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Infiniti QX56 grinding brakes problems

73 of the 541 owner complaints about the Infiniti QX56 describe grinding or squealing brakes, most of them for the 2006 model year.

owner complaints
73
worst model year
2006
typical repair cost reported
$1,100
typical mileage
94,000
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall for this area of the car. See below

By model year

Often reported together

Brake failure 15ABS 11Loss of power 2Check engine light 2Stalling 1

Trouble codes mentioned

C1189 1C1179 1

What owners say

Filed Sep 14, 2022 · Brakes · CA

Brake Failure. The brake fails occasionally while driving on the streets or on the Highways without Waring. The brake pedal goes down to the floor, and grinding/hitting metal to metal sound is heard and vehicle brake control is lost. Experiences were traumatic; you swing left or right to avoid hitting another vehicle from behind or running a red light. The vehicle has been inspected by an independent mechanic, and the brake components: rotors, pads, drum, and fluid levels were ok, each time it occurs. The brake lights come off and on and each time, the mechanic finds no issues with the brake components. One dangerous aspect of these occurrences is that after the vehicle sits for a while, like 30 minutes to one hour, and you go back to driving the vehicle, it appears that the brakes readjust and starts working normally; it continues to work normally about a month, and out of nowhere without warning it fails again and readjusts later. I was about to take my daughter to college out of County, and she has a lot of luggage as she lives in the dormitory; we would not use this Infinity which is a large SUV that could have accommodated me, my daughter and my wife, because of fear of brake failure on the highway. We decided that we would have to use our small compact Lexus instead, but I would not be accommodated in the Lexus because of my daughter's much luggage; my wife and my daughter will make the trip without me. Please look into these break failures.

Filed Nov 18, 2020 · Brakes · 200,139 miles · MO

2006 infiniti qx56, had back brakes and rotors replaced in october 2020, 2 weeks later I'm driving, flat surface, nice day, applied brakes, my pedal went to floor, no resistance, I heard a grinding noise, felt like a 'slip' , I had kids in car, I pulled over, asked the girls what they heard, turned off vehicle, checked brake fluid, full, the girls thought I may have hit a slick patch of oil or something?? We did our shopping, I made a few phone calls, got back in vehicle, started it and applied brakes, worked fine, drove home slow, no issues. Also no lights came on when this happened. I convinced myself this was just a fluke. 2 1/2 weeks later and after lots of driving, I had to go to memphis 5 hours away with my daughter. Everything fine until we got there. Checked into hospital, then decided to go downtown 4 blocks away. Started car, drove slow, at 3rd block went to brake as usual and it happened!!! Brake pedal went to floor, loud grinding, clunking, brakes wouldn't work, this time light came on. Just the red brake light. I got pulled over, shut off vehicle, checked fluid levels again, full! Scared now. I'm in memphis. When I started car back up it was fine. I don't want to drive home. Have read all the brake sensor probs, no recalls, deaths, unable to stop, I'm frightened and don't know what to do. Nissan will be hearing from me

Filed Sep 10, 2020 · Brakes, Electrical · 153,000 miles · GA

Suv will have trouble braking, emitting a loud, grinding noise when brakes are applied. Diffiulty stopping. Almost caused a wreck twice now. Once vehicle is turned off and back on, the situation seems to stop. Happens periodically. First time had brakes, rotors redone in case there was an issue, though there did not seem to be according to the mechanic. Has continued to do it a few additional time. Took it into infiniti dealer. Was told it was the brake vacuum booster. This item has been recalled on other 2004-2008 infiniti qx-56 and nissan armadas. Was told that my car was not on the 'recall' list.

Filed Feb 1, 2020 · Brakes · 90,000 miles · WA

I was driving at approximately 60 MPH on a freeway when traffic ahead came to a sudden stop. I pressed the brake pedal and it traveled to the floor and I did not feel the car slow at all. The "brake" dash indicator light came on, and I continued pumping the brake pedal to try and slow the car. While I continued pressing the brakes, the car started slowing down rapidly on its own as if it was pressing the brakes on its own and I could hear a loud grinding sound. I released the brake pedal and crossed several lanes of traffic as the car was uncontrollably slowing to reach the shoulder. I called my husband to tell him what had happened and remained on the shoulder with the car running. My husband met me on the shoulder and drove the car home. He said that the grinding sound was the ABS on in a permanent state, and would activate during every braking unless the brakes were applied extremely lightly. The car was driven to our driveway and turned off. Several hours later my husband drove it again. The "brake" light was off, braking returned to normal, and ABS could be activated with hard braking as usual.

Filed Jan 9, 2020 · Brakes · 120,000 miles · CA

While in motion the brake pedal feels loose and there is a grinding noise. The braking power loses function, the red brake light turns on and you have to pull over as safely as possible to turn off the vehicle for it to reset itself. I only learned that it will reset itself when you turn off the vehicle after the first time it happened to me on a street. Since then it has happened on several occasions while on the highway and freeway. The first time it happened was about 2 years ago and most recently 1 week ago.

Filed Nov 15, 2019 · Brakes · 8,000 miles · CA

I have been complaining about my brake light warming while vehicle is in motion to infinity for 13 years to infinity of vannuys ( the only dealer that services my vehicle). Why ole this 6000 lb vehicle is motion and this safety hazard occurs, depressing the brake pedal does. It stop the vehicle promptly as the brake system should and a loud metal grinding noise is produced. I have had my vehicle toad to the dealer with the same problem on several occasions and all I am told is that there is nothing wrong with the vehicle. This occurs infrequently and over the years it has been occurring more frequently. What is more terrifying is that this is a public safety hazard that is known to the federal safety agency and nissan/infinity of america and no recall has been issued or the manufacturer has not been held accountable for fixing this safety hazard. This hazard has occurred on several occasions over the life of ownership ( I am the sole owner of the vehicle). I have made infiniti of vannuys aware of this issue and it wasn't until recently that my service advisor communicated with me if how alarmed and concerned he was with the issue as his technician was test driving the vehicle and the balearic light turned on while the vehicle was moving and making the metal grinding noise and not being able to brake as the brake system is intended to do so. I communicated with consumer affairs at infiniti and was told by their department that they cannot do anything for me as there is no recall on my vehicle and that nissan:infiniti is not aware of this matter. I mentioned to the representative that I have been entertaining this concern with service advisors over 13 years and they were finally able to listen to my concerns: this is unacceptable, specially after reading about cruz v. Mathenge | no. B286067. My family's life and my own have been in jeopardy over 13 years and I need help.

Filed Oct 30, 2019 · Engine, Transmission · 120,000 miles · MO

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 infiniti qx56. The contact heard a squeaking noise when she depressed the accelerator pedal. Also, the vehicle shook when stopping and hesitated when attempting to accelerate to highway speeds. An independent mechanic checked the vehicle, after multiple incident happen the noise got louder and the stalling got worse the contact stated got timing chain repaired but found no failures. The contact was informed to bring the vehicle back in if the failure recurred. The contact stated that the failure recurred. Joe machens nissan (201 nebraska ave, columbia, mo 65203, (573) 503-4550) stated that they did not perform recall repairs at their facility and referred the contact to the manufacturer. The manufacturer stated that there were no recalls and referenced technical service bulletin: 16-015; however, it expi*bfred in february of 2018. The failure mileage was 120,000. *bf

Filed Sep 21, 2019 · Brakes · 216,000 miles · IL

When driving, the brake light comes on for no reason and causes the brakes to work inappropriately. It becomes very hard to brake. The brakes seem to fall through and there is a grinding sound from the brakes. If I turn the vehicle off, and then back on it works fine. Then it happens again sparatically.

Filed Sep 3, 2019 · 55,000 miles · FL · crash · 4 injuries

While driving straight on interstate I-95 during rush hour at approximately 30 miles/hour, I pressed on the brakes and the pedal dropped down and started making a weird noise (like grinding sound) and the car wouldn't stop. The ABS light turned on, check engine light turned on, the pedal lost pressure and the brakes locked up. I ended up in a crash, rear-ending the vehicle in front of me. The car has now been repaired from damages from crash but mechanic found no problem with brake system. Abs sensors, calipers, disks and pads where changed as precaution but problem reappears from time to time and seems to reset when vehicle is turned off and on again (brake petal raised back up, grinding sound disappears and the check engine light and ABS light shut off). I visited two infinity dealers and both of them mentioned that it was a recurring problem with this model car and the problem was an issue with the master cylinder's design.

Filed Oct 10, 2018 · Brakes · 183,000 miles · FL

Randomly, I will step on the brakes and the brakes begin to pulsate. Then it sounds like grinding sound and the brake pedal loses pressure. Almost like it hit a void and dropped to the floor. I had to try and slow down vehicle to come to a stop. Calipers and pads were all changed, per dealer findings. And it continued. I do not go over 40 MPH for fear of this happening again. It's clearly and unsafe situation and the dealer claims they only hear this when people have back brakes. Guess what, I brought it to another infiniti service center, and they said the same thing even thought the other service center replaced just about everything. Another mechanic, from the service center, took me aside and said this is frequently happening with this model and it is a master cylinder issue from design. Come on infiniti, fix this!

Related recalls

Service brakes, hydraulic: pedals and linkagesReported March 2, 2010 · 179,383 vehicles affected
What is wrong
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. The pivot pin could slide and cause the brake pedal to partially disengage from the brake pedal bracket.
Risk
The driver will experience unusual and noticeable looseness in the pedal and a reduction in braking force increasing the risk of a crash.
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. Owners may contact nissan at 1‑800‑647‑7261.

Recall number 10V072000 · Recall details

Questions about the Infiniti QX56 grinding brakes

Which Infiniti QX56 years have grinding or squealing brakes problems?

The model years with the most reports are 2006 (30 complaints), 2004 (18 complaints) and 2005 (16 complaints).

How much does it cost to fix grinding or squealing brakes on the Infiniti QX56?

Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $1,100 (median of 7 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.

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