Owner-reported complaints naming the electrical system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1998 Nissan Frontier submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 23 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
DRIVING DOWN ROAD INSTRUMENT PANEL, ODOMETER, SPEEDOMETER WORK INTERMENTELY. BATTERY IS BEING OVERCHARGED. HAVE REPLACED 2 BATTERIES AND 1 ALTERNATOR AND NOW IT DOSENT CHARGE AT ALL. TRUCK LOST POWER IN THE MIDDLE OF INTERSECTION. THIS HAS HAPPEND MORE THAN ONCE AND HAD TO PUSH IT TO SIDE OF ROAD AND GET IT TOWED.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 NISSAN FRONTIER. WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE INSTRUMENT PANEL BECAME INOPERABLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC, WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE INSTRUMENTAL CLUSTER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN. MA 10/5 THE CONSUMER STATED THE GAS GAUGE ALWAYS READ FULL, THE ODOMETER ALWAYS READ 99999.9 AND THE SPEEDOMETER ALWAYS READ ZERO. UPDATED 03/03/16*JB
THE DASHBOARD GIVES ERRONEOUS READINGS, THIS INCLUDES THE ODOMETER, THE SPEEDOMETER, FUEL GAUGE , HEAT GAUGE. THIS MAY CAUSE AN OVER HEATING OF VEHICLE, ERRONEOUS SPEEDS, RUNNING OUT OF FUEL, ERRONEOUS ODOMETER. NISSAN WILL NOT PAY FOR DIAGNOSIS STATING THE DEALER IS IN COMPLETE CHARGE OF PRICING FOR DIAGNOSIS OF 100.00 WITH NO GUARANTEE OF REIMBURSEMENT. THE MAKER OF VEHICLE SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE NOT THE DEALER AFTER ALL NISSAN MADE THE VEHICLE. WHILE CHECKING ONLINE IT APPEARS TO BE A PREVALENT ISSUE WITH NISSAN FRONTIERS TRUCKS. VARIOUS CALLS HAVE BEEN ON DEAF EARS. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 NISSAN FRONTIER. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE SPEEDOMETER AND TACHOMETER FLUCTUATED. IN ADDITION, AFTER THE VEHICLE EXCEEDED THE MILEAGE READING 999,999, THE FUEL GAUGE BECAME INOPERATIVE AND THE RPM READING FLUCTUATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNAVAILABLE.
INSTRUMENT CLUSTER FAILED. SPEEDOMETER AND GAS GAUGE MALFUNCTIONING. INACCURATE READINGS. NO REPLACEMENT PART OR REPAIR AVAILABLE. *TR
ALL GAUGES ARE NON-RESPONSIVE. THERE IS NO WAY TO INDICATE HOW FAST YOU'RE GOING, IF YOU HAVE FUEL, WHAT THE RPM IS, WHAT THE MILEAGE IS ON THE VEHICLE, OR IF THE VEHICLE IS TOO HOT OR TOO COLD. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS IN CUSTOMER REVIEW WEBSITES THAT I HAVE READ AFTER MY VEHICLE'S PROBLEM STARTED. I BELIEVE THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND THAT NISSAN SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT APPEARS TO BE FAULTY COMPONENTS IN THE INSTRUMENT GAUGE CLUSTER. THIS PROBLEM ALSO PREVENTS OWNERS TO REGISTER/PASS INSPECTION/DRIVE THEIR VEHICLE WITH STATE INSPECTION LAWS. *TR
INSTRUMENT CLUSTER STARTED TO FAIL, FIRST THE SPEEDOMETER, THEN GAS AND HEAT GAUGES, NOW EVERYTHING IS PEGGED AND SPEEDO READS 9999999. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 NISSAN FRONTIER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE INSTRUMENT PANEL FAILED AND THE CONTACT WAS UNABLE TO READANY OF THE GAUGES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO PERFORMED A DIAGNOSIS THAT LOCATED THE FAILURE AT THE INSTRUMENT PANEL CIRCUIT BOARD. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 127,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 128,000.
