2.8

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
52,108 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 2005 Nissan Armada:

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

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #36

Jun 252010

Armada

  • 12,311 miles
3/28/2006 when braking there is intermittently a pulsation,75% decreased braking ability, brake light on. Braking decrease is a hazard! : dealer found steering wheel shakes when braking. Installed updated brake kit & brake judder bulletin. Still occurring every once in a while...once ever several months, but cannot reproduce exact symptoms at dealer. 10/20/2008: When braking there is intermittently a pulsation, decreased braking ability, brake light on. Symptom appeared and stopped at local mechanic. He tested car, but symptoms disappear when car shut off and restarted. Dealer found no codes present. Not able to reproduce problem. Performed tsb 06-040 and advised it may not fix problem. Software updated and problem seemed to be resolved until 6/25/2010: When braking there is intermittently a pulsation,75% decreased braking ability, brake light on. Braking decrease is a hazard! reading about same problem in forums without a good solution. Hate to be a death or injury to get this problem noticed. Will take back to the dealer, but expect the same "not sure it is fixed" response.

- Lederach, PA, USA

problem #35

Oct 112009

Armada

  • 60,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Armada. The contact was decelerating to exit the freeway when she heard an unusual grinding noise. She attempted to engage the brakes but to no avail. She then moved the vehicle off the roadway and shut off the engine. When restarting, the vehicle resumed normal operation. The dealer performed a diagnostic and discovered that the vehicle computer would need to be reprogrammed to repair the braking system. The vehicle was left with the dealer awaiting repairs. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 60,000 and the current mileage was 110,000.

- Richmond, TX, USA

problem #34

May 192010

Armada

  • miles
While driving the brake (not mashing the brakes)light comes on and the brake sounds as if it is grabbing. Vehicle has little brakes. Vehicle has to be turned off and restarted to resolve problem. The problem is intermittent. It has been to the dealership a few times and they cannot find anything wrong.

- Pasadena , TX, USA

problem #33

May 122010

Armada

  • 49,000 miles
Multiple brake failures with my 2005 Nissan Armada. Nissan motor America is well aware of the serious safety defects in my vehicle but will not honor the 2 times of a major system failure to replace the vehicle. This is the 4th time I have had a major brake failure on the vehicle including its systems and computer components. Parts have been replaced in my vehicle 4 times. The last time, I was assured by a dtc from California who flew up to wa who authorized the replacement of the entire braking system which failed again "it would never happen again". multiple failures on the diagnostics revealed codes which was again authorized the replacements of parts from a Consumer Affairs regional manager: Codes: Vehicle dct C11110-controller failure, P1832 tcs op signal, P1831-vdc op signal, P1828 -line pres. In short, master vaccum, master cylinder, ABS control unit, all were replaced again. Nissan fp numbers: 47660-zq21B actuator assy. 47210-zc01C master vac assy, 46010-7S20A cyl brake master, wiring connectors, brake fluid...etc, etc. This is another failure attempt for Nissan to skirt the seriousness of this issues of my vehicle and hundreds of others if not thousands. Service advisor from town Nissan in wenatchee mentioned that the rotors has been turned. Work not performed. Lied to me as a customer. Now I have major break fade from my vehicle being tested from the dealership to try and duplicate the failure initially and road testing it for proper function. The first 3 brake failures occurred within the first 2 years of the vehicles life. 3200 miles - rotors failed, 5800 miles-major brake failure all components replaced. 13,000 miles-another major brake failure, parts replaced again, 22,000 miles rotors warped & replaced. 28,000 miles, brake failure again, major systems replaced again. 49,000 miles again brakes failed. Major systems replaced. When will Nissan listen" after a death in a school zone? crosswalk? myself" replacement of parts is a poor attempt for Nissan.

- Moses Lake, WA, USA

problem #32

Apr 282010

Armada

  • 47,220 miles
I'm driving less than 5 miles in the school parking lots and all suddenly my brakes make a loud noise and the brake lights turn on. I had to turn my car off and turn it back on. This is unsafe for my family while this incident happened, my daughters were in the car with me. I was afraid for the life of my daughters. This incidents regarding the brake happened to me more than 5 times already. Nissan should had this recall. I had my mechanic check it out, he gave me a code C1179 delta stroke sensor signal fault meaning the brake booster and ABS unit.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #31

Dec 012009

Armada

  • 40,000 miles
Brake lock up while driving resulting in abrupt stop of vehicle.

- Spring, TX, USA

problem #30

Nov 262006

Armada 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 45,860 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Armada. While driving 10 mph and engaging the brake pedal, it failed to respond. Prior to the failure, he heard a grinding and knocking noise. He was forced to use the emergency brake to slow the vehicle down. He was able to safely drive onto the emergency lane and shut the engine off. Within a few minutes he turned the vehicle on and the brake system began functioning normally. The dealer was contacted and stated that there were no recalls. The failure has occurred twice. Nissan corporation gave him a claim number and advised him to have the vehicle diagnosed and repaired at his own expense. The vehicle has not been repaired. The contact is familiar with other related year, make and model vehicles with the identical failure. The failure and current mileage was 45860. Updated 2/26/10 updated 05/11/10.

