2013 Nissan Frontier

Routine

Owners filed 48 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the air bags. It has been recalled 1 time.

When it fails
020k40k60k90k120k200k
27,000 milesMedian miles at failure

37 complaints record an odometer reading. Failures cluster around 010,000 miles.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Air Bags14
301
Power Train5
000
Electrical System5
110
Vehicle Speed Control4
100
Engine4
000
Wheels3
000
Unknown or Other2
001
Seat Belts2
000
Visibility › Glass, Side/Rear1
000
Tires1
000

1 safety recall

Part 573 reports
Electrical System › Wiring › Fuses and Circuit Breakers14V052000
Filed Feb 12, 201413,535 vehiclesNissan North America, Inc.

Defect. Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2012 through 2014 Frontier vehicles manufactured from November 28, 2012, through December 17, 2013. In the affected vehicles, a circuit breaker may have been installed incorrectly causing the main wire harness connected to the circuit breaker to face outward, potentially contacting a metal bolt located on the A-pillar.

Risk. The bolt may wear through the wire harness covering, resulting in an electrical short which could cause a fire.

Remedy. Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the circuit breaker orientation. If the circuit breaker orientation is incorrect, dealers will repair the vehicles free of charge. The recall began on March 17, 2014. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.

What owners reported

Newest filings
Air Bags
Filed Mar 16, 2026113,000 milesNY

The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the air bag sensor located in front of the radiator had failed and needed to be replaced; however, the vehicle was not repaired because the Part Number: 98581-9BD8A; had been on backorder for approximately 6-12 months. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part was not available. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 113,000.

Electrical System › Instrument Panel › Speedometer/Odometer
Filed Nov 10, 2025183,101 milesTX

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2013 Nissan Frontier. The vehicle was purchased in a private sale. It was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 98,107, and at the time of registration, it was discovered that the mileage was 183,101. The Carfax report and the last report were in 2022.

Air Bags
Filed May 10, 2024FL

Air bag light will not go off. Afraid will deploy. Dealer no problem just censor. Did not have part to fix.

Air Bags
Filed Dec 13, 2023NY

In Summer 2023 driving on uneven country road in Upstate New York hit a pothole and my airbag warning light came on. Then started to flash. Truck is still drivable BUT now The seatbelts no longer lock in place during a sudden stop Did research online Nissan has a Voluntary Service Campaign for this exact issue. Campaign ID P7318 I made appointment with Koeppel Nissan. Had to wait weeks then They canceled my scheduled appointment on September 4 and reschedule for September 12. Probably not safe to drive truck with airbag light on and seatbelt issues. I go to my regular mechanic. He tells me seatbelt retractors do not seem to be working. He tests them by extending seatbelt slowly. Then tugging hard. He said they should lock in place. They do not. He also put a scan tool into OBD port. There are zero codes Nothing showing why airbag light flashing. Informs me there is a 10 year Warranty on seatbelts. He said wait for dealer to do their replacement of air bag diagnostic sensor unit. HE SAID THE AIRBAGS DEPLOY IN STAGES. YOUR LIGHT COMING ON IS FIRST STAGE SECOND STAGE IS SEATBELT LOCKING IN PLACE. Yours did not lock in place but your retractor might have been damaged or a sensor in buckle part of seatbelt related to airbags. On September 12 I bring truck in. The dealer first tries to tell me there is a diagnostic fee of $200. I refuse to pay telling them it is a Nissan Voluntary Service Campaign and seatbelts are under warranty. They agree to waive fee. They call me up an hour or

Steering
Filed Aug 21, 2023NJ

I felt like I was loosing control of my steering it was so scary I took my car to the closest service place which was Meineke which was 3 months ago well the same problem is back with my steering wheel and definitely isn't safe. I am reporting this to make sure that there isn't a safety issue I should be aware of on how to resolve this

Engine
Filed Jun 18, 2023FL

This is an intermittent problem sometimes this problem will happen as far apart as a month, Then for two days then go away. When accelerating the truck will starting bucking, not getting to enough fuel, this will sometimes not stop the next day I take it to the mechanic it is running fine no check engine light comes on. He runs a diagnostic, no error readings this has been going on for 6mos.. Once it was so bad by the time I got it home it had fried the converters. The mechanic changed the converters replaced all the censors on the engine and converters clean the injectors, replaced the plugs, and changed fuel filter, tested the fuel pump, good. I need help, don't know what to do. Had another shop run a diagnostic check after all of this could find no problems, but the problem is still there. Afraid of stalling in an intersection and getting killed.