98 NISSAN FRONTIER INSTRUMENT CLUSTERS ARE DEFECTIVE. THERE ARE SEVERAL COMPLAINTS ON LINE AND NO PARTS AVAILABLE. MINE STARTED FIRST BY THE SPEEDOMETER BEING OFF. THIS COST ME TWO SPEEDING TICKETS AND TWO SPEEDING WARNINGS BEFORE I REALIZED WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS. THEN THE SPEEDOMETER QUIT WORKING ALL TOGETHER THEN THE FUEL GAUGE NOW EVERYTHING FUEL,TEMP,SPEEDOMETER, ODOMETER AND TACHOMETER ALL OF THEM QUIT WORKING. THIS SEEMS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED A LONG TIME AGO. THE PROBLEM IS NISSAN CAN'T EVEN FIX THIS PROBLEM BECAUSE THE PARTS ARE NOT AVAILABLE AND THE COMPANY THAT MANUFACTURED THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTERS WENT OUT OF BUSINESS. WHEN THIS PROBLEM FIRST STARTED I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW I HAD AN ISSUE BECAUSE IT WAS JUST THE SPEED OFF BY ABOUT 10 MILES PER HOUR IT SAID I WAS GOING SLOWER THEN I WAS ACTUALLY GOING. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATED AND RECALLED ALONG TIME AGO. WHAT ABOUT PEOPLE DRIVING THROUGH SCHOOL ZONES WITH CHILDREN? *TR
INSTRUMENT CLUSTER. DOES NOT WORK. NO GAUGES WORK AT ALL. DO NOT KNOW WHAT MY SPEED IS, FUEL LEVEL, RPM, HEAT GAUGE, NOTHING AT ALL. STARTED BY JUST GOING OUT ONCE IN A WHILE THEN IN JUNE 2007 COMPLETELY QUIT WORKING. HAD TO BUY A GPS SO I KNOW HOW FAST I AM GOING. ODOMETER READS 999999. DEALER SAYS THEIR IS NO REPLACEMENT PART AND IT IS A KNOWN ISSUE BUT CAN NOT GET PARTS. *TR
ALTERNATOR FAILED ON MY 98 PICKUP. WHEN CHANGING I FOUND THAT THE ORIGINAL ALTERNATOR WAS REMANUFACTURED . I BOUGHT THIS TRUCK NEW AND ALTERNATOR WAS NEVER CHANGED. COMPLAINED TO MANUFACTURER - THEY RESPONDED " INFORMATION NOT AVAILABLE" AND THEY ARE "NOT IN A POSITION TO MOVE FORWARD". *TR
VEHICLE HAS 98,000 MILES ON FRONTIER TRUCK SPEEDOMETER WORKS INTERMITTENTLY OR SOMETIMES DOES NOT WORK AT ALL. INACCURATE SPEED DETERMINED BY RADAR SPEED LIMIT DEVICE ITS OFF BY AT LEAST 20 MILES PER HOUR RECALL THIS VEHICLE.! A SEARCH OF NHTSA DATABASE INDICATES MANY IDENTICAL PROBLEMS WITH THIS MODEL RECALL THIS VEHICLE SO THAT OTHER OWNERS CAN GET THIS FIXED SAFETY PROBLEM AND CANT PASS STATE SMOG INSPECTION. *TR
TL - THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 NISSAN FRONTIER PICKUP TRUCK. A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE NISSAN DEALER. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT THE SPEEDOMETER ASSEMBLY HAD TO BE REPLACED. THE DEALER HAS BEEN UNABLE TO GET THE PART FOR THE REPAIR AND DOES NOT KNOW WHEN IT WILL BE AVAILABLE. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 118,000.
ALL GAUGES( SPEEDOMETER, TACHOMETER, TEMP, AND FUEL) MALFUNCTION PERIODICALLY AT THE SAME TIME. SOMETIMES THIS RESULTS IN THE GAUGES PEGGING OUT OR JUST NOT WORKING AT ALL. THE FREQUENCY WITH WHICH THIS OCCURS INCREASES DAILY. THE SPEEDOMETER DOESN'T REALLY EVER FUNCTION PROPERLY AT THIS POINT. I FEEL THIS MALFUNCTION IS CAUSE FOR A RECALL BECAUSE IN DOING SOME RESEARCH I HAVE FOUND NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ON MULTIPLE ONLINE FORUMS INDICATING THIS EXACT SAME MALFUNCTION. I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY FORMAL COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN FILED REGARDING THIS PROBLEM, BUT FROM WHAT I WAS ABLE TO FIND I CAN'T BELIEVE THERE IS NO RECALL ON THIS PROBLEM. *TR
1998 NISSAN FRONTIER PROBLEMS WITH THE CIRCUIT BOARD. CUSTOMER STATED THAT THE DEALER WOULD ORDER A NEW BOARD AND WENT BACK A COUPLE DAYS LATER AND WAS TOLD THEY DIDN'T MAKE THEM ANYMORE. *KB THE CIRCUIT BOARD THAT CONTROLLED ALL OF THE GAUGES ON THE DASH HAD STOPPED WORKING; SUCH AS THE HEAT, SPEEDOMETER. MILEAGE, GAS AND TACHOMETER.*JB
