As approaching a stop light, brakes were difficult to "grab" and too extra pressure. Stop was rather slow, and anti-lock brakes appeared to kick in (by rough, staccato shaking typical of them applying). Only by pressing down as hard as I could did I prevent smashing into the car ahead of me. Dry, sunny Florida conditions, no sand or slipping at all, just slow, odd braking. Then the engine seemed to be revving a bit - faster idling than normal while at the stop light. We are not talking about speeding here, or sudden braking, just a normal approach to a known stop sign or light. This is a serious safety issue. This happened a couple times, then did not repeat for a couple months. Then, when it did repeat, I asked the dealer about it. Always at a stop light or stop sign, always in danger of smashing into the car ahead of me or entering too far into the intersection if I could not control the stop. They were completely puzzled, and could not duplicate it because, as I said, it is very sporadic. An ispection did not reveal anything. They laughed at me, saying it was totally impossible for the anti-lock brakes to kick in if there is no skidding. Ok, so what was it then? it sure as heck seemed like anti-lock brakes! (I come from up North and have experienced anti-lock brakes kicking in on snow covered roads...) since the initial reoccurrence, it went several months, about six, with no issues or repeats, then just the other day, it did it again twice more. I suspect it could be something to do with computer controls, rather than the brakes themselves, but I am no mechanic.

- Debary, FL, USA

Several times over the past few months and everyday for the past week, the car will not start during ignition due to the inability to depress the brake. The only way to get it to start is to repeatedly hit the brakes while pressing the start button. It never consistently works but eventually starts. After starting, the ABS, vdc, and slip warning lights are illuminated. There have been multiple reports of the same thing happening with this model from other owners. This poses a serious risk to health particularly in times where one may need to leave immediately. More often, it is an extreme inconvenience. The dealership service departments want to charge over $500 to repair something that is clearly defective and systematic. Please do something about this as many Altima owners are experiencing the same frustration that I have endured.

- Lawrenceville, GA, USA

My 2010 Nissan Altima has had difficulty starting. All the electrical components would come on but the engine wouldn't turnover. At first I could get it to start after a few tries (I would pump the brakes, slam the car hood, bang on the steering wheel). Then I noticed while driving the vds (traction control), ABS and parking brake light would remain illuminated while driving. This meant that my vds was not functioning and as such I lost control of my car several times on wet surfaces. On 4/22/2014 I tried starting my car and could not. I had it towed to a Nissan dealership (orr Nissan in corinth Texas) where the service manager informed me that it required a new brake light switch, harness and band hoses. He told me there was a Nissan service bulletin as this was a "known issue". so much so that Nissan had actually developed a more dependable brake switch. The service bulletin number is ntb10-139- which was released on November 23rd 2010. He told me to repair it was going to cost over $500. The faulty brake switch is a safety hazard as it causes the car to throw error codes which deactivates the traction control and ABS. Why has this not been a recall" why is a dealership charging 500 dollars to repair a malfunctioning component that shortly after the car was released, the manufacture acknowledged it was faulty? furthermore, based on my calculations the dealership is putting a 300% mark up on the parts required. Why would the NHTSA wait until somebody dies in a crash caused by the vds and ABS features not working before they force a recall/repair of this known issue" I am sending a copy of this to local and national news organizations.

- Lantana, TX, USA

2010 Nissan Altima. Consumer writes to inquire about keyless ignition

- Washington, DC, USA