...7,500 miles and wouldn't you know it....brake problems. The steering wheel "shimmy's" and the brake pedal pulses, especially braking hard on the highway.

The dealer seemed to know what I was talking about, and I have an appointment to get them fixed.

I am guessing that the fix is going to be covered by Nissan. Has anyone had a different result?

Very common problem on the 04s and early 05s. The dealer will take care of it by installing new redesigned rotors on the front, turn the rear rotors, replace mounting hardware and pads. You won't have any problems then.

Very common problem on the 04s and early 05s. The dealer will take care of it by installing new redesigned rotors on the front, turn the rear rotors, replace mounting hardware and pads. You won't have any problems then.


Paid for by Nissan, correct?

Yes, its covered under the warranty. Nissan already knows about this.

100% warranty for 3 years and unlimited miles on our brakes. ;)

100% warranty for 3 years and unlimited miles on our brakes. ;)


That's what I like to hear!

My steering wheel also just started to "shimmy" again after about 30,000 miles on the replaced rotors and pads. Dealer is going to take care of it on Wednesday.

Kind of a long thread but.....

Just a side note- if you brake "hard" at highway speeds with any stock rotors, be it the upgraded version, or the original system you will run the risk of warping your rotors.

Stopping 6,000 pounds+passengers will give you limited life with any stock brake system, especially if you are "practicing" your emergency braking performance.

The steering wheel shimmy is pretty hard to avoid and common, "under certain circumstances, depending on the road surface and many other factors, as the ABS and traction control system go to work, on a hard stop, nearly all of the braking force is generated by the front brakes, probably close to 70-75%. This makes the front tires, especially the stock front tires, grab for traction in any manner possible. The shimmy should not be considered a "flaw," unless it is happening under normal braking. It can be caused by the transition of weight, coming from the of the rear portion of the car, giving up it's normal amount of traction, in order to bring your truck to a halt as soon as possible.

Several things are taking place which can cause a shimmy, in an emergency stop, first of all the ABS system is causing the rotors to "pulsate" many times per second, the traction control system on our trucks also factors in here. Depending on the circumstance, it can activate one caliper with more force than the others, to a large degree. In fact each caliper, has a "virtual" mind of it's own. The Armada's computer does everything possible to keep the truck, tracking, on "what it believes your intended direction of travel is." Thus, you have massive forces at play with the front tires, doing everything possible to bring you to a halt, in a quick, controlled manner. The shimmy can be a result of the tires, following ruts in the road, improper air pressure, the ABS/DBS and TCS reacting to several thousand inputs per second.

There are many factors at play, and the shimmy, in an emergency stop, or a simulated emergency stop, does not necessarily, mean your Armada is in need of service. (something to ponder upon)

The braking system on the Armada is nothing to sneeze at, it beats many coups and sedans, but repeated hard stops will easily warp your rotors.

If you're just practicing your driving skills, which is a good idea, simulate a hard emergency brake, come to a stop, and then release your foot from the brake pedal. The warping comes from very hot rotors, being squeezed together by calipers that put a tremendous amount of pressure on a small surface area, hence an enormous amount of heat is generated, during such stops.

If you do not release your foot from the brake pedal, within seconds of stopping you can easily warp the rotors, of most large SUV's, due to the fact that the brake rotor deforms, ever so slightly, between the calipers. Meanwhile, the rest of the rotor is cooling at a much faster rate of speed.

Nissan really stepped up to the plate to offer a 3 yr/36k warranty on the brakes, but just because they are slightly different does not mean they are "warp-proof."

If you really like high performance driving, and you love the truck, it's worth it to spend a few grand to purchase a brake kit. Even different pads and stainless steel braided brake lines will make a night vs. day, difference. A small upgrade such as this can be had for a few hundred bucks. You can even buy drilled or slotted brake rotors, which will fit right in place of the OEM rotors. Though, there are pros and cons to this route.

Have fun with your truck, if the "emergency stopping" shimmy really bothers you, you can try a high performance steering stabilizer shock, or for that matter, replace all four shocks, completely.

For under 2 grand, you can completely change the performance of the truck.

I would stick with the upgraded Nissan rotors.
Replace the stock brake pads, with some greenstuff pads.
Replace the stock brake lines, with kevlar or stainless steel lines.
Replace the front and rear sway bars with stillen products.
Replace the stock shocks, for better road gripping, and handling.
Last but not least, I would replace the stock tires.

If you perform even half of the upgrades listed above, your truck will perform like it's on rails. You will literally get "coupe" like performance in nearly all aspects. As is, the Armada is only a few seconds off the pace of my old 350z, on my favorite (3 mile uphill 8% grade) mountain course, the truck will easily reach speeds in excess of 80+, will allow for hard braking, with no, noticable fade (even when I drive the entire 28 mile road, at speed), down to 50, then back up to 90+, it's literally only a few miles per hour slower, in the twistys, than my 350z was.........and I have a very strong feeling that with the upgrades listed, above, it would be a very close match.

The 350Z is the best handling machine I have ever driven, in any price range, so comparing it to the Armada is quite a statement, that I'm sure many of you will disagree with, but I have timed the course for the last 15 years, on everything from GSXR-1000's, to a Ferrari F355, to the Mada. The 350Z beats the other's, but the Mada is really much closer, than one would expect, especially taking into account it's weight. It just has a great amount of torque, that works wonderfully.

I think when you get the "new generation" brakes installed, you'll be a happy camper. The Mada, certainly outperforms, the other SUV's I was looking at, in the 50k range, save for one, the Volvo XC90. It has a top speed, and will reach the top speed, of 155 mph, before the computer kills the fun.

But, forget taking it offroad. However, I would consider this vehicle far above all the talk about the 07 Escalade, crap. The Escalade can't hold a candle to the Volvo. For the same price as the mada, you can get built in bluetooth, for your phone, an Ipod dock, and 2 rear screen dvd monitors built into the back of the front headrests.....got a little off topic there, but, stay true to the Armada, it's a wonderful, wonderful truck, and is the best full size SUV, in my opinion. I bet people will be getting 300-400k, out of the engine and tranny. They are simply bullet proof......

Now go get your brakes swaped out, and go have fun at the stoplights, blowing nearly every other SUV out of the water!

Where can you fine shock/strut replacements? I have been trying to find OEM replacements locally and all of the dealer/installers tell me that those are still dealer items.

"I think when you get the "new generation" brakes installed, you'll be a happy camper. The Mada, certainly outperforms, the other SUV's I was looking at, in the 50k range, save for one, the Volvo XC90. It has a top speed, and will reach the top speed, of 155 mph, before the computer kills the fun."

I think we all tend to compare our new vehicles to past ones in terms of performance. For me, I had an '04 BMW X5 before the Armada. The BMW would stop straight as an arrow in a hard stop, even at 90 mph.

You mentioned the Volvo XC90. Our other car happens to be a Volvo V70 R (a 300 hp station wagon). Brembo calipers and pads...stops straight as an arrow as well.

Had the same problem around the same mileage. Nissan of course knows of this and they fixed it at no cost. Haven't had any problem so far....

same story here ... dealer said something about ... upgraded rotors were there, but the old pads ... they fixed everything up nice anyway .. no problem since .. and NO COST either ..