2010 NISSAN ARMADA Complaints

I HAVE CONCERNS WITH NISSAN VEHICLES LOSING POWER AND DYING WHILE THE VEHICLE IS MOVING. WHEN CONSUMERS TAKE THE VEHICLES IN FOR DIAGNOSIS, THE COMPUTER DIAGNOSTICS CANNOT LOCATE THE PROBLEM. NISSAN SERVICE DEPT. STAFF GIVE UNACCEPTABLE RESPONSES SUCH AS "WE COULDN'T DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM." ALL THEY DO IS TEST DRIVE THE VEHICLES BUT THE PROBLEM IS NOT EASILY DUPLICATED AS IT OCCURS RANDOMLY. I DID A SIMPLE SEARCH ON THE NISSAN FORUMS ONLINE AND QUICKLY DISCOVERED IT IS RELATED TO THE INTELLIGENT POWER DISTRIBUTION MODULE ("IPDM"). SURE ENOUGH, THEY REPLACED THE IPDM AT MY REQUEST AND NO FURTHER PROBLEMS. THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH NISSAN VEHICLES YET THERE SEEMS TO BE NO PAST OR CURRENT RECALLS RELATED TO THIS. WHEN MY WIFE AND CHILDREN ARE IN A VEHICLE AND IT CANNOT SUSTAIN POWER AND DIE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD DURING TRAFFIC, THIS MUST CERTAINLY BE AN ISSUE FOR CONSUMER SAFETY. NISSAN DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY. WHEN CONSUMERS HAVE TO SELF-DIAGNOSIS THEIR VEHICLE PROBLEMS WHEN THOSE SAME PROBLEMS ARE READILY APPARENT TO CONSUMERS ON INTERNET FORUMS, NISSAN IS DROPPING THE BALL. IT'S NOT JUST ARMADAS BUT THE TITAN TRUCKS AS WELL. SYMPTOMS USUALLY INCLUDE A SHUDDERING EFFECT AND INSTANT LOSS OF POWER WITH THE VEHICLE STARTING RIGHT BACK UP AFTER THE IGNITION KEY IS TURNED ON AGAIN. MY NISSAN ARMADA LOST POWER ON AT LEAST FOUR SEPARATE OCCASIONS FROM AUGUST TO SEPTEMBER 2011. EACH TIME THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION WHETHER IT BE STRAIT AHEAD DRIVING AND MAKING TURNS WHILE IN TURNING LANES; NEVER WHEN IT WAS SITTING IDLE. UNBELIEVABLE THAT SOMEONE HASN'T BEEN IN A CRASH OR DIED FROM SIMILAR ISSUES.

VEHICLE BRAKES ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS HAVE RANDOMLY LOCKED UP. LATEST INCIDENT OCCURRED 5/2011 IN WHICH I WAS APPROACHING A TRAFFIC CIRCLE ATTEMPTED TO APPLY BRAKES AND THEY BEGAN TO LOCK UP AND MAKE A LOUD GRINDING NOISE AND CEASED UP. AFTER ABOUT 4 OR 5 SECONDS THE BRAKES SEEMED TO RELEASE. THE LOCKING OF BRAKES APPEARS TO BE THE SAME PROBLEM I HAD IN A 2005 ARMADA THAT ALSO HAD BAD ROTORS, OF WHICH I WAS ASSURED WHEN PURCHASING 2010 ARMADA WAS NOT A ISSUE. TO DATE THE BREAKS HAVE LOCKED 3 TIMES SINCE PURCHASING VEHICLE IN 7/2010, WITH MONTHS IN BETWEEN OCCURRENCES. LUCKILY I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO STEER THE VEHICLE OUT OF HARMS WAY OR THE CONSEQUENCES COULD HAVE BEEN VERY SERIOUS OR EVEN FATAL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DEALERSHIP AT WHICH TIME THEY SAID AND HAVE SAID IN THE PAST THAT THEY CAN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG. SO THERE HAVE BEEN NO ATTEMPTED REPAIRS OR REPLACEMENT OF ANYTHING. I HAVE ALSO CONTACTED NISSAN CORPORATE AND FILED A COMPLAINT BUT THEY HAVE DONE NOTHING SINCE THE DEALERSHIP CAN'T FIND A PROBLEM OR DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. BUT AS IT WAS WITH THE 2005 ARMADA, THE PROBLEM IS RANDOM AND COULD NEVER BE REPRODUCED WHEN I TOOK IT IN, BUT YET NISSAN KNEW IT WAS VALID PROBLEM WITH THE MODEL AND CAME UP WITH A REPROGRAM FOR THE ABS. APPARENTLY THERE HAVE NOT BEEN ENOUGH COMPLAINTS TO WARRANT A REAL INVESTIGATION INTO THIS MATTER FROM NISSAN, THEY HAVE INSTEAD ELECTED TO RELY SOLELY ON WHAT INFORMATION THEY HAVE RECEIVED FROM DEALERSHIP. NISSAN ALSO SUGGESTED I LEAVE MY VEHICLE WITH DEALERSHIP FOR SEVERAL DAYS. GUESS WHAT, I HAVE ALREADY DONE THAT, FOR ALMOST A WEEK OF WHICH THEY CAME UP WITH NOTHING. NOT ONE DAY HAS GONE BY THAT I DON'T THINK ABOUT WHAT COULD HAPPEN WHEN GETTING INTO MY VEHICLE. THIS IS NO WAY TO LIVE, AND PERHAPS THE PROBLEM IS NOT PREVALENT BUT IT IS A ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN IN MY SUV, AND NISSAN IS BASICALLY DOING NOTHING. IS TODAY THE DAY MYSELF AND OR FAMILY DOESN'T MAKE IT HOME? *TR

