2008 Nissan FRONTIER CREW CAB - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2008 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab has received a mixed safety rating based on the available data. While it scored a 4 out of 5 in both front crash driver side and passenger side ratings, it excelled with a 5 out of 5 in both driver and passenger side crash ratings. The rollover ratings were also decent with a 4 and 3 out of 5. It is worth noting that electronic stability control is listed as optional for this vehicle, which can enhance its safety features. However, it does not come equipped with forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems. In terms of complaints and recalls, there have been 133 complaints and 6 recalls reported for this model. Overall, while the Nissan Frontier Crew Cab performs well in certain crash scenarios, potential buyers should consider the optional stability control and lack of advanced warning systems when evaluating its safety features.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

133

Recall Count

6

Investigation Count

1

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2008 Nissan Frontier 4-DR. Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2008 Nissan Frontier 4-DR.

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Optional
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2008 Nissan Frontier 4-DR. Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2008 Nissan Frontier 4-DR. Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score 2008 Score 2024 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 4
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 4 4 3
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 4 4 4

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score 2008 Score 2024 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 5 5 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated Not Rated 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated Not Rated 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score 2008 Score 2024 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated 4 3
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Complaints for the 2008 Nissan FRONTIER CREW CAB

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"the transmission cooler integrated into the radiator failed damaging the transmission by cross contamination of fluids. loss of power on a narrow country mountain road was not safe. i learned that this problem is very common. i feel that nissan should have replaced the radiator before thousands in transmission damage occurred."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2023-09-07

Complaint:
"transmission failure due to coolant in trans oil contaminating trans components. total trans rebuild/replace radiator and trans cooler. 130k miles on vehicle - low miles for a 2008 frontier. the vehicle shuddered, hesitated, would not pick up speed as it should, was having difficulty shifting thru gears as it transitioned from stop to moving, typically around 30-40 mph under load (accelerating). we have since found out this is a known problem. expensive repair!"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2021-10-12

Complaint:
"first long trip since i bought the used truck, a trip to oakridge, 90 mile round trip from home. the truck made it back to our driveway, then when i put on the break for my husband to get out, it would not move and all the dash lights came on. i couldn't budge the truck. it was locked up. couldn't move the stick. the engine quit. forced it into park and tried to restart, but not a sound. the neighbor came over with his code reader. it said p1000. battery checked good, got a new one anyway because its age. grounds were good, but cleaned anyway. had it towed to dealer. they put a new transmission in."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2021-11-07

Complaint:
"radiator that controls the transmission coolant let go causing the transmission coolant to mix with the engine coolant. i had the transmission repaired at new river nissan back in 2018. before i had nissan repair it i had taken it to a transmission shop where it was flushed out and a small radiator added to the truck because of the radiator going bad . the truck had less than 80,000 miles on it and less than a 9 years. as the recall was added to that after all the problems from the radiator. i fill like i should be reimbursed for everything that i paid out which was about 3500.00 total. but now it's still mixing coolant after being serviced by a nissan dealer."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2020-03-06

Complaint:
"my coolant mixed with transmission fluid. causing it not to accelerate. nissan mechanic says it'll cost 6000 dollars to completely fix. absurd!!!!!! 120,000 mile vehicle."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2018-01-10

Complaint:
"noticed shaking in passenger side front tire. took to transmission shop after doing thousands of dollars of worked to the front end. to find out that the radiator and transmission were mixing fluid. shop told me transmission it is done and must be rebuilt and radiator must be rebuilt. been told this is a common problem with the frontier."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2019-01-03

Complaint:
"transmission locked during driving could have caused an accident. transmission fluid mixing with coolant causing transmission failures"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2018-08-05

Complaint:
"starting having problems with transmission it started popping as i would back up , so i thought it was the drive shaft. i took it to a garage and they found that the radiator cooling system had let go letting the cooling and transmission mix. i don't understand why there wasn't a recall on this if nissan new about it. it started to slip a couple of times as i went to pull out and that's when i took it to garage."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2019-12-02

Complaint:
"drivers side rear axle seal leak. differential vent leak. both started about 100,000 miles."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2016-01-09

Complaint:
"engine coolant has leaked from the radiator into the transmission fluid cooling section of the radiator, then into the transmission resulting in over $5200 in a transmission rebuild. having checked various web sites i notice that this has been a recurring problem with this model. my question is: if nissan has known about this problem, why has a recall not been issued? also, why should owners be responsible for footing the bill for rebuilding the transmission? due to the nature of this, i will be contacting the federal transportation agency that provides oversight of vehicle safety and recalls. it is unsatisfactory that nissan does not own up to it's responsibilities!"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2019-04-07

NISSAN Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

NISSAN ranks 5 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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