MODELYEARINDEX

Nissan Frontier

675 complaints across 12 scored model years and 23 recall campaigns.

Which years to avoid

Ownership label · Nissan Frontier Full report
D
Grade 2010–2021
2012 vs model median 1.9×
Model median3× median
Drivetrain 18
Airbags & Restraints 7
Engine 6
Avoid

2012 · 2013

Best

2018 · 2019

Year by year

Severity-weighted complaints filed in each model year’s first 60 months on the road, so every year is measured over an identical window.

Year Complaint volume vs median Reports Grade
2010
1.06× 28 C
2011
1.06× 26 B
2012
1.85× 47 D
2013
2.04× 35 D
2014
0.88× 25 B
2015
1.09× 32 B
2016
1.76× 35 D
2017
0.94× 22 B
2018
0.60× 17 B
2019
0.55× 17 B
2020
0.78× 20 B
2021
0.93× 22 B
2022 P
8.70× 194 F
2023 P
6.24× 116 F
2024 P
1.25× 30 C

P — provisional. These years have not completed 60 months on the road, so their totals are incomplete and they are excluded from the verdict.

What it costs to run

EPA figures for the most recent model year on record.

Combined MPG20.5
City / Highway18 / 23
Engine3.8L, 6 cyl
DriveRear-Wheel Drive
Annual fuel cost$3,025

Recalls

23 campaigns on record.

Campaign Component Model years Units affected
19V654000 BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA 2018, 2019 1,228,830
23V067000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL 2010, 2011 404,690
22V671000 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 2020–2022 197,230
22V457000 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 2020–2022 180,176
18V551000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION 2017, 2018 153,047
10V208000 SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER ARM 2010 41,649
22V772000 BACK OVER PREVENTION:DISPLAY FUNCTION 2022 27,388
11V592000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 2012 14,718

+ 15 further campaigns

Others in Midsize Trucks

Same body and size class. Each grade describes that model against its own history — these are not ranked against each other.

Model Years to avoid Grade
Chevrolet Colorado
20152016
B
Ford Ranger
2019
C
GMC Canyon
20152016
B
Honda Ridgeline
20172019
D
Jeep Gladiator
2021
C
Toyota Tacoma
20162019
C

How this was calculated

Every model year is scored over an identical window: complaints filed with NHTSA during the first 60 months after that model year went on sale. Without this, older cars look worse purely because they have had longer to accumulate reports.

Limitations. Complaints are unverified reports submitted voluntarily by owners; they are allegations, not findings, and reporting rates vary between models. Model years with fewer than 60 months on the road are marked provisional and excluded from verdicts. Cross-model comparison is withheld pending production-volume data.

Full methodology · Sources · Data vintage August 9, 2026

Working 2012 Frontier
Complaints in window
47
Severity-weighted
62
Model median (weighted)
33
vs model median
1.85×
Recall campaigns (weighted)
3
Open investigations
0
Score 46.2 D