2005 Nissan Frontier Problems, Recalls & Reliability
750 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2005 Nissan Frontier, alongside 6 recall campaigns and 1 defect investigation. It scores 89/100 on the trouble index — one of the years to avoid for this model. Transmission & drivetrain leads the reports, typically around 102,000 miles.
Avoid this year if you can. The 2005 Nissan Frontier sits at the top of this model's complaint rankings. Quieter picks in the same family: 1999, 2003–2004, 2009–2017, 2019–2020.
Avoid
Where 2005 sits among all Frontier years
What owners report
“Radiator fluid mixed with the transmission and caused complete transmission failure”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 Frontier
“Transmission oil leaking into coolant system and coolant leaking into transmission.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 Frontier
“Nissan 2005 frontier fuel sending unit failure. This caused improper readings on the fuel gauge. Why were 2006 > recalled and not 2005! Replaced sending unit .”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 Frontier
“I have repeated problems with car stalling. They've replaced the camshaft and crank shaft sensors but it keeps coming back. I know there's a recall on other nissan frontiers with ecm problems and think mine could be affected.. It's not included in the reall however.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 Frontier
“Truck cuts off while driving no matter what speed your at. Have to wait a few seconds to get it to start again.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 Frontier
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 675 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 92,861 miles. Half of those reports fall between 70,000 and 116,545 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (6)
NISSAN IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2004-2006 ARMADA, TITAN, INFINITI QX56 AND MODEL YEAR 2005-2006 FRONTIER, PATHFINDER AND XTERRA VEHICLES. THE INTELLIGENT POWER DISTRIBUTION MODULE (IPDM) ASSEMBLY CONTAINS AN ENGINE CONTROL MODULE (ECM) RELAY THAT HAS…
Fix: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE ECM RELAY INSIDE THE IPDM ASSEMBLY. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON DECEMBER 6, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.
NISSAN IS RECALLING CERTAIN FRONT AND REAR LOWER LINKS, P/NOS. 54501ZQ00A, 54500ZQ00A, 551A1ZQ00A, 551A0ZQ00A , 54501EA00A, 54500EA00A, 551A1EA500, 551A0EA500, 54501ZR00A, AND 54500ZR00A, SOLD BETWEEN NOVEMBER 25, 2009 AND MAY 14, 2010 AS REPLACEMENT PARTS…
Fix: NISSAN WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE ANY AFFECTED LOWER LINK FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 12, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.
NISSAN IS RECALLING 242,720 MY 2005-2009 PATHFINDER, FRONTIER AND XTERRA VEHICLES ORIGINALLY SOLD IN OR CURRENTLY REGISTERED IN THE STATES OF CONNECTICUT, DELAWARE, ILLINOIS, INDIANA, IOWA, MAINE, MARYLAND, MASSACHUSETTS, MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA, MISSOURI, NEW…
Fix: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FRONT CZS WITH A REDESIGNED SENSOR. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JANUARY 26, 2009. OWNERS IN THE OTHER STATES WILL RECEIVE EXTENDED WARRANTY COVERAGE FOR THE SENSOR TO 10 YEARS.…
CERTAIN HOPKINS AFTERMARKET TRAILER BRAKE CONTROL CONNECTION HARNESSES SOLD FOR USE ON CERTAIN MODELS OF NISSAN VEHICLES WHICH ARE LISTED ABOVE. THE INTERNAL PART NUMBERS WITHIN HOPKINS ARE: 1010476025, 1040376025, 1110476025, 1170376025, 1290376025,…
Fix: HOPKINS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE ORIGINAL HARNESS WITH A REVISED HARNESS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN AUGUST 17, 2007. OWNERS CAN CONTACT HOPKINS AT 800-835-0129.
CERTAIN TRADESONIC COMBINATION LAMPS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT LAMPS FOR USE ON THE ABOVE LISTED PASSENGER VEHICLES. COMBINATION LAMPS NOT EQUIPPED WITH AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS FAIL TO CONFORM WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108,…
Fix: TRADESONIC WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE LAMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING JULY 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TRADESONIC AT 626-934-8884.
ON CERTAIN KING CAB TRUCKS, IN A SEVERE SIDE IMPACT CRASH, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT DEFORMATION OF THE VEHICLE'S BODY COULD CAUSE THE FUEL FILLER CAP TETHER TO BE STRETCHED TO THE POINT OF UNSCREWING THE FUEL FILLER CAP.
Fix: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FUEL CAP TETHER PIN ASSEMBLY WITH A MODIFIED ONE FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 24, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.
Federal defect investigations
Technical service bulletins
108 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, the biggest share on electrical and engine — are on file for the 2005 Nissan Frontier. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
See the 2005 Frontier TSB list →
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2005 Nissan Frontier reliable?
The 2005 Nissan Frontier drew 750 complaints in federal safety records — one of the years to avoid for this model. Its trouble index is 89/100, scored against the model's worst year (2006).
What are the most common 2005 Nissan Frontier problems?
The top reported problems for the 2005 Nissan Frontier are transmission & drivetrain (264 complaints), engine (186), and fuel system (146).
At what mileage do 2005 Nissan Frontier problems show up?
Owners most often report 2005 Nissan Frontier problems around 92,861 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 70,000 and 116,545 miles.
Does the 2005 Nissan Frontier have recalls?
6 recall campaigns apply to the 2005 Nissan Frontier. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.