I’m so grateful for your video. I’m having the same issue with our 2018 Armada and the BCI error code came on but of course, when I took it to the dealer, it started up ok and they couldn’t diagnose it. You were able to pinpoint the root cause being the brake switch. Thx to you and your wife!
My man! I had the same issues with my wife's 2019 Armada. I took out the switch, cleaned it just like you did and we haven't had a problem since. Been about a month now, no issues. Thanks!
My 2017 Titan is having same issues 😢 im at work rn and dreading after work not starting but at least I have you vid to help🎉 big thanks in advance. I will follow up ✌🏼
Dude! You guys are a God send. We've been dealing with this for months in our 2017 Armada. The dealership and the local mechanic had no idea what to do.
Thanks, bud. You are a life saver. We got stranded at Costco today. Our 2018 Armada would not start. We thought we had a dead batter, but everything turned on.... windows, radio, horn, and lights. The Push-Start would just cycle between OFF, ACC, and ON but never crank over. No clicks.... totally quiet. It wasn't the key fob battery. I checked through all the fuses in the cabin and under the hood. Finally checked the brake relay switch. Took it off and fiddled with it. The Armada started up right away. I'll give it a good cleaning/adjustment when I get home for free. If not, I can order the replacement part. I see it going for $30 online.
Bro I was about to replace everything!!! After watching this video, I just unplugged it and plugged it back in and my car started right up!!! I was about to change out the whole ABS system and everything related to it which would’ve been a lot of work. 2017 Nissan Armada. Thanks!!! Your girl is pretty hilarious on this video, just saying!
Thanks man! Glad it helped you out, it's a pretty simple problem but its definitely irritating when it happens. Cool we have an Armada too 😁 And yeah she can be a 🤡 sometimes LOL!
Hello Garage23, Thank you both for posting such a detailed & helpful video. My 2017 Titan had this intermittent issue and after replacing the battery it was still doing the same thing. ( I was away working so I didn't have time to try and diagnose the issue). After I returned to the hotel that night I got chance to search the interwebs. A lot of the Nissan forums showed this to be the culprit. And, that this is a Nissan wide issue - from Jukes to Titans and everything in between, I think it was a Renault issue as well since they used the same Panasonic switch. Mine was the prong type and I just spread them out a bit and it started several times for me so far - time will tell. Thanks again for the time and effort I hope this helps other people out as well. All the best, Peter
I’m very grateful to you for your video and the time you took. I just bought 2017 armada and it had this issu. My armada let me in the middle or the forest.. 110 km to my dealer...they changed the battery but it was still starting randomly and witth hesitation. I took the switch apart and boom the same thing as in you video. One of the contact was dark. I just cleaned it with sand paper and polished it a bit with touth paste and bingo..it starts strong. Thanks a lot again for your help!!!😀
Worked like a charm! This is the second one I’ve had trouble with since new in 2019. I’ll add that I had a nice amount of gunk on the inside metal tabs of the white plunger that I needed to scrap off. This was in addition to cleaning and sanding the other pieces. Also if you haven’t unplugged the grey plug on the negative side of your battery yet, do it and save yourself additional future headaches. Thanks again!!
Glad it helped you out! And it seems to last a while too. Since I posted that video i had zero issues up until about 6 months ago when i cleaned it out again and it's still going.
I have this problem on my 17 Pathfinder and 18 Armada. Every few months just decides to not work and at the most unfortunate times. Nissan really needs to fix this. Thanks for the video.
Lemme tell y'all, Garage23 knows his stuff. Ours was in the shop over a year ago for like 2 weeks getting a brake switch replaced and a new battery! At that time told them, I believe the Alternator is acting funky, yada..yada... Well the No Start just showed up again 2 days ago...was just getting ready to walk out the door for a replacement alternator and begin my knuckle bustin day, when I stumbled across this vid and in the comments read from Garage23 to UNPLUG the small wire going to negative battery terminal to apparently disable the "Smart" alternator. Bingo, we gots a winner, it hasn't charged this good since we purchased the vehicle. EXCELLENT GARAGE23, THANKS FOR THE INSIGHT!!
