2007 Nissan Altima Brakes Problems

The contact owns a 2007 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the ABS and TPMS warning lights illuminated and the vehicle started to stall. The contact saw smoke coming out from underneath the hood. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. An independent mechanic towed the vehicle to the contact’s residence. The independent mechanic then diagnosed that the transmission fluid and engine coolant were leaking over the engine compartment. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 07V267000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was not repaired. Additionally, the contact stated that upon attempting to start the vehicle, the brakes seized. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall related to the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 232,740.

As I was driving north on the 101 in the Carpinteria area, I attempted to brake for a construction zone slowdown. I had about 100ft to brake and was going 50mph compared to the 25mph of the cars up ahead. When I pressed the brakes, they did not fully engage and rather appeared to 'slip'. It felt like the brakes were engaged but not limiting the slow of the car in a significant manner. I rear-ended the car in front of me causing that car to hit the car in front of it. I could smell a strong burnt smell during and after the event. The car and brake piece are still available for inspection for another week or so until insurance is done investigating the car for the report, at which point it will be signed over to the scrapyard where it is currently being held (Steelhead Auto Recycler). This incident absolutely endangered my own life and the lives of the individuals of multiple vehicles around me. If I were going 10mph more than I was at the time I wouldn't be typing this message right now. I had absolutely no control over the speed of the car, and because of the construction there was no way to avoid the car in front of me. The lives of the family in the car in front of me were also especially endangered. The specific piece is not being inspected by the manufacturer or the police, although it possibly could be investigated once insurance does follow up with the report. There were no warnings that this was going to occur. In fact the car had its brakes checked just 2 years prior to this incident and it completely passed inspection with no concerns. Brake failure is not an experience I would wish on anyone in the world. It is absolutely petrifying in the moment and can result in devastation of so many lives.

WHILE APPROACHING THE GATE TO MY OFFICE PARKING LOT THIS MORNING, I ATTEMPTED TO COME TO A STOP WHILE THE GATE OPENED. AS I APPROACHED THE GATE, I COULD HAVE BEEN TRAVELLING NO FASTER THAN 4-5 MILES PER HOUR. THE BRAKES FAILED TO REACT. I FLOORED THE BRAKES, BUT TO NO AVAIL, AND CRASHED INTO THE GATE. FEARFUL OF THE SAFETY OF THE CAR, I HAD IT TOWED TO THE NISSAN DEALERSHIP, AND I WAS INFORMED THAT THERE HAVE BEEN PAST ISSUES WITH THE 2007 NISSAN ALTIMA MASTER BRAKE CYLINDER. AFTER CHECKING THE CAR, I WAS INFORMED THAT IT WAS A PROBLEM WITH THAT PART. IT HAD LEAKED INTERNALLY AND AT THE TIME I ATTEMPTED TO BRAKE THERE WAS SIMPLY NO MORE FLUID TO PROVIDE PRESSURE TO THE BRAKES. I ASKED IF THIS COULD HAVE HAPPENED AT ANY SPEED, AND WAS TOLD THAT IT COULD HAVE DONE SO. APPARENTLY THE NHTSA HAS DEALT WITH COMPLAINTS ON THIS BEFORE, BUT AS A SECOND OWNER OF THE CAR, I HAD NO IDEA THIS ISSUE WAS OUT THERE. HAD I HAD TO BRAKE AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED, THERE COULD HAVE BEEN SERIOUS CASUALTIES OR EVEN FATALITIES. PLEASE INVESTIGATE AND CONSIDER A RECALL OF THIS CAR. *TR

A WEEK AGO, MY BRAKES STOP WORKING, I HAVE TO PUSH THE BRAKES COMPLETELY TO THE FLOOR FOR MY 2007 NISSAN ALTIMA TO STOP. MY BRAKE LIGHT DID NOT COME ON CHECKED BRAKE FLUID STILL AND NORMAL LEVEL TOOK IT TO GET MY BRAKES CHECKED THE SAID IT WAS THE BRAKE BOOSTER. *TR

I STARTED MY CAR ON THE MORNING OF 11/21/2012 AND NOTICED MY BRAKE LIGHT (!) POP ON, I LOOKED IN THE MANUAL AND READ MY BRAKE FLUID MAY BE LOW, I CHECKED AND IT WAS LOW SO I ADDED SOME THE LIGHT IS STILL ON, I HAVE READ MANY COMPLAINTS THAT THE MASTER CYLINDER MAY BE BAD. *TR

MY BRAKE LIGHT KEPT COMING ON WHILE DRIVING. THE NISSAN DEALERSHIP SERVICE SAID THAT I AM LEAKING BREAK FLUID FROM THE BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER. THE IS IN REFERENCE TO THE ACTION #PE11020. *TR

