You pull away from a stop sign and the truck hesitates, then jumps. You lift off the throttle on the freeway and it jerks. You roll up to a red light and the last downshift lands hard enough to rock everyone in the cab. The dealer runs a software update, hands the keys back, and a week later it is doing the same thing. If that is your Nissan Titan or Nissan Frontier, you are not imagining it and you are not the only one.
Owners of 2020 and 2021 Nissan Titan and Nissan Frontier trucks have reported hesitation, lag, jerking and lurching from the 9-speed automatic transmission. A class action lawsuit, Boone v. Nissan North America, Inc., was filed in March 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee and alleges Nissan knew the 9-speed was defective and answered with technical service bulletins and software updates instead of a real repair. As of August 2026 that case had produced no publicly announced settlement and no repair program you can take to a dealer.
The complaints below were filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and some were also cited in the lawsuit and collected by CarComplaints. They have been edited for grammar and clarity. Read them for the pattern rather than the paperwork: the same handful of symptoms, the same answers at the service counter, and no permanent repair.
Nissan Frontier Transmission Complaints
The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission shifted into NEUTRAL and the vehicle lost motive power. The check engine and transmission warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with code P0729 (Gear 6 Incorrect Ratio). The dealer performed technical service bulletin NTB 21-086, Transmission Control Module (TCM) software update; however, the failure recurred with the engine revving while shifting gears. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 6,784.
Nissan Titan Transmission Complaints
The truck is prone to harsh transmission shifting. It is abrupt and harsh enough when coming to a stop to create a safety issue. If one is not hard on the brakes at the time, the truck will lurch forward with the last downshifts, with the potential to strike pedestrians or the car in front. My Titan has about 800 miles, and this behavior has been going on since I bought it recently. I will list today’s date below since a date is required.
Transmission Jerking While Maintaining Speed
2021 Nissan Titan is having major transmission problems jerking when downshifting. This has become a serious issue when trying to maintain speed. I have taken [sic] the vehicle to the dealership to which I am told, "Nissan is fully aware of the issue and is working on a fix." This has been ongoing for close to a year.
Slamming Gear Changes and Power Loss
Purchased vehicle with 2,000 miles on it. Vehicle shifts very rough. When the transmission downshifts to stop it will bump or lurch [sic] forward. If you are not expecting it, the truck will go forward. There is a lot of lag while accelerating. Dealer looked over vehicle and worked with Nissan to check several things. The dealer techs all noticed the problem. They compared it to a new one and the [sic] new one did the same thing. It is a little frustrating because it acts like a damaged worn out transmission although the vehicle has very little miles and is babied.
Sluggish Takeoff From a Complete Stop
Transmission issue: Taking off from a complete stop at a traffic light or stop sign the truck is sluggish unless I give it about 1/4 throttle then it takes off slow it feels like it’s not in 1st gear. This is dangerous if trying to avoid incoming traffic while turning on a busy intersection. There’s occasions at a stop the truck surges forward by itself. While driving and trying to pass a vehicle the transmission downshifted normal, then it shifts up then down again. When shifting from park to drive the transmission clunks. When slowing down the downshift is harsh. I have taken to the dealership 2 times. Their response: “It’s the nature of the transmission.”
What Nissan Transmission Problems Mean for a California Lemon Law Claim
A class action asks whether a defect is widespread enough to hold Nissan answerable to a whole group of owners at once. It moves at the speed of a federal docket, and anything it produces gets divided across tens of thousands of trucks. California law asks a narrower question, and it is the one that decides what happens to your truck.
The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, the law most people call the California lemon law, asks whether the manufacturer repaired a warranted defect in a reasonable number of attempts. If it did not, and the defect substantially impairs the vehicle’s use, value or safety, Nissan owes you a buyback or a replacement truck, plus incidental costs such as towing and rental. On a successful claim the manufacturer also pays your attorney’s fees and costs, so the fee does not come out of your recovery. A transmission that hesitates pulling into traffic and lurches when you brake hits all three parts of that test at once: you cannot rely on the truck, no informed buyer pays full price for one that behaves this way, and a lurch at a crosswalk is a safety problem.
An individual claim also means you are not waiting on the class case. Owners who pursue their own lemon law claim normally opt out of the class rather than sit in it for years.
Is there a recall for the Nissan 9-speed transmission?
No. Nissan has handled the 9-speed shifting complaints through technical service bulletins and transmission control module software updates, including NTB 21-086, rather than a safety recall. That matters less than it sounds, because a lemon law claim rests on your own repair history rather than on whether a federal campaign exists.
Do the Nissan Titan and Frontier use the same transmission?
Yes. Both trucks use the same 9-speed automatic, and owners of both report the same hesitation, jerking and hard downshifts, which is why one lawsuit covers both models.
What if the dealer says my Titan or Frontier is shifting normally?
You may still have a claim. “It’s the nature of the transmission” is an answer several owners quoted above were given, and it is not a legal defense. What counts is that you brought the truck in, described the problem, and drove away with it still doing the same thing. Ask that your own words go onto the repair order every visit, including the visits where nothing is found.
How many repair attempts does a Nissan transmission claim take?
There is no fixed number. Song-Beverly asks for a reasonable number of attempts, and reasonable is measured against how dangerous the defect is, so a transmission that loses power in traffic is judged more strictly than a rattle. Two visits for the same safety-related problem can be enough to make the call worth your time.
Lemon Law Help has received numerous reports of 2020 and 2021 Nissan Titan and Nissan Frontier drivers dealing with rough shifting, hesitation and other 9-speed transmission problems. If your truck has been back to the dealer for this more than once, call us at 833-208-8181 for a free consultation. You can read more common questions on our lemon law FAQ.
Lemon Law Help by Knight Law Group is an automotive lemon law firm that exclusively practices in California, with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento and Orange County. If you are a California resident who purchased or leased a defective vehicle from a licensed dealership in California, we may be able to help you get rid of your potential lemon and recover significant cash compensation. Model year restrictions apply: 2020–Present vehicle models only.
However, we cannot help those who reside outside of California or purchased their vehicle outside of California unless they are active duty members of the Armed Forces, nor will we be able to refer them to a lemon law firm in their states.
To learn more about the California Lemon Law and your legal rights, visit our guide on the California Lemon Law for more information.
Reviewed by Roger Kirnos, Managing Attorney, California State Bar No. 283163
