2020 Nissan Frontier

small pickup / Extended cab pickup

2020 Nissan Frontier Extended cab pickup
2017 Nissan Frontier shown

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Small overlap front: driver-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Headlights
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Not available
Front crash prevention: pedestrian (day)
Not available

Seat belts & child restraints

LATCH ease of use

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2017-21 models built after February 2017

Tested vehicle: 2017 Nissan Frontier SV King Cab

The Nissan Frontier King Cab was redesigned for the 2005 model year. Beginning with 2013 models, design changes were made to the frontal airbags and seat belts. Beginning with 2017 models built after February 2017, the side curtain airbags were lengthened to improve occupant protection in small overlap frontal crashes. (Information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on the driver door or adjacent B-pillar.)

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the driver-side small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver’s survival space was not maintained well.

The frontal and side curtain airbags worked well together to keep the head from coming close to any stiff structure or outside objects that could cause injury.

Intrusion of the footwell and instrument panel contributed to a high risk of injury to the left lower leg, a significant risk to the left foot and right lower leg, and a moderate risk to the right knee.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEN1716
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 18
Footrest (cm) 35
Left toepan (cm) 29
Brake pedal (cm) 28
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 7
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column 3
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 9
Upper dash (cm) 9
Lower instrument panel (cm) 10

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEN1716
Head
HIC-15 124
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.1
Extension bending moment (Nm) 14
Maximum Nij 0.22
Chest maximum compression (mm) 30
Femur (kN)
Left 1.2
Right 2.7
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 5
Right 13
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 1.88
Right 1.04
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 5.6
Right 1.9
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 233
Right 99

About the small overlap front test

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2013-21 models

Tested vehicle: 2013 Nissan Frontier SV King Cab 4wd

The Nissan Frontier Crew Cab and King Cab were redesigned for the 2005 model year. Beginning with 2013 models, design changes were made to the frontal airbags and seat belts.

Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Nissan. (The vehicle tested by Nissan was designated as a 2012 model but included the airbag and seat belt changes of the 2013 models.) Because the vehicle structure did not change after 2005, structure ratings are based this test as well as two earlier tests of the Frontier, one a 2005 model and the other a 2008 model.

The moderate overlap frontal ratings apply to both the Crew Cab and King Cab models.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEF0504 VTF0812 VTF1216
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 11 12 12
Left (cm) 12 13 20
Center (cm) 14 15 16
Right (cm) 12 13 17
Brake pedal (cm) 7 6 5
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 1 0 -1
Right (cm) 1 -1 -2
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) 4 3 4
Rearward (cm) 0 1 -2
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 2 3 2

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTF1216
Head
HIC-15 333
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.3
Extension bending moment (Nm) 19
Maximum Nij 0.27
Chest maximum compression (mm) 36
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 3.5
Femur force - right (kN) 2.2
Knee displacement - left (mm) 13
Knee displacement - right (mm) 7
Maximum tibia index - left 1.01
Maximum tibia index - right 0.78
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 2.0
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 4.3
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 137
Right 163

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2015-21 models

Tested vehicle: 2017 Nissan Frontier SV King Cab

The Nissan Frontier King Cab was redesigned for the 2005 model year. Beginning with 2012 models, design changes were made to the side curtain airbags to improve occupant protection in side impact crashes. Beginning with 2015 models, design changes were made to the side torso airbags and front door trim panels to further improve protection for front seat occupants.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

View of the vehicle and barrier just after the crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with the front door removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side curtain airbag. (The head was also contacted by the side torso airbag.)

