul 2023): Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2023 LEAF vehicles. The vehicle may accelerate unintentionally if the driving mode is changed ("D" to "B"; e-Pedal "On"; or "ECO" mode) after disengaging the …
- 2013 model year, equipment (campaign 23V296000, Apr 2023): 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 condi…
What a Nissan Leaf is worth as a junk car
Buyers price a junk Leaf on four things: its weight at today's scrap steel price (the floor), the parts still on it that can be resold, whether it starts and drives, and how far they have to tow it. None of those come from a complaint database, so use this page to describe the car accurately and our junk car value guide to work out a ceiling for the metal. Then get more than one offer.
Guides for selling this car
How to sell a car that doesn't run 
How much is my junk car worth? 
How junkyards price cars 
Catalytic converters and junk cars 
How to prepare your car for the junkyard 
Junk car scams and how to avoid them Other Nissan models
- Nissan Altima 19,917
- Nissan Pathfinder 9,574
- Nissan Rogue 8,905
- Nissan Maxima 7,716
- Nissan Sentra 7,575
- Nissan Murano 7,440
- Nissan Frontier 4,333
- Nissan Versa 4,280
Questions people ask
- What is a junk Nissan Leaf worth?
- What a yard can recover: the car's weight at the current scrap steel price, plus parts it can resell (the catalytic converter, engine, transmission and wheels if they're good), minus towing and processing. The same Leaf gets different offers from different buyers, so compare at least two. Our value guide shows the public benchmark.
- Will a junkyard buy a Nissan Leaf that doesn't run?
- Yes. Junkyards and junk car buyers take cars that don't start, and most arrange the tow. Tell them honestly whether it starts, whether the engine and transmission are still in it, and whether the catalytic converter is on; those are what change the price.
- Should I fix an open recall before selling a Nissan Leaf?
- Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer for as long as the car exists. If the car is going for scrap, the repair won't change the scrap price. If a buyer might resell it or pull parts, a completed recall can help. Check your VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup first.
- Where do these Nissan Leaf numbers come from?
- From the complaint and recall data NHTSA publishes for every make and model, counted by model year on 2026-10-12. A complaint is an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and the count rises with how many of the model were sold.