Owner-reported complaints naming the brake system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming service brakes, the antilock braking system, brake hoses, master cylinders or the parking brake. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2018 Nissan Altima submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 49 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 49, in the owner's own words
I’ve had to replace the break sensor a few times and it’s unusual… My check engine light came on and it reads the code for the catalyst converter.., the auto part store saw a recall on this for my make and model but not seeing it here . The code was cleared and hasn’t came back on yet but I’m anticipating it will .. these two issues need to be further looked into please
Brake switch failure contributed to intermitten braking resulting in near crashes
The problem of delayed acceleration. The problem occurs when the vehicle does not seem to accelerate for a short period of time. When I'm at a stop. and I depresses the pedal. The vehicle does not rev. It does not do anything for a few seconds. Even with increased force on the pedal, the vehicle does not move. The second concern is that, once it does move, it does so significantly with a jolt. This means that, after a few seconds of not functioning, the vehicle will suddenly accelerate quickly. This can create an increased risk of an accident.
The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the contact attempted to start the vehicle, but the vehicle would not start. The contact pressed the start button and depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle failed to start-up. After multiple attempts the vehicle eventually started however, the failure recurred several times. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer who inspected the vehicle and diagnosed the failure as a faulty brake sensor. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 36,000.
SEVERAL TIMES WHILE NORMAL DRIVING AND NOTHING IN ROADWAY THE DISPLAY WILL SAY UNAUTHORIZED OBJECT IN VIEW AND THERE'S NOTHING THERE HAPPENS SEVERAL TIMES A DAY SCARES ME AT FIRST CAUSE I THINK SOMETHING WRONG AND TAKES 10 MINUTES FOR DISPLAY WARNING LIGHT TO TURN OFF
WHILE DRIVING HOME AND JUST ENTERING MY NEIGHBORHOOD, I NOTICED A LOW TIRE WARNING ON MY DASHBOARD. I LOOKED AT THE PRESSURE AND THERE WAS APPROXIMATELY 26 POUNDS STILL IN THE TIRE AND THE CLOSEST PLACE TO FILL UP WAS AT MY HOUSE. WHILE APPROACHING A RIGHT TURN IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND BECAUSE OF THE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS OF SNOW AND ICE ON THE ROAD, I SLOWED DOWN TO A CRAWL AND APPLIED MY BRAKE PRIOR TO AND WHILE TURNING. WHILE IN THE BEGINNING OF MY TURN, I INSTANTLY REALIZED THAT I HAD NO CONTROL OF MY CAR AND I SLID INTO A SNOW BANK ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT I WAS GOING TOO SLOW FOR MY CAR TO SLIDE. I WAS RIGHT DOWN THE ROAD FROM MY HOME SO I CONTINUED HOME THINKING I COULD NOT HAVE HAD SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE; HOWEVER, AS I WAS DRIVING, MY RIDE DID NOT FEEL NORMAL EVEN THOUGH I WAS TRAVELING AT A VERY SLOW PACE. WHEN I GOT INTO MY GARAGE, I FOUND MY TIRE WAS COMPLETELY FLAT AND THE DAMAGE WAS SIGNIFICANT TO MY FRONT DRIVER SIDE BUMPER. THE NEXT MORNING I REMOVED MY TIRE TO SEE WHERE THE PUNCTURE WAS AND IF IT WAS REPAIRABLE. UPON FURTHER INSPECTION AND WHILE FILLING THE TIRE