First, let me say that I have had no engine troubles, no breakdowns, or anything of the kind on my Nissan. It drives fine, and I've only had it in the shop one time--for the problem I'm mentioning here. I bought the truck in 2006 and didn't notice the brake problem since that was my first vehicle purchase, and I did not do an extreme brake test (only casual stops). It wasn't until the next year that my dad noticed when he slammed on the brakes that you almost have to push the pedal to the floor to come to a stop. The pedal is very spongy and soft, and you have to push it repeatedly to get a firm pedal. The difference between my Frontier and my dad's Dodge Caravan is significant. His Dodge stops on a dime, the way a vehicle should stop. In my Nissan, if I slammed on the brakes, I know it wouldn't come to an immediate stop. It would gradually stop, which isn't good enough in an emergency stop. My dad went to school to be a mechanic, so he knows a lot about cars, and he did everything to the brakes he knew to do. He bled the brakes over and over again to get air out of the system, replaced the pads and shoes, and even replaced the master cylinder. He took it to Goodyear, where to my disappointment, they said there was nothing wrong with the brakes. I guess they just didn't know what to do because it's just a design flaw, but they could have at least admitted that the pedal was soft. I've driven my grandmother's Toyota and my sister's Mitsubishi, and both of them have a firm pedal, so I know this is not normal (although I've read of a lot of complaints from others for various cars). At first, I thought I just had a bad apple, but when I was looking for an SUV this year, to my surprise, a 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe and a brand new Kia both had the same soft pedal. I don't know if these are just design flaws with the ABS system since my brother-in-law's 2000 Nissan Frontier (pre-ABS) did not have this problem. I just know that I don't feel safe in it because it doesn't stop immediately.
First, let me say that I have had no engine troubles, no breakdowns, or anything of the kind on my Nissan. It drives fine, and I've only had it in the shop one time--for the problem I'm mentioning here. I bought the truck in 2006 and didn't notice the brake problem since that was my first vehicle purchase, and I did not do an extreme brake test (only casual stops). It wasn't until the next year that my dad noticed when he slammed on the brakes that you almost have to push the pedal to the floor to come to a stop. The pedal is very spongy and soft, and you have to push it repeatedly to get a firm pedal. The difference between my Frontier and my dad's Dodge Caravan is significant. His Dodge stops on a dime, the way a vehicle should stop. In my Nissan, if I slammed on the brakes, I know it wouldn't come to an immediate stop. It would gradually stop, which isn't good enough in an emergency stop. My dad went to school to be a mechanic, so he knows a lot about cars, and he did everything to the brakes he knew to do. He bled the brakes over and over again to get air out of the system, replaced the pads and shoes, and even replaced the master cylinder. He took it to Goodyear, where to my disappointment, they said there was nothing wrong with the brakes. I guess they just didn't know what to do because it's just a design flaw, but they could have at least admitted that the pedal was soft. I've driven my grandmother's Toyota and my sister's Mitsubishi, and both of them have a firm pedal, so I know this is not normal (although I've read of a lot of complaints from others for various cars). At first, I thought I just had a bad apple, but when I was looking for an SUV this year, to my surprise, a 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe and a brand new Kia both had the same soft pedal. I don't know if these are just design flaws with the ABS system since my brother-in-law's 2000 Nissan Frontier (pre-ABS) did not have this problem. I just know that I don't feel safe in it because it doesn't stop immediately.
- A C., Memphis, TN, US