RoadVitals

2005 Nissan Frontier Powertrain (other) Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the powertrain system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Powertrain (other) reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
242
Latest Jul 4, 2023
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
45%
of 532 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
3
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
0

What this page shows

Powertrain reports that are not specifically the engine or transmission — driveshafts, axles, transfer cases and differentials. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2005 Nissan Frontier submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 242 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.

Owner reports naming powertrain

The 25 most recent of 242, in the owner's own words

Powertrain (other)
Filed Jul 4, 2023

The truck loss power stalling,shuddering, bucking, want pick up speed even when excellerating, slow take off, loss of speed

NHTSA ID
11530308
Incident
Mar 1, 2022
Powertrain (other)
Filed Dec 16, 2021
Fire reported

The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated that while driving at 50 MPH, the vehicle came to a complete stop and then hesitated to accelerate. Additionally, a burning odor was detected. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with transmission and radiator failure. The transmission and radiator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 88,700.

NHTSA ID
11444013
Incident
Dec 16, 2021
Mileage
88,700 mi
Powertrain (other)
Filed Jul 28, 2021

The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated while driving 75 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. There was no warning light before or after the failure. The vehicle was towed by an independent mechanic. The mechanic performed a diagnostic test and found that coolant had leaked into the transmission and caused the transmission to fail. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 82,000.

NHTSA ID
11426886
Incident
Jul 18, 2012
Mileage
82,000 mi
Powertrain (other)
Filed Oct 20, 2020

MY 2005 NISSAN FRONTIERS TRANSMISSION FAILED AT 137,000 MILES. I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY WHEN IT SEEMED TO JOLT OUT OF 5TH GEAR TO 4TH. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I HEADED TO NISSAN BUT IT SEEMED TO ONLY REMAIN IN A HIGH GEAR (3RD OR 4TH). THEY DIAGNOSED IT AS A FAILED TRANSMISSION DUE TO COOLANT LEAKING INTO THE TRANSMISSION. ITS A KNOWN PROBLEM. I CALLED NISSAN HEADQUARTERS AND ASKED FOR HELP THEY SAID NO. I HAD AN EXTENDED POWERTRAIN WARRANTY THROUGH AUL, BUT BECAUSE IT WAS THE RADIATOR THAT LEAKED AND NOT A TRANSMISSION FAILURE THEY WON'T COVER IT.

NHTSA ID
11365396
Incident
Oct 19, 2020
Mileage
137,000 mi
Powertrain (other)
Filed Jul 7, 2020

WHEN THE TRUCK HIT ABOUT 115,000 MILES, IT STARTED SHIFTING ODDLY. AT 120,000 MILES IT WOULD NOT DRIVE. I LET IT SIT FOR A WEEK AND THEN IT WOULD DRIVE. I CAN ONLY DRIVE IT 5 MILES OR LESS IN ORDER FOR IT TO DRIVE. ANYMORE THAN THAT, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON AND IT DOESN'T HAVE THE POWER TO GO OVER 10MPH. AFTER DRIVING, EVEN LESS THAN 5 MILES, IT LEAKS ANTIFREEZE.

NHTSA ID
11337993
Incident
May 17, 2019
Mileage
120,000 mi
Powertrain (other)
Filed Feb 28, 2020

TRANSMISSION FAILED DUE TO CROSS CONTAMINATION WITH RADIATOR. TRANSMISSION AND RADIATOR HAD TO BE REPLACED.

NHTSA ID
11312072
Incident
Oct 11, 2013
Mileage
142,463 mi
Powertrain (other)
Filed Feb 7, 2020

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 NISSAN FRONTIER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH, THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO RESPOND. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. ORR NISSAN LOCATED AT 2323 VIKING DR, BOSSIER LA, WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 160,000. THE VIN WAS INVALID.

NHTSA ID
11307669
Incident
Jun 1, 2017
Mileage
160,000 mi
Powertrain (other)
Filed Jan 10, 2020

TRANSMISSION FAILURE CAUSED BY MIXING OF RADIATOR COOLANT WITH TRANSMISSION FLUID THROUGH CRACKS IN COOLANT TUBES. TRANSMISSION SLIPPAGE, LOSS OF POWER EXPERIENCED ON LOCAL TRIP, HAD VEHICLE TOWED TO MECHANIC.

