What 48 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Nissan Frontier

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.

NHTSA ODI 11724649

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.

NHTSA ODI 11698520

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

NHTSA ODI 11588084

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 two later said “they are unable to perform recall the software update is no longer available. The problem with seatbelt related to software or sensor unit”. I complain to Nissan of America. The person on phone tells me a manager will call me back and e mail me. Case number 49514132 I have never received a call or e mail from anyone at Nissan regarding this safety issue. Perhaps a full recall is necessary for all affected Vehicles under campaign ID P7318

NHTSA ODI 11559978

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

NHTSA ODI 11539819

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.

NHTSA ODI 11527635

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

NHTSA ODI 11504270

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?

NHTSA ODI 11488621

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.

NHTSA ODI 11407557

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 .

NHTSA ODI 11349006

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

NHTSA ODI 11331161

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

NHTSA ODI 11311623

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

NHTSA ODI 11270945

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.

NHTSA ODI 11268493

MANIFOLDS BREAK APART 2 TIMES SINCE OWNING THE TRUCK

NHTSA ODI 11242298

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

NHTSA ODI 11217091

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.

NHTSA ODI 11192677

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.

NHTSA ODI 11165681

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.

NHTSA ODI 11150935

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.

NHTSA ODI 11112507

VEHICLE ROLLS-NOT SLIDES OUT OF DRIVEWAY WHILE VEHICLE IN PARK AND NOT RUNNING WHILE ON SNOW AND ICE DOES NOT DO SO WHEN IN 4 WHEEL DRIVE. NISSAN DEALER HAS SEEN VIDEOS BUT SAYS NOTHING WRONG. LIVED IN HOUSE SINCE 1985 AND NO CAR HAS EVER ROLLED OUT. ONLY UNDER CERTAIN WINTER CONDITIONS DOES THIS HAPPEN SUCH AS WET PACKED SNOW.. WAS NEARLY RAN OVER ONE DAY GETTING MAIL. VIDEO SHOW NO KEY, IN PARK AND ALL 4 TIRES ROTATING FORWARD. SECOND VIDEO SHOWS NO KEY, IN PARK 3 WHEELS ROTATING FORWARD AND 1 REAR WHEEL ROTATING BACKWARD AS PICKUP ROLLS FORWARD. ONE DEALER COULD SEE PROBLEM AND TOLD ME TO PUT BLOCKS BEHIND WHEELS. SECOND COMPLAINT. REAR BUMPER HAS SIGNIFICANT RUST AROUND LICENSE PLATE, REST OF BUMPER OK. NISSAN SAYS BECAUSE OF WINTER CHEMICALS. BROUGHT THIS TO THEIR ATTENTION 4 YEARS AGO WHEN PICKUP HAD 7835 MILES. IN 4 YEARS I HAVE ATTEMPTED TO FIND ANOTHER PICKUP APPROXIMATE SAME AGE ANY MAKE WITH RUST FROM CHEMICALS. I HAVE THE ONLY ONE IN (REDACTED). WHY RUST BEHIND LICENSE PLATE WHICH IS PROTECTED FROM CHEMICAL. THE PAST 4 YEARS I AVE MADE A MINIMUM OF 15 TRIPS, CALLS, LETTERS ALL TO BE TOLD NOTHING WRONG, NOTHING WE CAN DO. FEEL AS THOUGH THE BIG COMPANY IS BULLYING THE LITTLE PERSON. CAN SEND PHOTOS, VIDEO CORRESPONDENCE SEPARATELY-NOT COMPUTER SAVVY. FIRST INCIDENT AT DEALER WAS 2/27/2018. MIGHT ADD THIS IS A GREAT PICKUP, WHICH I CAN NEVER SELL IN GOOD FAITH KNOWING THE DANGEROUS CONDITION ON SNOW AND ICE.

NHTSA ODI 11074668

THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT SHIFT INTO DRIVE FROM NEUTRAL. AFTER A FEW MINUTES OF HOLDING IT IN DRIVE, I MANAGED TO GET IT TO MOVE FORWARD. THEN, I COULD NOT GET IT OUT OF DRIVE. IT ONLY MOVED FORWARD. THE PROBLEM FIX IS DESCRIBED IN THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO PERFECTLY. HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=XF-QFAASMWO IT WAS EXTREMELY SCARY TO LEAVE MY VEHICLE RUNNING FOR FEAR I COULD NOT MOVE IT AGAIN AND THE WHAT IF THIS PART MALFUNCTIONED IN TRAFFIC WHILE DOWN SHIFTING INTO 3 2 OR 1. WHICH IS WHAT CAUSED MINE TO STICK BEHIND DRIVE. IT WAS THE LOOSE SCREW THAT ALLOWED THE PART TO BIND.

NHTSA ODI 11047102

THE SIDE AIRBAGS DEPLOY TOO EASILY IN FRONTIER TRUCKS, ALL WITHOUT NEED OF A CRASH NISSAN WON'T COVER THE DAMAGES UNDER WARRANTY AND REFUSES TO REIMBURSE OWNERS WHO MUST PAY OUT-OF-POCKET FOR REPAIRS. NISSAN DOES HAVE A PROGRAM TO REPROGRAM THE AIR BAG DIAGNOSIS SENSOR UNIT BUT WILL NOT COVER THE REINSTALL OF THE SIDE CURTAIN AID BAGS. THE AIR BAGS ARE GOING OFF BECAUSE OF A FALSE READING FROM THE SENSOR UNIT. MY FRONTIERS SIDE CURTAIN AIR BAGS DEPLOYED AT 5MPH ON A FLAT SURFACE.

NHTSA ODI 11013084

MY SON HAD AN ACCIDENT, DRIVING AT 65 MPH AND HIT A PARKED CAR ON THE FREEWAY. HE HIT THE WINDSHIELD SO HARD WITH HIS HEAD THAT THE WINDSHIELD HAS A CUP SHAPED DENT EVEN WITH SEAT BELT ON AND DEPLOYMENT OF AIRBAGS. I CONTACTED NISSAN, AND WAS DISMISSED. I WAS TOLD BY [XXX], THE PERSON ASSIGNED TO THE CASE BY NISSAN, THAT SINCE INSURANCE HAD PAID. THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE TO BE DONE. I WILL ATTACH PHOTOS OF THE TRUCK. I FEEL THAT THE AIRBAG AND SIT BELT SHOULD HAVE KEPT DRIVER IN PLACE. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA ODI 10945719

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 NISSAN FRONTIER. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, THE VEHICLE OVERHEATED AND ANTIFREEZE SPILLED FROM THE ENGINE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 21,000.

NHTSA ODI 10929954