Leaking master cylinder caused brake light and vdc/slip lights to come on intermittently. My car has 54,000 miles. This same issue happened at 31,000 miles, but the dealer told me it was my brake pads and replaced the front and rear brake pads at that time. The brakes have squeaked horribly since the pads were replaced. Now having trouble finding a part because apparently this is happening to many, many nissan owners.
2008 Nissan Altima brakes complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 93, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Brake lamp switch malfunctioned at 10000 (april 2009) and 43000 (january 2012) miles, and replaced. When this occurs, the brake lights will not illuminate when the brake is applied, which is a hazard that could result in a crash. Because brake must be applied for engine ignition, the vehicle will also not start.
The brake light started flashing intermittently even though the hand-brake wasn't on and there was no noticeable problem during braking. The dealer said there was a leak in the brake booster and that I would have to have it replaced. It was not covered under warranty. I reluctantly agreed to pay the $560 for the replacement because the dealer said it was never a good idea to take risks with your brakes.
Brake light started coming on intermittently. Car was in motion. Brakes were not in use when light came on. Brakes functioned normally. Nissan dealership diagnosed the problem as a leak in the brake master cylinder and that the brake fluid was leaking into the booster assembly. $476.00 repair. This is definitely a design flaw or inferior workmanship/parts.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 nissan altima. The contact stated that the brake light on the instrument cluster was illuminated so the contact took the vehicle to the dealer. The dealer advised that the master cylinder needed to be replaced. The contact stated there was an unknown manufacturer's recall that was previously released but the contact did not confirm with the manufacturer if the vehicle was included. The failure mileage was 17,000.
Dealer discovered that the master cylinder was leaking brake fluid out the back of the cylinder into the vacuum housing. The leak was not noticeable on the ground or on the motor. Hadn't noticed that the brake pedal was getting lower and lower. There is a small brake light on the dash. The light was on and had been on for some time. It's the same light that comes on when you apply the parking brake. This masked the seriousness of the problem as we thought there was an adjustment needed to the parking brake pedal and instead the master cylinder was leaking.
Master cylinder leak, had to replace master cylinder or it could have lead to a brake failure.
While driving, and even a few seconds right after stopping, the brake light continues to stay on, sometimes blinking. After checking that my pads were still in good shape, I did some research and found a lot of altima owners that were having issues with their brake master cylinders. I checked my mc but found no visible signs of leakage. However, I noticed that my fluid level was on the minimum line. After having a certified mechanic look at it, he advised me that the mc was faulty and was leaking into the brake booster. After reading that are more than hundreds of documented cases, and possibly thousands of undocumented cases, I feel that nissan has an obligation to inform their customers about the faulty brake master cylinder and replace the faulty part free of charge.
Purchased used nissan altima 3.5 v6 engine vehicle with 18k miles on 10/29/11. On a couple times before when slowing down to brake the car felt as if I was no longer in control of it and accelerated. However on 11/14/2011, I slowed down to stop at a busy intersection. I applied the brake as usual slowly to come to a complete stop and the engine began to rev up and made an increasingly loud noise. The vehicle felt as though it wanted to move forward in to oncoming traffic. The harder I pressed the brake the more it revved up. My foot was not on the accelerator at any point. After the light turned green, it lurched forward and I immediately drove to the dealership where car was purchased less than a block away. The service man placed it on the computer and all kinds of red lights flickered. He said something is wrong but we don't no what. They seemed to be at a lost. Finally I was told they needed to drive it to try to recreate the occurrence. Car is still at the dealership after 3 days. They have given me a car to drive. I am so disappointed in this purchase. Certified vehicle with a wrap around service warranty will hopefully save us expensive repair bills. In any case I don't want to drive it anymore because I don't feel safe at all. I want to trade it and request a buy back if this matter is not resolved. Having the mechanic tell me there is nothing wrong is just not acceptable because we could have lost our lives. Our 11 year old son was in the car with me and was very frightened. No car is worth the risk of driving dangerously.
