Owners have filed 31 complaints with NHTSA about this car, most about the transmission, airbags, and electrical. The 9 checks below target those problems, in the order you would do them at the car.
2019Tick items off on your phone at the car, or print it. Ticks stay on this device.
0/9 checked
2019 Nissan Frontier: inspection sheet
Before you go, or before you touch the car0/1
Engine off, key in hand0/1
Ask the seller not to warm the car up first0/3
At least 20 minutes, with some highway0/4
These checks are specific to this model year. For tires, body panels, fluids, and the other basics every used car needs, use the general inspection guide.
Nearby years usually share most parts, so their problems are worth checking on this car too.
Worth adding to your 2019 checks
Worth adding to your 2019 checks
EPA figures for each version of the 2019 Nissan Frontier. Use them to confirm you are looking at the version that was advertised, and as a yardstick on the test drive.
| Version | Drive | EPA rating |
|---|---|---|
| 2.5L 4-cylGas | RWD | 21 mpg |
| 4.0L 6-cylGas | 4WD, RWD | 18–19 mpg |
| 4.0L 6-cylFlex fuel | 4WD, RWD | 17–18 mpg |
Owners report these failures starting around the mileages below. A car inside one of these ranges deserves a closer look at that part, or records showing it was already fixed.
Airbag warning light flashing
45,000–56,000 miles
NHTSA complaints for the 2019 Nissan Frontier, grouped by the part owners named. Open a row to read what goes wrong.
Shifting and throttle faults lead the reports. Some trucks will not shift out of park, or show '4' on the dash and refuse to engage the selected gear until the lever goes back to park. Others drop into limp mode and will not rev with the pedal floored, which is dangerous when pulling into traffic. Clunking from the transmission shows up on both automatic and manual trucks. In one case, a high-pressure AC line cracked repeatedly and sprayed oil onto the serpentine belt, causing jerking and poor acceleration.
A flashing airbag warning light is the most common problem, reported at 45,000 and 56,000 miles. One dealer traced it to a failed occupant sensor inside the passenger seat bottom. Once the basic warranty ran out, owners were told they would pay for the repair. Another airbag light at about 24,540 miles ended with the airbags being replaced. A single crash report describes airbags deploying with flames and smoke, a passenger seatbelt that did not retract, and two injuries.
The touchscreen radio switches off and on by itself. Restarting the infotainment system several times sometimes brings it back. Bluetooth can stop working with no warning, and the backup proximity beeper may go silent. One more serious report describes the engine and all electrical power cutting out while driving, taking power steering and power brakes with it. That fault happened repeatedly and was blamed on the battery current sensor. Infotainment trouble has been reported at around 70,000 miles.
A soft, mushy pedal with too much travel and weak stopping in an emergency is the main complaint. Pressing harder does not add braking force, and dealers call this normal for the truck. Front calipers have stuck and squeaked as early as 17,600 miles, which led to a brake rebuild. An ABS fault can light up the dash and kill the speedometer. In that case the replacement part was unavailable due to high demand, and the truck sat undriven while waiting.
Trucks with the Rocky Ridge package and its larger mud tires vibrate and feel sloppy on the road. Rebalancing helps only partly. Raising tire pressure improves handling but triggers the tire pressure warning light, and the dealer sets it back to the door-jamb figure. A single report, never diagnosed, describes the steering wheel moving by itself, the brakes applying without the pedal, and the engine revving at around 12,000 miles.
Excerpts from complaints Frontier owners filed with NHTSA, as written. Listen for the same symptoms on your test drive.
Can not shift vehicle from park, am being told it is the shifter assembly. The vehicle only has 54,000 miles on it. Have to insert blunt object into shift lock relay to be able to shift out of park.
Filed with NHTSA, May 2022
This past week my Nissan Frontier Sv airbag warning light is flashing. I notice other Nissan models have had the same issue but with a recall campaign. I have not called the local service dealer, but I have contacted their consumer hotline, and they said I would have to pay. I have 45,000 miles. I just never saw an airbag go bad so early.
Filed with NHTSA, November 2023
There is a lot of 2019 Frontier that has problems with the radio and Bluetooth. In my truck it's the Bluetooth, it just stop working, phone activation doesn't even make a sound. Just stopped out of the blue. When backing up the beep that let you know you close to something doesn't work stop over a year ago
Filed with NHTSA, April 2024
Only have 17600 miles on vehicle and front caliber were sticking and squeaking. The garage replaced the pads and rebuilt the brakes as they were prematurely sticking and bad. Where not stopping good.
Filed with NHTSA, September 2024
Complaints for this year next to the average for the other model years, area by area.
The 2019 has the most owner complaints of the 5 Frontier years we cover, about 2.0 times the average of the others. Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, so compare like with like.
Recall repairs are free at any Nissan dealer, but the seller may never have had them done. Check each campaign number against the VIN.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Nissan Altima, Armada, Frontier, Kicks, Leaf, Maxima, Murano, NV, NV200, Pathfinder, Rogue, Rogue Sport, Sentra, Titan, Titan Diesel, Versa Note and Versa Sedan vehicles, as well as Infiniti Q50, Q60, QX30 and QX80 vehicles. Additionally included are 2019 Nissan GT-R and Taxi and Infiniti QX50, QX60, Q70, Q70L vehicles. The back-up camera and display settings can be adjusted such that the rear view image is no longer visible and the system will retain that setting the next time the vehicle is placed in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility.".
Risk: The lack of an image in the back-up camera display increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners in phases, having dealers update the back-up camera settings software, free of charge. The recall began November 11, 2019 and all affected VINs should be activated. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669 or INFINITI customer service at 1-800-662-6200.
Cars shoppers compare with the Nissan Frontier, with their own 2019 checklists.
2019 owner complaints, side by side
