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2013 Nissan Frontier

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2013 Nissan Frontier do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 64.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

37 reports with mileage · 11 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Air Bags. Review the 15 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 8 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 6 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

5 crash reports1 fire reports2 injury reports

What owners actually said

48 reports
113,000 miles · Mar 16, 2026
Air Bags

The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the air bag sensor located in front of the radiator had failed and needed to be replaced; however, the vehicle was not repaired because the Part…

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The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the air bag sensor located in front of the radiator had failed and needed to be replaced; however, the vehicle was not repaired because the Part Number: 98581-9BD8A; had been on backorder for approximately 6-12 months. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part was not available. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 113,000.

NHTSA ODI #11724649

183,101 miles · Nov 10, 2025
Electrical System

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2013 Nissan Frontier. The vehicle was purchased in a private sale. It was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 98,107, and at the time of registration, it was discovered that the mileage was 183,101. The Carfax report and the l…

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Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2013 Nissan Frontier. The vehicle was purchased in a private sale. It was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 98,107, and at the time of registration, it was discovered that the mileage was 183,101. The Carfax report and the last report were in 2022.

NHTSA ODI #11698520

Mileage unknown · May 10, 2024
Air Bags

Air bag light will not go off. Afraid will deploy. Dealer no problem just censor. Did not have part to fix.

NHTSA ODI #11588084

Mileage unknown · Dec 13, 2023
Air BagsElectrical SystemSeat Belts

In Summer 2023 driving on uneven country road in Upstate New York hit a pothole and my airbag warning light came on. Then started to flash. Truck is still drivable BUT now The seatbelts no longer lock in place during a sudden stop Did research online Nissan has a Voluntary Service Campaign for this exact issue. Campaign ID P…

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In Summer 2023 driving on uneven country road in Upstate New York hit a pothole and my airbag warning light came on. Then started to flash. Truck is still drivable BUT now The seatbelts no longer lock in place during a sudden stop Did research online Nissan has a Voluntary Service Campaign for this exact issue. Campaign ID P7318 I made appointment with Koeppel Nissan. Had to wait weeks then They canceled my scheduled appointment on September 4 and reschedule for September 12. Probably not safe to drive truck with airbag light on and seatbelt issues. I go to my regular mechanic. He tells me seatbelt retractors do not seem to be working. He tests them by extending seatbelt slowly. Then tugging hard. He said they should lock in place. They do not. He also put a scan tool into OBD port. There are zero codes Nothing showing why airbag light flashing. Informs me there is a 10 year Warranty on seatbelts. He said wait for dealer to do their replacement of air bag diagnostic sensor unit. HE SAID THE AIRBAGS DEPLOY IN STAGES. YOUR LIGHT COMING ON IS FIRST STAGE SECOND STAGE IS SEATBELT LOCKING IN PLACE. Yours did not lock in place but your retractor might have been damaged or a sensor in buckle part of seatbelt related to airbags. On September 12 I bring truck in. The dealer first tries to tell me there is a diagnostic fee of $200. I refuse to pay telling them it is a Nissan Voluntary Service Campaign and seatbelts are under warranty. They agree to waive fee. They call me up an hour or two later said “they are unable to perform recall the software update is no longer available. The problem with seatbelt related to software or sensor unit”. I complain to Nissan of America. The person on phone tells me a manager will call me back and e mail me. Case number 49514132 I have never received a call or e mail from anyone at Nissan regarding this safety issue. Perhaps a full recall is necessary for all affected Vehicles under campaign ID P7318

NHTSA ODI #11559978

Mileage unknown · Aug 21, 2023
Air BagsSteering

I felt like I was loosing control of my steering it was so scary I took my car to the closest service place which was Meineke which was 3 months ago well the same problem is back with my steering wheel and definitely isn't safe. I am reporting this to make sure that there isn't a safety issue I should be aware of on how to reso…