I have a 2008 nissan altima 2.5s. At around 33,500 miles I noticed my brake light coming on. I promptly took the vehicle to my local nissan dealership and was informed that my master brake cylinder had a leak in it. I was told it needed to be replaced and the warranty on it expired at 30,000 miles. I was quoted a price around $450. Bewildered by the cost and upset that they wouldn't cover it so close past warranty I left and had a friend who works at a auto repair shop replace it w/ a genuine nissan part for $240. I ate the cost of repair thinking it was bad luck and moved on. My altima is now at 78,000 miles and once again the brake light is coming on. I'm positive that once again the master brake cylinder will need to be replaced. I have visited the website http://www.nissanclub.com/forums/2007-nissan-altima-discussion-2-5-3-5/298430-warning-master-cylinder-problem-must-read-10.html and also saw that the federal safety agency has opened an investigation into this. I would like my altima recalled or to be compensated for both repairs. (this letter has also been sent to nissan USA. Awaiting feedback).
Service brakes, hydraulic-foundation components-master cylinder : after a few days of driving with a brake indicator light coming on, crown nissan service representative indicated that the master cylinder was leaking into the power booster, lowering the brake fluid in the master cylinder reservoir. Total charges were $684.55 to repair. This is a 3 year old car with 41,321 highway miles driven lightly. It appears to be a similar situation as the 2007 and 2008 nissan sentra and although the two models do not share the same parts, the manufacturer is likely to be the same. This should be a factory recall issue.
Brake light came on/off while driving. Took vehicle to shop and was diagnosed as a faulty master brake cylinder. The faulty master brake cylinder was leaking brake fluid internally into the booster. This manufacturing defect should not have occurred with a newer model altima with under 50,000 miles on it.
My brake light kept coming on. Took vehicle to dealership they immediately informed me that it was probably the master cylinder and that this was a frequent and recurring issue with the 2008 altima. They checked the car out and confirmed that the master cylinder was leaking and needs to be replaced. If they know about the faulty part then why not a recall as with the sentra?? $550 to repair an issue known by nissan to be a faulty part. That is just crooked.
This was a one vehicle crash (total loss) that occurred when the brakes would not work causing our car to strike a brick wall (also emergency brakes did not work). None of the vehicle airbags deployed except for the drivers steering wheel airbag which deployed once the vehicle came to a stop. The accident occurred at approx. 11:45 pm, 22 october 2011. No drugs and or alcohol were involved. The car was recently purchased from a lexus dealer and the same company owns a nissan dealership which confirmed that all nissan recall items were complied with. We have several professional photographs to prove that there is still something going on with the nissan altima 2.5 brakes and air bags to allow something like this to happen. I have personally talked with[xxx] about this and left a voice mail with [xxx] at their the federal safety agency office. My insurance company confirmed that this car was a total loss and the vehicle has been now been removed from the towing and collision facility here in indiana and sold to a parts salvage company. I was trying to have someone inspect this car before it was destroyed, but it appears that it is now to late to do anything about this. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
I took my car into the dealership because my brakes seemed to malfunction sporadically, and around the same time a brake light indicator came on my dashboard. The dealership diagnosed it as brake fluid leaking from the master cylinder, and said my master cylinder had to be replaced. I saw on the federal safety agency website that there is a pending investigation of 07 & 08 nissan altimas and a brake cylinder leak, and that the same model year nissan sentras have already been recalled for that same reason. I wanted to make you aware that I have also experienced this problem, which was a $550 fix.
Brake light warning comes on while driving.
I took my 2008 altima in for an oil change. About 1 week before oil change appointment september 21, 2011 my brake light would appear on dashboard--it wasn't a consistent and not every time I was driving car. I didn't even have to brake for this to occur. At dealership told them about issue and they looked into it. After servicing my car I was informed that my master cylinder was leaking and need to be replaced. I also needed back brakes. I was told that I should not drive car, because the brakes might not work. I was completely shocked!! I only have 27000 miles on my 2008 altima. Of course it was out of warranty and cost a good amount of money out of my pocket. I did some research online and noticed that there are numerous other people have the same issue with their 2007 & 2008 altima's. Nissan has a recall for the sentra (?) vehicle that has the same issue. I believe this a manufactures defect and needs to be researched. I would appreciate this issue being looked into.
I recently having issue with my brake light coming on and off at random times. Which after researching online it appears to be a common issue for many others, with brake leaks. I have noticed a slight difference in the brake effectiveness, which causes concern for me. I have an 2008 nissan altima 2.5 se with roughly 56,000 miles. I bought this car used with only 22k miles roughly in 2009 and have other issues with electrical work in the radio. The radio has already been replaced by the dealership when it was still under warranty and now it is happening again where my volume dial doesn't turn the volume up or down it locks between three volume numbers and at times the screen fades in and out.
