Owners have filed 1,118 complaints on the Nissan Frontier, covering 1998–2025. The system named most often is Power Train (139 reports). Worst years by volume: 2000, 2022, 1998; cleanest: 2025, 2021, 2018. 99 reports describe a crash, 23 a fire, 3 a death. On average the car was 4.8 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Nissan Frontier
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 1,118 Frontier complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Power Train 139 Read
On June 29, 2022 My 2022 Nissan Frontier was parked drive in front of garage door. I arrived home for lunch and parked my cab farm tractor in yard under shade tree to keep cool while I was inside my home. When I came back to leave my tractor had Frontier truck sitting against front tire of my tractor, the truck had…
The contact called on behalf of her husband who owns a 2022 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated while her husband was in park, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated and crashed into a parked vehicle in front of them, and that vehicle crashed into another unattended parked vehicle in front of that. The contact's vehicle…
Went on vacation 9-11-22, at the cabin neighbor call said the truck had rolled back into garage causing hood damage, received no notice at transmission recall, then it happen9-13-22 at place of employment lucky no one was injured. Transmission all of sudden start hunting for gear having hard time at highway speeds…
Electrical System 126 Read
I purchased a new trailer wire end connector for my utility trailer 7 wire flat that plugs into rear of pickup. I purchased Hopkins Endurance 7RV metal Connector#48510. This connector is metal and has two piece pistol grip handle. I followed all instructions. The last step was to apply the two piece handle on frame…
This truck was parked in the driveway for at least 24 hours. The battery was dead, so my fiancé got the jumper box out of the truck and popped the hood. After he lifted the hood, he got one of the clamps on the battery when the truck started to roll forward. He couldn’t get out in enough time and was run over. The…
My husband and I bought a new truck. My husband pulled the truck into our garage, once in the garage the back tires started to spin out of control, he looked down and saw he had his foot on the brake only, but truck surged forward causing no injuries but have minor truck and property damage. Have a picture of where…
Air Bags 125 Read
In a no fault accident, I was passenger. When the collision happened, I was wearing seatbelt, and then I was up in the dash/ windshield, there were flames, smoke. The airbags had "exploded" The seatbelt was hanging out of the passenger door after I exited. Still dangling out the door where it did not retract. I busted…
While driving 40 mph on wet pavement consumer lost control of vehicle and hit a brick wall. Air bags deployed and caught on fire, burning consumer. Also, cut consumer on arm,and from chin to center of neck. Airbags deployed so hard they knocked consumer's head out of window. Contacted dealer and had vehicle repaired
June 24, 2022 driving the vehicle at average speed 52-54 in highways when i pressed the brake it didnt respond, the automatic emergency braking did not activate or stop the vehicle. The air bag's also didn't were deployed, or engaged. The vehicle stop with the back section of the close vehicle in front. Thanks GOD,…
Fuel System 80 Read
2002 nissan frontier. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle leaking gas. *smd the consumer stated when he looked under the vehicle, there was an explosion and he had to be rushed to the burn center, for second degree burns on his left and right arms
The contact owns a 2022 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated that the vehicle was manufactured and delivered with no rear tow hitch installed. The contact indicated that the missing tow hitch created a safety hazard concerning the fuel tank in the event of a collision in the rear of the vehicle. The manufacturer and…
The contact owns a 2011 nissan frontier. The contact stated that while driving on the highway, the vehicle started jerking violently and stalled. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer, who stated that the fuel tank was tampered with due to the presence of sugar being inside of it. As a result, the fuel line…
Service Brakes 76 Read
The brake pedal lost all pressure and brakes did not function properly immediately after hitting some small bump in the road. This caused a collision with the car in front of my vehicle. Even after vehicle was repaired following this collision, master cylinder replacement, and full brake service, this issue still…
Nissan 2004 frontier xe brakes failed without warning causing a collision into an apartment complex entry sign made out of cement blocks. The damage to the vehicle resulted in a total loss. If the vehicle had been repairable, a serious concern for driver and passenger safety due to the high probability of repeated…
Emergency Parking Brake lock
Tires 67 Read
Tread seperated on my vehicle while on the freeway,resulting in $4,000.00 of damage to vehicle,over $3,000.00 in lost earnings.after picking up my truck from body shop,exactly one week later a second tire from the set (b.f. Goodrich long trail 265/75/r15) exploded while on the freeway it wasnt a seperation ,the…
Firestone/bridgestone, wilderness at, p215/65r15, DOT#w2zfnna377. Tire sidewall blew out while driving at 70 mph on the interstate. Vehicle ended up on the side of the road. *ak the consumer indicated that nothng was hit to cause the tire to blowout. The tire pressure was checked before the trip. It was also check 30…
Sidewall failed at 70MPH on I-40 Westbound causing immediate deflation of the tire almost causing loss of vehicle control. The problem has NOT been reproduced by a dealer or independent service center. The vehicle has NOT been inspected by any police or manufacturer. The low tire warning lamp illuminated seconds after…
Suspension 65 Read
The contact owned a 2022 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated while driving 15 mph, the traction control and the ABS warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated the rear end of the vehicle shifted independently to the left and he lost control of the vehicle causing him to crash into a tree. All four air bags…
The contact owned a 2003 nissan frontier. While driving 30 mph, the contact heard an abnormal noise and though it was due to a flat tire. The contact coasted over to the side of the road and noticed all the tires were normal. The contact continued to drive and the rear of the vehicle detached. The contact lost control…
The contact owns a 2019 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated that while an independent mechanic was performing an oil change on the vehicle, the contact was informed that the front passenger's side axle housing mount was fractured. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not…
Vehicle Speed Control 51 Read
I had an accident , last night 08/04/2022 I was parked an upper hill and out of no were my truck blast up w speed and went forward at full speed I couldn’t control it I try braking and the brakes weren’t working my foot was literally all the way forward. The steering wheel got really hard couldn’t control it .…
I do not know what caused this to happen. There were no warning lights or messages. Prior to this incident the transmission would rev/speed up on its own for a few seconds (I don't know if this is relevant). Salesperson told me about this and said it was nothing to worry about. The vehicle is equipped with a sensor…
I was driving in a parking lot approximately 15 20 miles per hour, I applied the brake to slow down to an appropriate speed in order to go around a corner, the truck then accelerated causing me to jump the curb and hit the mail boxes. The truck accelerated to approx. 30-40 mph
Frontier years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Power Train | — | — | |
| 2022 | Air Bags | 11 | 3 | |
| 2021 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2019 | Air Bags | 1 | 1 | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 4 | 1 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 3 | 1 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 2 | 1 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 2 | 1 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 5 | 1 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 7 | 2 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 9 | 2 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 10 | 2 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 10 | 4 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 13 | 4 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 6 | — | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 10 | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 609 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.8 |
| Worst single series | 10 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.8 years |
A model average of 1.8 hides a worst series at 10. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Frontier?
By complaint volume, 2000, 2022, 1998 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Frontier years are the cleanest?
2025, 2021, 2018 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Nissan Frontier have?
1,118 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1998–2025. Of those, 99 describe a crash and 23 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.