2005 Nissan Frontier Problems and Recalls (528 Complaints)
The most-reported problem on the 2005 Nissan Frontier is Transmission / driveline (32% of 528 owner reports). There are 6 safety recalls. Check the VIN and inspect Transmission / driveline — this is the NHTSA file, not a score.
What problems show up on the 2005 Nissan Frontier?
168 of 528 filings named Transmission / driveline (32% of the file). That is what owners wrote, not a shop diagnosis of the vehicle in the driveway.
Second is Fuel system (150 reports).
There are 6 official safety recalls on this year. They were filed about Fuel system, Airbags, and Suspension. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov — a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific truck.
The 2004 has 60 reports on file; this year has 528. Older years collect more reports just by being on the road longer. If you need a fairer comparison, use the equal-time view.
What owners reported
- Crashes 9
- Fires 8
- Injuries 11
- Deaths 1
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
Which systems owners named
Share of owner complaints filed against each vehicle system. These shares are not adjusted for how many vehicles were sold.
“Unclassified NHTSA leftover” is not a car part. It is a filing bucket and always sits last.
View component data as a table
| System / Component | Complaints | Share of Reports | Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) | 168 | 31.8% | 0 crashes · 3 fires |
| Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM) | 150 | 28.4% | 0 crashes · 1 fires |
| Engine (ENGINE) | 115 | 21.8% | 1 crashes · 2 fires |
| Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) | 23 | 4.4% | 1 crashes · 1 fires |
| Body / frame (STRUCTURE) | 15 | 2.8% | 0 crashes · 0 fires |
| Airbags (AIR BAGS) | 11 | 2.1% | 2 crashes · 0 fires |
| Cruise / speed control (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL) | 9 | 1.7% | 3 crashes · 0 fires |
| Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) | 4 | 0.8% | 0 crashes · 1 fires |
| Suspension (SUSPENSION) | 4 | 0.8% | 1 crashes · 0 fires |
| Unclassified NHTSA leftover | 205 | 38.8% | 3 crashes · 2 fires |
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
When reports and recalls showed up
When owners filed reports, and when recall campaigns showed up.
- Campaign 06V092000 was reported 283 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 08V690000 was reported 629 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
| Date | Record type | Count | Record identifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-Q1 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2005-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2005-Q3 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2005-Q4 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2006-Q1 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2006-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2006-Q3 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2006-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2007-Q2 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2007-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2008-Q2 | Owner reports | 7 | |
| 2008-Q3 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2008-Q4 | Owner reports | 13 | |
| 2009-Q1 | Owner reports | 10 | |
| 2009-Q2 | Owner reports | 7 | |
| 2009-Q3 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2009-Q4 | Owner reports | 8 | |
| 2010-Q1 | Owner reports | 21 | |
| 2010-Q2 | Owner reports | 19 | |
| 2010-Q3 | Owner reports | 24 | |
| 2010-Q4 | Owner reports | 14 | |
| 2011-Q1 | Owner reports | 15 | |
| 2011-Q2 | Owner reports | 9 | |
| 2011-Q3 | Owner reports | 11 | |
| 2011-Q4 | Owner reports | 9 | |
| 2012-Q1 | Owner reports | 11 | |
| 2012-Q2 | Owner reports | 7 | |
| 2012-Q3 | Owner reports | 12 | |
| 2012-Q4 | Owner reports | 11 | |
| 2013-Q1 | Owner reports | 22 | |
| 2013-Q2 | Owner reports | 30 | |
| 2013-Q3 | Owner reports | 20 | |
| 2013-Q4 | Owner reports | 18 | |
| 2014-Q1 | Owner reports | 19 | |
| 2014-Q2 | Owner reports | 12 | |
| 2014-Q3 | Owner reports | 11 | |
| 2014-Q4 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2015-Q1 | Owner reports | 18 | |
| 2015-Q2 | Owner reports | 9 | |
| 2015-Q3 | Owner reports | 12 | |
| 2015-Q4 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2016-Q1 | Owner reports | 10 | |
| 2016-Q2 | Owner reports | 14 | |
| 2016-Q3 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2016-Q4 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2017-Q1 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2017-Q2 | Owner reports | 8 | |
| 2017-Q3 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2017-Q4 | Owner reports | 7 | |
| 2018-Q1 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2018-Q2 | Owner reports | 8 | |
| 2018-Q3 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2019-Q1 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2019-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2019-Q3 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2019-Q4 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2020-Q1 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2020-Q3 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2020-Q4 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2021-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2021-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2021-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2023-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2023-Q3 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2024-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 06V092000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 06E064000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 07E046000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 08V690000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 10E019000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 10V517000 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | DP12004 |
Safety Recalls (6)
Official campaigns. Each one says what could go wrong and what the dealer was told to fix.