Master cyclinder was leaking. Parking break light would stay on, but sometimes go off. Very similar to pe11020. I have dealer service records detailing the leak and the repair.
Master cylinder found to be leaking. Warning light was coming on.
Brake light started coming on and going off spontaneous through out each drive time and continued to stay on longer as time passed. Took my car in for service to the dealership, after a thorough inspection by the mechanic as he too was puzzled why my fluid level was low since the brakes themselves were working great it was determined my brake fluid was "somehow" leaking out of the container that holds the fluid into the rubber boot around it and was advised I needed to have the master brake valve replaced at a cost of $456. I questioned why this would happen and if it's been a problem and was advised they didn't know why it was just happening and no they had not seen this as a problem with other customers. I was advised it wasn't something that had to be fixed today but would need to be fixed but they would top off the fluid and I would be good, but for how long they couldn't tell me. In researching I see I am not the first to have this issue and probably won't be the last. I wanted to log my experience in hopes nissan will do the right thing and fix this problem before it is related to a catastrophe!
Purchased 2008 nissan altima in 2009. Car was supposed to be certified. Immediately began hearing squealing/grinding with brakes. Complained to nissan and the dealership. Dealership kept rotating rotors but no resolution. In 12/2010 had brakes changed at honcura auto and they used genuine nissan parts. Within a month, same thing occurring. Something is wrong with the brakes and nissan will not own up to it.
I just bought a 2008 nissan altima and my brake light comes on when I accelerate. I have taken it to the dealership and they are saying that I have a master cylinder leak. There is definitely a problem .
My 2008 nissan altima master break cylinder needed to be replaced due to a leak after around 60k miles. Before the brake light came on there was a reduced braking capacity and at around 35-40k miles I bought new brake pads due to this loss of fluid thinking the brake pads needed to be replaced. After taking the wheels off I found the pads to be just fine and topped off the fluid. I had noted this many times when I brought it in for an oil change but I was told the brakes were in good shape. During one of the scheduled maintenances' the technician noticed the leaking brake master cylinder.
I had noticed for about a week that the brake light indicator on my dash board kept coming on. On monday 6/27/2011 I took my car to my local nissan dealer. There they diagnosed that the braking system's master cylinder and booster assembly had leaked brake fluid making the car unsafe to drive. They replaced with a new brake master cylinder, booster assembly, and other parts. The dealer made the repair and I returned to drive my car away on 6/29/2011. Total cost with parts, labor, and tax was $608.62 . I have kept the receipt in my records. I had the brake light indicator go off several times from when I purchased it new to when this last incident happened. I"m assuming in the past they just topped off the brake fluid during regularly scheduled maintenance. The brakes had always been very touchy and overly tight to the touch. With the repair the braking system is not as tight but still very responsive. As a result of this slow leak over the years I always noticed that the brake fluid reservoir would be low as well and that did not seem correct for a new car. I purchased this car brand new and I am the only owner. Since the breaking light indicator had been a normal occurrence many times I am surprised that my nissan technician did not thoroughly inspect the breaking system at some point in the past years. I was out of warranty due to the mileage and paid for the cost out of my personal funds. I am hoping if there is a recall I will be compensated for this repair since I am claiming this as the responsibility of the car manufacturer nissan and/or any other associated entities. Thank you,
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 nissan altima. The contact was driving approximately 5 MPH when the brake warning indicator illuminated intermittently on the instrument panel. The failure progressed over time until it occurred whenever the vehicle was in operation. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated the master cylinder was leaking brake fluid. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. Currently there was an open investigation associated with the federal safety agency action number pe11020 (hydraulic: foundation components: master cylinder). The approximate failure mileage was 26,000.
I own a 2008 nissan altima that was having brake problems. I had it checked out by a mechanic and he found that the master cylinder had been leaking fluid internally. I would be happy to discuss the problem with your agency if needed. My name is [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
"brake" indicator light began coming on intermittently while driving. Took the car in for service, found out the brake master cylinder is leaking and needs replaced. Vehicle is a 2008 nissan altima and only has 41,000 miles on it. Vehicle was recently in for maintenance service in december 2010, no indication of problem was given following inspection.
My nissan altima 2008 sedan has had so many brake problems, I have changed pads and rotors and what not 7 times since I bought the car two years ago. I have complained to nissan in orland park, il and I always here the same thing. The altima does that! Now again I have the same problems.
We have had to replace the brakes three time within the past 9 months.
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