125 of the
4,485 complaints filed about the Nissan Frontier
are about the throttle and cruise control —
3% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2005.
125
Complaints
3%
Share of all complaints
16
Crashes
0
Fires
Acceleration & Cruise Control complaints by model year
April 2 I was driving to an appt got off on access road and as I pulled up behind another vehicle the acceleration was faster than the pressure on the pedal warranted and the emergency stop-braking warning came on. After it was safe to proceed to my destination I proceeded to a parking spot as I turned to pull in the vehicle rapidly accelerated on its on and jumped the side walk. I attempted to brake but the pedal went to the floor with no braking and the engine was red lining as we crashed. My passenger pushed the engine off button. Front passenger tire was sheered off. No air bag deployment and vehicle likely totalled.
NHTSA complaint #11729979 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Since I purchased my 2022 Nissan Frontier, I have experienced recurring issues where, periodically while driving, all the indicator lights appear on the digital screen (as shown in the attached photo). When this happens, all the advanced driver assistance systems become nonfunctional, including cruise control, ABS brakes and radar detection. These incidents have occurred while driving on the highway. Over time, I brought the vehicle in for service, but the technicians indicated they could not find anything wrong. My frustration grew as the problem started occurring more frequently, especially when I was in the car with my wife and kids. This is a serious safety concern. I recently took the vehicle to the dealer again (March 2, 2026), where I was charged almost $500 for them to "reboot" the vehicle and assure me it was fixed. However, the issue reoccurred the very next day. For the first time, I am formally reporting this problem in hopes that something can be done. I am taking it back again this Monday. I do not feel comfortable selling the vehicle knowing it has this unresolved issue. I would appreciate any assistance you can provide, and you may contact me if you wish Thank you.
NHTSA complaint #11722153 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The light turned green. The truck got up to fourth gear and slipped all the lights on the dash lit up so I took it to the first transmission shop where they said transmission just went out at 75,140 miles pretty much the exact mileage for my first service according to the book in the glove box I took it to Nissan dealership where they said it was the shift selector needed to be changed for a total of $1600. I had it done. I drove it a half a mile down the road and it did it again. They said they drove it over 14 miles with no problem but my odometer says different now they’re telling me I need a new transmission for $9214.03. I’ve done a lot of research and googled other people having the same problem. I called Nissan corporation they offered to pay 60% for a new transmission. This tells me they know something is wrong with it. After taxes I will have spent over $11,800 for a new transmission at 75,000 miles. This should not have happened.
NHTSA complaint #11719660 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When driving, the collision sign randomly comes on. It causes the the vehicle to rev and there's a lag in picking up speed. There are times when the vehicle is "stuck" while waiting on a left turn and it screeches and jolts when I press on the gas to move forward before it actually moves.
NHTSA complaint #11685938 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The truck is jerky during low speed take offs. It also died off during acceleration and then surged all of a sudden recently. It is now in the repair shop being diagnosed for an electric transmission control warning light. It would not start.
NHTSA complaint #11657026 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
CRUISE CONTROL SURGING VEHICLE BEYOND INITIAL SET LIMIT. I recently purchased my 2022 Nissan frontier 4x4 crewcab from a Texas dealership. After driving it for a week or so, I noticed that while the "Cruise Control" is engaged, any sort of incline ahead of the vehicle will cause the transmission to down shift and Rev up the engine to 5k+ rpms which causes the vehicle to Surge and speed up way above the set speed (ie: cruise set to 45mph, the consequence is the vehicle will surge up to 60mph at times and then let the vehicle slow back down to the 45mph speed set in the original setting.) I found that very unsafe and that my nissan frontier is not the only one that experiences this behavior. The internet has had a few reports/complaints on this very issue. According to some of these owners, there's a software update to address this issues. However, some dealerships will charge for this software update if your vehicle has gone past the 36k warranty date to the sum of $600 plus out of pocket. Meanwhile without that software update, the vehicle will surge unnecessarily and dangerously above the intended speed set initially. Respectfully, 2022 Nissan frontier 4x4 crewcab
NHTSA complaint #11644162 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Engine light came on, and vehicle accelerated, then lost acceleration while revolutions increased. Diagnosis indicates Bad TCM. I went to 3 shops, and all said that the TCM are going bad, especially Infinity. Nissan wants to charge $500 just to try to reset it. The Dealership is the only ones that can perform this task.
