Diagsheet

2018 Nissan Altima · symptom sheet

Brakes grind, pulse or wear early

  • 49owner reports
  • 34,455median miles
  • $1,500median quote
  • 4involved a crash

Newest report May 30, 2025 · checked Sep 9, 2026

49 of the 225 complaints on this car describe brake wear, which makes it the most reported problem on the 2018 Altima.

Tick what matches of 49 reports

2
3
1
2
22
1

What got replaced

Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the ABS module (3 reports).

Recalls and investigations

No recall on the brakes covers the 2018 model year as of Sep 9, 2026.

NHTSA investigations into the brakes on the Altima

PE11-020opened May 23, 2011
Service Brakes, Hydraulic · model years 2007 to 2008

Brake master cylinder internal leak. Closed mar 14, 2012.

NHTSA summary
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE11-020 to investigate possible brake performance loss due to brake fluid leaking from the master cylinder into the brake booster in the subject vehicles.A total of 237 complaints were identified by ODI and Nissan.The majority of complaints and warranty claims reported that brake malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) illumination as the only symptom of a problem.Only 12 complaints alleged any effect on brake performance and in each of these the drivers were able to stop the vehicles without incident.No crash claims could be attributed to the alleged defect. Returned part analysis data provided by Nissan showed that most of the master cylinders replaced under warranty did not have a leak condition.These replacements may have resulted from brake MIL illumination due to pad wear.For most of the warranty claims, in a few cases where a master cylinder leak was found, Nissan's testing showed that the leaks were extremely slow and would require thousands of miles or months of driving before brake performance could be affected.After an extensive study of replaced master cylinders for a presumed leak, Nissan was unable to identify any concern with the parts or design of the subject components that could affect brake performance. Nevertheless, Nissan does recognize a concern with premature brake MIL illumination and has decided to address this problem by conducting a voluntary service campaign covering approximately 1.17 million model year 2

None of these investigations covers the 2018 model year.

What owners paid

7 of the 49 reports quote a price. Each dot is one quote. The middle half runs $1,000 to $1,700.

$1,000$1,500$1,700
$0k$2k$4k$6k$8k

When it happens

The middle half of failures fell between 14,969 and 45,000 miles, from the 39 reports that gave a mileage.

118
2719
1420
521
124
125

What owners wrote

“I’ve had to replace the break sensor a few times and it’s unusual… My check engine light came on and it reads the code for the catalyst converter.., the auto part store saw a recall on this for my make and model but not seeing it here . The code was cleared and hasn’t came back on yet but I’m anticipating it will .. these two issues need to be further looked into please”

Filed May 30, 2025

“Brake switch failure contributed to intermitten braking resulting in near crashes”

Filed Apr 11, 2024

Should you keep driving it?

This page can't tell you that. 4 of 49 reports involved a crash. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.

File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation.

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