NHTSA has received 20 owner complaints about the 2021 Nissan Frontier, or 3.5 per year on the road — far fewer complaints than typical (complaint index 0.09, where 1.00 is the average of all tracked vehicles). Among the 85 model-year 2021 vehicles we track, it ranks #6 of 85 by complaints per year (#1 = fewest). Against other Nissan models its rate is 88% lower; against other Midsize pickups it is 82% lower.
Counts are normalized by time on the road, not by sales volume: a popular model generates more reports than a rare one, and complaints are not verified individually. How we count
Limited data: fewer than 30 complaints, so shares and indexes are unstable.
Complaints filed between 2021-08-22 and 2026-10-13. Median delay from incident to filing: 5 days.
20Complaints
3.5Complaints per year on the road
0.09Complaint index vs. all tracked vehicles
2Recalls
5.0%Share involving a crash or fire
3Last 12 months
Analysis
The previous model year (2020) drew 3.4 complaints per year, about the same. The following model year (2022) drew 23.4 per year, more than this one. In its first two years on the road the 2021 model collected 6 complaints, 90% lower than the average vehicle of the same model year.
The most common problem area is Transmission / powertrain (25.0% of complaints), followed by Electrical (20.0%) and Airbags & seat belts (15.0%). Transmission / powertrain complaints are 2.1 times as common here as across all tracked vehicles. 1 report (5.0%) describes a crash or fire; owners mention 0 injuries and 0 deaths.
Half of the reported incidents happened within 30 months of the model year's start; the busiest period was years three to five (30% of incidents). 3 complaints were filed in the last 12 months.
NHTSA lists 2 safety recalls for this model year.
Complaint index
vs. all tracked vehicles0.09
vs. other Nissan models0.12
vs. other 2021 models0.09
vs. other Midsize pickups0.18
Complaints in first 2 years on the road · vs. same-year average (6)0.1
My husband and I bought a new truck. My husband pulled the truck into our garage, once in the garage the back tires started to spin out of control, he looked down and saw he had his foot on the brake only, but truck surged forward causing no injuries but have…
Electrical · 2021-10-07 · ODI 11435971 · Crash
While driving on a two lane state route road towing a RV at approximately 60 MPH, the first indication of an issue was an amber ABS warning light accompanied by an Amber traction control light. Shortly after a red BRAKE warning light illuminated.
Engine · 2026-10-13 · ODI 11770806
My 2021 Ford Explorer appeared to maintain or resume speed without cruise control being activated. Braking and switching cruise off did not reliably stop the behavior, and speed varied by as much as 15 mph without my input.
Other · 2026-09-20 · ODI 11765603
Started rolling in park, then would not start towed to dealer , no word and no help!!!!
Transmission / powertrain · 2026-09-15 · ODI 11764290
I [xxx] purchased the vehicle from daytona, nissan on [xxx] on the morning of [xxx], the airbag light came on. And was flashing.
Electrical · 2025-10-14 · ODI 11693475
Excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length. The ODI number is NHTSA's record identifier.
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION Campaign 22V671000 · 2022-09-07
Summary: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Titan, 2020-2022 Frontier, and 2023 Z vehicles. The transmission parking pawl may not engage when the vehicle is shifted into park, which can result in a vehicle rollaway.
Risk: A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Owners are advised to apply the parking brake every time they park their vehicle. Dealers will perform the applicable repairs below, free of charge: Model Year 2020-2022 Frontier vehicles: reprogram Transmission Control Module (TCM) Model Year 2020-2022 Titan vehicles: reprogram TCM and Engine Control Module (ECM) Model Year 2023 Titan vehicles: reprogram TCM Model Year 2023 Z vehicles: reprogram TCM. Owner notification letters were mailed October 28, 2022. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669.
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION Campaign 22V457000 · 2022-06-24
Summary: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Frontier and Titan vehicles. The transmission parking pawl may not engage when the vehicle is shifted into park, which can result in a vehicle rollaway.
Risk: A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Owners are advised to apply the parking brake every time they park their vehicle. Dealers will replace the transmission parking pawl pin, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 2022. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R22A2 R22A3.