My armada 2017 is doing this , we thought it was something with the car not detecting the key fob since a little red car light appears ,, i just told my husband he needs to check this ..thanks
I’ve dealt with this issue with my 2017 Armada platinum since approx 15,000 miles and now still at 60,000 miles. While under warranty, dealership said it was “something with the brake system” said they fixed it and within 5 mths, same thing all over again. NEVER know when it’s gonna leave me stranded 😑 Like right now and 1.5 hrs away from home Ughh!
Thanks a lot , i have QX80 2019, i have almost same issue , every 4-6 months i have to replace battery although some times test show battery is good! Last 3 days every time i stop the can must jumpstart with external battery , today i went to electrician and once he did battery test can start and no issue at all! Computer test show no issue but again now time to time not start although all lights work on ! I will try to do the same and see how it will work
That's probably the "smart" alternator. You need to disconnect the small plug on the negative battery terminal and leave it disconnected. That should make all your battery issues go away.
@@Garage23 currently the car not start and all lights working as well once i press brake paddle bake brake lights are lighting! Dose this mean brake switch have no issue?
My 2019 Armada does this once every month but it won't turn over or barely does. I jump it off first time no problem but test shows nothing wrong with battery or starter. Its a big inconvenience
October 24, 2024. Had this happen to my 2020Nisdan Pathfinder. I replaced the switch today, so hopefully it's fixed. This Nissan has given nothing but problems. I had to have the ABS and AEB replaced in January. The dealership kept the car for nearly 3 months. They did provide me with a loaner. I'll stick to Toyotas.
What's the latest latest update on this fix Cuz I've also done this fix by replacing the brake switch, but still have the same issue of the switch acting up at times Thanks 🙏
Still haven't had any issues since this video was posted. Are you sure it's the brake switch? If you don't get the "BCI malfunction" on the screen then it might be the smart alternator draining the battery.
Did you get any type of error when trying to start? Like did it say you weren’t holding the brake when you actually were? Or no evidence other than the car not starting? I’m having the same issue and have for awhile. I’m on my second battery in three years. The first time the battery seemed to fix the issue for awhile. Now the issue has returned and a new battery didn’t help this time. Just trying to cover bases before I start digging down to the stupid starter.
Occasionally we would get a BCI malfunction error on the dash, the thing is there are two issues at play here, the “smart charging” system and the bad break switch. There is a small plug on the negative battery cable that needs to be removed, this will keep the voltage at 14.5 rather than variable. This along with a new brake switch will solve your starting problems, the downside is 14.5v is technically overcharging and will slowly degrade the battery over time so make sure you buy one with at least a 3 year warranty.
Just an FYI for anyone reading the comments looking for answers my issue ended up being the starter relay located in the engine fuse box. Thank you for the reply! Always good to know extra info on the brake switch and also I had been wondering the pros vs cons of unhooking that battery cable. Great video and thanks for the help.
Starting issues on Armadas always come down to either the smart charginf system, or the brake switch. So i would start with cleaning the switch as in this video as it is the cheapest option, or just replacing it all together. Next would be the smart charging system, to disable this you need to unplug the sensor attached to the negative battery terminal. This will keep the system at 14.5 volts instead of variable. There is a chance the battery is bad so have it tested and replace if needed.
@@Garage23 Awesome! side note i did find on the forums to disconnect the variable voltage sensor that controls how often it charges up the batter (gray battery clip on negative terminal), that helps with much stronger startups in case. But glad you posted this. Sub'd for all the other great content too.
Dealing with the same thing on a 2013 Qx56. I've been clearing out codes with my obd scanner, eve there aren't any codes, then starts right up. Will try swapping the brake switch, thanks man!
@@kdtxtooldad right! Thats a seperate issue all together but can also leave you stranded. I unfortunately bought a new battery before finding out about that plug.
sort of, it started acting up again about 3 months ago but I just cleaned the switch again and it's fine. The fix lasted since the date this video was posted so i think that's pretty good.
Thank you so much for this information. I was having this problem with my 2018 Titan. Checked the brake relay switch and it doesn’t appear to need replacing but had merely been slightly dislodged. “Clicked” it back into place and problem appears to be solved.
