2007 Nissan Altima: brake failure

Filed Sep 20, 2021 · Brakes · CA · crash

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.

Filed Aug 1, 2013 · Brakes · 65,000 miles · TX · crash

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 federal safety agency 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.

Filed Mar 13, 2012 · Brakes · 27,000 miles · NY

I am requesting that dot the federal safety agency investigate the driver's contribution to a leak with the master cylinder and to request that dot the federal safety agency 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).

Filed Mar 6, 2012 · Brakes · 70,000 miles · TX

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.

Filed Jan 27, 2012 · Brakes · 100,900 miles · KY

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.

Filed Sep 2, 2011 · Brakes · 48,000 miles · TX

2007 nissan altima interior brake light kept coming on and carried the car to the dealership where the master brake cylinder was found to be leaking into the brake booster. This is a common problem as noted here: http://www.nissanclub.com/forums/2007-nissan-altima-discussion-2-5-3-5/298430-warning-master-cylinder-problem-must-read.html this could lead to brake failure if left alone. There should be a recall since this has happened to so many altimas. The sentra was recalled for this very thing, same years, 2007 and 2008. They share the same brake cylinder. Please add this incident to your growing list of altima master brake cylinder failures.

Filed May 18, 2011 · Brakes · 35,000 miles · NJ

The "brake" light on my 2007 altima had been coming on briefly then going off again for extended periods for about three or four months. I had the car at the dealership for a transmission issue at 40,000 miles and mentioned the "brake" light issue as an aside. Dealer then inspected and said there was an internal leak inside of the brake master cylinder and that it would need to be replaced at a cost of $460.00 I agreed to the replacement because dealer said that brake failure could occur if not replaced. My research indicated that others were having a similar issue with the faulty brake master cylinder with this make and model.

Filed Oct 22, 2010 · Brakes · 54,962 miles · AR

1. "brake" light came on instrument panel. 2. Light first came on about one month ago and has gone on and off since then. Brakes will sometimes lurch and almost feel like I have no brakes. I have had no wrecks yet but have had some close calls since it feels like I cannot stop at first. 3. The nissan dealership said that the master solenoid or master cylinder is leaking and needs to be replaced for almost $500 and that this has been pretty common on altimas with various mileage. Numerous others have had this same problem that I have seen on the internet.

Filed Mar 4, 2010 · Acceleration, Brakes · 32,000 miles · NY · crash

On 01/25/2010, I was driving from work and while I attempted to stop to a light,the brakes failed to respond. I couldn't control the car anymore. The car slid, and hit another car in the back,but because the speed was low, the damage was minor. After that, the car was frozen ; the police came and the car was towed to a nearby autobody shop; after the outside damage was fixed, the car was transported to a nissan dealership because the car was not drivable.(the soft ware was messed up,as the dealer told me).at the nissan dealership, the software was reset. They couldn't guarantee though that this incident will not happen again. I contacted the manufacturer and explained that this car had a general inspection less than 2 months prior the accident and the annual revision less than3 weeks prior the accident, and now, even the car was fixed the nissan dealer cannot guarantee that the system will not fail again. The manufacturer decided to sent the car for another inspection to the same nissan dealer that couldn't guarantee the safety of my car. At this point, I am afraid driving the car.