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Nearly Fatal Brake Failure

194K views 348 replies 113 participants last post by  marctronixx 
#1 ·
I found this forum over the weekend while recovering from a pretty bad wreck I had in my 06 Armada LE on Friday 9/12/08. A little Background first. A few weeks ago, my wife and daughter were driving the Armada. They came home, told me the brake light came on and they had a lot of front end "Shuddering" and a very difficult time bringing this behemoth to a stop. I went out, started the car....No Light. Drove around...No problems at ALL!!! checked the Brake Fluid, it was right at "Minimum so I topped it off. Now remember this was I think over a month ago. I am the primary driver, and this never happened to me........Until Friday 9/12/08. I was traveling on a back road at the posted 45mph. Very clear, sunny, dry conditions. As I approached a 2 way stop, I applied the brakes.........NOTHING! I careened through the intersection, hit the curb, plowed through an emergency barrier, and tore through some new sewer lines that had yet to be buried. my car almost rolled!!! To make matters even more interesting, I threw my Cigarette out the window, while trying to locate my cell phone to dial 911.....and SMELLED GAS!! the wreck had punctured my gas tank!! Any one with similar experiences I would LOVE to hear from you.

Thanks
 
#303 ·
10 years of experience with brake failure

Just another data point to consider. My 2004 Armada had had this brake defect since 2006. It happens a few times per year and always the same conditions.
Outside temp is at least 90 degrees outside, I'm idling with A/C running for a few mins or more. When I start moving again, I notice the brake light turns on, and I know what's next.
I look for an open spot if possible and start the braking process which involves stepping on brake petal and not knowing what will happen next. I get the clicking, clattering, bouncing springs, vibrating brake pedal, and just glad I'm not driving on ice, snow, or happen to be on the freeway.

Turning car ignition off, then restarting cures it every time. New battery or old battery makes no difference.

All 3 local dealerships near me still claim they have no idea about this 10 years later.

Still love my Armada though. Never had a car for over 4 years. This ones at 12.
 
#305 ·
I wish I had read all of this before I bought my 2008 Armada 3 weeks ago. Needless to say I ran into this same issue twice. The brake light comes on, brake pedal to the floor & horrible grinding sound. 2nd time was coming down a hill & into a school zone (20 mph) with kids in cross walk! I went to brake nothing. Thankfully I was in right lane; shifted into neutral & drove against curb. Its a miracle it stopped. Haven't driven it for the past week. Dealer saying brake booster & reprogramming for $1100. Should I fix or get rid of it? Dealer won't guarantee that it won't happen again after they do this & from what I've read here it may or may not work. I keep replaying the whole no brakes, school zone, kids in my head & worry it may happen again. I'm really disappointed because I've always wanted an Armada & found this "great deal".
 
#306 ·
Keep vehicle they are great. Only replace Booster the so called reprogram expanded the threshold for the Booster. Meaning it was less likely to come back that it had a bigger scope. Once you replace Booster you should be okay. Nissan Sent out tsb back in 2005 I believe stating Booster reprogram not Booster replacement but problem cam back when board had severe corrosion.
 
#310 ·
Thanks, Pops!

Is replacing the booster a guaranteed fix, or at least by most? Wife just called me livid about the brakes going out again while she was driving. Second time in the past three months, and the first times it has happened since buying our 2006 Mada new. She is now scared to drive it and I need to fix ASAP.

Also, does it matter if it's a re-manufactured unit or OEM/aftermarket? I need to order ASAP and the prices vary from less than $200 to over $400. Thanks so much.

BTW, just left a message for our regular service tech at Nissan. Doubt I'll get anywhere but reaching out to everyone for help. We also missed the class action suit last year, since we didn't have an issue then.
 
#318 ·
I got a card in the mail today about submitting a claim. I thought the deadline had already passed, but the notice says I have until August 19. Until just recently, I hadn't had any issue so I haven't been following this issue closely. My car has only done it once, in a parking lot, luckily.

Would the C1179 code be retained indefinitely? Is this something an aftermarket scanner would pick up, or only the dealer system?
 
#319 ·
Found this forum recently as I was dealing with another issue with the Armada. I stumbled upon this thread and the other one on "bad ABS" which I read with great interest since we had that exact brake failure on 2 different occasions last summer. The first time, my wife was a block away from home and she came back thinking something was terribly wrong with the brake system. (same typical issues described by everyone). Then it happened to me a few weeks later. I was just leaving the camp ground and only going about 10 mph. I remember it was very hot that day, like 95 degrees. I read this seems to have been a contributing factor for some people.

Following that episode, I thought it wouldn't hurt to flush the brake system since it was due anyway. I replaced and did a complete flush of the brake fluid by bleeding the calipers in the correct order. The brakes haven't acted up since. I obviously don't know if this helped or it is pure coincidence but I'm still concerned with this as it's going to be very hot up here in Ontario soon and it's camping season...

