10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
54,409 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2012 Nissan Frontier electrical problems

electrical problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2012 Nissan Frontier:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2012 Nissan Frontier Owner Comments

problem #5

Feb 092024

Frontier

  • 179,002 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2012 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the steering was difficult to turn. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled over and stopped the vehicle. The contact shifted into park(P); however, several attempts were needed to restart the vehicle. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the cam shaft sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred and had the cam shaft sensor replaced again. Additionally, the contact stated that the ignition key was no longer working and turning the ignition switch. The contact then drove the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the cam shaft sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle failure had reoccurred, and the vehicle was not taken back to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 179,000.

- Waianae, HI, USA

problem #4

Apr 302016

Frontier

  • 43,000 miles
Side curtain airbags deployed for no reason while driving 5-10 mph on flat road. Almost knocked me out and left me confused for awhile, and caused my ears to ring all day. Nissan North America sent some sort of rep to local dealer to download data from the truck to determine what happened. They then told me that "the conditions were not met" for airbags to have deployed. They replaced the airbag system and returned it to its original condition at no cost to myself. Other than that they declined multiple times to help me in anyway to get into another Nissan vehicle, I was willing to stay with Nissan if they would have worked with me and bought it back and/or got me into a newer Frontier. I was willing to do this because apparently the 2011 and 2012 model Frontiers are the only ones experiencing this defect, as a result of their rollover anticipation software which fires the curtain airbags when it "thinks" that a rollover is eminent. This has happened to other owners of the same model and year Frontier with one incident resulting in physical and psychological problems for the children that were in the Frontier. There is a class action lawsuit against Nissan of North America for this issue that was started by one of the victims to this negligence. Apparently Nissan knows of the problem and has done nothing about it at all. They also apparently refused to repair some of the airbags in some of these incidents in the lawsuit. Not happy with Nissan allowing this vehicle to stay on the road since it allows for a dangerous possibility for this to happen on a busy road with others around, and for the occupants of the Frontier mentioned. Not happy and will probably have to get legal counsel to help me. - see 10896442.

- Henderson, NV, USA

problem #3

Aug 112015

Frontier

  • 27,600 miles
My automobile was always serviced regularly by Nissan dealers and was last serviced on 04 Aug 2015 at michael jordan Nissan, durham nc. At that time it was noted that a battery terminal was corroded, which I indicated I would repair myself. On 11 Aug, I inspected my battery terminal and noticed that one of the battery cell caps was missing and the top of the battery was damp and debris had fallen into the battery cells and the positive battery clamp was severely corroded. Looking online there are numerous other complaints about Nissan Frontier batteries blowing their caps off and even destroying the ecms. When I attempted resolution with Nissan customer service and the servicing dealership I was only offered a replacement battery cap and a charge of $30 to clean the terminals. There is obviously a pattern of failure here that is equipment related and I am disturbed that Nissan is not interested in solving the root cause of this problem. Having a battery that blows the caps and spews acid in the engine compartment sounds like a manufacturer responsibility to me.

- Sanford, NC, USA

problem #2

Nov 232012

Frontier 6-cyl

  • 21,325 miles
Again! while traveling apx 55 mph, vehicle lost power, engine surging, sputtering, some warning lights on dash illuminated. Was able to restart and drive another mile or 2. no luck. Vehicle was towed 80 plus miles back to dealer. Another crank position replaced and problem was fixed for now, this is the second time in less than a year!! id this happened on a busy multi lane highway while towing something it might have had a different outcome!!

- Hampden, ME, USA

problem #1

Oct 272012

Frontier 6-cyl

  • 1,120 miles
The instrument panel began to flicker and would not display accurate information (engine alerts, tire alerts, not displaying turn signals, speedometer, etc). This occurred while driving and it was not possible to accurately determine vehicle speed or if there were other issues actually wrong with the truck. Dealership has determined the instrument cluster module has a problem and is being replaced.

- Norman, OK, USA

Not what you are looking for?