NHTSA ID
11298337
Incident
Nov 15, 2019
Mileage
139,000 mi
Powertrain (other)
Filed Sep 17, 2019

LOST POWER COULD NOT MOVE TRUCK ON CITY STREET. DEALERSHIP TOLD ME IT WAS THE TRANSMISSION COOLANT WAS LEAKING INTO THE TRANSMISSION FLUID WARINESS THE GEARS AND THE TRANSMISSION HAD TO BE REPLACED. THEY TOLD ME THERE WAS A RECALL BUT I NEVER RECEIVED A NOTICE THEY SAID THE RECALL HAS EXPIRED AND I HAVE TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR.

NHTSA ID
11256116
Incident
Sep 4, 2019
Mileage
1,180,000 mi
Powertrain (other)
Filed Jun 11, 2019

TOTAL TRANSMISSION FAILURE DUE TO A FAULTY TRANSMISSION RADIATOR , RESULTING IN A TOTAL TRANSMISSION REBUILD.

NHTSA ID
11219190
Incident
May 30, 2019
Mileage
120,000 mi
EnginePowertrain (other)
Filed Mar 8, 2019

TRANSMISSION DAMAGE CAUSED BY TRANSMISSION COOLER.

NHTSA ID
11185423
Incident
Mar 8, 2019
Mileage
93,450 mi
Powertrain (other)
Filed Aug 26, 2018

TRUCK WOULD NOT CRANK. THE INDICATOR FOR THE GEARS WENT OUT. I WAS AT HOME PARKED WHEN IT WOULD NOT START. HAD A MECHANIC TEST IT. THE TEST INDICATED THE TRANSMISSION COMPUTER IS THE PROBLEM. THERE IS TRANSMISSION FLUID IN THE ANTIFREEZE. THIS IS A DEFECT FROM NISSAN.

NHTSA ID
11122412
Incident
Aug 3, 2018
Mileage
197,000 mi
Powertrain (other)
Filed Aug 20, 2018

RADIATOR/TRANSMISSION FAILED, CAUSED TRANSMISSION TO FAIL, HAD TO BE REPLACED

NHTSA ID
11121137
Incident
Feb 2, 2015
Powertrain (other)
Filed Aug 3, 2018

WHEN TRUCK GETS WARM FIRST GEAR START SLIPPING AND HARD TO GET THE TRUCK TO MOVE FLUID LEVELS ARE WHERE THEY SHOULD BE THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION AT A DRIVE-THRU TOBACCO SHOP

NHTSA ID
11115522
Incident
Jul 25, 2018
Mileage
145,717 mi
Powertrain (other)
Filed May 15, 2018

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 NISSAN FRONTIER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS OPERATING NORMALLY AND THEN SUDDENLY STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A REPAIR FACILITY WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE TRANSMISSION ASSEMBLY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED BY A DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER INDICATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS EXCLUDED FROM AN EXTENDED WARRANTY CAMPAIGN AND THERE WAS NO RECALL ON THE VEHICLE; HOWEVER, THERE WERE FOUR TSBS FOR THE POWER TRAIN. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

NHTSA ID
11093868
Incident
Apr 12, 2018
Powertrain (other)
Filed Apr 17, 2018

VEHICLE SHAKING AND COMPLETE TURN OFF. A/T CONT FUSE BLOWS OUT. KNOWN ISSUE IN INTERNET REGARDING TRANSMISSION AND COOLANT LEAK.

NHTSA ID
11088727
Incident
Apr 9, 2018
EngineFuel systemPowertrain (other)
Filed Apr 7, 2018

MY TRUCK JUST REACHED 80,800 MILES AND IT HAS LOST POWER. I TOOK IT TO THE NISSAN DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSTIC TEST AND IT CAME BACK WITH THE RADIATOR, TRANSMISSION AND THE FUEL PUMP ALL NEED TO BE REPLACED. THEY TOLD ME I HAD NO WARRANTY ON ANY OF THESE PARTS AS OF 2010 AND THEY QUOTED ME ALMOST $7,000 TO REPLACE ALL. AFTER GOING HOME AND LOOKING UP TRANSMISSION SHOPS I FOUND HUNDREDS OF ARTICLES ABOUT THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THOUSANDS OF NISSAN CARS. I HAVE NEVER RECEIVED A NOTICE OF RECALL ON MY TRUCK. THEN I FIND THEY HAVE SNEAKILY EXTENDED THEIR WARRANTY WITHOUT NOTIFYING US AND NOW MY TRUCK IS 12YEARS OLD WITH ONLY 80,800 MILES AND I NEED TO COME UP WITH $7,000 BECAUSE THEY FAILED TO NOTIFY THEIR CLIENTS ABOUT THEIR MISTAKES.