Please report this to NHTSA. This seems to be a common problem and dealerships/repair shops use this to charge for unnecessary repairs at a much higher cost.
Just went through this whole video and we only have one ad location specified, unfortunately we have no say in what RUclips plays for you in that segment but we have noticed more un skippable ads across the platform in general.
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I’m so grateful for your video. I’m having the same issue with our 2018 Armada and the BCI error code came on but of course, when I took it to the dealer, it started up ok and they couldn’t diagnose it. You were able to pinpoint the root cause being the brake switch. Thx to you and your wife!
Glad we were able to help and that it worked for you Rodolfo!
Did the bci error go away also? We are having the same issue just got the part. Going to clean the old one also to have just in case
My man! I had the same issues with my wife's 2019 Armada. I took out the switch, cleaned it just like you did and we haven't had a problem since. Been about a month now, no issues. Thanks!
Nice! Glad to hear it worked and it's been good since
My 2017 Titan is having same issues 😢 im at work rn and dreading after work not starting but at least I have you vid to help🎉 big thanks in advance. I will follow up ✌🏼
Dude! You guys are a God send. We've been dealing with this for months in our 2017 Armada. The dealership and the local mechanic had no idea what to do.
Glad it helped you out 🙌
Thanks, bud. You are a life saver. We got stranded at Costco today. Our 2018 Armada would not start. We thought we had a dead batter, but everything turned on.... windows, radio, horn, and lights. The Push-Start would just cycle between OFF, ACC, and ON but never crank over. No clicks.... totally quiet. It wasn't the key fob battery. I checked through all the fuses in the cabin and under the hood.
Finally checked the brake relay switch. Took it off and fiddled with it. The Armada started up right away. I'll give it a good cleaning/adjustment when I get home for free. If not, I can order the replacement part. I see it going for $30 online.
Yeahhh getting stranded is no fun, I hope you didnt buy any icecream and had it melt on you lol. I hope the fix helps you as well and saves you $30 👍🏻
Where can you buy the switch? Having exact issue with my 2019 Nissan Armada
Do you have a link for the part ?
You’re the best, your information and your video saved me $500
Thanks
They told me the alternator is bad 😂
No problem! Alternator is always getting a bad rep 😅
Just fixed my wife's 2020 Armada! Thatnks brooooooo and ma'am!
Bro I was about to replace everything!!! After watching this video, I just unplugged it and plugged it back in and my car started right up!!! I was about to change out the whole ABS system and everything related to it which would’ve been a lot of work. 2017 Nissan Armada. Thanks!!! Your girl is pretty hilarious on this video, just saying!
Thanks man! Glad it helped you out, it's a pretty simple problem but its definitely irritating when it happens. Cool we have an Armada too 😁 And yeah she can be a 🤡 sometimes LOL!
Thanks, same with my wife 2017 armada. Greetings from Puerto Rico 🇵🇷
Saludos 👋🏻
I’m having the same issue, it’s so nerve racking, thanks for sharing.💯you Rock!
Thanks for the video, it helped me a lot with my truck, it saved me a lot of money
Glad it helped 🙏🏻
YOU ARE A LIFE SAVER!!! Thank you! I looked through some many videos and no problem solving… you rocked my friend!🤟
Glad we could help 😁
Thank you both. What a relief.
The dealer workshop said if it's a brake switch the cost is $750.
Glad to save you some cash 🙌🏼
Hello Garage23, Thank you both for posting such a detailed & helpful video. My 2017 Titan had this intermittent issue and after replacing the battery it was still doing the same thing. ( I was away working so I didn't have time to try and diagnose the issue). After I returned to the hotel that night I got chance to search the interwebs. A lot of the Nissan forums showed this to be the culprit. And, that this is a Nissan wide issue - from Jukes to Titans and everything in between, I think it was a Renault issue as well since they used the same Panasonic switch. Mine was the prong type and I just spread them out a bit and it started several times for me so far - time will tell. Thanks again for the time and effort I hope this helps other people out as well. All the best, Peter
You would think by now they would have something as simple as a brake switch figured out 😅 glad to hear you got it fixed 👍
I’m very grateful to you for your video and the time you took. I just bought 2017 armada and it had this issu. My armada let me in the middle or the forest.. 110 km to my dealer...they changed the battery but it was still starting randomly and witth hesitation. I took the switch apart and boom the same thing as in you video. One of the contact was dark. I just cleaned it with sand paper and polished it a bit with touth paste and bingo..it starts strong.
