Ford Ranger vs Nissan Frontier: which is more reliable?
The Nissan Frontier is clearly ahead of the Ford Ranger on the federal record: 85/100 against 71/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
Ford Ranger
- 7 model years scored
- 625 owner complaints on record
- about 10 complaints per year on the road
- 59 recall campaigns, 25 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (84/100) · worst 2019 (47/100)
Nissan Frontier
- 15 model years scored
- 509 owner complaints on record
- about 4 complaints per year on the road
- 29 recall campaigns, 10 safety-critical
- best year 2015 (93/100) · worst 2022 (41/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Ranger against Frontier
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Ford Ranger
- Air Bags — 196 complaints
- Power Train — 143 complaints
- Electrical System — 56 complaints
Nissan Frontier
- Air Bags — 97 complaints
- Power Train — 86 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 75 complaints
Both nameplates have Air Bags as their largest complaint group, so the choice between them is about how often, not about what.
Years to avoid on each
Ford Ranger — avoid: 2019.
Nissan Frontier — avoid: 2022.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Ford Ranger prices at about $51,700 and a Nissan Frontier at about $51,700 — they price within $1 of each other, which at this level is the same money, and they return 23.0 against 21.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Ford Ranger or the Nissan Frontier more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Nissan Frontier scores 85/100 against the Ford Ranger's 71/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Nissan Frontier carries about 4 complaints per year on the road against 10 for the Ford Ranger.
Which Ford Ranger and Nissan Frontier years should I avoid?
Ford Ranger: 2019. Nissan Frontier: 2022. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Ford Ranger and the Nissan Frontier?
The largest complaint group on the Ford Ranger is Air Bags (196 complaints); on the Nissan Frontier it is Air Bags (97).
Is the Ford Ranger or the Nissan Frontier cheaper to own?
A recent used Ford Ranger prices at about $51,700 and a Nissan Frontier at about $51,700, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.