WITH AIR, I REALIZED THERE WAS NO HOLE IN THE TIRE BUT THERE WAS A FAST AIR LEAK AT THE RIM. ON MONDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 15, 2021 I BROUGHT MY TIRE IN FOR REPAIR. I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT A DEFECT EXIST IN MY TIRE AND WHEN I LOOKED TO SEE IF THERE WAS A RECALL, I REALIZED THAT THE SAME TIRE I HAVE ON MY VEHICLE IS SHOWN ON THE RECALL LIST BUT IT IS FOR 2019 TIRES AND NOT 2018. PLEASE LOOK INTO MY COMPLAINT AND CONCERN. IF I HAD BEEN TRAVELING ON A HIGHWAY, I COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN KILLED. I HAD NO CONTROL OVER MY VEHICLE WHEN THE AIR WENT OUT AT THE RIM. MY TIRE IS A CONTINENTAL CONTIPROCONTACT P215/60R16 94T ALL SEASON DOT 6YX8 3YD 2018. THE TIRE SAYS MADE IN SLOVAKIA. OTHER NUMBERS ON THE TIRE WERE 3-979 84579 230385 E4 0231843.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS AT A STAND STILL AND THE IGNITION FAILED TO START. THE CONTACT STATED NO WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DRIVABLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE LOCAL DEALER FIESTA NISSAN (5001 S 169C, EDINBURG, TX 78539, (956) 348-1408) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH NEEDING AN UNKNOWN BRAKE SWITCH TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED BUT EXPERIENCED THE FAILURE THREE ADDITIONAL TIMES. THE MANUFACTURER HAD BEEN INFORMED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 5,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING, THE FEB AUTOMATIC COLLISION NOTIFICATION ILLUMINATED THEN UNILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE APPROACHED A STOP SIGN AT 500 FEET, WHILE DEPRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL, IT WENT TO THE FLOORBOARD CAUSING THE DISTANCE TO BE EXTENDED. AS A RESULT, ANOTHER VEHICLE CAME ACROSS THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO THE RIGHT REAR WHEEL OF THE OTHER VEHICLE. NO WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT NOR THE OTHER DRIVER DID NOT SUSTAINED INJURIES. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE OTHER VEHICLE WAS TOWED. THE CONTACT WAS ADVISED BY THE POLICE OFFICE WAS TO USE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE AND DROVE THE VEHICLE TO HIS RESIDENCE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO MICHAEL JORDAN NISSAN, 3930 DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL BLVD, DURHAM, NC 27707, WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED BUT COULD NOT FIND A FAILURE WITH THE BRAKES BUT WAS ADVISED BY THE DEALER THAT THEY WOULD KEEP THE VEHICLE A LITTLE LONGER TO INVESTIGATE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT YET REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND PROVIDED A CASE NUMBER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 59,000.
WHEN TRYING TO PUSH START THE BRAKES FEEL HARD AND UNABLE TO PUSH DOWN SO THE PUSH START WILL WORK. HAVE TO PLAY WITH THE BRAKE PEDAL IN ORDER FOR IT TO GO DOWN AND ABLE TO START THE CAR.
THE AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING (AEB) SYSTEM STOPS WORKING. THE DASHBOARD MESSAGE SAYS THE FRONT SENSORS ARE BEING OBSTRUCTED BUT THEY ARE NOT. THIS SEEMS TO BE A WIDESPREAD ISSUE WITH THIS SENSOR ON NISSAN VEHICLES.
AUTOMATIC BREAKING WILL SHUT OFF FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES ON OCCASION; ESPECIALLY WHEN TURNING TOWARDS AN EMBANKMENT (I.E. MAKING A LEFT TURN AND THERE'S AN ISLAND THERE).
