972 of the 2,540 complaints filed about the Nissan Armada are about the braking system — 38% of everything owners reported. The worst model year for it is 2004.
972
Complaints
38%
Share of all complaints
37
Crashes
4
Fires
SERVICE BRAKES
The ecm tells the abs to kick on the parking brake causing it to not have brakes while driving down the road unless you pull over and turn the car off and back on.
NHTSA complaint #11758356 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
The contact owns a 2022 Nissan Armada. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced abnormal battery drain, and the vehicle failed to immediately start. The contact stated that the ABS warning light was illuminated during the failure. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The battery was fully charged at the dealer, and the following day the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
NHTSA complaint #11758029 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES
I am reporting recurring failures involving the vehicle's electronic control systems. These issues have been documented with the dealership on multiple occasions and a Nissan District Technical Service Manager (DTSM) has also inspected the vehicle. Nissan has not been able to replicate the issues as they are intermittent. Braking System: When sitting at a stop light, where I had my foot on the brake, I heard a pump/whooshing sound from the front of the vehicle while the brake pedal suddenly traveled to the floor. On two separate occasions, the pedal has also become rock-hard. The Nissan DTSM was not able to replicate and suggested that the brake pedal becoming hard or going to the floor is "normal", and that my car showed no codes, and there was no recommended action required--that as long as the vehicle stopped, it was not a problem. After the DTSM inspected the vehicle, the brake pedal went fully to the floor five consecutive times while backing out of a parking space. I heard the same pump/whooshing sound from the front of the vehicle. Because I was backing up slowly, and the brake pedal was not responding to me given it was going fully to the floor, it was unclear how much braking power I truly had. The pump continued to make noise as the first few times I pressed the brakes driving away. Engine/Transmission: When the gas pedal is released, the engine intermittently continues to rev, and not respond to throttle input as designed, requiring the use of the brake to force a shift. But, Nissan stated they are aware that there is "general dissatisfaction" with the transmission overall, and suggested I wait for a future software update in the hopes that it may address some of the concerns. Electrical/Integrated Components: Failures include side mirrors failing to open or lock into position when driving. Audio/Nav system: Once when driving in an unfamiliar area, the audio/sound went out, with no turn by turn (or radio) sound at all, forcing me to watch the screen.
NHTSA complaint #11747230 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES
Breaks suddenly went out and I couldn't stop. I had our kids in the car.
NHTSA complaint #11725415 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES
Infotainment system freezes and goes black. Braking system makes popping and clicking noises and have to press hard to stop the vehicle. Vehicle has been in the shop now 5 times and over 30+ days. The braking system failure has put my safety and others at risk to due to not being able to brake correctly.
NHTSA complaint #11724110 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES
On Saturday, February 7th, at approximately 1:00 PM, I was involved in a high-impact rear-end collision while driving cautiously with Adaptive Cruise Control and driver assistance systems activated, maintaining the distance set by the vehicle itself. When the vehicles ahead of me suddenly collided, my Nissan Armada did not brake properly. I am not stating that the braking response was insufficient — I am stating that the braking system failed to function correctly. Despite fully depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle did not decelerate in a normal or expected manner. Most importantly, there were no visible skid marks or braking marks on the pavement after the accident, which strongly indicates that the braking system did not engage as it should have. Any properly functioning vehicle under full brake application would normally leave visible braking evidence on the roadway. This did not occur. The impact was severe and resulted in extensive frontal damage, yet no airbags deployed, which further intensifies the concern regarding multiple safety system failures. This incident placed my life, the lives of my family members traveling with me, and the lives of others on the road at extreme risk. While there were no fatalities, there were minor injuries and significant emotional trauma, particularly for my [XXX] daughter, who is now fearful of riding in a vehicle. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11718783 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES
Earlier in the year the brake light (some times with slip and ABS) came on the dash and suddenly braking was diminished. There was a horrid grinding sound plus vibration under the pedal. I was on highway 17 (a dangerous mountain freeway in CA) going downhill and it was extremely scary as has a car full of friends kids and hardly any brakes. I braked as much as it would allow, down shifted and pulled to the side (which again if you google that highway people die all the time from idiot drivers/speeders/tight corners). I instinctively turned off the car and got out to check off something had gotten caught in my wheel but nothing. I turned the car on and the problem had gone so drove to the nearest garage but he couldn't find anything wrong. I called Nissan but they said they knew of no problems with breaking systems on the Armada and said to bring it in and pay for an expensive diagnosis. When I got home I googled it and found 100s of similar experiences with all sorts of repairs at Nissan that hadn't worked. Some say brake booster, others sensor, other reset or upgrade hardware. Not one actually fix so far but I did find a couple of lawsuits for the same reason so don't understand how this is not a recall. The second time I was in town so it wasn't too bad but hard to stop at the crossing for a pedestrian and today it went again going back up the mountain but luckily don't need to brake much going in that direction. If it can't be fixed and it involves brakes then surely this is a serious safety violation. I also noticed that others are having a similar problem with newer Armadas with a newly upgraded braking system from Nissan and another lawsuit is on file. How is this being ignored? My car is 20 and I was looking into another Nissan but if they don't stand by and honor their mistakes then I really have no faith in them
NHTSA complaint #11684631 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES
There is a common known issue with the Armadas that Nissan has not addressed, where you will randomly get a "BCI Malfunction" warning, sometimes corresponding to a warning about the ABS System. The car will not shift out of the current gear when this happens, until you turn it off and back on again. If you are really unlucky, like I am, this will progress to the car randomly applying the brakes and initiating hard stops, in traffic. This happened to me two days ago in traffic and I narrowly escaped an accident. I had to get the car towed home and it still intermittently does this. The brakes locked up so badly that the car was covered in smoke and appeared to be on fire. This is terribly unsafe, and Nissan needs to fix it, because it is more likely that an Armada owner WILL encounter this, than that they won't, and people are going to be injured and/or killed, if they have not already. This is very serious. Please help.
