10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
8 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 0
Average Mileage:
94,872 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2004 Nissan Armada:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #64

Feb 182004

Armada

  • 48,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Armada. The contact stated that while driving approximately 15 mph, the brakes were applied and failed to respond as the brake warning light illuminated. The contact mentioned that failure would recur intermittently. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the failure was unable to be replicated. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 48,000 and the current mileage was 75,600.

- Evans , GA, USA

problem #63

Mar 152014

Armada 4WD 8-cyl

  • 121,655 miles
Applied brakes, brake light went on ABS stopped working, brakes groan. They work at 10 %. please see youtube enter Armada brake system problem. There are 100's of complaints for the exact same failure. There is a problem in the brake booster. Once you shut off the vehicle and restart it the ABS resets until the next occurrence. This has occurred many times over the years, this system failure will cause death if not addressed.

- Jamaica, NY, USA

problem #62

Mar 012014

Armada

  • 60,000 miles
On multiple occasions, when hitting the brakes, the brake light would come on. The brake pedal becomes soft and springy, lose about 50-75% of the braking power of the vehicle. I am afraid that this would happen while my wife is driving, and this may cause her to panic and have an accident.

- Spring, TX, USA

problem #61

Mar 032014

Armada

  • 137,766 miles
My wife was driving about 30 mph in the evening and all of a sudden with no accident no fender bender or bump the side airbags deployed for no reason, shaken and scared she called me to inform me of the situation, thankfully my kids were not in the car at the time! I began to do research and found that I wasn't the only one, this airbag sensor that is bad on all Armadas were recalled except the 04 model according to Nissan customer service, so initially I was appalled, the nice lady at Nissan said that in order for me to do anything further I would have to pay for a diagnostic out of my own pocket like the other poor guy on here who paid and was out of a vehicle for about 3 weeks just to end up in a situation where they won't do anything about it after they find that the sensor states vehicle was in a roll over accident even though it wasn't!!! what are we as consumers to do in a bad situation like this? car has about 137766 miles driven.

- Stockton, CA, USA

problem #60

Nov 142012

Armada

  • 95,000 miles
Brake lights came on and when I hit the brakes, they made a springy noise and went to the floor. We ran off the road on the interstate because traffic was backed up and slow and was afraid I was going to hit the car in front of me. No damage to any vehicle other than one of my tires blowing due to the rough terrain.

- Franklin, IN, USA

problem #59

Feb 172014

Armada

  • 11,000 miles
I was pulling out of the gas station, when I applied the brake it began making a popping sound, the pedal went all the way to the floor and brake light came on. It almost caused an accident. I pulled over turned it off then turned it back on and the brake light went off. I was able to drive home with no other issues. Today I was backing out of the driveway and the same thing happened. There is something wrong with the brake system. I can't believe something hasn't been done with all of the similar complaints. I went to get it checked and they can't find the issue. Please look into this before a fatality occurs.

- Cape Coral, FL, USA

problem #58

Feb 012014

Armada

  • 89,000 miles
Brake light came on and brakes made a springing sound and car wouldn't stop!!! it's the delta stroke sensor and this is not first complaint. These vehicles need to be recalled. They R a death trap!!! someone is gonna be seriously hurt or killed!

- Lexington, SC, USA

problem #57

Jan 092014

Armada 8-cyl

  • 92,000 miles
Driving on surface streets going approximately 35 mph when a thud sound came from under the car and the brakes when pressed screetched and were mushy and not effectively stopping the car, in addition the parking brake light on the dash light up but was not engaged. I was able to pull to the side of the road and come to a stop by repeatily lightly pushing on the brake and just letting the momentum of the car die down. Once stopped I turned off the car and looked under the car for any sign of damage or leaks and popped the hood of the car to do the same. Found no evidance of any damage or problems. When I turned on the car the light on the dash was off and the brakes when pressed became hard and no sound came from the brakes and the brakes worked as they should.

- Fresno , CA, USA

problem #56

Dec 032013

Armada

  • 105,000 miles
Amazing how many complaints on the Armadas "without warning" brake failure and yet still no investigation" is it because of the class action suit against Nissan for this very thing? are you not responsible for the safety of people" I thought that was the purpose of this organization. Disappointing that you are still waiting for someone to die before anything is done.

