Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1998 Nissan Frontier owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The dashboard gives erroneous readings, this includes the odometer, the speedometer, fuel gauge , heat gauge. This May cause an over heating of vehicle, erroneous speeds, running out of fuel, erroneous odometer. Nissan will not pay for diagnosis stating the dealer is in complete charge of pricing for diagnosis of 100.00 with no guarantee of reimbursement. The maker of vehicle should be held responsible not the dealer after all Nissan made the vehicle. While checking online it appears to be a prevalent issue with Nissan frontiers trucks. Various calls have been on deaf ears.
Tl* the contact owns a 1998 Nissan Frontier. While driving at various speeds, the instrument panel became inoperable. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the instrumental cluster needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. Ma 10/5 the consumer stated the gas gauge always read full, the odometer always read 99999.9 and the speedometer always read zero. Updated 03/03/16
Driving down road instrument panel, odometer, speedometer work intermentely. Battery is being overcharged. Have replaced 2 batteries and 1 alternator and now it dosent charge at all. Truck lost power in the middle of intersection. This has happend more than once and had to push it to side of road and get it towed.
The problem is with my 1998 Nissan Frontier 4x4, the problem is the speedometer is not reading the correct speed, using a radar speed set up, and confirming with a GPS, the reading on the speedometer significantly varies, holding the vehicle at a constant speed of 50 MPH on the OEM speedometer will generate actual vehicle speeds from 42mph to 66mph, my concern is more safety than a speeding ticket, basically the operator has no idea how fast the vehicle is going, sometimes the speedometer will jump and move, while at a constant speed, I have tried to purchase replacement parts from Nissan, and have made several inquiries on what to do about it without success, I have tried to purchase a used part as well, without success, the feed back I am getting from the field is that the 1998 and 1999 model frontiers have a significant problem with the speedometer, which indicates to me there is a …
98 Nissan Frontier instrument clusters are defective. There are several complaints on line and no parts available. Mine started first by the speedometer being off. This cost me two speeding tickets and two speeding warnings before I realized what the problem was. Then the speedometer quit working all together then the fuel gauge now everything fuel,temp,speedometer, odometer and tachometer all of them quit working. This seems to be a common problem with this vehicle and should have been recalled a long time ago. The problem is Nissan can't even fix this problem because the parts are not available and the company that manufactured the instrument clusters went out of business. When this problem first started I didn't even know I had an issue because it was just the speed off by about 10 miles per hour it said I was going slower then I was actually going. …
Tl contact owns a 1998 Nissan Frontier. On September 1, 2007, the contact took the vehicle to the dealer because all of the instrument panel gauges were blank. He paid $900 for the repair and was informed that the circuit board would arrive the following day. After returning to the dealer several times, he was finally informed that the circuit board was unavailable and was no longer being made. The contact called the consumer affairs office of the manufacturer several times, but they have not responded. The vehicle is 8,000 miles over warranty and cannot pass state inspection. Nissan does not have the part and does not rebuild them any longer. The purchase date was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 58,000.
All gauges( speedometer, tachometer, temp, and fuel) malfunction periodically at the same time. Sometimes this results in the gauges pegging out or just not working at all. The frequency with which this occurs increases daily. The speedometer doesn't really ever function properly at this point. I feel this malfunction is cause for a recall because in doing some research I have found numerous complaints on multiple online forums indicating this exact same malfunction. I don't know how many formal complaints have been filed regarding this problem, but from what I was able to find I can't believe there is no recall on this problem.
The circuit board behind the dash instruments that operates all of the dash board instruments on my 1998 Nissan pu has failed. The dealership could not obtain a new one and said that the part is no longer made. The pu has about 58000 miles on it but now I can not have it safety checked because none of the gauges on the dash work. I tried to get some positive response from the customer service in Canada but enev after 4 calls -- nothing but a run a round.
Vehicle has 98,000 miles on Frontier truck speedometer works intermittently or sometimes does not work at all. Inaccurate speed determined by radar speed limit device its off by at least 20 miles per hour recall this vehicle.! A search of NHTSA database indicates many identical problems with this model recall this vehicle so that other owners can get this fixed safety problem and cant pass state smog inspection.
Instrument cluster. Does not work. No gauges work at all. Do not know what my speed is, fuel level, RPM, heat gauge, nothing at all. Started by just going out once in a while then in June 2007 completely quit working. Had to buy a GPS so I know how fast I am going. Odometer reads 999999. Dealer says their is no replacement part and it is a known issue but can not get parts.
Electrical complaints in other Frontier years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 1998 Nissan Frontier?
NHTSA has 23 complaints about the electrical system of the 1998 Nissan Frontier, 18% of the model year's 129 complaints. The component named most often is instrument cluster/panel (6 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1998 Nissan Frontier electrical problems?
No. NHTSA lists no electrical system recall for the 1998 Nissan Frontier, though it has 2 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 1998 Nissan Frontier electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 118,000 miles, and 7% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.