NHTSA Complaint #10735479 — 2010 NISSAN ALTIMA

I HAVE A 2010 ALTIMA THAT HAS THE SAME SAFETY PROBLEM AS HAS BEEN REPORTED ON THIS WEB SITE AND MANY OTHER AUTOMOTIVE COMPLAINT WEB SITES MANY, MANY TIMES (NOT ONLY FOR THIS NISSAN PRODUCT BUT VARIOUS NISSAN PRODUCTS OF EARLIER YEARS). NAMELY, THE SWITCH THAT OPERATES THE BRAKE LIGHTS FAILS INTERMITTENTLY. WHEN IT FAILS THE BRAKE LIGHTS WON'T ILLUMINATE WHEN THE DRIVER STEPS ON THE BRAKE. THIS IS A REAR END COLLISION WAITING TO HAPPEN! DOES THE NHTSA HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL SOMEONE IS KILLED BEFORE REQUIRING A MANUFACTURER TO FIX A DEFECT THAT BOTH THE MANUFACTURER AND NHTSA KNEW ABOUT FOR SEVERAL YEARS? TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, WHEN THE SWITCH FAILS THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKING AND TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEMS ARE DISABLED POSING AN ADDITIONAL SAFETY RISK. TO MAKE MATTER WORSE, WHEN THE SWITCH FAILS THE CAR WON'T START. WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE STUCK IN A DARK, DESERTED AREA AT 2 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING WHEN YOUR CAR DECIDED NOT TO START? AS I SAID BEFORE, THE MANUFACTURER HAS KNOWN ABOUT THIS PROBLEM FOR YEARS. IN RESPONSE TO THE DELUGE OF CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS, IN NOVEMBER OF 2010 NISSAN ACKNOWLEDGED THE DEFECT BY ISSUING A TSB (NTB10-139) TO FIX THE PROBLEM. IT INVOLVES A DIFFERENT STOP LAMP SWITCH AND A NEW ELECTRICAL HARNESS. THE COST TO IMPLEMENT THE TSB IS BORNE BY THE CUSTOMER. MY DEALER WANTS $579 TO DO THIS! IN RESPONSE TO AN OVERWHELMING NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE IT IS TIME FOR THE NHTSA TO ACT BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED. NISSAN SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT TSB NTB10-139 IN ALL NISSAN PRODUCTS THAT CONTAIN THE DEFECTIVE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH AT NO COST TO THE CUSTOMER. UPDATED 9/28/15 *LN UPDATED 3/23/2016*JS UPDATED 12/5/2017*CN