NHTSA complaint #11615007 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When vehicle in cruise control going anywhere 55 to 70 mph. Coming to slight grade hill, the vehicle down shift so hard from 9 gear to 4th gear and the RPM goes almost to 6000. There was some waters running over the road and almost causes me to lose control. I have complaint to the ORR dealer in Ft. Smith from the beginning and they said nothing wrong. It been a problem since I brought it new.
NHTSA complaint #11613954 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The Nissan Frontier (and perhaps other Nissan vehicles employing the same system) equipped with the 'Intelligent Cruise Control' (ICC) exhibits dangerous behavior when a followed vehicle comes to a complete stop with ICC enabled. When this occurs, the Nissan will come to a complete stop, then a warning chime will sound and the vehicle will immediately start moving quickly forward. Since the ICC brings the vehicle to a stop very close to the followed vehicle, if the driver is thinking the ICC will hold the vehicle in a stationary position, it is possible that this behavior could result in the Nissan rear-ending the followed vehicle. This is the result of a flaw in the design of the Nissan Intelligent Cruise Control that releases the brake with little warning when the traffic in front of the vehicle is stopped. A proper design would hold the brake until some manual driver action is taken such as physically pressing the accelerator or the brake. My personal experience was that I was on an Interstate freeway in very slow traffic. This was the first time I had the ICC enabled in slow and go traffic. It was working fine and, when the traffic came to a complete stop, it properly stopped behind the vehicle in front of me. Then, to my shock, my Nissan beeped and started to accelerate forward nearly rear-ending the vehicle in front of me. Luckily, I was able to press the brake in time to avoid a collision, but this is a flawed design and represents an unnecessary danger to the Nissan as well as followed vehicles.
NHTSA complaint #11605453 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
This first appeared on or about 7/2/24. Saw dealership on 7/9/2024. First driving the cruise control failed and showed malfunction. The next morning truck started but numerous things didn’t work like Radio and rear emergency braking. Rear braking was a Malfunction. Also trip A/B were erased.on 7/9/24. Dealer found some previous codes and said might be due to storage switch issue. But the codes seem to point at a distant sensor but stated it could have happened due to low battery volts. Now on may 29th I requested the battery to be load tested because the A/B trip meters had reset twice. Never saw the results of that test. Back in early May I put the battery on the charger due to it showing lower voltage. Battery was at 50 percent at time of charge. Truck sat on lot from Aug 23 till march 27-24 when I purchased it. sorry about going backwards. So dealer stated on July 9th that codes found were old (3556 miles) cleared and drove truck 3 miles with no problems. On 7/11 failed again reported it to dealership. On 7/14 failed again. All failures were with forward collision system. On 7/16 dealer said no codes drove truck no issues so they wouldn’t do anything else , even though it’s a possible safety issue even though I had documented pictures and text messages sent to dealer. They needed it to happen when they drove it. 30 mins later driving home malfunctioned again called dealership immediately on the side of the freeway to report this issue again. Response was a number for a tow truck and it didn’t matter because they weren’t driving the truck. This resets every time the truck is turned off. I explained numerous times that it’s intermittent, that’s the issue and why I have everything documented. So as for now I have a system that malfunctions with cruise control on or not. Truck has 4000 miles on it. Dealer won’t do anything due to it won’t malfunction in their procession. Currently at a loss.
NHTSA complaint #11602901 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The cruise control on the vehicle is dangerous. When driving through rolling hills the vehicle does not keep a consistent speed. When it loses speed it puts the vehicle in overdrive accelerates to 4500 RPM to speed the vehicle up to the cruise setting. The danger is while on back roads while cresting a hill or rounding a curve the vehicle feels totally out of control. The problem is not limited to back roads, it also occurs while driving the interstate highway. The only way to stop the vehicle during this process is to cancel the cruise control. The acceleration is so violent that it pushing you back in your seat and your head is pushed into the headrest. Ive been on Frontier forums and many people have experienced the same condition. Seems to lie in the newer 9 speed transmission trucks. Seems Nissan does not acknowledge the problem. Needs a Firmware update.
