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Nissan · NHTSA safety record

2017 Nissan Frontier

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

Owners have filed 38 safety complaints about the 2017 Nissan Frontier with the US government. Of those, 4 describe a crash, 1 mentions a fire, 1 person was injured and 1 death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering the electrical system.

The most complained-about system is the fuel and propulsion system, named in 10 complaints, 26% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 17,500 miles, the median across the 24 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers February 2017 to June 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

38 complaints on file

38

Complaints

4

Describe a crash

1

Mention fire

1

People injured

1

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 10 · 26%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6 · 16%
POWER TRAIN 6 · 16%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 6 · 16%
AIR BAGS 5 · 13%
ENGINE 4 · 11%
SERVICE BRAKES 3 · 8%
SEATS 1 · 3%
STEERING 1 · 3%
STRUCTURE 1 · 3%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 · 3%
WHEELS 1 · 3%
0 8 15

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 38.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2019 at 7.

8 6 4 2
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2017 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2017 Nissan FRONTIER, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test Crew Cab PU/CC 4WD Crew Cab PU/CC RWD King Cab PU/EC AWD King Cab PU/EC RWD
Overall Not rated Not rated
Frontal crash Not rated Not rated
Frontal, driver Not rated Not rated
Frontal, passenger Not rated Not rated
Side crash Not rated Not rated
Side barrier Not rated Not rated
Side pole Not rated Not rated
Rollover
Chance of rollover 19.8% 21.2% 19.8% 21.2%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A rating belongs to a tested body style and drivetrain, not to the model as a whole, which is why more than one is listed. A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

1 on file

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION

18V551000 · August 22, 2018

The defect
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2017 Nissan NV200, Sentra, NV3500 Van, NV3500 Bus, NV200 Taxi, NV1500, NV2500 Van, Chevrolet City Express, 2017-2018 Frontier, Versa Note, and Versa Sedan vehicles that have a mechanical (physical) key ignition system. In these models, over time, the weight on the key ring and road conditions or some other jarring event may cause the ignition switch to move out of the run position to the accessory position, turning off the engine.
The risk
If the vehicle stalls, it can increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the production information on the ignition switch, and replace it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began October 1, 2018. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669.

Nissan North America, Inc. · up to 153,047 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

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

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

1 death · crash · towed

Complete power/ignition failure resulting in death of driver on [XXX] while driving at night in the rain in a 2017 Nissan Frontier Pickup 4 door. The TDPS in McKinney, TX is pulling the black box for testing. 2 weeks before the accident the same vehicle (2017 Nissan Frontier pickup) 4 door lost complete power/braking/ignition failure on the same road [XXX] in Princeton, TX The vehicle was pushed off the road and then towed to a local mechanic in Wylie, TX The mechanic had issues in determining what was wrong with the vehicle. He ruled out alternator, battery, fuse box and wiring. I am a witness to the previous failure and it was documented. The same day the vehicle was picked up from

NHTSA complaint 11630815, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY

1 injured · 25,000 miles

POSSIBLE HOOD LATCH AND SAFETY CATCH FAILURE WHILE VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH ON A PAVED COUNTY ROAD. HOOD OPENED SMASHING THE WINDSHIELD AND PART OF ROOF CAUSING GLASS TO COME IN ON DRIVER.

NHTSA complaint 11245093. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

fire · 2,100 miles

WHILE DRIVING ON A COUNTY HIGHWAY, THE ENGINE CAUGHT FIRE FOR NO APPARENT REASON RESULTING IN THE TOTAL LOSS OF THE VEHICLE. ENGINE COMPARTMENT WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED. ABOUT 2100 MILES ON ODOMETER, SPEED AT TIME OF FIRE WAS ABOUT 30 MPH. I HAD BEEN DRIVING ABOUT 5 MINUTES, JUST LONG ENOUGH FOR THE ENGINE TO WARM UP. I CHECKED THE OIL ABOUT 1 WEEK PRIOR TO THE FIRE AND READING WAS NORMAL. NO PROBLEMS STARTING THE VEHICLE AND IT WAS RUNNING NORMALLY UNTIL THE FLAMES ERUPTED FROM UNDER THE HOOD. NO INJURIES OR OTHER PROPERTY DAMAGE.

NHTSA complaint 11091656. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

crash · towed

Hit a cement barrier going 60 mph at a 45 degree angle on the passenger side and only the passenger side curtain airbag deployed.

NHTSA complaint 11505732. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
UNKNOWN

NHTSA complaint 11747196. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
I drive on the highway and my truck stalls out and just shuts off. When I’m driving at slow speeds, it just keeps stalling I lose power and it takes a few tries for it to start again then I have to peel out so it stays started and hope I don’t have to slow down.

NHTSA complaint 11694358. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:INSTRUMENT PANEL:SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER

101,000 miles

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2017 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated that while attempting to register the vehicle, it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 73,471 and at the time of registration, it was discovered that the mileage was 101,000.

NHTSA complaint 11669398. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Check engine light came on and when filling with fuel, gas came shooting back out.

NHTSA complaint 11664060. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

80,000 miles

The contact's boyfriend owns a 2017 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated while her boyfriend was driving at 30 MPH or above, the vehicle started to stall. The check engine warning light was illuminated. On a separate occasion, the vehicle stalled and drastically shifted out of gear into a different gear. The vehicle was then taken to a dealer but was not diagnosed. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure or find a cause for the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA complaint 11650735. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
I had a check engine light come on and took it to my mechanic for diagnosis and repair if needed. He diagnosed it as error code P2004. The code indicated a bad runner control valve position sensor. It is located on the end of intake manifold and has two torx screws to remove it. The issue is Nissan did not sell a replacement sensor separately , you can only get that part with the purchase of a whole new intake manifold. This same sensor issue exists on the 2017 Nissan Rogue with service bulletin NTB17-091. My truck is also a 2017 but the specific vehicle is a Nissan Frontier not a Rogue but the failure is identical. In that service bulletin the solution was to replace the sensor which did

NHTSA complaint 11644026, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Nissan Frontier

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2026 9 1 —
2025 8 3 —
2024 22 3 —
2023 66 1 —
2022 112 6 —
2021 19 2 —
2020 23 2 —
2019 28 1 —
2018 25 2 —
2016 43 1 —
2015 33 0 —
2014 42 2 —
2013 48 1 —
2012 78 3 —
2011 64 1 —
2010 59 4 —

Other 2017 Nissan models

Rogue 597 Altima 391 Sentra 230 Titan 187 Pathfinder 186 Murano 107 Maxima 103 Armada 81

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Nissan on this site — 205 vehicles.

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. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

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