Thanks a lot again for your help!!!😀
That's awesome! Glad to hear we were able to help! That would have been one expensive tow back to civilization 😅
Thanks for the video. Got my wife’s car up and running in about 15 minutes. You gotta new sub
Worked like a charm! This is the second one I’ve had trouble with since new in 2019.
I’ll add that I had a nice amount of gunk on the inside metal tabs of the white plunger that I needed to scrap off. This was in addition to cleaning and sanding the other pieces.
Also if you haven’t unplugged the grey plug on the negative side of your battery yet, do it and save yourself additional future headaches.
Thanks again!!
Oh yeah figured out that plug pretty early on too. We should probably make a video on that as well.
Dude, life saver. Many thanks for posting this video. Saved me a pile of money and a nervous breakdown. 😅
Glad it helped you out! And it seems to last a while too. Since I posted that video i had zero issues up until about 6 months ago when i cleaned it out again and it's still going.
I have this problem on my 17 Pathfinder and 18 Armada. Every few months just decides to not work and at the most unfortunate times. Nissan really needs to fix this. Thanks for the video.
Thanks man !!! It helped my car and im taking straight to the Nissan dealership.
Thank you for the video. Having the same issue, and yes the issue is not consistent enought to take to the dealer....wth Nissan.
Thank you for showing us the the solution. Immense Thanks.
Lemme tell y'all, Garage23 knows his stuff. Ours was in the shop over a year ago for like 2 weeks getting a brake switch replaced and a new battery! At that time told them, I believe the Alternator is acting funky, yada..yada... Well the No Start just showed up again 2 days ago...was just getting ready to walk out the door for a replacement alternator and begin my knuckle bustin day, when I stumbled across this vid and in the comments read from Garage23 to UNPLUG the small wire going to negative battery terminal to apparently disable the "Smart" alternator. Bingo, we gots a winner, it hasn't charged this good since we purchased the vehicle. EXCELLENT GARAGE23, THANKS FOR THE INSIGHT!!
Awesome! Thanks for commenting and letting us know it helped 🙌🏼
My armada 2017 is doing this , we thought it was something with the car not detecting the key fob since a little red car light appears ,, i just told my husband he needs to check this ..thanks
Man this is so helpful mine only acts up every now and again I have a 2019 with 52000 miles dealer wants $350 I took mine off and cleaned it all up.
Glad it helped!
I’ve dealt with this issue with my 2017 Armada platinum since approx 15,000 miles and now still at 60,000 miles. While under warranty, dealership said it was “something with the brake system” said they fixed it and within 5 mths, same thing all over again. NEVER know when it’s gonna leave me stranded 😑 Like right now and 1.5 hrs away from home Ughh!
Has happened to both my '17 and '18.
Thanks a lot , i have QX80 2019, i have almost same issue , every 4-6 months i have to replace battery although some times test show battery is good! Last 3 days every time i stop the can must jumpstart with external battery , today i went to electrician and once he did battery test can start and no issue at all! Computer test show no issue but again now time to time not start although all lights work on !
I will try to do the same and see how it will work
*Car
That's probably the "smart" alternator. You need to disconnect the small plug on the negative battery terminal and leave it disconnected. That should make all your battery issues go away.
@@Garage23 currently the car not start and all lights working as well once i press brake paddle bake brake lights are lighting! Dose this mean brake switch have no issue?
@@ahmedalharrasi5983 Could still be the brake switch, our tail lights still worked when the car didn't start.
