Model Years

2020 Nissan Frontier Recalls and Problems

NHTSA lists 2 safety recalls and 23 owner complaints for the 2020 Nissan Frontier.

Recalled components: powertrain. Most-reported area: powertrain (12 complaints, 52%).

Fewer complaints than a typical Frontier year

The 2020 drew 7 owner complaints in its first three years, against about 16 for a typical Frontier year (about 14 for a typical year since 2016).

Years to avoid: 2022 and 2023. Based on owner complaints, not adjusted for sales.

Every Frontier year ranked

2Safety recalls
23Owner complaints
3Complaints citing a crash
0Complaints citing a fire

Opens NHTSA's lookup in a new tab; your VIN goes to NHTSA, not to us. The VIN is on the driver's side dashboard, the door jamb and your registration. Safety recall repairs are free at Nissan dealers.

How to check a car for recalls, step by step

Get a vehicle history report from EpicVIN (opens in a new tab): a paid report with the car's title, odometer and salvage records, from an approved NMVTIS data provider. Affiliate link: we earn a commission if you buy. If you typed a full VIN above, the link sends it to EpicVIN and opens its checkout page for that VIN. Check the price before you pay: EpicVIN's $1 trial lasts 3 days, then becomes a monthly subscription until you cancel ($49.99 to $99.99 a month on its pages as of Oct 2, 2026). Disclosure

Data: NHTSA recall, complaint and investigation filesUpdated

2 safety recalls for the 2020 Nissan Frontier

Newest first. Summaries are NHTSA's own wording. Open a recall for the fix and the full notice.

Powertrain

Sep 7, 2022

automatic transmission

The transmission parking pawl may not engage when the vehicle is shifted into park, which can result in a vehicle rollaway.

Risk: A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of a crash.

The fix and full notice

Fix: Owners are advised to apply the parking brake every time they park their vehicle. Dealers will perform the applicable repairs below, free of charge: • Model Year 2020-2022 Frontier vehicles: reprogram Transmission Control Module (TCM) • Model Year 2020-2022 Titan vehicles: reprogram TCM and Engine Control Module (ECM) • Model Year 2023 Titan vehicles: reprogram TCM • Model Year 2023 Z vehicles: reprogram TCM. Owner notification letters were mailed October 28, 2022. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669.

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Titan, 2020-2022 Frontier, and 2023 Z vehicles.

NHTSA listing: FRONTIER. Nissan campaign R22A9 R22B1/2/3.

Powertrain

Jun 24, 2022

automatic transmission

The transmission parking pawl may not engage when the vehicle is shifted into park, which can result in a vehicle rollaway.

Risk: A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of a crash.

The fix and full notice

Fix: Owners are advised to apply the parking brake every time they park their vehicle. Dealers will replace the transmission parking pawl pin, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 2022. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R22A2 R22A3.

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Frontier and Titan vehicles.

NHTSA listing: FRONTIER. Nissan campaign R22A1.

Questions about any of these recalls: call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 888-275-9171) or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

NHTSA investigations

NHTSA's investigations file, dated Nov 12, 2026, lists no investigations for the 2020 Nissan Frontier.

What owners report

Owners have filed 23 complaints with NHTSA about the 2020 Frontier. Below, they are sorted by the problems owners describe and by the areas NHTSA files them under. NHTSA does not verify complaints.

Problems owners describe

Counted from the complaint text: a complaint counts once for each problem it describes (how we match them). Some complaints describe none of these. Compare other models in the problem owners report most for every model year.

Areas named in complaints

A complaint can name more than one area, so shares add up to more than 100%.

Nissan Frontier recalls and complaints by model year

The highlighted bars are the 2020 model year. Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower. Counting complaints filed in each model year's first three years, the 2022 Frontier drew the most (88) and the 2020 drew 7.

Owner complaints

2020: 23 complaints

Show as a table
Owner complaints by model year, Nissan Frontier
Model yearComplaints
201059
201164
201280
201348
201442
201533
201644
201738
201825
201928
202023
202121
2022112
202368
202423
202511
202611

Safety recalls

2020: 2 recalls

Show as a table
Safety recalls by model year, Nissan Frontier
Model yearRecalls
20104
20111
20123
20131
20142
20150
20161
20171
20182
20191
20202
20212
20226
20231
20243
20253
20261

Crash test ratings

NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for each version it tested. Rollover risk is NHTSA's estimate of the chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.

Tested versionOverallFrontalSideRollover
Nissan Frontier Crew Cab PU/CC 4WD
Rollover risk 19.8%
Nissan Frontier Crew Cab PU/CC RWD
Rollover risk 21.2%
Nissan Frontier King Cab PU/EC 4WD
Rollover risk 19.8%
Not ratedNot ratedNot rated
Nissan Frontier King Cab PU/EC RWD
Rollover risk 21.2%
Not ratedNot ratedNot rated

2020 Frontier MPG

EPA rates the 2020 Nissan Frontier up to 20 mpg combined.Every version and fuel cost

Questions

What are the most common 2020 Frontier problems?

The areas owners name most often in NHTSA complaints: powertrain (12), engine (5), brakes (4). NHTSA does not verify complaints, and one complaint can name several areas.

Is the 2020 Nissan Frontier safe?

In NHTSA crash tests every tested version of the 2020 Nissan Frontier earns 4 stars overall. The table above lists each tested version.

Is NHTSA investigating the 2020 Nissan Frontier?

No. NHTSA's investigations file, dated Nov 12, 2026, lists no investigations for the 2020 Nissan Frontier.

How do I check if my Frontier has an open recall?

Enter the 17-character VIN from your dashboard, door jamb or registration at nhtsa.gov/recalls. The lookup lists unrepaired recalls for that exact vehicle. Safety recall repairs are free at Nissan dealers.

Sources and method

  • NHTSA recalls file (NHTSA datasets), dated Nov 12, 2026; every campaign checked against NHTSA's recalls API.
  • NHTSA owner complaints file, dated Nov 11, 2026. Counted by complaint number, so a complaint naming three components counts once in the total.
  • NHTSA investigations file, dated Nov 12, 2026. Defect petitions, which ask NHTSA to open an investigation, are listed apart and only while open. Audit queries, which check whether a company met its recall and reporting duties rather than whether a vehicle has a problem, are not listed.
  • NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings (NCAP).
  • NHTSA model names covered: FRONTIER.

Complaint counts are unverified owner reports. They rise with sales volume and time on the road, so compare model years with care. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.