Nissan defect petition DP26003
Fuel smell and loss of motive power. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this defect petition about the engine and engine cooling on 1 model year (2006). Opened Mar 30, 2026 and still open — 6 months so far, against NHTSA’s goal of four months for a defect petition. open
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a Petition dated February 5, 2026, requesting an investigation into model year (MY) 2006 Nissan Frontier vehicles. The Petitioner alleges that the vehicle poses an imminent fire hazard due to “[a] powerful and persistent odor of raw gasoline� that he says “emanates from the vehicle� and “indicat[es] a breach in fuel system integrity.� He further alleges that the vehicles can experience sudden engine stalling “during startup and operation,� which he believes could cause collisions or loss of vehicle control. The Petitioner further alleges these symptoms are identical to conditions addressed in previous NHTSA recalls (10V-517, 07V-435, and 10V-075) and that the issues persist in the 2006 MY Nissan fleet despite these past actions. ODI is opening this Defect Petition to evaluate the Petitioner’s allegations and determine whether to grant or deny the Petition. The Petition can be viewed at NHTSA.gov under NHTSA Number 11718552.
A Defect Petition is a petition from a member of the public asking NHTSA to open a defect investigation; the agency grants or denies it and publishes the reasons. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the opening and closing resumes with the full reasoning are on NHTSA’s site under this number.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one is open. Nothing is owed on the vehicle today; if it becomes a recall, owners are written to and the repair is free. The moment to know is the day the campaign number appears — Recall Watch checks each VIN against every new NHTSA campaign and emails you when one lands, or take a free one-line alert by model year.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2006 Nissan Frontier.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs DP26003 a recall?
No. A defect petition is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one has not produced one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is DP26003 still open?
Yes, as of NHTSA’s latest file: opened Mar 30, 2026, 6 months ago.
Which vehicles does DP26003 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 1 model year: 2006 Nissan Frontier. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.