SINCE I PURCHASED THIS 2018 ALTIMA (I HAD PREVIOUSLY DRIVEN A 2016 ALTIMA WITHOUT AEB), I HAVE GOTTEN FALSE POSITIVES FROM THE FRONT SENSOR, STOPPING MY CAR AT RANDOM TIMES IN CLEAR DAY LIGHT TRAFFIC, ON DRY PAVEMENT, WITH NO LEAVES OR OTHER ROAD DEBRIS. FRONT SENSOR HAS CONTINUOUSLY REPORTED THE "FRONT SENSOR NOT AVAILABLE" ALERT MULTIPLE TIMES IN MY CARS SHORT LIFETIME, FOLLOWED BY THE CRASH ICON AT RANDOM TIMES OF THE DAYS, AND ALL SPEEDS INCLUDING IN THE STOPPED POSITION. THE SENSOR GOES OUT REGARDLESS OR WHETHER THERE ARE OTHER VEHICLES AROUND. I REPORTED THESE ISSUES BEGINNINGIN OCTOBER 2018 (THE SAME MONTH I PURHCASED MY CAR). NO NISSAN VEHICLE SHOULD BE EQUIPPED WITH THE TECHNOLOGY WHERE DRIVER'S HAD NO CLUE WHEN THE VEHICLES WILL COME TO A HALT AND LOCK WITHOUT WARNING. THIS COMMONLY HAPPENS WHEN THERE ARE CARS AROUND ME AND THERE IS A CHANGE IN SPEED (ANTICIPATED OR NTO), WHICH IS COMMON IN LA. MY FRONT SENSOR HAS MALFUNCTIONED SEVERAL TIMES AND ENGAGED THE BRAKES, SEVERAL TIMES WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AT 50MPH. MY CAR ALSO SEEMS TO LUG AT TIMES WHEN I BRAKE FROM A DISTANCE AND NORMALLY WHICH CONCERNS ME. I HAVE REPORTED THIS ISSUES TO TECHNICIANS AND HAD THE BRAKES CHECKED WITH NO PROBLEMS FOUND SO I HAVE HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO WAIT FOR THE ISSUES WITH MY BRAKES AND CAR TO COMPILE. THE OWNER'S MANUAL ADMITS AEB SYSTEMS DO "NOT FUNCTION IN ALL DRIVING, TRAFFIC, WEATHER, AND ROAD CONDITIONS" BUT THE MANUAL LEAVES OUT THE PART ABOUT HOW THE SYSTEMS CAN CAUSE VEHICLES TO SUDDENLY STOP EVEN WHEN NO OBJECTS ARE IN THE DRIVING LANE. I ORIGINALLY REPORTED THIS ISSUE TO STEVE YAEGER ON OCTOBER 19, 2018--THE SAME MONTH I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE. HAVE BROUGHT IN MY VEHICLE INTO TO NISSAN VARIOUS TIMES IN THE FIRST 3 MONTHS BUT TECHNICIANS ALWAYS TOLD ME THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO AND JUST SHAKE OFF MY CONCERNS/TRY TO GIVE EXPLANATIONS.
I BEGAN EXPERIENCING ISSUES WITH WHAT WE BELIEVE TO BE MY BREAK SWITCH, AND WHILE I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD 3 OF MY BREAKS LOCKED UP, ALSO TAKING AWAY MY ABILITY TO STOP.
2018 NISSAN ALTIMA SL WHILE DRIVING IN RAIN THE MESSAGE 'FRONT RADAR UNAVAILABLE DUE TO OBSTRUCTION,' APPEARS. VEHICLE BEGINS TO SHAKE AND THE BACK BRAKES ENGAGE WITHOUT TOUCHING THEM. VEHICLE TRIES TO HYDROPLANE. VEHICLE SLOWS TO APPROX 35 OR 40 MILES PER HOUR. IT FEELS LIKE THE BACK PASSENGERS WHEEL IS LOCKED UP. I HAVE OWNED THIS VEHICLE FOR 7 MONTHS. THE AEB SENSOR HAS BEEN REPLACED. THIS PROBLEM HAS HAPPENED 3 TIMES SINCE THE REPLACEMENT. ALWAYS WHILE DRIVING IN THE RAIN.
THE FRONT RADAR OBSTRUCTION SENSOR, WHEN THE CAR IS IN MOTION, TURNS OFF FOR NO APPARENT REASON, AT ANY TIME OR PLACE, HIGHWAY OR LOCAL ROADS. MANY TIMES IT TURNS OFF IF I PASS A CAR INTO AN OPEN ROAD. THIS WILL AFFECT THE AEB SYSTEM. NISSAN DEALER HAS STATED THAT THEY DO NOT HAVE A FIX OR A RECALL FOR MY 2018 NISSAN ALTIMA.