My 2019 Armada does this once every month but it won't turn over or barely does. I jump it off first time no problem but test shows nothing wrong with battery or starter. Its a big inconvenience
October 24,
2024. Had this happen to my 2020Nisdan Pathfinder. I replaced the switch today, so hopefully it's fixed. This Nissan has given nothing but problems. I had to have the ABS and AEB replaced in January. The dealership kept the car for nearly 3 months. They did provide me with a loaner. I'll stick to Toyotas.
Normally I’d agree with you but even Toyota has been having issues lately.
Where is the OEM part number? Can someone post???
I just did this hope it fixes it
Will this fix work on my skateboard?
Have you tried turning it on and off again?
What's the latest latest update on this fix
Cuz I've also done this fix by replacing the brake switch, but still have the same issue of the switch acting up at times
Thanks 🙏
Still haven't had any issues since this video was posted. Are you sure it's the brake switch? If you don't get the "BCI malfunction" on the screen then it might be the smart alternator draining the battery.
Did you get any type of error when trying to start? Like did it say you weren’t holding the brake when you actually were? Or no evidence other than the car not starting? I’m having the same issue and have for awhile. I’m on my second battery in three years. The first time the battery seemed to fix the issue for awhile. Now the issue has returned and a new battery didn’t help this time. Just trying to cover bases before I start digging down to the stupid starter.
Occasionally we would get a BCI malfunction error on the dash, the thing is there are two issues at play here, the “smart charging” system and the bad break switch. There is a small plug on the negative battery cable that needs to be removed, this will keep the voltage at 14.5 rather than variable. This along with a new brake switch will solve your starting problems, the downside is 14.5v is technically overcharging and will slowly degrade the battery over time so make sure you buy one with at least a 3 year warranty.
Just an FYI for anyone reading the comments looking for answers my issue ended up being the starter relay located in the engine fuse box. Thank you for the reply! Always good to know extra info on the brake switch and also I had been wondering the pros vs cons of unhooking that battery cable. Great video and thanks for the help.
Thanks for sharing I don’t think that’s a common one on armadas but glad to hear you got it sorted✌️
I have a 2020 armada it crank over but no start. Said it was my starter any ideas?
Starting issues on Armadas always come down to either the smart charginf system, or the brake switch. So i would start with cleaning the switch as in this video as it is the cheapest option, or just replacing it all together. Next would be the smart charging system, to disable this you need to unplug the sensor attached to the negative battery terminal. This will keep the system at 14.5 volts instead of variable. There is a chance the battery is bad so have it tested and replace if needed.
What's the latest update on this fix?
It's been 7 months and still going strong, haven't had to take it back out and clean it again 👍🏻
@@Garage23 Awesome! side note i did find on the forums to disconnect the variable voltage sensor that controls how often it charges up the batter (gray battery clip on negative terminal), that helps with much stronger startups in case. But glad you posted this. Sub'd for all the other great content too.
Dealing with the same thing on a 2013 Qx56. I've been clearing out codes with my obd scanner, eve there aren't any codes, then starts right up. Will try swapping the brake switch, thanks man!
@@kdtxtooldad right! Thats a seperate issue all together but can also leave you stranded. I unfortunately bought a new battery before finding out about that plug.
Literally have same year armada and exact same problem, is your vehicle still operating properly?
sort of, it started acting up again about 3 months ago but I just cleaned the switch again and it's fine. The fix lasted since the date this video was posted so i think that's pretty good.
Thank you so much for this information. I was having this problem with my 2018 Titan. Checked the brake relay switch and it doesn’t appear to need replacing but had merely been slightly dislodged. “Clicked” it back into place and problem appears to be solved.
Glad it was an easier fix for you 👍🏻
What’s that switch called?
Should just be called a brake pedal switch.
Helo guys. I have that problem with my 2018 armada
Que tiene?
Si es el mismo problema, trate de limpiar ese switch o remplazarlo de completo.
Please report this to NHTSA. This seems to be a common problem and dealerships/repair shops use this to charge for unnecessary repairs at a much higher cost.
You can't even watch the thing you trying to. It's just ads you can't skip
Just went through this whole video and we only have one ad location specified, unfortunately we have no say in what RUclips plays for you in that segment but we have noticed more un skippable ads across the platform in general.