Nissan Rogue brake system, functional or disfunctional

[danrog1]

I have 2015 Rogue SV FWD and it runs fine except for the brakes, they seem to be really soft and the peddle seems to travel too far before braking. I complained to the dealer about the problem and he replaced the master cylinder, still the same problem. The service manager says the brakes are working fine. He explained the brake assist is electric now and the peddle will feel softer and travel farther than with vacuum booster assist. Does any one know if this is true or not, I feel like it takes too long for the brakes to react to brake peddle pressure. the car stops fine so I don't know if it is just me that feels this way and the Nissan new brake system is functioning the way it is design to. Has anyone else had this reaction to the Nissan brake system? or is this normal? Thanks.

Dan

[ImStricken06]

every car, every pad(style, type, brand, material), every size caliper will feel different.

try switching to a higher performance pad, and you might get the "bit" you are looking for.

nissan brakes, on the rogue are notoriously underpowered. so much so, they burn up the seals in the calipers. just search the forum

[danrog1]

Thanks 5.56 for your reply just checked with another Nissan service manager and the brake booster is vacuum controlled, the second manager thought he was referring to the ABS system and the modulator valve, which are controlled by electronics and the ECM. I think your right about the Rogue brakes. My 2001 Pathfinder had a soft peddle but not as soft as the Rogue. I'm beginning to think that the soft peddle feel is sheared by all Nissan products. I will try a different dealer ship and see what they say about the soft brake peddle and the cause.

[ImStricken06]

a few years ago, over black friday, pepboys sold stop-tec brake pads for $10 per set (front or rear). i couldn't resist, and pick them up. these cheapo pads give an incredibly soft pedal feel, compared to what i had on there before, but so far they have lasted well over 30k.

i have tried bleeding the lines & using higher quality fluid to no avail. some pads bite better, some dont. maybe nissan started mounting cheaper pads with the new model?

i usually find a highway thats empty (sunday morning are best) - and i run a few tests. i hit 65-75mph, and slam on the brakes. i do this couple times. this test will teach you, your stopping distance, and also show if there are any air-bubbles in the lines. do this till your brakes get hot. (dont boil them, but hot).

[danrog1]

I tried to burnish the brake pads to see if the peddle would stiffen up a bit and seat the pad to the rotor but that didn't help. They replaced the master cylinder yesterday and there could be some air trapped in the modulator valve, I could ask service manager to bleed them again. according to the repair manual it takes the brake booster about minute to activate after starting the engine and the peddle should be up and stiff, sometime it is and sometime it drops about an inch or two and will gradually come back up. When talking to the service manager today he said to bring it back and leave it so that they can find why it is doing this. I will drive it for a couple days to see if there is any improvement, if not I will give them another try at it. If that doesn't work I will have to try another dealership. Thanks for the help and I will try the test that you suggested and see what the results are.
Dan

[ImStricken06]

turn the car off. pump the brake pedal a few times, until it stiffens up. then push, push hard. will the pedal reach the floor? if so, you have a leak

[danrog1]

5.56 I tried that and the peddle holds after dropping an inch but it does hold.

[danrog1]

Update, service dept. kept my SUV for several days...could not find anything wrong, while driving home found the brakes working fine, they must have done something right, but not going to tell me what it was. Drove it for a few days now and still working fine. Now need to address the gas mileage problem, started right after they replaced the master cylinder the first time I had it serviced. They can't find anything wrong, say it may be due to the summer grade gas we are required to use here in the Central valley Cal, due to bad air quality. Don't find that excuse to be plausible due to the fact I achieved 30 miles to the gal before they worked on my SUV. Now getting less than 24 MPG average, should be 28MPG. The werst thing that I found about Nissan Products are their service departments, I have two that are really bad in my area. Has anyone else found this to be true in your area?

[ImStricken06]

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