VehicleVerdict

2005 Nissan Frontier engine problems

The 2005 Nissan Frontier has 186 engine complaints filed with NHTSA — 25% of the year's total, and up sharply from the prior model year.

186

Engine complaints

25%

Share of year

1

Crash-involved

1

Related recalls

Engine complaints by year

Frontier engine complaints by model year186 complaints1998: 11 complaints1999: 10 complaints2000: 12 complaints2001: 25 complaints2002: 14 complaints2003: 5 complaints2004: 9 complaints2005: 186 complaints2006: 156 complaints2007: 134 complaints2008: 35 complaints2009: 2 complaints2010: 9 complaints2011: 6 complaints2012: 13 complaints2013: 4 complaints2015: 2 complaints2016: 8 complaints2017: 4 complaints2018: 1 complaints2019: 2 complaints2020: 4 complaints2021: 1 complaints2022: 6 complaints2023: 13 complaints2024: 2 complaints
Frontier engine complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

Related recalls

10V517000EngineOctober 28, 2010 · 747,480 units

Defect

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 A DIODE FOR ELECTRICAL CURRENT NOISE REDUCTION. THE ECM RELAY MAY ALLOW SILICON VAPOR TO FORM AND, OVER TIME, THE SILICON EVAPORATES FROM THE DIODE MOLDING WHICH CAUSES SILICON OXIDE TO DEVELOP ON THE ECM RELAY CONTACT DUE TO ARCING.

Consequence

THIS COULD CAUSE ENGINE STALLING INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Remedy

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.

What owners report

“IN NOVEMBER 2010 MY TRANSMISSION FAILED AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. 3 MONTHS AFTER HAVING THE TRANSMISSION REPLACED I STARTED HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE NEW TRANSMISSION, I DISCOVERED I HAD TO HAVE THE RADIATOR REPLACED BUT IT WAS TOO LATE. THE NEW TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN RUIN DUE TO A FAULTY RADIATOR…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Engine · November 16, 2010 · fire

Common questions

How many engine complaints does the 2005 Nissan Frontier have?

NHTSA has 186 complaints about the 2005 Nissan Frontier engine — 25% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Are there recalls for the 2005 Nissan Frontier engine?

Yes — 1 NHTSA recall campaign for this model year is tied to the engine: 10V517000.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.