It sounds like your Nissan Frontier has emission monitor(s) which are not ready yet. You'll need to drive it through a driving patter called a drive cycle. The drive cycle will test the emission monitors and complete them if your Frontier does not have any emission problems. Typically driving for 200 to 300 miles on both highway and city traffic, and over the course of a few days gets the drive cycle to run. Just in case, you can use the Nissan Frontier Drive Cycle driving patter which we indicate below.
Take extra caution while performing drive cycles on public roadways. If you think you will be unable to follow the driving patterns safely seek the assistance of a smog check repair station or Nissan dealership.
Nissan Frontier 5-Speed Drive Cycle OBD II Monitors (Readiness Flags)
Pre-Conditioning Requirements:
Ensure the MIL (malfunction indicator lamp) is not on.
Gas tank fuel level must be between 15% and 85% at all times.
Drive cycle must start while engine is cold. Best performed in the morning, after being parked overnight. The actual requirement is that the engine be between 68 and 86 degrees F prior to the start of the drive cycle.
Drive Trace:
A. Start your vehicle and idle engine until coolant temperature reaches 160F (until normal operating temperature is reached).
B. Using a timer, idle the engine for an additional 1 1/2 minutes.
C. Begin driving. Accelerate smoothly to 56 mph with the transmission in 5th gear, then release gas pedal and coast for 10 seconds. Do not press the clutch or brake pedal.
D. Accelerate to 56 mph and maintain speed for at least 10 minutes. Use smooth and quick acceleration and maintain speed as constant as possible.
E. Stop and idle your vehicle for 10 seconds.
F. Accelerate to 25 mph in 10 seconds and while in 2nd gear hold the gas pedal steady for 20 seconds. Use smooth and quick acceleration and maintain speed as constant as possible.
G. Repeat steps E and F eight (8) times. Decelerate (coast down) to 15 mph and then drive for 13 minutes at speeds between 15mph and 35mph.
H. Accelerate to 53-56 mph. With the transmission in 5th gear maintain speed for at least 6 minutes. In this step it is more important to maintain accelerator pedal position than speed. Therefore you are allowed 3 mph fluctuation in speed, but must try and keep the gas pedal steady.
- End of Drive Cycle -
If all emissions systems are functioning properly, completing the drive cycle above will set the emission monitors required to pass the smog check.