Unknown or Other
Filed Jan 29, 2023CO

My daughter backed out of our driveway, put the truck in reverse. She was then unable to put the truck into drive. It got stuck in the middle of the street. Thankfully we live on a quite street with not much traffic during the day. However if this happened in a parking lot it would have been much different. My husband was able to come home from work and manually push it forward, then drove it backwards into a parking spot (out of the middle of the street). He did an internet search and found a solution. Apparently one of the screws holding the gear shifter (park,neutral,reverse,drive...) came loose and was getting hung up on the plastic molding portion of the gear box. It was a simple fix - just pop open the cover and screw the part back in. However this was a terrible thing to happen, and could have really been a much bigger issue than it was. Had it happened in a busy parking lot, busy street, or on a boat ramp.... It would have been disastrous. Please consider sending a written notice to all owners. Thank you

Air BagsCrash
Filed Oct 10, 2022CA

On a dark road going 40MPH I hit a large deer on Oct 7. The front end of my truck was damaged. Air bag went off but never inflated, and I smelled smoke briefly. I was able to drive home and in the morning I noted there were two quarter size burn holes in the air bag, which probably explains why the bag did not deploy. There was absolutely no evidence of fire under the hood, in the cab, etc. I understand that some kind of explosive is used to "project" the airbag but it looks like it may have also damaged it. What to do?

Wheels
Filed Apr 12, 202176,000 milesOH

PURCHASED 4 NEW GENERAL GRABBER HTS TIRES SIZE 25/75R15 LESS THAN 4 MONTHS AGO. TIRES WERE INSTALLED AT A REPUTABLE DEALERSHIP. I NOW HAVE 2,600 MILES ON THE TIRES. LAST WEEK THE FIRST TIRE BLEW OUT AT THE BEAD, WHERE THE TIRE MEETS THE RIM. I INSTALLED MY FULL SIZE SPARE WHILE THE FIRST FAILURE IS INVESTIGATED. NOW TWO DAYS LATER, A SECOND TIRE IS SEVERELY DEFORMED AT THE TIRE BEAD AND LOOKS LIKE IT IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE JUST LIKE THE FIRST ONE. BOTH FAILURES ARE RIGHT UNDER THE 'GE' IN GENERAL AT THE TIRE BEAD. I BELIEVE THESE TIRES ARE COMPLETELY DEFECTIVE, THEY ARE A DANGER TO ANYONE THAT HAS THEM INSTALLED ON THEIR VEHICLE AND A DANGER TO THE PUBLIC. THE FIRST TIRE FAILED WHILE DRIVING AT 55MPH ON A FLAT, STRAIGHT, SMOOTH ROAD. THE SECOND TIRE HAS NOT COMPLETELY FAILED, BUT THERE IS A LARGE BULGE OR BUBBLE IN THE TIRE WHERE IT MEETS THE RIM, IT LOOKS LIKE IT COULD FAIL AT ANY MOMENT AND IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE. FIRST PHOTO OF FIRST FAILED TIRE IMMEDIATELY AFTER IT FAILED ON THE SIDE OF ROAD. SECOND AND THIRD PHOTO IS THE SECOND TIRE I BELIEVE IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE. LAST PHOTO DOT NUMBER OF FIRST FAILED TIRE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

Seat Belts
Filed Aug 13, 2020115,000 milesTX

ONE MORNING I ARRIVED AT WORK AND MY SEAT BELT WOULD NOT DISENGAGE AFTER STRUGGLING WITH IT FOR 10 MINUTES I HAD TO CUT IT TO GET OUT I HAD NO PRIOR PROBLEMS WITH SEATBELT UNTIL THAT MORNING I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO NISSAN BUT THEY ARE SAYING THEY WILL NOT COVER IT APPARENTLY BECAUSE I HAD CUT IT AND THEY ARE ALSO SAYING THAT SOMETHING COULD OF BEEN STUCK IN THE LOCKING MECHANISM U ASSURE YOU THERE WAS NOT IT'S AN EXCUSE THEY ARE USING TO NOT PAY FOR IT IF I HAD BEEN IN WRECK OR FIRE I COULD HAVE DIED .