SIDE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED AFTER HITTING LARGE POTHOLE. I WAS TAKING MY DAUGHTER AND HER FRIEND HOME FROM A DANCE CLASS AND FORTUNATELY NOBODY WAS INJURED. THERE IS NO THIS AIRBAGS SHOULD HAVE DEPLOYED. *LN

ON THIS 2010 ARMADA, SINCE THE FIRST USE AFTER PURCHASE, THE LOW FUEL WARNING COMES ON WITH ABOUT 8 GALLONS LEFT IN THE 28-GALLON TANK, WHILE THE FUEL GAUGE NEEDLE APPEARS TO INDICATE THE CORRECT AMOUNT OF REMAINING FUEL. (OUR 2005 ARMADA DEVELOPED THIS EXACT PROBLEM AFTER A FEW YEARS, AND WE HAVE RECEIVED THE RECALL NOTICE REGARDING THE OPPOSITE PROBLEM IN WHICH SOME SYSTEMS SHOW MORE FUEL THAN ACTUAL.) AT THIS POINT IT IS AN INCONVENIENCE AS OPPOSED A SAFETY ISSUE, BUT, SINCE THE PROBLEM ON OUR 2010 ARMADA IS OBVIOUSLY MERELY A DIFFERENT SYMPTOM OF PROBABLY THE SAME FAULTY COMPONENT, I FEEL THE NHTSA SHOULD CONSIDER ISSUING A RECALL FOR THE 2010 MODEL AS WELL (AND FOR OTHER YEAR MODELS NOT YET RECALLED) SINCE THE MALFUNCTION COULD JUST AS WELL SHIFT TO THE UNSAFE FAILURE MODE. IT ALSO SEEMS VERY LIKELY THAT MANY OWNERS ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME MALFUNCTION AS WITH MY 2005 AND 2010 MODELS, BUT THAT THE NHTSA'S STATISTICS DO NOT TRACK SUCH COMPLAINTS PROBLEM BECAUSE THE FAULTY COMPONENT IS NOT YET 'UNSAFE' IN THIS PARTICULAR MODE OF MALFUNCTION. (SINCE THE VEHICLE IS AT THE DEALERSHIP, I DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE VIN OR TO OUR OFFICE RECORDS THIS WEEKEND, BUT CAN PROVIDE THE VIN LATER IF IT IS POSSIBLE TO REVISE A POSTING.) *TR

SHORT DESC = TIRES/WHEELS ON MY BRAND-NEW VEHICLE DO NOT MATCH THE TIRE AND LOADING PLACARD, IN VIOLATION OF CFR571,110 S4.3.2. THE VEHICLE IS 2010 NISSAN ARMADA PLATINUM PURCHASED NEW ON JAN 2, 2010 AT NISSAN OF ST. AUGUSTINE, FL. PLACARD SAYS SPARE IS 275/60 R20 AND SPARE IS ACTUALLY 265/70 R18. THE DEALER SAYS THE 18" WHEELS ARE ON ALL NISSAN ARMADAS AND THEY ARE SAFE TO DRIVE ON AND ARE CONSIDERED A "FULL SIZE SPARE", AS SPECIFIED ON MONRONEY STICKER. I DO NOT BELIEVE THESE WOULD BE SAFE AND I PLAN TO NEVER USE THIS SPARE. OTHER PURCHASERS MAY BE AT RISK IF THEY RELY ON THE INCORRECT SAFETY INFORMATION AND USE THE SPARE. *TR

THROTTLE CONTROL: WITHIN TWO DAYS AFTER PURCHASE (9-5-09), THERE WAS ERRATIC CONTROL OF THE ENGINE. ENGINE SPUTTERED AND ACCELERATED WITHOUT ANY PRESSURE ON THE GAS PEDAL AND AT OTHER TIMES THE ENGINE DECELERATED WHEN PRESSURE WAS APPLIED TO THE GAS PEDAL. ON 9-9-09, THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A NISSAN DEALERSHIP AND THE THROTTLE BODY OF THE ENGINE WAS REPLACED. NO INCIDENT SINCE THE REPAIR. INFORMATION ONLY. *TR