NHTSA complaint #11682708 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES
On July 29, 2025, while pulling into the driveway, my 2023 Nissan Armada experienced a complete electrical and brake failure. I put the vehicle in Park, and the entire dash and infotainment screen went black while the engine was still running. The vehicle began rolling forward even though it was in Park and bumped into the house. (Minimal damage thankfully) When I tried to stop it, the brake pedal went completely to the floor with no braking power at all. The shifter was locked in PARK, and I could not put it into Reverse or Neutral. I had to press and hold the Start/Stop button to turn the vehicle off. After restarting, everything returned to normal and I was able to then shift into reverse, but this is a major safety issue there was a total loss of braking and transmission control. Currently Nissan is telling me that it could have been because the car needed a “software update” and also can be caused by a “bad battery” and they have had several customers with similar break issues and electronic failure due to the battery. This is completely unacceptable and dangerous. My babies were in the car we were TERRIFIED!! Currently I just have a tow receipt as Nissan of Boerne still has the vehicle.
NHTSA complaint #11677388 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES
When driving home from work my car disengage cruise controlle and started flashing in my center concel BCI Malfunction. Since I makes it hard to start my car from time to time and it will randomly continue to flash BCI Malfunction
NHTSA complaint #11675801 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES
No start, no codes. Have replaced brake switch several times and it fixes it for a bit and then happens again. I have read several forums and it seems to be a commen issue but no recalls for fault. 2018 nissan armada platinum. Shouldn't have to keep replacing switch.
NHTSA complaint #11667327 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES
Break pressure sensor is bad, the car will intermittently not crank. If car is in park it will not go into gear. It’s as if the break system can not build up enough pressure for the car to register the breaks are being pressed
NHTSA complaint #11660939 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES
Bci message appears on dash. Then a number of other dash lights (see picture attached)
NHTSA complaint #11657142 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES
BCI (Back-up Collision Intervention) Malfunction. It's random when this comes up on the dashboard warning lights. It lights up several other things as well. It doesn't allow you to use the cruise control, or the 4-wheel drive. It disables the ABS and traction control. I don't know how this is not a recall, because I see several forums talking about this issue for this vehicle specifically in this year. We took it to the dealership, and they brushed it off, and claimed they didn't know how to fix it. It has caused multiple problems and has put my family at harms risk due to it disabling the safety features.
NHTSA complaint #11654459 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES
BCI malfunction message, sudden braking, mulitple dashboard warnings lights
NHTSA complaint #11646626 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES
The vehicle won't start all the dashboard lights come on but the truck will not start I got a warning alarm message that the CBI has a malfunction .
NHTSA complaint #11639268 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES
Once in awhile when the brakes are applied there is a loud sound that sounds like ache large can being crushed, and the brakes don't work properly. The car sort of lurches to a stop rather than coming to a smooth stop. If the engine is shut off and turned back on nine times out of 10 the brakes will begin to work again but occasionally it takes a few times of restarting the vehicle. I contacted Nissan and they said that they would contact me back and they had a lawyer call me who really just wanted to interrogate me more than offer any kind of solutions or answers. I was able to look up online and see that there is or was a class action lawsuit and that it's a known problem with many Nissan armadas being the master solenoid. This seems to be a continuing safety issue and if someone were to have to come to a quick stop there's no warning that this is going to happen beforehand and would negate any kind of safety stop. This has been going on for many years and is extremely expensive to fix. Which puts it right out for most families to be able to afford fixing this and just having to lope along hoping that it isn't one of those times when the brakes are going to give out in an emergency. Given that Nissan contacted me with a lawyer shows me that they are afraid of what could happen but not yet concerned enough that enough people have died for it to be worth their while cost-wise.
NHTSA complaint #11636093 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES
You have to press the brakes really hard and they are loose.
NHTSA complaint #11631887 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES
We bought this Armada used about two years ago and it had about 85,000 miles on it then. On Monday August 26th 2024 my wife came home and as she pulled in to park the brake pedal went to the floor. The passenger side front steer tire inside was covered in brake fluid. I pulled it in to our garage and removed the tire and had her pump the brake pedal to find the fluid loss spot. Upon inspection I discovered the Steer tire had rubbed through the brake hose causing brake fluid loss. I replaced the hose and inspected the driver side to discover it was almost rubbed through to the cords inside the hose. It will be replaced too. I have saved the passenger side hose and will save the driver hose after I replace it. My pictures are of the passenger side front brake hose.
NHTSA complaint #11611553 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SERVICE BRAKES
My vehicle was having intermitten BCI (Backup Collision Intervention) malfunction lights on the dash. On one occurrence it caused my vehicle to slam on the brakes suddenly at 20mph, it is definitely a safety issue. I replaced both brake switches which solved it temporarily but now it is on constantly. It has been scanned with various Nissan scan tools and no errors are found. I have read endless forum posts of Armada owners having this problem and the dealerships are giving them the run around with no clear solution.
NHTSA complaint #11611048 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.