If you’re looking at slightly older trucks, it may be a safer bet to consider the 2019 Nissan Frontier instead of the Toyota Tacoma. The Nissan Frontier ranks as a more dependable option than the Toyota Tacoma, meaning it may have fewer problems. 

The 2019 Nissan Frontier is more reliable than the Toyota Tacoma 

According to PickupTruckTalk, the 2019 Nissan Frontier is the most dependable pickup truck from 2016 to 2019. So, not only did it rank best for 2019, but it was able to defeat dependable rivals, including the Honda Ridgeline and Toyota Tacoma.

Unfortunately, they didn’t include results for 2020. PickupTruckTalk compiled this list of the most dependable trucks with the help of J.D. Power. With the J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study, they were able to rank trucks based on user feedback. 

The dependability study surveys over 80,000 truck owners to ask if their trucks had any problems and if they would purchase the same truck again. The survey considers three years of ownership experience to give each vehicle a fair chance. 

When comparing the most dependable pickup trucks for the past 15 years, Toyota trucks have the most awards, and Ram trucks have the least amount. Chevy also has more awards than Ford, but let’s focus on the 2019 Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma for now. 

How dependable is the 2019 Nissan Frontier? 

J.D. Power currently ranks the 2019 Nissan Frontier with a score of 78 out of 100. The 2019 Toyota Tacoma ranked slightly higher, with a score of 80 out of 100. However, the Frontier ranks at 80/100 for quality and reliability but only has a 63/100 for the driving experience. This may be why it ranks behind the Tacoma. 

If you switch gears and check out CarComplaints, you can see the number of problems reported for the Nissan Frontier. Drivers report problems based on different model years, so you can quickly see which used options need to be avoided. 

There are currently 0 complaints listed for the 2019 Nissan Frontier, but it’s still pretty early. More issues may pop up as drivers accrue miles. However, the 2018 Nissan Frontier has 3 complaints listed, and the 2017 model only has 2 complaints listed. 

Meanwhile, the 2016 Nissan Frontier has 28 issues reported. The recent Nissan Frontier issues don’t seem very severe. There were body and paint issues, and someone said the gas mileage was lousy. The largest issue seems to be about the transmission failing to shift properly. 

How reliable is the 2019 Toyota Tacoma? 

The 2019 Toyota Tacoma has a score of 80 out of 100 from J.D. Power. It has a score of 79/100 for quality and reliability, which is one point behind the Nissan Frontier. It also has a score of 70/100 for the driving experience. 

Then on CarComplaints, the 2019 Toyota Tacoma has 12 problems listed. There are 10 problems reported for 2018, 68 issues for the 2017 model year, and a whopping 151 problems for the 2016 Toyota Tacoma. So, it has a lot more issues reported in recent history than the Frontier does. 

The problems also range in severity from having transmission problems, electrical issues, and body and paint problems. So, based on the issues with previous model years, it’s easy to conclude that the 2019 Nissan Frontier is less likely to be undependable.