2018 Nissan Armada Reliability Report

Sections of the instrument cluster go dark or flicker. The 0 to 20 mph stretch of the speedometer and parts of the tachometer are common trouble spots, and the dark area can spread across the gauges. That forces longer glances away from the road. One report puts the problem at 82,456 miles. Owners call it common on 2017 and 2018 models and cite a dash replacement of roughly $1200 before labor. A separate complaint says the headlights glare at oncoming traffic.

The brakes apply on their own. Reports describe sudden hard stops in traffic and while backing out of a driveway with nothing nearby, plus one case of brakes locking hard enough to produce smoke. These episodes usually come with a BCI Malfunction warning, ABS warnings and a spread of other dash lights. Afterward the transmission may refuse to leave park or its current gear until the car is restarted, and sometimes it will not restart at all. Owners suspect a brake pressure sensor or switch fault.

Random no-starts and repeated battery drain show up here too. The car clicks or shakes without firing, yet shops find no codes and test the battery, alternator and starter as good. Owners suspect the stop lamp switch or the IPDM smart charging system, and one long-running case describes the battery dying every 6 to 12 months. Other reports describe an infotainment screen that freezes, reboots endlessly, drops Bluetooth and loses the backup camera, plus a BCI Malfunction warning with a no-start.

The fuel pump fails at high mileage. One failure mode is stalling after refueling with the check engine light on. The other is a cracked pump near the fuel hose connection that leaks fuel onto the ground and gives off a strong fuel odor while parked, with no warning light beforehand. The reports come at about 114,000 and 157,000 miles, and both point to replacing the pump.

The air bag warning light blinks on and off. In the one detailed report, it came back after an earlier repair for the same fault at 80,000 miles. The cause was not yet determined. The second complaint contains no details. With only two filings and just one usable, there is no wider pattern to report.

The car brakes itself unexpectedly. In one report it stopped completely at 55-60 mph on the highway with nothing ahead, raising the risk of a rear-end collision. The Forward Emergency Braking light flickers on and off, or a BCI Malfunction message appears along with most of the dash lights. Afterward the car cannot accelerate normally until it is parked and restarted, and it does not always restart right away, which leaves occupants stranded.