Automotive manufacturer Nissan Infiniti is undergoing a class action lawsuit alleging a design defect in certain Infiniti vehicles' braking systems that causes the brake pads and rotors to prematurely wear.
According to The Brake Report, the lawsuit was filed in the state of California by plaintiff Steven Brand and alleges that Nissan did not properly disclose the defective nature of the braking systems in 2014, 2015, and 2016 Infiniti Q50S vehicles with a Sports Braking System.
Brand's 2015 Infiniti Q50S
The lawsuit's plaintiff leased a 2015 Infiniti Q50S (equipped with the Sports Braking System) in January of the same year, but was forced to bring it back to the dealership where he purchased it, complaining about problems with the brake system.
Having only put a little over 10,000 miles on his new vehicle, Brand was unhappy with the excessive vibrating and rattling that occurred when he pressed down on the brake. The service technician at the dealership allegedly told him that the front rotors were warped and had to resurface the rotors and replace the brake pads and pins.
Unfortunately for Brand, his car issues didn't end there. Shortly after, he began to experience issues when he drove at high speeds. He noticed intense vibrations nearly every time he drove at high speeds. In May 2016, Brand returned to the same dealership to have the problem examined again.
The technician allegedly told him the same thing he did before: The front rotors were warped and both the front brake pads and rotors needed replacing. After letting the dealership technician perform the necessary repairs again, Brand believed his vehicle troubles were over. However, in September, he was back at the dealership again complaining about similar issues.
Not a First for Nissan
Nissan Infiniti is no stranger to issues with their brake systems. In the fall of 2016, the auto manufacturer recalled vehicles due to a brake fluid leak, according to the National Traffic Safety Administration.
Although a brake fluid leak may not seem like much, it was suspected that the fluid leak caused an electrical short, which carries with it the risk of a fire breaking out. The Nissan vehicles mentioned in the report included the 2016-2017 Maxima, 2015-2017 Murano and 2015-2016 Murano hybrid. It's expected that roughly 130,000 vehicles were affected by the issue.
The vehicles that are at risk for having the defect mentioned in the recall are equipped with actuators that were manufactured outside of specified dimensions. In fact, the wrong die temperatures may have resulted in the formation of seal hardness in the vehicles with Nissan's Intelligent Cruise Control. If that occurred, the seal would likely leak brake fluid onto a circuit board. Although an ABS warning lamp should've been triggered in response to the leak, it was possible for an electrical short to occur and, as a result, a fire.
Nissan recommended that if the ABS light inside your Nissan vehicle stayed illuminated for more than 10 seconds, you should pull over and park your car as soon as you can. Although it took a little time to investigate the issue, Nissan put together an efficient gameplan to handle the recalls.