There are 3 owner-reported brakes complaints for the 2004 Nissan Frontierin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
TRUCK TOTAL MILEAGE IS ONLY 55,000 AS IT IS NOT USED VERY MUCH. 3 ISSUES OCCURRED APPROX. AT 49,000MILES. 1) ENGINE STARTED TO MISS. UPON CHECKING SPARK PLUGS IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE PLUG CAVITIES IN THE HEAD WERE FULL OF OIL. THE VALVE COVER GASKET SEALS HAD LEAKED AND THE OIL FILLED SPARK PLUG HOLES CAUSED IT TO MISS. THIS IS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY SO REPAIRS WERE DONE AT MY COST. HAD TO REPLACE ALL OF THE TOP END VALVE COVER GASKET AND SPARK PLUG HOLE SEALS AS WELL AS THE CAM END SEALS. 2) ONE DAY I GOT INTO THE TRUCK AND WHEN I STARTED IT UP AND PRESSED THE BRAKES THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR. UPON CHECKING THE BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER RESERVOIR IT WAS EMPTY. FOUND THAT THE REAR AXLE BRAKE LINE HAD RUSTED THROUGH AND HAD BURST SPRAYING BRAKE FLUID ALL OVER THE SPARE TIRE. I HAVE NEVER SEEN A BRAKE LINE DEVELOP A HOLE LIKE THIS. NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY AND A NEW BRAKE LINE AND MASTER CYLINDER WAS REPLACED AT MY OWN COST .THE SYSTEM HAD TO BE BLED OUT AND FLUSHED AT ALL 4 WHEELS. I WAS VERY LUCKY THAT THIS DID NOT OCCUR WHILE DRIVING AS A CRASH WOULD HAVE RESULTED. 3) CURRENTLY HAVING AN ISSUE WITH THE "CHECK ENGINE LIGHT" COMING ON. THE CODE SAYS THAT IT IS A EMISSION ISSUE. WITH THE COMPUTER CODE READER I AM ABLE TO CANCEL THE CODE AND IT STAYS OFF FOR A WHILE BUT COMES BACK ON DAYS LATER. THE CODE IS A LEAKING GAS CAP BUT I CAN DETECT NO LEAKS AND HAVE CHANGED OUT THE CAP WITH AN OEM CAP WITH SAME RESULTS. TRUCK RUNS OKAY SO I HAVE NOT DUG ANY DEEPER ON THIS AND IT IS STILL OCCURRING. 4) WHILE UNDER THE TRUCK FIXING THE BRAKE LINE ISSUE I DISCOVERED THAT THE DRIVE SHAFT WAS COMPLETELY COVERED WITH RUST. IT WAS NEVER PAINTED FROM THE FACTORY. I HAD TO REMOVE IT TO KILL THE RUST AND PAINT IT WITH A GOOD COAT OF BLACK HEAT PROOF PAINT. CORROSION SEEMS TO BE AN ISSUE WITH THESE NISSAN VEHICLES.
AS I APPROACHED A STOP SIGN ON A SECONDARY PAVED HIGHWAY ENTERING A PRIMARY HIGHWAY, THE ABOVE VEHICLE BEGAN TO SKID ON A THIN LAYER OF GRAVEL LAID DOWN ON THE BLACKTOP FOR RECENT ICE AND SNOW CONTROL. THE ROAD WAS CURRENTLY CLEAR AND DRY. I APPLIED THE BRAKES WHICH WENT HALFWAY TO THE FLOORBOARD WITHOUT ANTILOCK ACTION. CONCURRENTLY THE ACCELERATOR MAINTAINED THE CURRENT SPEED OF APPROXIMATELY 20 MILES PER HOUR. THE VEHICLE CONTINUED THROUGH THE STOP SIGN ON A COLLISION COURSE WITH AN ONCOMING VEHICLE FROM THE LEFT MOVING AT APPROXIMATELY 60 MILES PER HOUR. WITHOUT CONTROL OF MY VEHICLE IT CONTINUED ON ITS OWN ACROSS THE PRIMARY HIGHWAY MISSING THE REAR OF THE ONCOMING VEHICLE BY A FOOT OR TWO. THE OTHER DRIVER APPEARED NOT TO BE AWARE OF MY INABILITY TO STOP AND POSSIBLY DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE THE INCIDENT OCCURRED. FORTUNATELY THERE WERE NO VEHICLES IN THE OPPOSITE LANE COMING MY DIRECTION AND I SPEEDED UP TO CLEAR THE HIGHWAY AND CONTINUE ON THE SECONDARY ROAD. AT THAT POINT MY VEHICLE FUNCTIONED NORMALLY. THE BRAKES WORKED AGAIN AND THE ACCELERATOR APPEARED TO FUNCTION NORMALLY. IN ESSENCE, FROM THE POINT OF THE SKID, MY VEHICLE DROVE ITSELF ACROSS THE HIGHWAY. ANTILOCK DID NOT ENGAGE AND THE ACCELERATOR APPEARED TO SIMULTANEOUSLY MALFUNCTION. *TR
NISSAN 2004 FRONTIER XE BRAKES FAILED WITHOUT WARNING CAUSING A COLLISION INTO AN APARTMENT COMPLEX ENTRY SIGN MADE OUT OF CEMENT BLOCKS. THE DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE RESULTED IN A TOTAL LOSS. IF THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN REPAIRABLE, A SERIOUS CONCERN FOR DRIVER AND PASSENGER SAFETY DUE TO THE HIGH PROBABILITY OF REPEATED BRAKE FAILURE. A TOTAL BRAKE SYSTEM REPAIR HAD BEEN DONE BY A REPUTABLE REPAIR SHOP APPROXIMATELY ONE AND ONE-HALF YEARS PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT. *LN
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026