2012 Nissan Frontier problems
The 2012 Nissan Frontier has 101 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (23%) concerns air bags. After that come drivetrain & axles (20%) and engine (14%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 101 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 23% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 7 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 13 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 45,000 miles 85 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 | 19 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 18 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 18 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 14 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 6 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 2 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 85 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 45,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 46,000 miles (15 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 7 complaints mention a crash; 13 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2012 ranks 11th most-complained-about out of 27 model years of the Nissan Frontier with enough data (63 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 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.
I was hit from behind while completely stopped to make a left hand turn on a city street. The car that hit me, a 2006 nissan altima, was travelling, I believe, between 45-50 MPH. Both vehicles were totaled. The airbag in my 2012 nissan frontier did not deploy. I don't believe that is normal, but nissan will not comment. Within a week of the accident, I received a recall notification from nissan regarding the airbag control unit not being calibrated properly.
Involved in a auto accident on June 11 2021. Airbags deployed, however, little rock type projectiles also exploded from the airbag landing all over the car and passenger causing a risk to the eyes, face and other body parts. Has not been taken to the dealer, auto I believe is totaled. Photos sent to adjuster along with photos of the car damage. No warnings. I have photos have the projectiles throughout the car and I have also collected a small sample in a zip bag.
Side curtain airbags wrongfully deployed while driving at about 5-10 MPH, with no crash, and on a flat road. Creating an extremely dangerous situation for myself and others on the road around me. This truck has faulty programming that controls these airbags. They state that, instead of the airbags deploying in a crash, they are programmed to "anticipate" a crash and then deploy.
The frontier 2012 (new car) start loosing the alignment, the dealer worked three times with the same problem, changes the original tires for a new 4 tires, but the problem persisted. In 17 months the car damage 6 new tires changed by the dealer due my complaints and they do not want to attend my car anymore no matter the warranty car. I applied to the lemon law, because the engineer send by nissan said that the car is working properly.
The vehicle would randomly stall while driving, particularly when slowing for a traffic signal. The engine stopping would cause all power assisted functions to cease making it difficult to steer and brake. Most recently the vehicle would start extreme hesitation while driving and I could not get up to the posted speed limit of 55 MPH. I had to use my flashers to warn other drivers that my speed was only approximately 35 MPH. Also the transmission had difficulty shifting.