CSR

Nissan · NHTSA safety record

2016 Nissan Frontier

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

43

Complaints

3

Crashes

1

Fires

3

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2016 Nissan Frontier have filed 43 safety complaints with NHTSA between November 2015 and July 2026. The most complained-about system is the air bags, named in 10 of them (23%). The typical failure was reported at 32,500 miles, the median across the 24 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 1 recall covering this vehicle.

Recalls (1)

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FRONT UNDERHOOD

16V181000 · March 31, 2016

The defect
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2016 Frontier V6 vehicles manufactured February 29, 2016, to March 7, 2016. The starter motor wire harness may have been installed in an incorrect position, allowing the starter harness terminal to contact the heat shield and result in an electrical short.
The risk
An electrical short increases the risk of a fire.
The remedy
Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and reposition the starter wire harness, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on April 13, 2016. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

Nissan North America, Inc. · up to 1,554 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 43.

AIR BAGS 10 23%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 9 21%
ENGINE 8 19%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 8 19%
STRUCTURE 4 9%
POWER TRAIN 3 7%
SERVICE BRAKES 3 7%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 5%
STEERING 2 5%
WHEELS 2 5%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 2%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 2%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2020 at 7.

2015 2020 2026
2015 to 2026, the last of them a part year

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

3 injured · crash · towed

Airbags didn’t deployed when the incident of the the truck crashed at the time. (April 05,2023)

NHTSA complaint 11519626. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY

fire

IN MOTION, PULLING INTO PARKING STALL, WHEN SOMETHING STARTED TO SMELL LIKE IT WAS ON FIRE, STARTED TO SEE FLAMES COMING FROM MOTOR. CAR CAUGHT ON FIRE. POLICE CASE #19-0773 *DT *DT*JB

NHTSA complaint 11170646. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

crash · towed · 30,000 miles

WE PURCHASED OUR 2016 NISSAN FRONTIER IN OCTOBER 2016. UNFORTUNATELY WE HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THREE MAJOR CAR ACCIDENTS AND TWO OUT OF THE THREE TIMES THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. EVERY ACCIDENT WE WERE INVOLVED IN COST OVER $10,000 TO REPAIR OUR VEHICLE SO WE KNOW THAT THE FRONT END DAMAGE WAS VERY SEVERE. WE WOULD LIKE OUR VEHICLE INSPECTED FOR ANY AIR BAG MAIL FUNCTION THE LAST ACCIDENT WE WERE INVOLVED IN WE HIT VERY HARD AND THE AIR BAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY I HIT THE STEERING WHEEL PRETTY HARD.

NHTSA complaint 11080268. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STEERING

crash · 9,631 miles

LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE APPROVED A BODY SHOP TO REPAIR MY TRUCK FROM AN ACCIDENT (I WAS NOT AT FAULT) BY REMOVING ALL PARTS OF MY TRUCK FROM IT'S ORIGINAL FRAME AND PUTTING IT BACK TOGETHER ON ANOTHER FRAME. I WAS SITTING STILL, WHEN I WAS HIT FROM BEHIND AND PUSHED INTO VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME. ALL PARTIES GOT STOPPED, EXCEPT THE LADY THAT HIT ME IN THE REAR.

NHTSA complaint 10947100. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
OUR 2016 NISSAN FRONTER HAS A SLOW AIR LEAK ON THE TIRES AFTER HAVEING THEM CHECKED BY A TIRE DEALER IT WAS FOUND THE TIRE PRESSURE SENSOR (TPS) WAS LEAKING AT THE CORE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO REMOVE THE CORE OR THE NUT THAT HOLDS THE TPS ON THE WHEEL. GALVONIC REACTION HAD WELDED ALL IN PLACE . DEALER CUT THE VALVE OFF AND REPLACED WITH A NEW TPS (NON METAL) AS IS THERE PRATICE AS THEY HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH METAL ONES IN THE PAST . I THINK THIS COULD BE A PROBLEM WITH OTHER TPSs AND COULD HAVE LOSS OF AIR PRESSURE OR AT LEAST THE OWNER WOULD BE UNABLE TO ADD AIR TO TIRE THE TPS IS A STOCK NISSAN SCHRADER ELECTRONICS RTPMS 40700 1AA0B BLUE IN COLOR

NHTSA complaint 11753328. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
I am experiencing a fuel pump issue that stalls the engine while driving. The issue will sometimes go away if I first loosen the fuel cap on the gas tank to relieve built up pressure but after driving for 10 to 15 minutes or so the vehicle will begin to jerk while accelerating then it will stall and cut off. I have to wait a few minutes once it cuts off and then I can start the engine up again and drive for another 10 to 15 minutes before the issue occurs again. The vehicle has over 120,000 miles on it and all parts are original to the vehicle.

NHTSA complaint 11694089. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY
A loud squeaking has developed during every day driving. After inspecting - the front right truck bed mounting location has cracked and failed.

NHTSA complaint 11624547. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
WHILE FUELING AT DIFFERENT GAS STATIONS THE TANK SPILLS/BELCHES GAS ALL OVER. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE AND NEEDS RECALLED. THERE ARE ENDLESS COMPLAINTS ON [XXX] OF SIMILAR ISSUES OCCURRING TO OTHER FRONTIER OWNERS. I TOOK IT TO MY LOCAL MECHANIC AND WAS QUOTED OVER $800 TO REPLACE ALL 5 COMPONENTS OF THE SYSTEM AS NISSAN HAS SUGGESTED IN A BULLETIN FOR MECHANICS. IF NISSAN IS AWARE OF THIS ISSUE ENOUGH TO ISSUE A TECHNICAL BULLETIN THEN THE ISSUE NEEDS TO BE RECALLED AND REPAIRED FOR FREE BECAUSE GAS SPILLING/SPRAYING ALL OVER ME EVERY TIME I FILL UP MY VEHICLE IS OUT RIGHT DANGEROUS AND UNSAFE. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint 11614337. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
The airbag warning light is blinking and has been for approximately 9 months. I live in Salida, CO which does not have a Nissan Dealership to take my vehicle into for servicing. I recently saw an article on Fox 31 News pertaining to the same airbag malfunction and would like to know what to do about my problem.

NHTSA complaint 11608384. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
Head gasket blew and it warped the heads at 98,000 miles Replace motor with a 51,000 mile motor and less than 2 months later, motor is knocking inside with broken peices of the motor. I have to replace it again.

NHTSA complaint 11597546. 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
2015 33 0
2014 42 2
2013 48 1
2012 78 3
2011 64 1
2010 59 4

Other 2016 Nissan models

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