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Nissan · NHTSA safety record

2011 Nissan Frontier

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

64

Complaints

4

Crashes

1

Fires

4

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2011 Nissan Frontier have filed 64 safety complaints with NHTSA between May 2011 and November 2025. The most complained-about system is the air bags, named in 16 of them (25%). The typical failure was reported at 47,800 miles, the median across the 50 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 1 recall covering this vehicle.

Recalls (1)

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

23V067000 · February 10, 2023

The defect
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2008-2011 Titan, Frontier, Xterra, Pathfinder, Armada, and 2008-2009 Quest vehicles. The resin emblem on the driver's air bag cover may develop cracks and detach during air bag deployment.
The risk
A detached emblem can become a projectile during air bag deployment, increasing the risk of injury to vehicle occupants.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the driver’s airbag cover. Owner letters were mailed December 8, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall are PC944, PC945, and PC946.

Nissan North America, Inc. · up to 404,690 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 64.

AIR BAGS 16 25%
SERVICE BRAKES 12 19%
POWER TRAIN 9 14%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6 9%
STRUCTURE 6 9%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 5 8%
ENGINE 4 6%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 4 6%
SEAT BELTS 3 5%
SEATS 3 5%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 2 3%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 2 3%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2017 at 9.

2011 2017 2025
2011 to 2025

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW

3 injured · 6,000 miles

MYSELF AND THREE KIDS AND DOG HAD BEEN ON A MILD 4 WHEEL DRIVE ROAD HAVING A LITTLE COOK OUT AND HIKE. WE WERE COMING HOME ON A SMOOTH MAINTAINED COUNTY ROAD GOING AND COMING TO STOP BY A STREAM. I THINK MY FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKE, WE WERE MAYBE GOING 20 MILES AN HOUR WHEN MY SIDE AIRBAGS EXPLODED. SEAT AIR BAGS AND FRONT AIRBAGS FORTUNATELY DID NOT EXPLODE. I RECEIVED MILD BURNS AND BRUISES ON MY FACE. MY 6 Y.O. RED, HURT ON HIS CHEST. 11 Y.O. LOST HIS HEARING TEMPORARILY AND RED STINGING EAR. OTHER CHILD, 8, UNINJURED AS SHE WAS BENDING OVER PUTTING ON HER SHOES AS WE WERE COMING TO A STOP, BUT IS AFRAID TO SIT UP STRAIGHT IN A CAR NOW. WANTS TO LAY DOWN ON THE SEAT ALL THE TIME. WE HAD TO

NHTSA complaint 10419941, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

fire · 17,200 miles

I WAS DRIVING ALONG THE 805 FREEWAY WHEN MY AIRCONDITIONER LIGHTS STARTED FLASHING. SHORTLY THEREAFTER ALL THE LIGHTS STARTED COMING ON THE DASH BOARD. THEN I LOST POWER TO THE ENGINE AND BRAKES. ALL POWER WAS LOST. I HAD TO MERGE ON TO THE 8 WEST FREEWAY AND I WAS LUCKY TO BE ABLE TO USE MY HANDBRAKE TO SLOW DOWN AND COME TO REST ON THE SHOULDER. AFTER EXITING THE VEHICLE, WE COULD SMELL BURNING AND THEN NOTICED THERE WAS FLAMES COMING FROM UNDER THE FRONT RIGHT TIRE AREA COMING FROM UNDER THE ENGINE. THE CAR THEN WAS QUICKLY ENGULFED BY FLAMES AND DESTROYED. *TR

NHTSA complaint 10398455. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

crash · towed

On January 25, 2024 my son was driving this truck and hit a dog on the highway. His driver side airbag deployed, the driver side seatbelt would not retract, and there was some minor body damage. The engine of the vehicle is fine and completely operational. Since then, we have been waiting for repairs to be made. Per USAA, repairs will be approx $5000 or less. The vehicle is worth over $12,000 so they decided to repair it. The problem is that part number 98820-ZP78A (air bag control module) is no longer being manufactured by Nissan. All other parts, including the *actual* air bag can still be purchased from Nissan, but they are not making the sensor we need to fix this vehicle. We are not

NHTSA complaint 11585943, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

crash · 150,000 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 NISSAN FRONTIER. WHILE STARTING THE VEHICLE, IT ACCELERATED WITHOUT WARNING. THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS APPLIED, BUT IT WAS HARD AND FAILED TO RESPOND. AS A RESULT, THE VEHICLE CRASHED INTO A FENCE. THERE WERE NO INJURIES AND A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE LOCAL DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE VIA EMAIL. NO ASSISTANCE WAS PROVIDED. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 150,000.

NHTSA complaint 11013734. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
Transmission fluid mixing with coolant in radiator!

NHTSA complaint 11697002. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
The brakes have failed several times, seems to be a known issues and affecting others. While our Nissan Truck is older, we had our Nissan checked at Midas, and then at the local Continental Nissan location, that didn’t really help, found a part that helped but only for a short period of time, as this part crapped out again yesterday 3/19/2025, and even though the brake pushed to the floor trying to stop as the brakes stopped working again! The part was only approx 2-5 months old. Nissan Frontier dealership or other places to find the actual parts needed have no real parts that would actually fix the issue. It is very sad for those in the same issue as us, pay $$$ for a used vehicle that

NHTSA complaint 11649505, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2011 Nissan Frontier. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23E012000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA complaint 11551021. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Vehicle frame has failed due to rust.

NHTSA complaint 11542580. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY
Paint flaking off of front fender in crease above tire on both the passenger and driver side.

NHTSA complaint 11523897. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Nissan Frontier

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2024 19 3 —
2023 64 1 —
2022 110 6 —
2021 17 2 —
2020 23 2 —
2019 28 1 —
2018 25 2 —
2017 38 1 1
2016 43 1 —
2015 33 0 —
2014 42 2 —
2013 48 1 —
2012 78 3 —
2010 59 4 —

Other 2011 Nissan models

Rogue 362 Versa 268 Altima 241 Juke 153 Murano 148 Sentra 142 Maxima 106 Leaf 95

Every Nissan on this site — 200 vehicles, 319 recall campaigns and 5 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst