NHTSA Complaint #11174396 — 2013 NISSAN XTERRA

VERY SOFT BRAKE PEDAL OBSERVED PROGRESSIVELY GETTING WORSE OVER PERIOD OF ABOUT 15K / 1 MONTH TRIGGERING INCREASED BRAKING DISTANCE ESPECIALLY DURING WET CONDITIONS AND AT HIGHER SPEEDS OCCASIONALLY PEDAL GOES ALMOST TO THE FLOOR PRIOR TO VEHICLE COMING TO COMPLETE STOP. HOT PADS/ROTORS OBSERVED DURING EVEN COLD AND OR WET CONDITIONS ABOVE NORMAL UNTIL AT HIGHWAY SPEED BRAKES OVERHEATED TRIGGERING CALIPERS TO CEASE UP AT A STOP AT APPROX. 90K (3+ WEEKS AFTER ORIGINAL OBSERVATION OF OCCASIONAL SOFT PEDAL) AT LOW SPEEDS PEDAL APPEARED TO BE SLIGHTLY SOFT, HOWEVER AT HIGHER SPEEDS ABOVE 35-40 UPWARDS OF 60-65 THE ISSUE BECAME VERY NOTICEABLE ESPECIALLY DURING HEAVY RAIN OR WET ROAD CONDITIONS OR IF VEHICLE SAT FOR MORE THAN A FEW HOURS. ISSUE WITH SOFT PEDAL STARTED AROUND 75K AND CONTINUED UNTIL ABOUT 90K UNTIL CALIPERS CEASED ON ROTORS AS NOTED. HAD I NOT EXITED AND CAME TO A STOP VEHICLE COULD HAVE LOCKED UP ALL 4 WHEELS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS CAUSING SERIOUS INJURY. SHOP DIAGNOSED ISSUE TO BE FAULTY HCU WITHIN THE ABS MODULE MANUFACTURED BY ATE. A VERY SIMILAR ISSUE WITH A RECALL NOTED ALREADY BY NISSAN IN 16/18 SELECT MODEL VEHICLES WHERE HCU CAN LEAK CAUSING A SHORT IN THE ECU TRIGGERING A FIRE BUT THIS ISSUE IS NOT OBSERVED OR RECOGNIZED ON PRIOR MODEL YEAR OR VEHICLES NOR DOES NISSAN RECOGNIZE THAT THE HCU APPEARS TO BE THE ROOT CAUSE DUE TO FAULTY SEALS. FINAL DIAGNOSIS: A FAULTY ABS SEAL ON ONE OF THE VALVES CAUSED THE PISTON TO STICK AND THE VALVE TO REMAIN IN THE OPEN POSITION REDUCING PRESSURE THAT WOULD NORMALLY GO BACK INTO THE MAIN LINES DOWN TO THE CALIPERS WHICH IN TURN CAUSED THE SOFT PEDAL SYNDROME. THE MIL ON THE DASH FOR THE ABS AND TRACTION CONTROL NEVER TURNED ON UNTIL AFTER FAILURE AND CEASE UP OF CALIPERS. ABS MODULE MANUFACTURED BY ATE. FORD ALSO NOTES A VERY SIMILAR PROBLEM WITH SAME MANUFACTURED ABS MODULES BY ATE .