NHTSA ID
11083756
Incident
Apr 4, 2018
Mileage
80,800 mi
Powertrain (other)
Filed Dec 20, 2017

WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY THE RADIATOR FAILED LEAKING COOLANT INTO THE TRANSMISSION RESULTING IN THEM BOTH NEEDING TO BE REPLACED.

NHTSA ID
11055709
Incident
Dec 13, 2017
Mileage
129,500 mi
Powertrain (other)
Filed Nov 30, 2017

HI ,IM JUST GONNA MAKE THIS SHORT . IVE OWNED 2 NISSAN FRONTIERS BOTH 2005 SE MODELS AND 4 TRANMISSIONS LATER IM DONE WITH NISSAN NEVER AGAIN MY FIRST TRANNY REPLACEMENT WAS AT 70,000 RIGHT WHEN MY WARRENTY ENDED NONETHESS 7,000 DOLLARS LATER I AM DONE WITH NISSAN FOREVER !!! BELIEVE ME I HAVE ALL PAPER WORK FOR WORK DONE BUT IM NOT GONNA WASTE MY TIME INPUTING ANYMORE CRAP ABOUT NISSAN.

NHTSA ID
11051624
Incident
Aug 22, 2010
Mileage
700,000 mi
Powertrain (other)
Filed Nov 26, 2017

CHUGGING, SLIPPING, HARD SHIFTING TRANSMISSION WHEN DRIVING MOST ANY SPEED. OVER THE LAST 1 1/2 YEARS

NHTSA ID
11048449
Incident
Jun 1, 2016
Mileage
155,448 mi
Driver assistanceEnginePowertrain (other)
Filed Nov 7, 2017

AFTER 2 AND A HALF MONTHS OF FIGHTING WITH NISSAN CONSUMER AFFAIRS, NISSAN HAS BASICALLY TOLD ME THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT ME OR THE OTHER PEOPLE AFFECTED BY THIS ISSUE OR THEIR SAFETY. AS SAD AS IT SOUNDS ITS GOING TO TAKE SOMEONE GETTING KILLED BECAUSE OF THIS ISSUE BEFORE THEY OPEN THEIR EYES.

NHTSA ID
11044241
Incident
Aug 1, 2017
Mileage
91,000 mi
EnginePowertrain (other)
Filed Oct 25, 2017

THE RADIATOR CRACKED AND LEAKED COOLANT INTO THE TRANSMISSION, MIXING WITH THE TRANSMISSION FLUID CREATING A TOXIC FLUID THAT IRREVERSIBLY DAMAGED EVERYTHING AROUND IT. THE VEHICLE WAS BEING DRIVEN WHEN FIRST NOTICED. I HAD THE RADIATOR REPLACED AND THE TRANSMISSION FLUSHED AT MY LOCAL NISSAN DEALERSHIP. I COULD NOT AFFORD TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION SO FLUSHING IT WAS MY ONLY OPTION. IT LASTED FOR A FEW YEARS BUT NOW IT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. THIS IS A DEFECT THAT HAS AFFECTED THOUSANDS OF CUSTOMERS.

NHTSA ID
11039791
Incident
Aug 1, 2014
Mileage
100,000 mi
Powertrain (other)
Filed Sep 22, 2017

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 NISSAN FRONTIER. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS AND SHIFTING GEARS, THE VEHICLE HESITATED AND JERKED. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE RADIATOR WATER AND COOLANT FLUID LEAKED INTO THE TRANSMISSION. THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER AND THE DEALER WERE NOT CONTACTED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 49,000.

NHTSA ID
11024999
Incident
Jul 12, 2017
Mileage
49,000 mi
Powertrain (other)
Filed Sep 8, 2017

FLUID FROM MY RADIATOR MIXED INTO MY TRANSMISSION RENDERING IT INOPERABLE. AFTER DOING RESEARCH ON IT I LEARNED THAT NISSAN WAS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM, AND FAILED TO NOTIFY THE CUSTOMERS

NHTSA ID
11022337
Incident
Aug 28, 2017
Mileage
88,000 mi
Powertrain (other)
Filed Jul 31, 2017

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 NISSAN FRONTIER. WHILE PARKED, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO SHIFT INTO REVERSE WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT CALLED AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO STATED THAT THE SHIFT CABLE GROMMET LINKAGE FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT REPAIRED THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND DID NOT ASSIST. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 125,375.

NHTSA ID
11011701
Incident
Jul 25, 2017
Mileage
125,375 mi

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.

Other components reported on this vehicle

Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .