Brake Defects: "I Will Never Buy Another Nissan"

Long Beach, CA: Since Jennifer bought her brand new G35 Infiniti 4-door sedan in 2004, she has had brake issues."If I knew about the recall and Nissan brake defects I would never have bought this car," says Jennifer, "and I will never buy another Nissan."

"At the first 8,000 miles I needed brakes," says Jennifer. "The warranty covered the first 3 years so I went back to the dealership because they were still under warranty--these new brakes were 11 months old!

When I bought my Infiniti the dealer told me that the warranty covers my brakes for the first three years; he didn't say why, and nobody at the dealership mentioned a recall or a defect. I found out about the recall when I got the first brake job done. The courtesy representative at the dealership desk told me to check the Nissan website and he gave me a 1-800 number to find out about the recall—which had happened a short time before I bought my car. I called the 1-800 number to see if I could have my warranty extended for as long as I own my car because I didn't want to keep paying for brakes every year.

They said NO, that a lawsuit was already settled and only the first three years were covered. I was furious. I don't have a problem with the dealership; in fact they are really nice to me. But they have to go through their supervisors and they have to get back to me with my problems. So I am irritated- I am a single mother and don't have a husband to help me.

I went back to the dealership every weekend for about a month, telling them my brakes were squeaking but they told me they weren't low enough. Apparently for the dealership to return brakes to the manufacturer, they have to be a certain distance from the pads. But this courtesy guy got approval from his supervisor and they did a courtesy brake change.

But I went back within a year because they were squeaking again.

This time I was 200 miles over my warranty and they said I had to cover the entire cost. My own mechanic looked at them and said I have a few months left before they will need replacing. I work for a trucking company and the guy who works on our vehicles is going to replace my brakes for $200. I was so mad with the Nissan dealership that I didn't bother getting a quote—I just took off, but I am assuming the cost would be about $500.

I will never buy a Nissan again; my mother has a 2006 Infiniti and she hasn't had any problems. She doesn't understand that I have these brake issues; I am definitely not riding my brakes—I know how to drive. And I only have 47,000 miles on my car—Nissan has a total disregard for their customers. They just want to make their commissions and get you on the road without a thought for customer expense and safety."