Electrical System
Filed Jun 26, 202060,000 milesTX

THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE WENT OUT ON MY VEHICLE AFTER ONLY 60,000 MILES. I TRIED EVERY POSSIBLE SOLUTION SUCH AS REPLACING SENSORS, REPLACED SPARK PLUGS, CRANK AND SHIFT SENSORS, ETC UNTIL MY LOCAL NISSAN DEALERSHIP RAN A DIAGNOSTIC AND DETERMINED IT TO BE THE ECM. THEY FOUND IT STRANGE TO HAVE THE ECM GO OUT SO QUICKLY. MY TRUCK WAS RUNNING FINE BUT THEN IT SLOWLY STARTED TO GIVE OUT WHEN I WOULD TRY TO START IT. I HAVE A MANUAL TRANSMISSION. *TR

Air Bags
Filed Feb 26, 2020120,000 milesNY

THE FRONT CRASH ZONE SENSOR IS IN NEED OF REPLACEMENT, THE PREVIOUS MODEL YEARS HAVE ALREADY BEEN RECALLED AND HAD THIS FIXED VIA A RECALL THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM HAS HAPPENED WITH MY 2013 NISSAN FRONTIER

Fuel/Propulsion System
Filed Oct 25, 2019ME

WHEN PUTTING GAS IN THE VEHICLE IT WILL JUST BEGIN POURING OUT, HAPPENS OFTEN AND THE TANK IS STILL EMPTY

Electrical System
Filed Oct 15, 201970,000 milesVA

ABOUT A YEAR AGO MY SUNROOF WAS ACTING LIKE IT DIDN'T WANT TO CLOSE, I HAVEN'T OPENED IT SINCE, THEN A FEW MONTHS AFTER THAT, IT KEPT BLOWING FUSES BY THE GLOVE BOX THAT CONTROLS THE INTERIOR LIGHTS, CARGO LIGHTS AND TRAILER HITCH, THEN LAST WEEK, I THOUGHT MY TRUCK WAS GOING TO BURN TO THE GROUND WHEN I WAS DRIVING DOWN MY MOTHERS DRIVEWAY. SMOKE CAME IN BETWEEN THE WINDSHIELD AND DASH AND FILLED THE CAB UP VERY QUICKLY. I PUT THE TRUCK IN PARK, TURNED IT OFF AND RAN AWAY FROM THE VEHICLE THINKING IT WAS GOING TO BLOW UP. I ROLLED ALL THE WINDOWS DOWN TO LET THE SMOKE OUT. AFTER 10 MINUTES, CHECKING UNDER THE HOOD, UNDER THE VEHICLE, I DID NOT SEE ANY FLAMES. WHEN I GOT BACK IN THE TRUCK TO DRIVE IT HOME, THE WINDOWS WOULD NOT ROLL UP AND THE INTERIOR LIGHTS WOULD NOT WORK AND THE AIRBAG LIGHT IS FLASHING ON AND OFF AND WON'T STOP AND IT SMELLED HORRIBLE OF SOMETHING ELECTRICAL.

Engine
Filed Aug 7, 201936,000 milesGA

MANIFOLDS BREAK APART 2 TIMES SINCE OWNING THE TRUCK

Power Train
Filed May 31, 201959,697 milesFL

I WAS TOLD THAT THE TRANSMISSION COOLER IS DEFECTIVE DURING A REGULAR MAINTENCE OF THE TRANSMISSION.