NHTSA complaint #11589283 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2024 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated while driving 76 MPH with the Adaptive Cruise Control feature activated, the contact attempted to pass a semi-truck; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. The contact stated that the vehicle fishtailed. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed. The contact stated that the dealer advised the contact that the failure was not a known failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 2,000.
NHTSA complaint #11588674 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Climbing a hill the cruise control goes crazy and the RPMs suddenly exceed 5000+. Scared the hell out of me and could certainly be dangerous especially on rainy roads. Many owners are reporting this issue on the Nissan Frontier Owners forum - example here: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11583935 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated that when applying the accelerator pedal, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and lurched forward. There were no warning lights illuminated. While leaving a store and entering traffic, the vehicle accelerated and crashed into an unknown vehicle, which spun and crashed into another unknown vehicle. The driver was able to drive the vehicle away from the scene. The driver sustained a concussion but did not seek medical attention. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. There was no reported fire. The local dealer was contacted before the crash. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was approximately 4,500.
NHTSA complaint #11560135 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I do not know what caused this to happen. There were no warning lights or messages. Prior to this incident the transmission would rev/speed up on its own for a few seconds (I don't know if this is relevant). Salesperson told me about this and said it was nothing to worry about. The vehicle is equipped with a sensor that brakes if you come to close to an object. This sensor has definitely worked in the past. I was backing up down a long driveway, approximately 50 yards.When I took my foot off of the gas pedal, it did not slow down. Instead it sped up and was uncontrollable. I looked down to make sure my foot was on the brake which it was. I then used both feet to push down on the brake but that did not work either. The vehicle did not stop until it ran into a building. If somebody would have been behind me they would have died or been seriously injured. If the building would not have been there, I might have died or been seriously injured due to the vehicle accelerating at a high speed on its own and the brakes failing to stop the vehicle. This incident happened yesterday so it has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or inspected by the manufacturer or insurance. It happened on private property and will not be inspected by the police.
NHTSA complaint #11554290 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Easily repeatable issue. When at highway speeds adaptive cruise control detects a slower vehicle in my lane. My Frontier slows as expected. When the necessary lane change is made, my engine will suddenly accelerate rapidly until it reaches about 6000 rpms. This also will occur when climbing a moderately steep hill in either cruise mode. This is a safety hazard in that it is extremely distracting, because you have to divert your attention to cancel the out-of-control cruise control manually with the cancel button or brake pedal. I have contacted Nissan Customer Service, as well as had two dealer service calls. They both said that they could not duplicate the issue. According to the in and out milage they didn't drive it. They did say that Nissan is working on this issue.
NHTSA complaint #11542522 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The vehicle has significant lag when trying trying to accelerate quickly. It also surges wildly on occasion when cruise control is engaged. It has happened both on slight inclines and when cornering. Both of these events are outside of operator control and could cause an accident. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by a dealer and there are no warning indicators. The vehicle is available for inspection. It seems like there may be a programming issue in regards to the electronic throttle, speed sensors, and transmission.
NHTSA complaint #11533124 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Yes it’s available for inspection. Sudden increase in speed under certain condition could be a safety issue. This problem has been identified by another owner and taken to Nissan (Apple) York, PA. The problem happened after leaving the Nissan lot on the way home, less than 200 miles. During use of intelligence cruse control, set at 70 mph, came up on a vehicle doing 60 mph and the system slowed my vehicle down to 60 mph, when I was able to move into the passing lane my vehicle down shifted hard going to 6,000 rpm’s, my truck surged in mph until it caught up with the set speed. The amount of down shift is excessively too much, this happens on small hills and the rpm’s go to around 4,500 rpm’s.
NHTSA complaint #11501845 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Dealer preformed NTB22-084 due to ABS lights. Since this TSB was preformed the ICC fails to brake the vehicle when it is approaching another car. Current stored DTC is C1A13-72. When the Frontier needs to brake automatically to maintain distance from the car ahead, the dash gets the following warning messages. Rear Automatic Braking System Fault see owners manual, Automatic Emergency Braking System Fault see owners manual, Cruise Control Malfunction. During this fault the following systems are disabled: Vehicle to vehicle distance control Conventional Cruise Control Automatic Emergency Braking Intelligent Forward Collision Warning Rear Automatic Braking This creates an unsafe driving condition which may lead to a collision.
NHTSA complaint #11501113 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.