2011 Nissan Frontier problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Service Brakes (11) · Air Bags (9) · Power Train (5)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Nissan Frontier model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
50 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (1)
Air Bags:frontal 2023-02-10 · campaign 23V067000 · 404,690 vehicles
Defect: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2008-2011 Titan, Frontier, Xterra, Pathfinder, Armada, and 2008-2009 Quest vehicles. The resin emblem on the driver's air bag cover may develop cracks and detach during air bag deployment.
Risk: A detached emblem can become a projectile during air bag deployment, increasing the risk of injury to vehicle occupants.
Fix: Dealers will replace the drivers airbag cover. Owner letters were mailed December 8, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall are PC944, PC945, and PC946.
Service bulletins (110)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Structure:body 2026-04-13 · NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certification label and vin plate replacement service information because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “certification label” or “vin plate/label” may be needed. hint: certification label = fmvss (federal motor vehicle safety standards) label. these items may be availabl
Structure:body 2026-04-13 · NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certification label and vin plate replacement service information because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “certification label” or “vin plate/label” may be needed. hint: certification label = fmvss (federal motor vehicle safety standards) label. these items may be availabl
Air Bags 2024-07-08 · NTB23-081C · Service Campaign
voluntary safety recall campaign 2005-2013 frontier, pathfinder, and xterra; driver air bag cover campaign id #: pc945 and pc948 applied vehicles: 2005-2013 frontier (d40) 2005-2012 pathfinder (r51) 2005-2013 xterra (n50) check service comm or dealer business systems (dbs) national service history t
Electrical System 2024-05-21 · NTB13-107G · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
vehicle key not detected / authenticated, engine will not start this bulletin has been amended. see amendment history on the last page. please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
Electrical System 2024-05-21 · NTB13-027D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
can communication – network diagnostic flow chart this bulletin has been amended. see amendment history on the last page. please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
Electrical System 2024-05-21 · NTB10-066C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
can communication codes – diagnostic tips and guidelines this bulletin has been amended. see amendment history on the last page. please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
Showing the 6 most recent of 110 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2025-11-02 · Power Train“transmission fluid mixing with coolant in radiator!…”
2025-03-20 · Service Brakes“the brakes have failed several times, seems to be a known issues and affecting others. while our nissan truck is older, we had our nissan checked at midas, and then at the local continental nissan location, that didn’t really help, found a part that helped but only for a short period of time, as this part crapped out again yesterday 3/19/2025, a…”
2024-04-29 · Air Bags · 💥 crash“on january 25, 2024 my son was driving this truck and hit a dog on the highway. his driver side airbag deployed, the driver side seatbelt would not retract, and there was some minor body damage. the engine of the vehicle is fine and completely operational. since then, we have been waiting for repairs to be made. per usaa, repairs will be approx $5…”
2023-10-20 · Air Bags“the contact owns a 2011 nissan frontier. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 23e012000 (air bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. the local dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. the contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time f…”
2023-09-05 · Unknown Or Other“vehicle frame has failed due to rust.…”
2023-05-25 · Structure:body“paint flaking off of front fender in crease above tire on both the passenger and driver side. …”
2022-12-19 · Engine“2011 nissan frontier. consumer writes in regard to illuminated check engne light.…”
2022-12-05 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:engine Control Module (Ecu/Ecm):software · 160,000 mi“the contact owns a 2011 nissan frontier. the contact stated while driving 70 mph, the vehicle was running rough. additionally, the vehicle was shuddering violently and started to stall. the check engine warning light was illuminated. the contact depressed the accelerator pedal and drove to a local pep boys. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired…”
2022-06-10 · Service Brakes“the actuator assembly - anti skid has failed on my 2011 frontier. my vehicle has cluster lights illuminated for abs, brake, vdc, and slip. my independent mechanic pulled the codes and stated that they indicate the abs module is going bad. this part has been discontinued by nissan so i am not able to replace the part with a new part. the abs system …”
2021-12-18 · Service Brakes“abs module failed. the repair shop called the local nissan dealership for parts. the nissan dealership said the failure was a known issue. i called nissan customer service for more info and they said no complaints had been filed. …”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.