2023 Nissan Frontier Safety and Reliability

Reviews of the Nissan Frontier from the NHTSA are middling, with an overall rating of four starts - but this only applies to crew cab derivatives. King cab models haven't been comprehensively tested. Side crash tests on the crew cab earn full marks, with rollover tests resulting in three stars out of five. From the IIHS, the standard crash prevention systems were rated as Superior, but headlights were noted as Poor.

Nissan puts eight airbags in the Frontier. Both driver and front passenger get knee bags. It also has the obligatory rearview camera, ABS, electronic brake-force distribution, traction and stability control, and tire pressure monitoring.

The only driver assistance feature is an intelligent forward collision warning with auto emergency braking. You have to pay extra for Nissan's Safety Shield 360 on all models.

We're pretty disappointed with this. Nissan has been scoring some serious brownie points, rolling out its advanced driver assistance features as standard on most of its sedans, SUVs, and crossovers. Even old models like the Murano have Safety Shield as standard across the range. We know it is possible to include these features on a pickup truck, as the Titan is another model that boasts Safety Shield as standard across the range.

The Frontier may be free of recalls for 2023 at the time of writing, but 2022 models had six recalls to deal with. Issues included rearview displays that didn't work, unsecured transmissions causing rollaway, weak seatbelt brackets that may break, and missing tow hitches that could compromise the fuel tank. Hopefully, these issues have been ironed out for the new model year. We're happy to report that there were no recalls in 2020/2021, so at least the engine and transmission are solid.

The Japanese automaker provides a similar warranty package across most models in its lineup that applies to the new Frontier with basic coverage for three years/36,000 months, powertrain coverage for five years/60,000 months, and corrosion coverage for five years with no mileage limitation.