I AM REQUESTING THAT DOT NHTSA INVESTIGATE THE DRIVER'S CONTRIBUTION TO A LEAK WITH THE MASTER CYLINDER AND TO REQUEST THAT DOT NHTSA FORCE NISSAN TO ISSUE A RECALL. THE VEHICLE IS 2007ALTIMA 27K MILES THIS LEAK CAUSES LOSS OF BRAKE FLUID. WHEN ENOUGH BRAKE FLUID IS LOSS, THE BRAKE SYSTEM IS NOT ABLE TO GENERATE ENOUGH PRESSURE TO SQUEEZE THE BRAKE PAD TO THE BRAKE ROTORS. END RESULT IS THAT THE OPERATOR OF THE VEHICLE CANNOT STOP THE CAR (NO BRAKES!!!). THIS POSES SERIOUS DANGER TO THE VEHICLE OPERATOR, ITS PASSENGERS AND THE PUBLIC. PLEASE FORMALLY INVESTIGATE AND WHEN FOUND VALID, FORCE NISSAN TO DO A RECALL. MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: IT STARTED WITH THE BRAKE LIGHT TURNING ON THEN AFTER A FEW MINUTES, TURN OFF. ALL THE WHILE MY BRAKES STARTS TO DIMINISH. I LOOKED THE BRAKES SYSTEM AND FOUND THAT THE BRAKE FLUID LEVEL IS LOW. TOPPED IT OFF AND EVERYTHING WAS BACK TO NORMAL.AROUND 60 DAYS LATER, BRAKE LIGHT AGAIN TURNED ON AND A FEW MINUTES TURNED OFF. SAME PROBLEM. I HAD IT CHECKED WITH A PROFESSIONAL MECHANIC. HE??S CONCLUSION IS THAT THE MASTER CYLINDER HAS A LEAK AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. A 5 YEAR OLD CAR WITH 27K MILES SHOULD NOT HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE MASTER CYLINDER. THIS IS A DEFECT THAT NISSAN NEEDS TO ADDRESS WITH A RECALL BEFORE SOMEBODY GETS SERIOUSLY HURT DUE TO LOSS OF BRAKES. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

2007 NISSAN ALTIMA - MY DASHBOARD BRAKE WARNING LIGHT SPORADICALLY FLASHED ON AND OFF BEGINNING A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. I TOOK THE CAR TO A NEARBY NISSAN DEALERSHIP FOR A BRAKE INSPECTION. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT REPRESENTATIVE, PRIOR TO INSPECTION, SHARED THAT THE WARNING LIGHT MIGHT INDICATE THAT THE MASTER CYLINDER MIGHT BE LEAKING AND THE BRAKES MIGHT BE GOOD. THE SERVICE MECHANIC OBSERVED THAT BRAKE FLUID LEVELS WERE LOW AND DUE TO THE MASTER CYLINDER LEAKING INTO THE BOOSTER. THE BRAKE PADS WERE GOOD. THE MECHANIC ADDED BRAKE FLUID. THE DASHBOARD BRAKE WARNING LIGHT STOPPED FLASHING. I WAS QUITE SURPRISED THAT THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT MANAGER HAD A GOOD IDEA THAT THERE WAS A MASTER CYLINDER LEAK. I ASKED HIM ABOUT IT. HE SAID THAT BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER LEAKS WERE A COMMON PROBLEM FOR THE 2007 NISSAN ALTIMA. I AM TAKING THE CAR TO A DIFFERENT FACILITY FOR ANOTHER BRAKE INSPECTION AND REPAIR, IF NECESSARY. *TR

BRAKE FLUID LEAKING. BRAKE LIGHT TURNS ON INTERMITTENTLY. *TR

BRAKE PROBLEM LIGHT CAME ON THEN WENT OFF AFTER THE CAR WARMED UP. MY BRAKES FAILED TO WORK, THE PEDAL PUSHED ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR. COME TO FIND OUT THE BRAKE FLUID HAS LEAKED OUT OF THE BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER. THE NISSAN DEALER SAID HE HAS SEEN THIS BEFORE ON 2007 ALTIMA VEHICLES. THE BRAKE PROBLEM LIGHT SHOULD HAVE STAYED ON, THIS IS VERY MISLEADING AND VERY DANGEROUS TO HAVE THE LIGHT GO OFF AFTER A WHILE. *TR

EMERGENCY BRAKE LIGHT FLASHES ON AND OFF. *TR

MY BRAKE WARNING LIGHT KEEPS COMING ON. *TR

MY BRAKE LIGHT RANDOMLY TURNS ON/OFF REGARDLESS OF THE SPEED I AM GOING. ALSO WHEN I APPLY THE BRAKES, IT IS DEFINITELY A ROUGH AND JAGGED SLOW DOWN, COMPARED TO PREVIOUSLY OWNED VEHICLES. NISSAN SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE ISSUE, OTHERWISE THEIR REPUTATION MAY SUFFER FROM THIS. I AM HOPING WORD OF MOUTH AND INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH WILL RESULT IN MORE DOCUMENTED INCIDENTS, AND THE NHTSA WILL GRANT A LONG AWAITED RECALL. *TR