AFTER 10 MIN OF OPERATION AND AT A REGULAR SPEED IN A FRW 55 MPH THE COLLUSION SENSOR COMES UP STATING THAT THERE IS NO WARNING IF A CAR IS TOO CLOSE TO THE FRONT OF VEHICLE. CRUISE CONTROL DOESN'T WORK AND APPEARS THAT WORKS WITH THE COLLUSION SENSOR. *TR
I LEASED A 2018 NISSAN ALTIMA (FROM NISSAN) ON 3/24/18. APPROX 12K MILES INTO LEASING THE VEHICLE I HAD A BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH/BRAKE LAMP SWITCH (BRAKE SWITCH) GO BAD. THE VEHICLE IS A PUSH TO START VEHICLE AND THE BRAKE SWITCH IS A SENOR ABOVE THE BRAKE THAT WHEN YOU PRESS ON THE BRAKE, IT TELLS THE VEHICLE THAT YOUR PRESSING THE BRAKE TO START THE VEHICLE. THE PART WAS BACK ORDERED SO NISSAN AS A WHOLE HAD ZERO BRAKE SWITCHES TO REPLACE MY BAD ONE. I EXPLAINED TO THE NISSAN SERVICE REP THAT IM IN THE MILITARY AND I NEED MY VEHICLE TO DRIVE ME TO DIFFERENT DUTY LOCATIONS AND ALSO I HAVE COURT ORDERED CUSTODY IN WHICH I HAVE TO DRIVE 424 MILES TO GO SEE MY DAUGHTER AND THAT PARTICULAR WEEKEND I NEEDED MY VEHICLE TO DRIVE TO SEE HER. THE REP ADVISED ME THAT HE WOULD TAKE ONE FROM A NEW VEHICLE AND PLACE IT INTO MINES SO I COULD GO SEE MY DAUGHTER. BECAUSE HE DID THAT, THE MAINTENANCE WAS UNDOCUMENTED. AT 21,254K MILES THE PART FAILED AGAIN. CAUSING MY VEHICLE NOT TO START (IT WAS START RANDOMLY). WHEN IT DID START, I WAS NOT ABLE TO SHIFT MY VEHICLE OUT OF PARK OR SOMETIMES IF I DID GET IT INTO PARK, I COULDNT SHIFT IT FROM DRIVE OR REVERSE, CAUSING A MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN. ALSO WHILE DRIVING THE CARS ANTI-COLLISION BRAKING SYSTEM, WHICH WAS INCORPORATED WITH THE SWITCH, WOULD SUDDENLY CAUSE MY VEHICLE TO BRAKE (EVEN WHILE DRIVING 70MPH ON THE HIGHWAY). SOMETIMES THE VEHICLE WOULDN'T GO OVER 30MPH. I WAS ABLE TO GET THAT FIXED UNDER WARRANTY. THE PART FAILED AGAIN AT 62,155K MILES AND AT 129,025K MILES. THE LAST TIME THE PART FAILED I ASKED THE NISSAN SERVICE REP IF THERE ANYTHING NISSAN CAN DO BECAUSE I CANT KEEP PAYING FOR THIS PART TO KEEP FAILING. I NEED MY VEHICLE TO SEE MY DAUGHTER AND TO TRAVEL FOR THE MILITARY. HE ADVISED ME TO CALL THE NISSAN CORPORATE, I CALLED AND THEY STARTED A CASE BUT THE NEXT DAY I WAS ADVISED THAT THEY COULDN'T DO ANYTHING.
RADAR SENSOR FOR AEB AND FCW MALFUNCTIONING, TURNING OFF AT RANDOM SITUATIONS, BRAKING WHEN NO VEHICLE IS NEAR, FALSE ALERTS CROSSING RAIL ROAD TRACKS, ETC. TOOK TO NISSAN DEALERSHIP UNDER WARRANTY BUT ISSUE WAS NOT FIXED SINCE THEY CLAIM TO BE BECAUSE OF POTENTIAL PRIOR CRASH. VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPORTED IN A CRASH, AND AEB IS MALFUNCTIONING CONSTANTLY TO THE POINT WHERE IT MAY BE UNSAFE INSTEAD OF A SAFETY FEATURE.
THE FEB. FORWARD EMERGENCY BRAKING RADAR KEEPS DISABLING WITH THE RADAR CLEAR
THE CAR WILL NOT START USING PUSH TO START WITH THE BRAKE PEDAL DEPRESSED. THE CAR IS AN AUTOMATIC AND THE PROBLEM IS DUE TO A FAULTY STOP LIGHT SWITCH. THE SAFETY CONCERN IS THAT THE BRAKE LIGHTS ARE NOT FUNCTIONING CORRECTLY AND IS A SAFETY CONCERN. THIS SEEMS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM AND THE CAR IS LESS THAN 2 YEARS OLD.