In short, these campaigns were filed about Fuel system, Airbags, and Suspension.
-
Recall campaign 06E064000
Safety recall 06E064000
- Report date
- Component:
- Not available in the source record
- Consequence:
- LACK OF AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS IN THE LAMPS WILL DECREASE LIGHTING VISIBILITY TO OTHER DRIVERS AND MAY POSSIBLY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
- Remedy:
- TRADESONIC WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE LAMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING JULY 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TRADESONIC AT 626-934-8884.
-
Recall campaign 06V092000
Fuel system
- Report date
- Component:
- Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM)
- Consequence:
- THIS MAY RESULT IN A FUEL SPILL WHICH IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE COULD RESULT IN A FIRE.
- Remedy:
- DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FUEL CAP TETHER PIN ASSEMBLY WITH A MODIFIED ONE FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 24, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.
-
Recall campaign 07E046000
Safety recall 07E046000
- Report date
- Component:
- Not available in the source record
- Consequence:
- THIS HARNESS WOULD RESULT IN POWER FROM THE TRAILER BRAKE CONTROLLER GOING TO THE TOWING VEHICLE DASH LIGHT CIRCUIT RATHER THAN THE TRAILER BRAKES. THIS RESULT WOULD BE THE LACK OF TRAILER BRAKING WHEN THE TOWING VEHICLE BRAKES WERE APPLIED. IT WOULD ALSO RESULT IN THE TOWING VEHICLES DASH LIGHTS BEING ACTIVATED WHEN THE VEHICLE BRAKES WERE APPLIED. THE FAILURE OF THE APPLICATION OF THE TRAILER BRAKE COULD RESULT IN REDUCED ABILITY TO STOP AND CONTRIBUTE TO A POSSIBLE CRASH.
- Remedy:
- HOPKINS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE ORIGINAL HARNESS WITH A REVISED HARNESS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN AUGUST 17, 2007. OWNERS CAN CONTACT HOPKINS AT 800-835-0129.
-
Recall campaign 08V690000
Airbags
- Report date
- Component:
- Airbags (AIR BAGS)
- Consequence:
- THIS ISSUE COULD RESULT IN THE NON-DEPLOYMENT OF THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER FRONT AIR BAGS IN A CRASH, INCREASING THE RISK OF PERSONAL INJURY.
- Remedy:
- DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FRONT CZS WITH A REDESIGNED SENSOR. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JANUARY 26, 2009. OWNERS IN THE OTHER STATES WILL RECEIVE EXTENDED WARRANTY COVERAGE FOR THE SENSOR TO 10 YEARS. THESE OWNERS WILL BE NOTIFIED OF THE WARRANTY EXTENSION BY MAIL AND WILL RECEIVE A STICKER TO PLACE IN THEIR WARRANTY BOOKLET EXPLAINING THE EXTENDED WARRANTY COVERAGE. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.
-
Recall campaign 10E019000
Suspension
- Report date
- Component:
- Suspension (SUSPENSION)
- Consequence:
- IF THE COLLAR WELD SEPARATES, THE VEHICLE HANDLING WILL DETERIORATE, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
- Remedy:
- NISSAN WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE ANY AFFECTED LOWER LINK FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 12, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.
-
Recall campaign 10V517000
Safety recall 10V517000
- Report date
- Component:
- Not available in the source record
- Consequence:
- THIS COULD CAUSE ENGINE STALLING INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
- Remedy:
- DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE ECM RELAY INSIDE THE IPDM ASSEMBLY. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON DECEMBER 6, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
What owners actually wrote
Short excerpts from the public NHTSA file. Look for the same symptom repeating.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems on the 2005 Nissan Frontier?
Owners named Transmission / driveline most often — 168 of 528 reports (32%). That is the NHTSA file, not a diagnosis of every vehicle.
Are there recalls for the 2005 Nissan Frontier?
NHTSA lists 6 safety recall campaigns. They were filed about Fuel system, Airbags, and Suspension. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov; a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific vehicle.
What should I inspect before buying a 2005 Nissan Frontier?
Look up the VIN for open recalls. Have a shop drive it and check the transmission: hard or delayed shifts, burnt-smelling fluid, and 4WD engagement if equipped. Then skim owner filings for the same symptom and take that list to a mechanic.
Does a high complaint count mean I should skip this year?
No. Counts are reports people chose to file and they are not adjusted for sales volume. YearTell does not publish scores or a list of years to skip. Inspect the vehicle.
Estimated Ownership Cost
EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates
Adjacent Model Years
Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
Methodology & Data Integrity
Source: NHTSA ODI / recalls, snapshot 2026-09-07. YearTell is not a government agency.