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I felt like I was loosing control of my steering it was so scary I took my car to the closest service place which was Meineke which was 3 months ago well the same problem is back with my steering wheel and definitely isn't safe. I am reporting this to make sure that there isn't a safety issue I should be aware of on how to resolve this

NHTSA ODI #11539819

Mileage unknown · Jun 18, 2023
Engine

This is an intermittent problem sometimes this problem will happen as far apart as a month, Then for two days then go away. When accelerating the truck will starting bucking, not getting to enough fuel, this will sometimes not stop the next day I take it to the mechanic it is running fine no check engine light comes on. He ru…

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This is an intermittent problem sometimes this problem will happen as far apart as a month, Then for two days then go away. When accelerating the truck will starting bucking, not getting to enough fuel, this will sometimes not stop the next day I take it to the mechanic it is running fine no check engine light comes on. He runs a diagnostic, no error readings this has been going on for 6mos.. Once it was so bad by the time I got it home it had fried the converters. The mechanic changed the converters replaced all the censors on the engine and converters clean the injectors, replaced the plugs, and changed fuel filter, tested the fuel pump, good. I need help, don't know what to do. Had another shop run a diagnostic check after all of this could find no problems, but the problem is still there. Afraid of stalling in an intersection and getting killed.

NHTSA ODI #11527635

Mileage unknown · Jan 29, 2023
Power TrainUnknown Or Other

My daughter backed out of our driveway, put the truck in reverse. She was then unable to put the truck into drive. It got stuck in the middle of the street. Thankfully we live on a quite street with not much traffic during the day. However if this happened in a parking lot it would have been much different. My husband was able t…

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My daughter backed out of our driveway, put the truck in reverse. She was then unable to put the truck into drive. It got stuck in the middle of the street. Thankfully we live on a quite street with not much traffic during the day. However if this happened in a parking lot it would have been much different. My husband was able to come home from work and manually push it forward, then drove it backwards into a parking spot (out of the middle of the street). He did an internet search and found a solution. Apparently one of the screws holding the gear shifter (park,neutral,reverse,drive...) came loose and was getting hung up on the plastic molding portion of the gear box. It was a simple fix - just pop open the cover and screw the part back in. However this was a terrible thing to happen, and could have really been a much bigger issue than it was. Had it happened in a busy parking lot, busy street, or on a boat ramp.... It would have been disastrous. Please consider sending a written notice to all owners. Thank you

NHTSA ODI #11504270

Mileage unknown · Oct 10, 2022
Air BagsCrash

On a dark road going 40MPH I hit a large deer on Oct 7. The front end of my truck was damaged. Air bag went off but never inflated, and I smelled smoke briefly. I was able to drive home and in the morning I noted there were two quarter size burn holes in the air bag, which probably explains why the bag did not deploy. There…

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On a dark road going 40MPH I hit a large deer on Oct 7. The front end of my truck was damaged. Air bag went off but never inflated, and I smelled smoke briefly. I was able to drive home and in the morning I noted there were two quarter size burn holes in the air bag, which probably explains why the bag did not deploy. There was absolutely no evidence of fire under the hood, in the cab, etc. I understand that some kind of explosive is used to "project" the airbag but it looks like it may have also damaged it. What to do?

NHTSA ODI #11488621

76,000 miles · Apr 12, 2021
Unknown Or OtherWheels

PURCHASED 4 NEW GENERAL GRABBER HTS TIRES SIZE 25/75R15 LESS THAN 4 MONTHS AGO. TIRES WERE INSTALLED AT A REPUTABLE DEALERSHIP. I NOW HAVE 2,600 MILES ON THE TIRES. LAST WEEK THE FIRST TIRE BLEW OUT AT THE BEAD, WHERE THE TIRE MEETS THE RIM. I INSTALLED MY FULL SIZE SPARE WHILE THE FIRST FAILURE IS INVESTIGATED. NOW TWO DAYS LAT…