Like many others, I don't like having to deal with dealerships and do my own work on the truck but I thought I shouldn't take any chances and took it in 2 days ago to see if the system had potentially stored some codes. As suggested in several posts, I asked the dealer to check for codes and re-flash the ABS control module. Like most, they had never heard about the problem. It turned out, the computer hadn't stored any codes and they didn't reprogram the BCM and told me the TSB in question didn't apply to my vehicle. I had told them they wouldn't be able to duplicate the issue and they still tried to do a typical brake diagnostic to the tune of 130 dollars. I ended up having a discussion with the service manager who wasn't aware of the problem. I asked them to do some reading on this forum to see how common the issue is. They were at least good to deal with.

m3bs: not sure about the C1179 but there was nothing on mine(except the very popular airbags flashing light code) and I'm positive I had that exact same issue many complained about but were able to drive directly to the dealership. Also, I think an aftermarket reader could pull the codes if any provided it has ABS capabilities. My OBD2 reader doesn't hence why I took it in.

After reading most posts here on the issue, I realize that if it fails again, the best way to fix it for good is probably to replace the brake booster. I'll wait and see.
 
#320 ·
Mine did it again last night. Taking it in this afternoon. I explained the problem to the dealer, and waved the Banks vs. Nissan notification card at them and it seemed to at least get their attention. We shall see.

Other than the recalls for fuel level and cooling fan, this is the first time my '05 Armada has needed service at a dealer. I'd replace the booster myself, but I'm not 100% sure that would solve the problem, so I'm taking it in. I may even bring them a copy of NTB06-040 as a place to start.
 
#326 ·
My check arrived on Tuesday. I paid $1,200 for the repair and received $400 back. No idea how the compensation was determined and why people are getting checks of different values, but the car is long gone (replaced by a Cayenne Turbo S) so I guess getting anything is better than nothing.
 
#331 ·
I just experienced the brake loss issue this afternoon with my 2008 mada. Was driving and noticed my brake light was on. As I got near the light and pressed the brake I noticed a loss in brake power and hearing some kind of noise as I press the brake. Luckily I wasn't going too fast and was able to pull into a parking lot. I drive around in the lot a bit and i could hear a noise when I press the brake and some kind of grinding noise when I pressed on the brake to slow down. I shut off the engine and was about to call AAA and when I turned on the mada again...it was gone...WTH. I drove ended up just driving the couple miles home but took it easy. I'm so glad my family wasn't in the mada with me but now I'm scared to even drive them around in it.

I saw that many people had this issue but did Nissan fix it? What is the fix? I just got done spending $600 on getting my AC fixed yesterday then this happens.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
#334 ·
This describes to a T the situation of the failed Delta Stroke sensor in the braking system. The only true fix is to have that replaced, other wise, this will keep happening randomly and more frequently. After it happened to my wife, we took it in and paid to have it replaced (it was pre-lawsuit) and it never happened again while we owned the car. Though we replaced the QX56 with a modified Cayenne Turbo S back in 2016 that has 650 HP. There's no comparison between the two vehicles - power, ride, handling, etc all much better in the Cayenne, though it's obviously a smaller vehicle and does not have a 3rd row seat. Now we just throw a Yakima Skybox on-top when we need to haul more than the regular cargo area can handle.

The way Nissan first handled the inadequate brakes on these cars when they were released and then the safety issue with this Delta Stroke Sensor - I'll never buy another one of their products.

Good luck with the brake issue.
 

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#333 ·
I'll check the codes, but what would I be looking for visually?

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#339 ·
Armada Brake Issue

I have posted my experience with my O4 Armada. The break light coming on and the dramatically reduced breaking along with a terrible shutter are symptoms of an ABS computer issue. Take it to a dealer and tell them what happened. They need to re-flash your ABS computer. I would not let anyone but a Dealer do this because apparently there is updated programing to "fix" this. A small shop may not have the latest update. Cost is right at $100. After my ABS was flashed the problem was much improved but not eliminated. If you keep your car you should expect to have to manage this issue, while driving, in the future. Mine has gone various lengths of time, a few months to almost a year, between incidents and this always happens at pretty low speeds with enough brakes to safely manage it.
There was a class action that I believe has been settled but you might want to check. Good luck.
 
#342 ·
I have posted my experience with my O4 Armada. The break light coming on and the dramatically reduced breaking along with a terrible shutter are symptoms of an ABS computer issue. Take it to a dealer and tell them what happened. They need to re-flash your ABS computer. I would not let anyone but a Dealer do this because apparently there is updated programing to "fix" this. A small shop may not have the latest update. Cost is right at $100. After my ABS was flashed the problem was much improved but not eliminated. If you keep your car you should expect to have to manage this issue, while driving, in the future. Mine has gone various lengths of time, a few months to almost a year, between incidents and this always happens at pretty low speeds with enough brakes to safely manage it.

There was a class action that I believe has been settled but you might want to check. Good luck.
Wait...so it's not the brake booster that needs replacing...just the ABS needs reprogramming?

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#349 ·
this maybe in relation to the delta sensor. read this thread and here:


 
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