THE BRAKE LIGHT ON MY CAR CAME ON. I TOOK THE CAR INTO THE DEALERSHIP TO CHECK THE BRAKES AND WAS TOLD THE MASTER CYLINDER WAS LEAKING AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE IS A 2007 MODEL. IT SEEMED TOO NEW A VEHICLE TO NEED SUCH A REPAIR. THE COST WAS 638.95 TO REPAIR IT. WHEN I PICKED UP THE CAR, AND STARTED DRIVING IT AGAIN AFTER THE MASTER CYLINDER WAS REPLACED, THE BRAKES WERE WORSE THAN BEFORE. PEDAL WENT ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR. THEY HAD INSTALLED THE NEW MASTER CYLINDER, BUT THE NEW ONE WASN'T HOLDING PRESSURE, SO I HAD NO BRAKES. ALL OF THE BRAKE FLUID LEAKED FROM MY VEHICLE. THE CAR HAD TO BE TOWED BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP. THEY HAD TO REPLACE THE MASTER CYLINDER YET AGAIN. I LOOKED ONLINE AND SAW THAT THE MASTER CYLINDERS WERE NEEDING REPLACEMENT IN THIS MAKE AND MODEL QUITE FREQUENTLY, BUT A RECALL HAS NOT YET BEEN ISSUED ON THE PROBLEM. THEREFORE, I AM ADDING MY COMPLAINT TO THE LIST TOWARD THAT END. *TR

AFTER NOTICING THAT MY BRAKE LIGHT WAS COMING ON INTERMITTENTLY FOR A COUPLE WEEKS, I TOOK IT TO MY NISSAN DEALERSHIP FOR SERVICE. WHILE SERVICING THE VEHICLE, IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THERE WAS A CRACK IN THE BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER. I WAS INFORMED BY THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT THAT THEY HAD SERVICED A NUMBER OF NISSAN ALTIMAS FOR THE EXACT SAME ISSUE. MY SERVICE ADVISOR MENTIONED THAT THERE IS AN ON-GOING INVESTIGATION INTO THIS PROBLEM AND THAT THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT NISSAN MAY ISSUE A RECALL FOR THIS DEFECT. *TR

THE BRAKE FEELS LIKE IT IS STICKING. WHEN YOU PRESS THE BRAKE AND RELEASE IT, IT FEELS LIKE IS IT IS NOT COMING BACK ALL THE WAY. ALSO, WHEN YOU PRESS THE BRAKE SOMETIMES IT STOPS OR SLOWS SUDDENLY OR FAST, AND OTHER TIMES IT IS NORMAL. *TR

BRAKE WARNING LIGHT ON, SO I TOOK TO DEALERSHIP. DEALERSHIP TELLS ME THERE'S A LEAK IN THE BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER AND IT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. *TR

BRAKE LIGHT CAME ON. ADDED BRAKE FLUID AND LIGHT WENT OFF. BRAKES BECAME INCREASINGLY MUSHY AND SOMETIMES IT APPEARED THAT BRAKES WOULD NOT WORK AT ALL AS BRAKE PEDAL WENT ALMOST TO THE FLOOR. FREQUENTLY HAD TO PUMP BRAKES WELL BEFORE INTERSECTION TO MAKE SURE I WAS ABLE TO STOP. TOOK TO DEALER AND SPENT $625.08 TO REPLACE MASTER CYLINDER. IT APPEARS THAT NISSAN HAS KNOWN OF THE DEFECT FOR SOME TIME AND ISN'T CONCERNED. *TR

BRAKE LIGHT IS ILLUMINATING. INVESTIGATION SHOWS THAT THE BRAKE FLUID LEVEL IS LOW. I HAVE FILLED THE BRAKE FLUID MULTIPLE TIMES BUT IT CONTINUES TO LOSE FLUID. THIS COMPLAINT IS BEING FILED BASED ON CAR FORUMS ON THE WEB THAT THERE IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH A FAULTY MASTER CYLINDER. THERE IS ALSO AN OPEN NHTSA INVESTIGATION FOR THIS ISSUE.

THE DAY I PURCHASED MY VEHICLE AROUND DEC 2007, THE BRAKES WERE SQUEAKING. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND DEALERSHIP WHERE I BOUGHT THE VEHICLE FROM TOLD ME IT WAS JUST DUST ON THE BRAKES AND IT COULD BE WASHED OFF WITH A PRESSURE WASHER. THIS PROBLEM HAS NEVER BEEN SOLVED EVEN WHEN MY BRAKE PADS HAD BEEN REPLACED. I BEGAN TO HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH MY BREAKS A FEW MONTHS AGO WHEN EVERY TIME I WOULD PUSH ON MY BREAK PEDAL, THE BREAK PEDAL WOULD KICK BACK, CAR WOULD JERK, AND I WOULD HAVE TO REAPPLY THE BREAK PEDAL TO STOP/SLOW MY VEHICLE. I FINALLY TOOK IT TO MY NISSAN DEALERSHIP/SERVICE DEPT AND WAS TOLD THE VEHICLE'S MASTER CYLINDER HAD A LEAK AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM AND AN EXPENSIVE PRICE FOR SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE UNDER WARRANTY. *TR