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PURCHASED 4 NEW GENERAL GRABBER HTS TIRES SIZE 25/75R15 LESS THAN 4 MONTHS AGO. TIRES WERE INSTALLED AT A REPUTABLE DEALERSHIP. I NOW HAVE 2,600 MILES ON THE TIRES. LAST WEEK THE FIRST TIRE BLEW OUT AT THE BEAD, WHERE THE TIRE MEETS THE RIM. I INSTALLED MY FULL SIZE SPARE WHILE THE FIRST FAILURE IS INVESTIGATED. NOW TWO DAYS LATER, A SECOND TIRE IS SEVERELY DEFORMED AT THE TIRE BEAD AND LOOKS LIKE IT IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE JUST LIKE THE FIRST ONE. BOTH FAILURES ARE RIGHT UNDER THE 'GE' IN GENERAL AT THE TIRE BEAD. I BELIEVE THESE TIRES ARE COMPLETELY DEFECTIVE, THEY ARE A DANGER TO ANYONE THAT HAS THEM INSTALLED ON THEIR VEHICLE AND A DANGER TO THE PUBLIC. THE FIRST TIRE FAILED WHILE DRIVING AT 55MPH ON A FLAT, STRAIGHT, SMOOTH ROAD. THE SECOND TIRE HAS NOT COMPLETELY FAILED, BUT THERE IS A LARGE BULGE OR BUBBLE IN THE TIRE WHERE IT MEETS THE RIM, IT LOOKS LIKE IT COULD FAIL AT ANY MOMENT AND IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE. FIRST PHOTO OF FIRST FAILED TIRE IMMEDIATELY AFTER IT FAILED ON THE SIDE OF ROAD. SECOND AND THIRD PHOTO IS THE SECOND TIRE I BELIEVE IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE. LAST PHOTO DOT NUMBER OF FIRST FAILED TIRE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

NHTSA ODI #11407557

115,000 miles · Aug 13, 2020
Seat Belts

ONE MORNING I ARRIVED AT WORK AND MY SEAT BELT WOULD NOT DISENGAGE AFTER STRUGGLING WITH IT FOR 10 MINUTES I HAD TO CUT IT TO GET OUT I HAD NO PRIOR PROBLEMS WITH SEATBELT UNTIL THAT MORNING I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO NISSAN BUT THEY ARE SAYING THEY WILL NOT COVER IT APPARENTLY BECAUSE I HAD CUT IT AND THEY ARE ALSO SAYING THAT SOMETH…

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ONE MORNING I ARRIVED AT WORK AND MY SEAT BELT WOULD NOT DISENGAGE AFTER STRUGGLING WITH IT FOR 10 MINUTES I HAD TO CUT IT TO GET OUT I HAD NO PRIOR PROBLEMS WITH SEATBELT UNTIL THAT MORNING I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO NISSAN BUT THEY ARE SAYING THEY WILL NOT COVER IT APPARENTLY BECAUSE I HAD CUT IT AND THEY ARE ALSO SAYING THAT SOMETHING COULD OF BEEN STUCK IN THE LOCKING MECHANISM U ASSURE YOU THERE WAS NOT IT'S AN EXCUSE THEY ARE USING TO NOT PAY FOR IT IF I HAD BEEN IN WRECK OR FIRE I COULD HAVE DIED .

NHTSA ODI #11349006

Official recalls

1

14V052000 · Electrical System:wiring:fuses And Circuit Breakers

Feb 12, 2014

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2012 through 2014 Frontier vehicles manufactured from November 28, 2012, through December 17, 2013. In the affected vehicles, a circuit breaker may have been installed incorrectly causing the main wire harness connected to the circuit breaker to face outward, potentially contacting a metal bolt located on the A-pillar.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: The bolt may wear through the wire harness covering, resulting in an electrical short which could cause a fire.

Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the circuit breaker orientation. If the circuit breaker orientation is incorrect, dealers will repair the vehicles free of charge. The recall began on March 17, 2014. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.