THE CIRCUIT BOARD BEHIND THE DASH INSTRUMENTS THAT OPERATES ALL OF THE DASH BOARD INSTRUMENTS ON MY 1998 NISSAN PU HAS FAILED. THE DEALERSHIP COULD NOT OBTAIN A NEW ONE AND SAID THAT THE PART IS NO LONGER MADE. THE PU HAS ABOUT 58000 MILES ON IT BUT NOW I CAN NOT HAVE IT SAFETY CHECKED BECAUSE NONE OF THE GAUGES ON THE DASH WORK. I TRIED TO GET SOME POSITIVE RESPONSE FROM THE CUSTOMER SERVICE IN CANADA BUT ENEV AFTER 4 CALLS -- NOTHING BUT A RUN A ROUND. *JB
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 NISSAN FRONTIER. ON SEPTEMBER 1, 2007, THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER BECAUSE ALL OF THE INSTRUMENT PANEL GAUGES WERE BLANK. HE PAID $900 FOR THE REPAIR AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE CIRCUIT BOARD WOULD ARRIVE THE FOLLOWING DAY. AFTER RETURNING TO THE DEALER SEVERAL TIMES, HE WAS FINALLY INFORMED THAT THE CIRCUIT BOARD WAS UNAVAILABLE AND WAS NO LONGER BEING MADE. THE CONTACT CALLED THE CONSUMER AFFAIRS OFFICE OF THE MANUFACTURER SEVERAL TIMES, BUT THEY HAVE NOT RESPONDED. THE VEHICLE IS 8,000 MILES OVER WARRANTY AND CANNOT PASS STATE INSPECTION. NISSAN DOES NOT HAVE THE PART AND DOES NOT REBUILD THEM ANY LONGER. THE PURCHASE DATE WAS UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 58,000.
THE PROBLEM IS WITH MY 1998 NISSAN FRONTIER 4X4, THE PROBLEM IS THE SPEEDOMETER IS NOT READING THE CORRECT SPEED, USING A RADAR SPEED SET UP, AND CONFIRMING WITH A GPS, THE READING ON THE SPEEDOMETER SIGNIFICANTLY VARIES, HOLDING THE VEHICLE AT A CONSTANT SPEED OF 50 MPH ON THE OEM SPEEDOMETER WILL GENERATE ACTUAL VEHICLE SPEEDS FROM 42MPH TO 66MPH, MY CONCERN IS MORE SAFETY THAN A SPEEDING TICKET, BASICALLY THE OPERATOR HAS NO IDEA HOW FAST THE VEHICLE IS GOING, SOMETIMES THE SPEEDOMETER WILL JUMP AND MOVE, WHILE AT A CONSTANT SPEED, I HAVE TRIED TO PURCHASE REPLACEMENT PARTS FROM NISSAN, AND HAVE MADE SEVERAL INQUIRIES ON WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT WITHOUT SUCCESS, I HAVE TRIED TO PURCHASE A USED PART AS WELL, WITHOUT SUCCESS, THE FEED BACK I AM GETTING FROM THE FIELD IS THAT THE 1998 AND 1999 MODEL FRONTIERS HAVE A SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM WITH THE SPEEDOMETER, WHICH INDICATES TO ME THERE IS A DESIGN FLAW, THIS COUPLED WITH THE SAFETY ISSUE, I FEEL THAT A INVESTIGATION INTO THIS MAY BE JUSTIFIED, IT WAS ONLY BY OBSERVATION THAT I DETECTED THIS PROBLEM, THERE MAY BE OTHER FRONTIER DRIVERS THAT ARE TOTALLY UNAWARE THAT THE SPEED ON THEIR SPEEDOMETER IS IN ERROR AND COULD HAVE A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS RESULT,
ON APRIL 2003 DIGITAL INSTRUMENTAL PANEL WENT BROKE/ODOMETER WENT 999999/TEMPERATURE GAUGE WENT HIGH, AND FUEL GAUGE WENT TO HIGH. DEALER NOTIFIED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK
BATTERY EXPLODED WHEN VEHICLE IGNITION WAS STARTED.*AK *JB
I TURNED THE KEY TO START THE TRUCK. THE ENGINE TURNED OVER TWICE AND THEN THE BATTERY EXPLODED LIKE A BOMB. BODY DAMAGE TO THE HOOD OF THE VEHICLE OCCURED AS WELL AS DAMAGE TO ALL THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT COMPONENTS AS A RESULT OF BEING SPRAYED BY CORROSIVE SULFURIC BATTERY ACID.
WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 10-15MPH THERE WAS A SUDDEN EXPLOSION OF BATTERY. BATTERY WAS IN PIECES. DEALER COULD NOT DETERMINE CAUSE OF PROBLEM. *AK
BATTERY DIED BECAUSE THE ALARM WAS ON FOR FOUR DAYS. YH
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
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