2003 Nissan Frontier problems
The 2003 Nissan Frontier has 92 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (20%) concerns fuel system. After that come suspension (12%) and body & structure (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 92 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Fuel system 20% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 11 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 2
- Typical mileage
- 66,000 miles 70 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 10 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 8 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 14 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 10 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 8 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 7 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 8 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 4 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 70 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 66,000 miles. For fuel system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 94,000 miles (17 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 11 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 5 injuries reported; 2 deaths reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 81% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 13th most-complained-about out of 27 model years of the Nissan Frontier with enough data (47 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
My daughter was involved in a head on crash and her nissan, 2003 disintegrated. The whole front of her vehicle ended up in the front seat. She was going 55 MPH, and the other vehicle was going 20 MPH.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 nissan frontier. The driver of the vehicle was attempting a turn when the power steering failed. The driver was unable to maintain control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree injuring her head and knee. The contact later received notification of NHTSA campaign id number: 10v554000 (steering: column) and contacted the manufacturer but received no assistance. The vehicle was traded and sold in an auction. The failure and current mileage was 59,533.
I purchased a 2003 nissan frontier pickup truck. When I use the defroster the air conditioner comes on which is normal. I cannot turn off the defroster and air conditioner until I turn off the engine. The air conditioner compressor stays on until the engine is shut down. If I am on a highway I have to stop and turn the engine off to turn the air conditioner off, restart the engine, and then merge back on the highway.
I heard a sudden thud and then a grinding noise coming from the rear end as if a brake had hung up,metal to metal.when I exited the vehicle there was smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle and a very strong smell of overheating of the brakes or metal and fluid.upon pulling the wheels,our company mechanic found nothing of the sort to be wrong.