10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
53,343 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2012 Nissan Frontier miscellaneous problems

miscellaneous problem

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2012 Nissan Frontier Owner Comments

problem #9

Mar 012021

Frontier

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The paint above the front wheel well on both the passenger and drivers side of my 2012 Nissan Frontier (blue) with 69,0000 miles is pealing off in chunks. If do an internet search on 'paint flaking Nissan Frontier' you can see numerous pictures. Talking with the dealer, prevalent issue on dark colored Frontiers (blue is especially prevalent. Clearly a factory defect as the paint is not adhering to the primer. Talked to Nissan consumer support and they basically say it is out of warranty so good luck with repair. Clearly this is a manufacturing defect that should not happen. Not a safety issue, but poor customer support. Has it been fixed? my expectation is there should have been some cost share for this repair.

- Edwards, IL, USA

problem #8

Jun 252020

Frontier 6-cyl

  • 77,961 miles
The vehicle would randomly stall while driving, particularly when slowing for a traffic signal. The engine stopping would cause all power assisted functions to cease making it difficult to steer and brake. Most recently the vehicle would start extreme hesitation while driving and I could not get up to the posted speed limit of 55 mph. I had to use my flashers to warn other drivers that my speed was only approximately 35 mph. Also the transmission had difficulty shifting. This was extremely dangerous on a 2 lane highway where vehicles rapidly approached from the rear. It wouldn't negotiate a large hii (lack of power) and I had to have it towed to my home. Receipt below.

- Leesburg, VA, USA

problem #7

Dec 082017

Frontier

  • 57,000 miles
Set belts at time are hard to get off and airbag light blinks on and off.

- Ft Gibson, OK, USA

problem #6

Nov 052017

Frontier

  • 65,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Takata recall - received mail telling us about the recall on air bags. Will be taking into have fixed or replaced

- Grayslake, IL, USA

problem #5

Feb 152017

Frontier

  • 135,000 miles
Sun visor pivot side bracket is very flimsy. Caused visor to break loose and fall into steering wheel causing momentary loss of control. No crash resulted but could have caused one.

- Alpine, AZ, USA

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problem #4

Mar 032017

Frontier

  • 72,000 miles
I bought new tires, same size and brand name as the last 4 tires but a different model type of tires. As I was driving the vehicle on a 2 lane road, the front passenger tire flew off the rim. The rim scraped the roadway and flipped my truck upwards and spun the vehicle up in the air over a guard rail and I hit into a concrete culvert. The vehicle was declared a total loss. The tires were installed by a shop, balanced and aligned. The vehicle was brought back a few days later to that same shop due to the vehicle shaking vigorously at roughly 40 mph. The shop rebalanced the 4 tires and rotated them. The mechanic advised me that the back driver tire had lost psi and was close to 30 psi, the cold psi on the tire says 50 psi. The mechanic advised me that a rotation was completed and that tire was now in the front passenger location and was inflated back to 50 psi. The shop mechanic also advised me that he believed the tire that was then in the front passenger location may be faulty in regards to the wire inside the rubber of the tire and asked where I purchased the tires. As I entered the highway with speed limit of 70, I could merely approach 60 mph with vigorous shaking. I advised the shop of this, but decided to go with another shop to check the balancing and preform a new balancing. The new shop advised me that the rims were not cleaned properly for the initial shop's weights to stay on and said the vehicle may had been throwing their weights off. Upon completion of the 3rd balancing, the shop had also installed a back up camera for me but did not hook the front air bags back up. These did not deploy during the accident. After the last balancing, the vehicle still shook at higher speeds but was much less than the other times. My vehicle never had any of these issues with the tires I previously purchased which lasted approximately 55,000 miles and never shook before.

- Beloit, OH, USA

problem #3

Dec 122015

Frontier

  • 15,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The 2012 Nissan Frontier has a rubber grommet on the clutch pedal which triggers saftey switch. The grommet goes bad and the vehicle will not start. Cannot be jumped. Must be towd or fixed on the spot. These grommetts go bad in 15,000 miles and it cost $15 for a new one. You cannot maintain a piece of rubber on te clutch. Rediculous

- Melbourne, FL, USA

problem #2

Jun 302015

Frontier

  • 18,130 miles
I first noticed the incident today in a downtown area, speed of 35 mph. Upon removing my foot from the accelerator the RPM dropped to 1000, not lower, and the vehicle continued to move at the 35 mph. At every opportunity I was able to duplicate the event. As I entered our street I braked reducing speed. The vehicle RPM remained at 1000 and the speed was lower, but requiring braking to slow completly. I inspected the accelator pedal area, with my wife to verify that nothing was blocking the accelator. My wife and I took the vehicle on another test drive and was able to duplicate the event, crusing at 35 mph with no foot on the accelerator, RPM at 1000. The outside temp. Was approx. 102/104F. Weather clear and dry. The vehicle was used over the weekend for a round trip of approx. 700 miles. The vehicle is serviced on a regular basis, mileage upon parking was 18,135. I think this is potentially a serious safe issue.

- Nampa, ID, USA

problem #1

May 062015

Frontier

  • 40,000 miles
Somewhere between Sept., 2014, and May 2015. My air conditioner stopped working. Warranty expired in January, 2015. Problem is a faulty A/C clutch. Unfortunately, clutch and compressor are one unit. Nissan of North America said Nissan dealer had to diagnose problem for them to make a decision, since I was out of warranty. I did so, and Nissan North America said they could not help, since vehicle was out of warranty. Nissan is not the Nissan of years ago. Poor quality, poor customer service. Do not get stuck like me. Do your homework before buying.

- Oak Ridge, NJ, USA

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