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbag.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CES1703
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -16.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID CES1703
Head HIC-15 138
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.8
Compression (kN) 0.2
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 21
Lateral force (kN) 1.0
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 35
Average deflection (mm) 30
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.95
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.53
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 1.7
Acetabulum force (kN) 2.2
Combined force (kN) 3.7
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 1.1
L-M moment (Nm) 140
A-P moment (Nm) 13

Passenger injury measures

Test ID CES1703
Head HIC-15 134
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.4
Compression (kN) 0.4
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 42
Lateral force (kN) 1.8
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 29
Average deflection (mm) 19
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.43
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.35
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 1.1
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.5
Combined force (kN) 2.4
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.9
L-M moment (Nm) 126
A-P moment (Nm) -23

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2016-21 models

Tested vehicle: 2017 Nissan Frontier SV King Cab

Overall evaluation
Curb weight4,104 lbs
Peak force18,938 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio4.61

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seats AHR

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Manual cloth seats AHR
Geometry
Backset (mm) 44
Distance below top of head (mm) 48
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 12.4
Head contact time (ms) 53
Force rating 2
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 152
Max neck tension (N) 645

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

Headlights

Trim level(s)

  • All trims
Low-beam headlight typeHalogen reflector
High-beam headlight typeHalogen reflector
Curve-adaptive?No
High-beam assist?No
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler 0 ft 100 ft 200 ft 300 ft 400 ft 500 ft 600 ft Low beams Optimal low-beam illumination High beams Optimal high-beam illumination Some glare

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was inadequate on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was inadequate in all 4 tests.

The low beams created some glare.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was inadequate on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was inadequate in all 4 tests.

Technical measurements for this test
Trim level(s)
  • All trims
Low-beam headlight type Halogen reflector
High-beam headlight type Halogen reflector
Curve-adaptive? No
High-beam assist? No
Overall rating
Applies to 2016-20 models
LOW BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)		 Amount glare
exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge 71.1 m None
Straightaway left edge 32.8 m None
250m radius right curve, right edge 45.5 m None
250m radius left curve, left edge 38.4 m 12.9%
150m radius right curve, right edge 41.4 m None
150m radius left curve, left edge 32.9 m None
HIGH BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge 125.9 m
Straightaway left edge 100.2 m
250m radius right curve, right edge 60.7 m
250m radius left curve, left edge 63.2 m
150m radius right curve, right edge 49.0 m
150m radius left curve, left edge 50.2 m

About the headlight evaluation

Child seat anchors

Rating applies to 2017-21 models

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trimSV King Cab
Seat type cloth

This vehicle has 2 rear seating positions with complete child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware.

It has 1 additional seating position with a tether anchor only.

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trimSV King Cab
Seat type cloth
1 3
GGood
AAcceptable
MMarginal
PPoor
Seating positions that rely on borrowed lower anchors or have only a tether anchor available are not rated.
thether anchor symbol
Tether anchor
lower anchor symbol
Lower anchors
shared lower achors symbol
Lower anchor(s) can be borrowed from adjacent positions(s)
No hardware available

Details by seating position

0
Tether anchor
hard-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
none available
1
Tether anchor
hard-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
not too deep in seat
not too much force needed to attach
easy to maneuver around anchors
3
Tether anchor
hard-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
not too deep in seat
not too much force needed to attach
easy to maneuver around anchors
Technical measurements for this test

Seat position 13

0

Lower anchor A
No lower latch for this seat position
Lower anchor B
No lower latch for this seat position
Tether anchor
Location Bottom seatback
Confusing hardware present No
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor		 Yes
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH		 Not measured

Seat position 21

3

Lower anchor A
Open access rated Yes
Depth Visible
Force (lbs) 0
Clearance angle (degrees) 85
Lower anchor B
Open access rated Yes
Depth Visible
Force (lbs) 0
Clearance angle (degrees) 84
Tether anchor
Location Other seating position
Confusing hardware present Yes
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor		 Yes
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH		 Not measured

Seat position 23

1

Lower anchor A
Open access rated Yes
Depth Visible
Force (lbs) 0
Clearance angle (degrees) 84
Lower anchor B
Open access rated Yes
Depth Visible
Force (lbs) 0
Clearance angle (degrees) 83
Tether anchor
Location Other seating position
Confusing hardware present Yes
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor		 Yes
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH		 Not measured

About the child seat anchor evaluation