If you break a car down to its fundamentals, it should do three things: speed up, turn, and slow down. Acceleration and turning are necessary for a vehicle to function, but braking is an essential safety feature. Cars without functional brakes are incredibly dangerous: they’re hundreds of pounds of metal that can do nothing but accelerate or crash.
That’s why you need to be careful if you own a Nissan Rogue. From 2018 through today, Rogues have had consistent brake issues. Here’s what you need to know about Nissan Rogue brake problems, how to identify if your vehicle has the problems, and what to do if it does.
Issues with the Nissan Rogue’s Brakes
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has received 257 complaints about the 2018 Rogue’s brakes alone. More recent years do not yet have the same volume of complaints, but the 2019 Rogue has 110 NHTSA complaints. The 2020 and 2021 models have been subject to multiple reports as well.
The NTSA solicits complaints like these to determine whether a vehicle has a consistent safety defect. When enough reports are filed with the NHTSA, it triggers a federal investigation of the vehicle’s safety and performance. When the agency has received hundreds of complaints like these, recall investigations often follow. In fact, Nissan issued a recall for the car in 2019, but more recent models have also had issues.
So what issues are so dangerous that people are bothering to report them to the government? Common but potentially deadly problems with the model’s brakes include:
Braking Without Warning While Driving
By far, the most commonly reported issue with the Rogue’s brakes is unprompted automatic braking. The Rogue has crash detection systems built into the vehicle intended to spot potential collisions and hit the brakes before they occur. This is known as the Automatic Emergency Braking system, or AEB.
However, there appears to be a problem with the AEB. The vehicles often hit the brakes for no reason on open roads at highway speeds. This sudden braking both hurts the people in the car as they suddenly decelerate and causes accidents as people behind the car rear-end it at speed.
Warning Systems Malfunctioning
Another common issue connected to the AEB system is the failure of the car’s warning systems. Many drivers report getting AEB warnings or blinking electronic stability control lights on their dashboards for no reason. The problem appears to be similar to the issue that causes the vehicle to brake unexpectedly.
Between the spontaneous AEB activation and irritating false warnings, many drivers choose to turn off their AEB system entirely. However, this leaves them without a valuable safety feature that may have been part of the reason they purchased the vehicle in the first place.
How to Tell If Your Nissan Has Brake Problems
Part of the problem with the Rogue’s brake issues is that they aren’t standard mechanical problems. In older cars, brake problems usually develop over time. The driver can tell that the brakes are breaking down either by listening for squeaking sounds or noticing that the car is getting harder to stop.
However, the Rogue’s brake problems aren’t actually mechanical in most cases. Instead, the issue is with the vehicle’s electrical sensors. As a result, there’s not always an advanced warning that the car has anything wrong with it. For all too many people, the first sign that their Rogue has brake problems is a sudden AEB activation that could hurt them or cause a crash.
The only sign you might spot earlier is the warning lights issue. Some people noticed that their car’s AEB or stability control warning lights flashed or turned on more frequently before the car started malfunctioning. This only happens if the faulty sensors break down in the right order. If you notice these lights flashing, you need to be very careful and take your car in for a repair as soon as possible.
What to Do If Your Rogue Has Brake Problems
Whether you’ve spotted flashing warning lights or your vehicle has already started braking at random, you need to get it fixed immediately. Your car isn’t safe to drive. Here’s what you can do to get your vehicle repaired for good:
- Avoid driving the car at highway speeds or on crowded roads. Before you do anything else, get off of crowded streets or highways. If your vehicle brakes with no warning on these roads, you could face a fatal accident. If you have to drive, stick to side streets and low-speed roads.
- Take it to the mechanic as soon as you can. Either drive your vehicle very carefully or have it towed to a Nissan dealership. The dealership will have trained technicians who can identify the issue with your car and possibly repair it. Make sure you get their reports about your vehicle in writing.
- Document unexpected braking incidents and faulty warning lights. Take a video of any warning lights on your dashboard if you can. You can also install a dashcam in your car to document any future AEB activation incidents. These videos will prove that your vehicle has the problems you claim it has.
- Take legal action. If your car was one of the ones affected by the 2019 recall and it still has braking problems, you should take legal action. Your Nissan may be officially considered a lemon under California law. You can work with an experienced lemon law lawyer to get your faulty Rogue repaired, replaced, or refunded entirely. Your lawyer will help you prove that Nissan hasn’t successfully repaired it for you and file a successful lemon law claim.
Get Your Nissan Rogue Repaired or Replaced
The brake problems many Nissan Rogues face are potentially deadly. Braking for no reason at highway speeds is a recipe for disaster. If your Rogue has these problems, you need to get it repaired as soon as possible.
You can schedule your consultation with the experts at Johnson & Buxton to learn more about your options. You can find out whether your car may be a lemon and begin the process of getting your dangerous Rogue repaired, replaced, or refunded.
