Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2008 Nissan Armada owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Numerous times since January 2013 when we have been driving on the highway, roadways and parking lots the red brake light comes on and the brake pedal goes to the floor and makes noises. The car is very hard to stop and has almost caused accidents. One of the times it happened I took the car to Firestone to see what was going on but when I turned off the car it stopped doing it but they did have code c1179/ABS control unit come up. We contacted Nissan and left our car at suntrup Nissan for a month. They told us they could not find anything even when I gave them the code. We met with a Nissan specialist who told us the problem was the brake booster and gave us a price of just over $1,000 to fix it. …
While transmission is in drive, and proceeding down the road, has happen at speeds between 10mph up to 70mph. The emergency brake light on the dashboard goes on. Within 5-10 seconds hearing a grinding sound coming from the front of the car, sounds like coming from breaks in addition to a spring like sound and a reduction of breaking power. This continues until you pull off the road, and turn off the car and turn it back on. Once the car is reset it appears to fix the problems. I purchased the car at with approximately 69K miles on it, it currently has roughly 114K miles on it and has happen approximately 3 times since 95K miles. I have taken the vehicle to a dealership and have explained the issue. They advised they have heard of this, but there is no recall for the VIN number on my Armada. That this would require a technician to provide a software update. …
I left work and was driving down the highway and attempted to stop and the brake pedal began vibrating and the brake booster was making a horrid noise and I had to put the vehicle in low gear to get it to slow in bumper to bumper traffic. Today 03/10/2015 I received a letter regarding a class action lawsuit in regards to a sensor within the brake booster stating I needed to file a claim in order to receive compensation for repairs, although the case has not been settled and the is no final court date until 05/15/2015 and we May not be reimbursed until September or later.. I need my vehicle repaired immediately and don't have time to file a claim nor do I have money to be out of pocket on a manufacturer defect. Nissan has not notified their consumers of this issue and this is the first thing I have heard of it from this law firm. …
I was driving to pick up my daughter at work when I came to a stop at an intersection the brakes seemed fine but when the light turned green I was making a left turn and as I was turning I put my foot on the brake and the brakes went in and I heard a very loud grinding sound and I could feel the vibration under my feet then I noticed the brake light come on so I pulled off the road but realized it wasn't a safe spot so luckily I was near a turn off so I pulled into a parking lot very slowly and put the car in park. The brake light remained on until I turned the vehicle off. I called my husband and he came, checked all the brakes, the brake fluid and checked to see if there was fluid leaking anywhere but he didn't find anything wrong so he started the vehicle and the brake light was off so he drove it home while I drove his car but it didn't happen again. …
Two times in the past 2 months I have experienced while driving, my brake light lighting up and my brakes failing. My pedal would go down farther, grinding noises could be heard, and it was very hard to stop my vehicle. I pulled over as carefully as possible, stopped slowly, and turned my engine off. I then restarted and everything was fine, no brake light, no noise, no issue pushing the brake pedal. I didn't think much about it until it happened again. I know Nissan will not do anything about it because the brake light is off and it is not an issue right now. I know they are also aware of this problem with my make, model, and year of car and they settled a class action lawsuit out of court that I was not involved in because I didn't have the problem at that point. Both times it happened while traveling on city streets, once I was going about 35mph the other about 45mph. …
My wife was driving my children on the highway at approximately 55mph and the 'brake' icon suddenly flashed red on the dash. My wife attempted to apply the brakes and they did not function or respond other than by making a grinding noise. The pedal was able to go to the floor but with no braking accomplished. To stop the vehicle she had to downshift and let it coast to a stop in a parking lot that was fortunately on her path of travel. There are no leaks in the braking system and the nearby Nissan dealership said it had thrown a c1179 code for a brake booster sensor. Turns out this is a common issue with these models and Nissan lost a class action lawsuit about the issue in california in 2014. Several other owners have reported the exact same scenario on various Nissan forums. It is a wonder my wife and children were not in an accident.
I am writing this due to that what is going on with mine and I am sure it is happening to others as well I am a mother of three young kids (9,10, and 3) this is my daily driver. On three occasions since October 2017 when I am about stop the brake light turns on and the brakes get hard and sound like a stretching spring it's happened on all highways and making left turns. Once I pull over or stop I shut it off for five seconds and turn on car and light is gone and brakes are back to normal it would happen every two months to know every three weeks now this a very scary situation we have check brakes and booster and take it to mechanics and nothing happens no codes no nothing please help I'm starting to feel unsafe in the vehicle.
My husband was backing up in the Armada when the break light came on for no real reason. The breaks sounded as though they were grinding or slipping. The breaks did not stop the car properly anymore . We pulled into gas station where we shut the car off . When restarting it the break light was off and breaks worked normal again. 1day while driving the breaks did it again, I could barely stop the Armada. Only way to fix it was to shut car off. I have read that this is a break booster malfunction. This needs to be address by Nissan before people are killed from loss of breaks! There are multiple complaints from people on line with the same issue and stories of the Armada breaks failing.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Nissan Armada. While driving approximately 15 MPH, the brake pedal traveled to the floorboard when depressed. The brakes screeched and the vehicle finally stopped; however, the brake lights remained illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the brakes needed to be flushed and brake fluid re-applied. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer again where it was diagnosed that the brake booster was completely gone and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The VIN was unknown. The approximate failure mileage was 137,000.
While driving at a speed of approximately 40 MPH I began to press on the brakes when a grinding noise suddenly occurred and the vehicle would not slow down or come to a complete stop as normal. The brake lights, t/c light popped up on the dash board. I accelerated again to pull to the side of the road, as I pressed the brakes again the grinding noise occurred and no matter how hard u press down on the brake the vehicle would not come to a complete stop until it lost moving momentum. I turned the vehicle off and restarted it and all lights were off and the brakes operated normal until a few weeks later it would reoccur and now has become a randomly repetitive issue.
Related recalls
Service brakes, hydraulic › Pedals and linkages
Nissan is recalling certain model year 2008-2010 titan, armada, and Infiniti qx56, and model year 2008-2009 Nissan quest vehicles. The brake pedal pivot pin end was not spin-formed to specification during the manufacturing process of the brake pedal assembly.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect to see if the pivot pin had been formed properly and will replace the brake pedal assembly if necessary free of charge. The safety recall began on March 22, 2010.
Brake complaints in other Armada years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2008 Nissan Armada?
NHTSA has 68 complaints about the brakes of the 2008 Nissan Armada, 42% of the model year's 161 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2008 Nissan Armada brake problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 10V-072 (pedals and linkages, Mar 2, 2010). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2008 Nissan Armada brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 92,000 miles, and 5% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.