2021 Nissan Altima SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
Every time I drive under an over pass my vehicle will come to a stop. Placing me in DANGER with traffic.
When traveling in a rental from SFO to Concord CA, on the Bay Bridge at 9 am on the 26 of September 2023, just as I entered the underpass section near Treasure Island, the front sensor malfunctioned and auto braked from 47 mph to 28, generated audible, tactile, and visual alarms, even though the car in front was not decelerating (auto lights, tail lights in from of me as the car went into a dark section of road may have been misinterpreted). I was almost crashed into. Scariest experience in 37 years of driving. No over ride.
1. The automatic emergency braking activated while approaching a railway crossing. And yes, it is available for inspection. 2. If anyone had been behind me, it very likely would have resulted in a collision. 3. Not yet confirmed by the dealer, but has happened to me three times. 4. No. 5. No warning before the malfunction.
Driving down the street a truck in front of the lady in front of me. It was a green light he decided to stop. She stopped I put I started to stop my brakes would not stop the car nor did the emergency front collision brakes work I could not stop the car.
While driving, most times at higher speeds, the light with the car and lines behind it (VDC light?) will turn on, and then a minute later the front and back AEB lights turn on and the dashboard says “malfunction: see owner’s manual.” This happens multiple times per week, sometimes multiple times a day. There have been other recalls for this issue with other Nissan Altima years with this system.
I was driving on the interstate in a construction zone and begin reducing speed from about 62 mph after noticing brake lights from cars in the far distance. As the car start to reduce speed, I begin to apply the brakes as I'm approaching the stopped traffic and instead of stopping my car kept going. I pressed the brakes harder, and the car began to slide. After sliding about 9-10 car lengths, I was stopped by rear ending the vehicle in front of me. There was an error message on the dash "Chassis Control System Error See Owner's Manual" that appeared on the dash. I was struck in the back by a Toyota 4Runner resulting in my car being totaled.
The forward emergency braking system periodically will engage with no reason. I did not record the first date this happened. It was in July 2021. This first happened not long after I purchased the car last year on the interstate in heavy traffic with low speed and nothing close enough to set it off. Sometimes just the emergency light will just appear and disappear quickly and sometimes it comes on and the brakes go on. The dealer service and the regional technician has inspected it a few times and could find no error but it only happens sporadically. I checked recently and there is a class action suit against Nissan for the same problem in Tennessee. There seems to be the same problem with other models from 2019 to present.
I bought the car in nov. 2021. I was at a store parked I put the car in reverse ,the car started to move, it made a lot of noise and it stoped. there was nothing behind me. This has happen about four times backing out of my driveway a lot of noise and the car stops. I took it to the dealer once and they told me that they could not find any problems.
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Quick Summary
The 2021 Nissan Altima has 8 SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE complaints on file. 2 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.