- Fairfield, FL, USA

problem #29

Nov 042009

Armada

  • 78,000 miles
Vehicle: 2005 Nissan Armada failure: Complete failure of the brake system incident: While driving lost complete brake system, leaving me with no ability to stop the vehicle. The problem resolved itself by restarting the vehicle. Resolution: I took the vehicle to the dealer and was told they could not repeat the issue and that they would "reflash" the ECM that "should" correct the problem. After researching this I found many other owner of 2004 - 2007 Nissan Armada and titan vehicle had the same problem. The problem is best described as an intermittent complete failure of the brake system that is resolved by restarting the vehicle. After many complaints to Nissan and the dealer they decided to replace the power brake booster saying that any component failure that causes this must be contained in the brake booster. They also stated that they have replaced other customers brake boosters with the same problem. This is a major safety issue that Nissan needs to make there customers aware of!!!!

- Lenexa, KS, USA

problem #28

Jun 192009

Armada

  • 61,000 miles
I have a 2005 Nissan Armada. While driving the ABS and emergency brake light would start flashing. When I come to a stop the braking system starts to make a loud grinding noise like the ABS has kicked in and wont disengage. The only way to temporarily correct this is to shut the vehicle off and then restart the vehicle. This has been identified as a recall for Nissan Armadas 2004 and older.

- College Grove, TN, USA

problem #27

Jul 012009

Armada

  • 60,100 miles
I have a 2005 Nissan Armada. I was driving and starting to brake when all of a sudden my brake light came on and a loud grinding noise was heard from the front of my Armada. I almost lost braking capability. I applied the brakes again and the same thing happened with the loud noise and limited braking ability. I pulled over on the side of the road, turned the vehicle off and restarted the truck and the problem was gone for that moment. A few weeks later, it happened again, so I took it into the Nissan dealer and they told me it was a code error and it had been reset (it was still under warranty then). Well, it has since happened about 10 more times. I had my husband take it to another Nissan dealer and they told him it was the brake booster, and would cost approximately $900 to fix. We did not pay the money to have fixed. The last incident was this morning with my two small daughters in the truck with me. I was in 3 lanes of traffic and was starting to apply the brakes, when the brake light came on and the vdc light and two other panel lights. This morning, it was the worst it had been since it started. I normally have a little bit of brakes, but this morning when I tapped the brakes, it brought the vehicle to a complete sudden stop in 3 lanes of traffic, then, I let off the brake and tried to ease up and reapply the brakes and it brought it to a complete stop again. I turned the truck off and it cleared itself. I called my husband and told him. Once I got to work, I started to do some research and I find that I am not the only person experiencing this problem! I count myself lucky this morning that I was not rear ended because I had my two small daughters in my truck with me!!!! Nissan needs to do something about this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Cape Coral, FL, USA

problem #26

Jun 242009

Armada

  • 37,000 miles
I have a 2005 Nissan Armada, and when I drove the SUV and suddenly I heard the brake make a grinding loud noise and the brakes locked in. Then the brake light turns on and the master cylinder for the brake system just locked in. I was driving 15 miles in the parking lot. I then changed the brake fluid and master cylinder. The brakes still locked in.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #25

Jun 242009

Armada

  • 37,000 miles
2005 Nissan Armada, when I was driving the SUV and suddenly the brake lock in. The master cylinder for the brake system just locked in and the brake light is on. I replaced the brake fluid in the reservoir and it is still the same. I also replaced the master cylinder.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #24

Jun 172009

Armada

  • 35,000 miles
I have a 2005 Nissan Armada and the brakes have been giving me problems since I bought the SUV. Initially it was only warped rotors and excessive brake pad wear, but now the brakes have nearly failed on me three times. When I applied the brakes, it appears that the anti-lock brakes kick in, the brake pedal depresses further, and a loud groaning noise can be heard emanating from the brakes. This problem has occurred three times in the rain under very moderate braking condition (parking lot conditions) and when the parking brake has been used due to parking on a hill. When the event occurs the parking light, the slip, and vdc lights comes on.

- Lincoln University, PA, USA

problem #23

May 262009

Armada

  • 31,551 miles
We have a 2005 Nissan Armada (which was purchased new) it has had an issue where the "brake" light comes on and there is rapid pulsating/grinding noise from the brake system. During this event, the brake stopping distance is severely impacted and braking is dangerously inconsistent. We have brought vehicle into Nissan dealer and been told because there "is no current stored code" they could not do anything for us and that we needed "to drive the vehicle in while this event occurred", so they could see what happened. There is no way it would be remotely safe to do so!!!! Nissan you are requesting a very unsafe procedure!!!!!! each time this brake issue has happened (at least 6 with my wife and 1 with me), we were fortunate enough to pull the vehicle over and turn it off. In doing so it appears the vehicle "reset" and once turned back on the vehicle appeared to operate properly. Here are our occurrences: - once on/or around 9/2005- didn't think much at this point as we already had heard about issues with rotors and thought that was connected - 4/23/2007- went to dealer - 8/13/2008- called dealer told to drive it in while it was happening by dealer - right before 10/8/2008 on 10/8 we brought into dealer for this problem and a couple other issues - 5/14/2009 - 5/18/2009 - 5/26/2009 it happened to me with both of my grade school boys on vacation in rush hour traffic in northern California. The vehicle had a very clear issue and I had to make some tough traffic negotiations to get off of the freeway. Once off I turned off the vehicle and sat there for a short period of time. I turned it back on and luckily made it to my destination without further incident. I will be speaking with the Nissan dealership again, to give them one last chance to try and fix this issue. They have done nothing as of yet and appear to lack any interest in fixing this problem. Take a look at any forums or car complaint web-sites there are numerous such complaints for same issue.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #22