Air Bags
Filed Mar 30, 201938,000 milesND

WHILE THE VEHICLE IS RUNNING, THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT ON THE DASHBOARD FLASHES, WHETHER OR NOT THERE IS A PASSENGER IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. THERE WAS NO DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE OR ANY INITIATING FACTOR THAT I CAN DETERMINE. ONE DAY WHEN I TURNED THE VEHICLE ON, THE WARNING LIGHT ALSO TURNED ON. THE LIGHT DOES NOT TURN OFF DURING THE OPERATION OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE IS UNDER 40,000 MILES.

Power Train
Filed Jan 3, 20193,800 milesVA

TRANSMISSION WON'T GO INTO GEAR FORWARD OR REVERSE AT TIMES. WHEN DRIVING ON THE ROAD TRANSMISSION WON'T SHIFT OUT OF 3RD GEAR INTO OVER DRIVE, AFTER TOPPING A HILL AND GOING BACK DOWNHILL. TRUCK WILL DO A JERKING MOTION WHEN PULLING OUT FROM A STOP. ON INTERSTATE I81 TRUCK SPEED WAS 50-55 MPH THE RPM'S WAS 6,000 AND THE RPM'S WOULD NOT SHIFT INTO HIGHER GEAR. WHEN IT DID SHIFT IT WAS A VERY HARD SHIFT. IT HAS BEEN GOING ON SINCE THE DAY I BOUGHT THIS TRUCK BRAND NEW. I HAVE HAD IT TO THE DEALERSHIP NUMEROUS TIMES AND THEY CAN NOT FIND OUT WHAT IT IS. THE TRUCK DOESN'T THROUGH A CODE, SO THEY CAN'T WORK ON IT TILL IT DOES. I PULL A SMALL POP UP CAMPER AT TIMES AND IT ACTS UP MORE WHEN THE TRUCK IS UNDER STRESS. I HAVE WHERE THE NISSAN DEALERSHIP HAS SEEN THE TRUCK AND THEIR COMMENTS. THEY DID OFFER ME AN EXTENDED WARRANTY TILL 2020. I DON'T FEEL SAFE DRIVING THE TRUCK ON THE ROAD AND ESPECIALLY WHEN MY FAMILY IN THE TRUCK. I ONLY HAVE A LITTLE OVER 23,000 MILES ON THE TRUCK AS TO DATE. NISSAN DENIED MY REQUEST FOR ANOTHER TRUCK BECAUSE THEY SAID MY CLAIM FALLS OUTSIDE THE TIME PERIOD FOR FILING CLAIMS. I HAVE THE REPAIR PAPER WORK AND LETTERS FROM THE NISSAN GROUP.

Electrical System
Filed Nov 12, 201851,000 milesPA

I HAVE ISSUES WITH THE POSTIVE TERMINAL COMING LOSE ON MY NISSAN FRONTIER ON VARIOUS OCCASIONS. ONE WAS WHILE DRIVING. MY SAFETY AND OTHERS HAVE BEEN PUT AT RISK DUE TO NISSANS LOOSE CABLE. I ALMOST HIT A FAMILY OF FOUR WITH MY TRUCK.

Air Bags
Filed Jul 19, 201838,258 milesPA

TAKATA RECALL. DASH LIGHT FOR AIR BAG FLASHES WHILE DRIVING WITH OR WITHOUT SOMEONE IN PASSENGER SEAT. WHEN STARTING VEHICLE AIR BAG LIGHT COMES ON AND THEN STARTS FLASHES.DID NOT TAKE TO GARAGE YET.

20 of 48 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2006
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20268100Routine
20257300Routine
202422310Routine
202366130Routine
2022111630Routine
202118200Routine
202023200Routine
201928110Routine
201825200Routine
201738111Fatalities reported
201643110Routine
201533010Routine
201442210Routine
2013 — this page48110Routine
201278300Routine
201164110Routine
201059600Routine
200937510Routine
2008136620Routine
2007520200Above average
2006617721Fatalities reported
2005532681Fatalities reported
200466430Routine
200377721Fatalities reported
2002124820Routine
2001134782Fatalities reported
2000189640Routine
199978500Routine
1998129500Routine

Compare every Frontier year →

Reading this record

No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Recall repairs are free for as long as the recall stands. Check whether a specific car still has open work at NHTSA's VIN lookup.

Most recent recall on file: Feb 12, 2014. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.