Brake Sensor problems of the 2006 Infiniti QX56

While slowly down for a red light my vehicle began to lose braking and there was popping and grinding noises coming from the brakes. Luckily there was not a car in front of me and as I was able to drive along the curb to finally slow the vehicle and luckily stopped before being in the middle of the intersection . Back in 2010 Infiniti changed out the brake booster and delta sensor when this same occurrence happened with the braking system. Now 4 years later it happened again which means they are still installing a faulty part. It is at the dealership now and because it is out of warranty they will not cover the $2100 job although they admit this is a normal occurrence in this vehicle.

I was on my way to pick up my kids on a clear sunny evening and was driving on regular debris free pavement. As I approached a solid yellow light, I pressed the brakes and heard/felt a pinging sound and the brakes would not stop the car. The front end of the car was grinding and it sounded like a large spring was going to break. I pumped the brakes while screaming and could not get the car to stop. The light turned red and I had to burn through it, fortunately without collision. I continued with no breaks for the next 5 miles and did not use my accelerator. I burned through another solid yellow light. Eventually the car was going slow enough that I used my emergency brake to come to a complete stop. I turned the engine off and called my husband. He came for me and drove the car home without experiencing what I just did. This same thing happened on 09/28/2012, which I filed a complaint for. After doing internet research that night, I found this is a common problem with the qx and armadas and when the engine is turned off, it can reset the computer and temporarily fix the problem. The next day, the Infiniti dealership found and repaired error codes c1179 delta sensor and c1189 break booster and reset the computer. It was covered under my extended warranty with a deductible and they assured me this will fix the issue. This is the second time I have experienced this very helpless and frightening event. This is a serious problem that Nissan motor corp needs to address. It is a safety issue and not a routine maintenance issue. There needs to be a recall before someone dies. I found hundreds of complaints all over the internet and a class action lawsuit filed in 2011 for this very same issue. I am very fortunate that no one was injured or killed in my experiences, but the experience has left me nervous every time I press my brakes.

I was driving with my family in the car and exiting off the highway. When tried to stop for approaching traffic my brake warning like came on the brake pedal became unresponsive. As I pressed the brakes I could hear a broken spring kind of sound and it felt like the abs system was trying to kick on. The car did slow but the brakes were at about 20%. To avoid hitting the approaching cars I had to swerve off the road. We were able to get the car to a stop but clearly would hit the cars in front of me if I were not able to get off the road. While we did not have a crash I did notice two large scrapes on the right side of the car from rubbing against the rail which I did not notice till late the day after. After turning off the car the brakes worked like nothing ever happened. We took the to a local dealership the next morning and we told that "yea that has been happening" with that model. When I searched the internet for the error code I was given (c1179) I found almost 200 hundred people with a similar story to mine. My vehicle has been dealer serviced with every recommenced service. While I understand that cars are machines and they do fail, brakes failing like this due to a bad sensor is a death waiting to happen. As a loyal Nissan/inifiniti customer I am very disappointed that this well document issue has not been proactively addressed. For those reading this at the NHTSA please understand that someone will die due to issue. Review the 16 claims on your site today, it is just a matter of time. Lawyers wont touch this unless you have a severe personal injury and Nissan wont act till lawyers take suit. . . You do the unfortunate math. Nissian/inifiniti - I just expect more.

The contact owns a 2006 Infiniti Qx56. The contact was driving 55 mph when the brakes failed and the contact was unable to stop the vehicle. The contact had to travel down a dirt road and coast to a stop. The failure was experienced several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who performed a diagnostic that located the failure at the brake booster sensor. The dealer replaced the brake booster sensor, but the failure was not corrected. The manufacturer advised the contact that the brake failure was not recalled and they could not guarantee that the failure would be permanently corrected if the brake booster sensor was replaced for a second time. The vehicle was not further repaired. The failure mileage was 41,431 and the current mileage was 53,459.