Jun 122008

Armada

  • 72,334 miles
I was coming to a stop light and all of a sudden, the brake light indicator light on the dash came on, the vehicles brake system was acting erratic every time I pressed on the pedal. Seems like the ABS took over and assumed that the vehicle was loosing traction. The light stayed on and so was the problem with the brake system as I pressed the brake pedal. I pulled over to the curb and turned off the car, walked around assuming something was under the car and there was nothing. Started the car and the and the brake light on the dash went away and so did the problem. This has happened to me twice and is very unsafe when driving in traffic. There is a forum on nissanhelp where this issue has happened to many people and the problem is not resolved when the vehicle is taken to the dealership to get the problem fixed. Please help with this issue as it is unsafe to drive the vehicle because the light comes on unexpectedly and goes away when the vehicle is restarted and untraceable.

- Vallejo, CA, USA

problem #21

Dec 012008

Armada

  • 23,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Armada. The contact stated that the brake light constantly illuminates on the instrument panel and he heard a loud noise coming from the front end of the vehicle. The stopping distance has increased because brake pressure is lost. The failure was noticed while driving 40 mph. He normally pulls over to the side of the road and turns off the vehicle to allow the ABS light to reset. The dealer stated that the vehicle needed brakes and the ABS was not at fault. The dealer did not replace the brakes or diagnose the failure. The failure mileage was 23,000 and current mileage was 35,000.

- North Valley Streem , NY, USA

problem #20

Mar 232009

Armada

  • 34,000 miles
Brake light comes ABS fails and makes grinding noise. When I shut the car off it resets the computer light goes off then its back to normal.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #19

Jul 012005

Armada 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 24,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Armada. When the brake pedal was depressed, the contact heard a grinding noise followed by reduced braking ability. Also, while in traffic, the electrical parking brake spontaneously engaged itself and caused the vehicle to come to a complete halt. The dealer stated that she would have to pay $600 to repair the parking brake. Currently, the vehicle has not been repaired. The manufacturer did not assist. The failure mileage was 24,000 and current mileage was 41,000. Updated 05/13/09 the consumer stated repairs have been made on the brake system 8 times. Updated 05/13/09.

- Riverside, CA, USA

problem #18

Feb 022009

Armada

  • 28,000 miles
Backing out of a driveway, I pushed on the brakes softly and it sounded like a deep, mechanical groan. I didn't really think anything of it until I reached my first stop. I applied pressure on the brake and the sound was there again. My children were in the vehicle and they kept asking what was wrong with the car. I decided it would be safer to take neighborhood side-streets. I proceeded very, very slowly because the breaks were unpredictable at that point. I was scared to apply all the pressure because I was afraid that if I pressed as I normally do, the brakes would just give out, so I pushed on the brake very lightly, which only made it worse because the softer I pressed the less it functioned, the pedal just kept going down- making that deep metal-grinding noise, it took a while for the breaks to actually kick it and stop the vehicle. I drove on egg-shells the rest of the way home, thank goodness there was not much traffic at the time, otherwise I would have been in serious trouble. I fear this happening in the freeway because that would be tragic- especially with children in the car.

- La Palma, CA, USA

problem #17

Jan 302009

Armada

  • 72,461 miles
Regarding 2005 Nissan Armada brake issue...I was driving reaching to the speed of 35mph and when I came to a stop at intersection I notice that my brake light was on. Applied the brakes and there was no brakes. You could hear noise coming from the front end like metal grinding. I pulled over the a parking lot and check under the hood to see if the brake fluid was low, but it was full. Drove the car the elk grove Nissan and told them what had happened. In response, they told me that they can not find a problem and continue driving the car until the light comes back on and drive it directly to the dealership so they can pull the cold. I told them that they are crazy, because this is a safety issue and I can put my life in danger by driving the SUV there without proper brakes. They told me at the time, they can not help me until the light comes back on. I asked the dealership to see if there's a recall or bulletin out for this and they told me no. Further investigation needs to follow up on this because tons of people who owns this model could die from accidents due to the SUV having this problem. Also, proper protocol needs to be follow with the mfg and dealership regarding this issue. Please advise. This matter needs to be address to the dealership and fix the darn problem before many lives are lost due to this matter. They need to seek proper procedures before a big law suit is in place.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

Read the next 16 complaints »