THE VEHICLE IS FREQUENTLY NOT RECOGNIZING THAT THE BRAKE IS DEPRESSED. THE BRAKES WORK FINE BUT WITH THE CAR NOT RECOGNIZING THE BRAKE IS DEPRESSED, IT WILL NOT START (AS IT IS A PUSH BUTTON START AND THE BRAKE NEEDS TO BE DEPRESSED FOR THE CAR TO START). ALSO BECAUSE OF IT NOT RECOGNIZING THAT THE BRAKE IS DEPRESSED, IT OCCASIONALLY WILL NOT SHIFT OUT OF PARK. ADDITIONALLY BECAUSE THE VEHICLE DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THAT THE BRAKE IS DEPRESSED, THE BRAKE LIGHTS DO NOT WORK WHICH IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE AS OTHER VEHICLES DO NOT KNOW THAT THE CAR IS BRAKING. IT HAPPENS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STATIONARY AS WELL AS WHEN IT IS BEING DRIVEN BOTH AT LOW SPEEDS AND HIGHWAY SPEEDS. THE BRAKE LIGHT SENSOR I BELIEVE IS TO BLAME FOR ALL OF THE ABOVE ISSUES. APPARENTLY IT IS FAIRLY COMMON WITH NISSAN ALTIMAS AND OTHER NISSAN VEHICLES AS WELL. THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL ON THAT PART AS IT CREATES UNSAFE CONDITIONS. THE CAR IS LESS THAN 2 YEARS OLD AND HAS 34,000 MILES ON IT. I TRIED TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT WITH MY DEALERSHIP WHERE THE CAR WAS PURCHASED NEW BUT THEIR FIRST AVAILABLE APPOINTMENT IS 6-8 WEEKS AWAY. I AM BRINGING IT INTO ANOTHER REPAIR FACILITY TOMORROW AS IT NEEDS TO BE FIXED URGENTLY AND CANNOT WAIT MONTHS.
THE FRONT RADAR IS FAULTY AND IS CAUSING ISSUES WITH THE FRONT EMERGENCY BRAKING (FEB). THERE IS A NOTIFICATION THAT SAYS "FEB UNAVAILABLE: FRONT RADAR OBSTRUCTION". THIS IS CAUSING A REGULAR DISTRACTION TO THE DRIVER AND ALSO POSES IN A RISK THAT THE VEHICLE MAY AUTOMATICALLY BRAKE UNEXPECTEDLY OR NOT BRAKE IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION.
A WARNING IN THE DASH THAT SAYS, 'FRONT RADAR UNAVAILABLE DUE TO OBSTRUCTION.' THE VEHICLE DOES THIS WHILE IN MOTION. THE VEHICLE HAS 52190 MILES ON IT AT THIS TIME. THE WARNING WILL RESET WHEN TURNING OFF THE CAR AND RESTARTING. THERE ARE NO ITEMS OBSTRUCTED. NISSAN DEALERSHIP STATED VERY COMMON AND REPLACING A LOT OF THEM. $1200 IS THE COST OF REPAIR QUOTED AND THE SERVICE ADVISOR KNEW THAT WITHOUT LOOKING IT UP. THIS HAS TO DO WITH THE RADAR SENSOR THAT IS USED FOR THE AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING SYSTEM.
INTERMITTENT FRONT RADAR. WARNING MESSAGE WILL APPEAR STATING "FRONT RADAR UNAVAILBLE DUE TO OBSTRUCTION" WHEN THERE IS NOT AN OBSTRUCTION, THEN THE SYSTEM DEACTIVATES THE AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING. AFTER A FEW MINUTES, THE "OBSTRUCTION" IS CLEARED AND THE SYSTEM RESUMES FUNCTIONALITY. THIS WILL REPEAT QUITE OFTEN. WHILE I OWN A NISSAN ALTIMA, IT APPEARS THIS IS AN ISSUE IN THE NISSAN SENTRA, AS WELL.
FRONT RADAR OBSTRUCTION GOES OFF. RECENTLY IT CAUSED PROBLEMS WITH MY ABS TO NOT WORK AND DISENGAGE AT TIMES. COULD BE DRIVING ON AN EMPTY ROAD AND IT WILL GO OFF.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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