Problems · NHTSA complaints

2020 Nissan Frontier problems

Owners filed 23 complaints about the 2020 Nissan Frontier with NHTSA between Mar 2021 and Jul 2026. The most-cited component is power train (12).

Complaints
23
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
3
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
1
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Power train12
  2. Engine5
  3. Service brakes3
  4. Electrical system3
  5. Back over prevention2
  6. Steering1
  7. Vehicle speed control1
  8. Exterior lighting1
  9. Service brakes, hydraulic1
  10. Air bags1
  11. Seat belts1
  12. Seats1
  13. Other / unknown2

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20212
20225
20234
20245
20254
20263

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Power train

12 reports3 crashes2 related recalls
“Crank bolt snapped causing me to loose power steering, a part failed that shouldn't have .I have the bolt looks like in was cracked when they put it together, it was only on by about three threads, my mechanic and the one from nissan said they'd never seen one come apart before,lucky I wasn't on the highway or in traffic”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 10, 2026Steering, Power train, EngineODI 11749618

Engine

5 reports
“UNKNOWNI want to report my repossessed car and hold Santander Consumer USA responsible because they sold my car without my consent and not only that, report the fraud of the sale of the same car that I bought and that neither the DMV Nissan of Orange nor Santander Consumer USA informed me of the debt that I still had on that car and Santander was charging me with a contract where they add the cost of the car with interest after I had paid a down payment and financed the car at a cost of 30,659.14 and then they charged me another 17,390.78 in interest which the dealership hid from me and they also knew about the debt that was still owed on the car by Santander Consumer USA and they did not inform me what they call fraud by selling a car with a lien holder I ask for a refund of all my money $ 15,538.10 amount to the principal balance + 18,022.23 interest payments + 8,000 downpayment that makes the total of $41,560.33 which I have lost all my money invested in that car and they took my vehicle and are advertising it on this page for sale”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 28, 2025Engine, Back over preventionODI 11690226

Service brakes

3 reports
“Nissan Frontier won’t engage into park parking prowl issue I’ve looked it up on google but my vin doesn't say there is a recall for my truck. Can we get a full recall for the 2020’s ?”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 30, 2026Service brakesODI 11747458

Electrical system

3 reports
“Vehicle alternator failed at 79,000 miles. Instead of shutting off, vehicle disabled the cooling fans but kept the engine and fuel supply systems running leading to the vehicle overheating during diagnostics which require the engine to rev and hold an elevated RPM. Unsure if other systems like braking and steering were affected by the choices the vehicle made to keep the engine running despite no cooling since the truck was not moving when it over heated..”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 18, 2023Electrical system, EngineODI 11545091

Back over prevention

2 reports
“There are 3 incidents thus far. ***I have video confirmation of these incidents*** First, I had parked my vehicle at a gas pump, put my vehicle in park, and locked the vehicle. Apparently, as I walked away, my vehicle had slowly rolled backwards more than 15 feet until it hit the curb. I noticed the vehicle moved from the location I had parked my vehicle when I came back to the vehicle and didn't notice my vehicle where I had remembered leaving the vehicle. I inspected my vehicle and no damage and the vehicle shift was in the park position. After I realized what had happened I went back in to the store and asked the manager to show me the camera footage to see what had happened. I recorded the surveillance video as proof. Second, I was arriving at a brother's house and parked my vehicle, put my vehicle in the park position and when I shut the vehicle off the vehicle rolled forward approximately 3 feet. Third, I was arriving at a family member's house. I parked the vehicle, put the vehicle in the park position. When I shut the vehicle off, the vehicle started rolling forward. As I noticed immediately what had happened, I ran in front of the vehicle to stop the…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 22, 2022Unknown or other, Service brakes, Back over preventionODI 11453481

Steering

1 report
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.