- Helendale, CA, USA

problem #55

Dec 012013

Armada

  • 150,000 miles
Wife was driving on dry pavement, approaching turn. Brakes gave a grinding sound and failed almost completely. She was barely able to make the turn and enter a parking lot where it eventually slowed to a stop.

- Santa Clarita, CA, USA

problem #54

Nov 122013

Armada 4WD 8-cyl

  • 74,500 miles
I was approaching an intersection with a stop light what was red. There were 4 cars ahead of me. When I applied the brakes, my feet also hit the accelerator pedal at the same time. The car jumped forward and hit the car in front of me and also pushed it into another car resulting in a multi car accident. My car sustained minor damage but two of the other cars had significant damage. This was the second time that this occurred to me with this vehicle. The other time was a similar situation where I was approaching a stop sign. Fortunately, no one was in front of me. In both incidents, I was wearing western style boots. But it could have easily happened with work boots. I believe that the placement of the brake pedal is too close to the accelerator pedal. This vehicle also has adjustable brake pedals, which could also be a contributing factor.

- Belton, MO, USA

problem #53

Mar 232010

Armada 4WD 8-cyl

  • 77,000 miles
While driving my 04 Armada, the red brake light on the dash lit up. When I tried to stop and investigate the problem the brake pedal pulsed and the ABS system activated, as indicated by the grinding noises under the hood. Not truly grinding but that is the best way to describe what an ABS system sounds like when active. This happens sporadically. Could happen a few times in a day or it may not happen for weeks or months. The dealership claims to know nothing of the issue which makes me very suspicious. This is a fairly well known issue. They want to charge hundreds of dollars for diagnostic service for a problem I am sure they know how to fix. Meanwhile my vehicle may be very unsafe to drive and I have no other alternative as I cannot afford repairs, since they will not recall the vehicle, and I cannot afford to replace it.

- Hollister, CA, USA

problem #52

Oct 042013

Armada

  • miles
I have had the same problem in regards to the Nissan Armada brake light coming on without warning during driving. This has happened numerous times while on and off the freeway. I would turn the engine off and then back on and the brakes light would go off, resetting the braking system to normal function. This last time was enough and I finally took it into Nissan and they told me that it's a common problem with the brake booster, and it would be over $1000 to fix!! Nissan needs to be held responsible for this faulty sensor or part. Its extremely dangerous to drive this vehicle under these conditions. Thank goodness my wife and infant daughter have never been in the vehicle whenever this happened. Do better Nissan, I've had no other problems with the vehicle other than this.

- Manvel, TX, USA

problem #51

Jun 032013

Armada 4WD 8-cyl

  • 165,376 miles
The brakes do no work properly. The ABS engages sporadically and the brake light comes on. The braking systems does not work normally and there is a loss of brake function. When the vehicle is turned off, the issue resets and the brakes will work again.

- Omaha, NE, USA

problem #50

Sep 122013

Armada

  • 100,000 miles
I was driving on the freeway and my emergency brake light came on. As I exited off the freeway and tried to stop the brakes were making a terrible noise and failed me. It was very frightening as my car was not able to stop at all, thankfully I was able to use the transmission to slow the car by dropping down to first gear. I had my 2 children in the car and thankfully we were not in an accident although was very close as there were cars in front of me stopped at a light. When I came home we checked the brake fluid and pads and both were fine. When we turned off the car and turned it back on everything was fine and the problem did not reoccur. I have my car maintenance very regularly and this problem stumped our normal mechanic. I have since learned that this is a common occurrence among vehicles like mine and is apparently the break booster which Nissan will fix for $800. This is very disturbing that a car can lose complete control of its ability to break just like that with absolutely no warning then after I turn if off and back on be just fine. I believe this is a dangerous problem and the manufacturer needs to deal with this problem immediately before someone is seriously injured. I have no problem fixing the break booster but how is Nissan able to insure me this problem will not happen again? I feel very unsafe knowing at any time it could re occur.

