Tailgate problems of the 2005 Nissan Frontier

2005 Nissan Frontier 4x4 crew cab. Poor design of tailgate hinge assembly drivers side, appears that was designed to withstand lighter tailgate. As I understand Nissan has redesigned and changed tailgate assembly for 2006 and newer models. My wife was driving the truck and noticed the vehicle following came to a complete stop since the tailgate on my truck was dragging on the road and held partially still connected to truck body with cable assembly. Hinge appeared cracked and pulled from body of truck. Tailgate was always in locked position since we have issues with thieves in our area and was still in locked position when I took it out of truck bed. Obviously at higher speeds the failure of the hinge assembly could compromise the safety of following vehicles in the event the tailgate became removed and fell off onto roadway.

Tailgate busted brackets. I have a 2005 Frontier crew cab with 28000 miles. This was bought brand new. I use this vehicle for trips and hunting. No hauling, construction or other heavy use. My 4 wheeler was hauled in it about 6 times. We drove to the mountains and just finished unloading our luggage. I went to close the gate and it wouldn't close, upon investigating the drivers side hinge had cracks and the passenger side was cracked. My truck was out of warranty by 60 days when I showed the dealer service person. They said they never saw anything like it before, even asked how big the deer was I put on the gate, and if someone was standing on it? I asked if they were serious, as this gate should support 1000 pounds! anyway I wa lucky that Nissan agreed to replace the 2 cracked brackets on the body, the 2 brackets on the gate and a 3rd bracket I wasn't even aware of until the dealer stated he had to order it in before it could be repaired correctly. Anyway like I stated, this vehicle is used for easy applications and the gate used very little. Sounds and looked like a bad design imho.

I do not know exactly what caused the problem but I opened up my tailgate one morning and the tailgate came off of the hinge and pieces were missing. I read on a forum that this is a common problem for the type of vehicle I'm driving and it seems that the tail gate could have fell on the highway if I hadn't tried it that morning.

The tailgate on my 2005 Nissan Frontier le 2wd pickup truck continually comes off it's hinges even after being secured by forcefully closing, and at times, slamming, the tailgate shut. This defect has caused the tailgate to come off it's hinges and is a safety risk to other drivers who are behind me, as it can cause great bodily harm, serious injury, or even death if it ever entirely fell off. Because of this defect, I lock the tailgate in an attempt that it is securely closed.

We have a 2005 Nissan Frontier with 40,000 miles on it - well maintained and in excellent condition. Both hinges on the tailgate broke. It is a known problem. Fortunately, it came off when it was parked in my driveway. If it broke and fell off on the highway while the vehicle was in motion, it could have been disastrous. Nissan refuses to acknowledge the problem or make the necessary repairs. The dealership service manager lied and claimed the failure was due to overload - we don't use the truck to haul anything.