- Edmonds, WA, USA

problem #49

Sep 012005

Armada 8-cyl

  • 1,000 miles
Brake jutter, grinding, shaking when braking. ABS vdl slip brake lights up on dash--unable to turn off. Stopping vehicle and restarting corrects the problem sometimes; other times the light stays on. Brake pads originally replaced early after purchase in 2005 when the vehicle was still under warranty. The vehicle is rarely driven--there is approximately 36K miles on the vehicle--but the problem has been persistent over the years when driven. Lately, I have been driving the vehicle more often and the problem is continuing and it is more apparent that there is a problem with the vehicle brakes. I am also experiencing problems with the lift gate as it recently stopped functioning when pressing the key fob or either of the switches inside the vehicle. I began opening and closing the lift gate manually and now it will not close securely, I.e., it is not getting that final seal when closed. In addition, the front passenger window no longer goes up or down and does not work when using the driver's or passenger switch. Finally, the driver's seat does not reset to the position programmed when the engine starts and turns off. I decided to research the internet today and was quite surprised to see that there are so many others who are experiencing the same problem with their 2004 amada. Called a local Nissan dealer today and they were well aware of the problem. Just as so many have written all over the internet, the dealer suggest that you bring the vehicle in when the brake light issue is displayed so that they can perform diagnostic test.

- Lamarque, TX, USA

problem #48

Aug 022013

Armada 4WD 8-cyl

  • 72,000 miles
2004 Nissan Armada brake issue. Driving down the road and the brakes start grinding and its hard to stop, emergency brake light comes on. Once I am able to slow down and pull over, I then restart the vehicle and the brakes go back to performing normally. This has happened numerous times since purchasing the vehicle. This most recent time happened while towing a 6500 lb load. Thankfully, no one was in front of us. I have done quite a bit of research on the Armada and titan forums and they reference ntp06-040 as well as a rather expensive brake booster replacement at close to $1000. This issue seems to be rather prevalent with the Armada model. The biggest issue is there is no warning when this issue will occur and I am a bit worried that it may cause an accident and/or injury.

- Cedar Springs, MI, USA

problem #47

Sep 042013

Armada 4WD 8-cyl

  • 73,000 miles
2004 Nissan Armada brake issue. Driving down the road and the brakes start grinding and its hard to stop. Then the E brake light comes on. Once I get pulled over and restart the vehicle it seems to be fine. This has happened twice getting very nervous to drive the vehicle. Worried about towing or high speeds this could be fatal.

- Lehi, UT, USA

problem #46

Sep 122011

Armada 4WD 6-cyl

  • 40,000 miles
While traveling on road (good conditions) the brake light (red) comes on and a grinding noise along with a moderate braking comes on without driver ever touching parking brake or foot brake. When brake is applied the vehicle comes to a sudden stop along with loud grinding noise. This grinding noise continues until the ignition is turned off then back on again. This happened more than a dozen times and I have brought it in for servicing but no resolution. This is a grave safety hazard.

- Guilford, CT, USA

problem #45

Aug 202011

Armada 4WD 8-cyl

  • 75,000 miles
I have a 2004 Armada I bought new in 2005. 08/2011 was the first time my ABS vdl slip lights came on as I was braking, along with a horrible grinding noise with my brakes. I was going about 20 mph and attempted to stop. My braking was impaired, and if I touched the brakes anymore, my foot would go to the floor. Not knowing what to do, after trying the brake several times (which was more grinding noises) I shut the car off, waited a few minutes and started with no further issues until 10/2012 when the exact same thing happened. This time I was going 40 mph on a 4 lane highway. I reported it to my Nissan dealer. They told me I had to drive it in when this was happening. Then 04/24/13 & 04/30/13 the problem recurred. On 04/24/13, I was driving 40 mph at the time that I attempted to brake. On 04/30/13, I was right by an auto zone when it happened. They read the code while lights were on, and said the code was 1179. Again, the same lights were on, and again, they turned off after restarting the car. I called Nissan service who told me again that they need to read the code with lights on. They stated 1179 "meant nothing to them" because it wasn't done at a Nissan dealer. I called Nissan Consumer Affairs who said they didn't know anything of this problem. 08/18/13 recurrence of same issue while driving downtown Chicago in stop and go traffic. Brought it in with no lights on to Nissan service (who have said I need the lights on to see what was wrong). Now all of a sudden they are telling me I need brake booster and to reprogram ABS = $1100. That should correct the problem, should is what they said at service. I called #2 Nissan service, who told me I just need the brake booster replaced. Called a third dealer, they stated I just needed the ABS reprogrammed.

- Genoa, IL, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »