Check a vehicle VIN check Latest recalls Latest complaints Common problems Rankings Compare vehicles Recall roundups All makes Guides Share your experience
Theme

Vehicle safety record

2012 Nissan Armada Problems, complaints & recalls

Owners have filed 17 complaints about the 2012 Nissan Armada with NHTSA, most often about the body, doors & structure (4) and the brakes (4). Those complaints describe 1 fire and 1 injury. It is covered by 1 recall, the latest in April 2012 for the labels. For comparison, the 2011 has 40 and the 2013 has 17.

NHTSA data checked

AFar fewer problems than a typical Armada year, for its age

#178 most complained-about 2012 vehicle

Complaints
17
Recalls
1
Crashes
0
Fires
1
Injuries
1
Deaths
0

Most common 2012 Nissan Armada problems

Share of all 17 complaints. One complaint can name more than one area. Tap an area for its complaints and recalls.

2012 Nissan Armada recalls 1

Recall repairs are free. Your dealer fixes them whether or not you bought the car there - check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see if yours is done. What to do

Equipment: labels

12V14300026,626 vehicles affected

The problem
Nissan is recalling certain model year 2012 titan and armada vehicles, manufactured from august 12, 2011, through march 13, 2012. The part 567 certification labels on the vehicles do not contain rim size information. Thus, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 110, “Tire selection and rims.”
The risk
The omission of the rim size may lead to an incorrect tire/wheel combination which may increase the likelihood of a crash.
The fix
Nissan will supply owners with a new label and instructions on how install the label or the owner will have the option of taking their vehicle to a nissan dealer to have the new label installed free of charge. The safety recall began on may 28, 2012. Owners may contact nissan at 1-615-725-1000.

What owners say

Be the first Armada owner to share.

Problems or none - your experience is exactly what the next buyer is looking for. Write it now

17 complaints about the 2012 Nissan Armada

Newest first, as filed with NHTSA by owners.

SuspensionFuel systemBody, doors & structure

The contact owns a 2012 Nissan Armada. The contact stated that while driving, he drove over a bump in the road, and the back end swayed and it fishtailed. The contact pulled over and was unable to locate the cause of the failure. The contact continued to drive while driving over 35 MPH; the vehicle swerved. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, a suspension shop, and the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the subframe had fractured and was on top of the...

Read the full complaint

fuel tank. The vehicle was not drivable. The vehicle was not repaired due to the intense repairs and price. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

Filed Incident Suspension · Fuel system, gasoline · StructureNHTSA 11666584
Fuel system

I have a 2012 Nissan armada and a 2013 Nissan armada and both cars o2 sensors have went out on each of them. This must be a common problem and the financial strain shouldn't be left for the customers buying an already expensive vehicles. Very odd that both my armadas are having the same issues with that particular sensor

Filed Incident Fuel system, gasolineNHTSA 11654089
Other & unknown

Ignition doesn't respond when key is inserted and turned to start. Sometimes it does it, sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't work, it usually takes about 10 or 15 times trying and then it eventually starts.

Filed Incident Unknown or otherNHTSA 11619618
Airbags

The contact owns a 2012 Nissan Armada. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormal sound. The contact's husband inspected the vehicle and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23E012000 (Air Bags). The contact was concerned of an inadvertent deployment of the air bags. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 102,016.

Filed Incident Air bagsNHTSA 11516850
Body, doors & structure

The rear lift gate housing is cracked and comprises the integrity of keeping the rear door from opening from the inside and outside to include the glass window portion. I discovered the cracked lift gate housing as the rear latch is not fully operational.

Filed Incident StructureNHTSA 11385710
Driver assistanceBrakes

The brake light and slip indicator turn on and the brakes do not work. There is nothing in the manual that explains what this means other than potentially low brake fluid. We checked the brake fluid level and it was halfway, we filled it up and the issue did not go away even after driving it. When you turn the vehicle off and start it back up the brake light turns off leaving only the slip indicator on but no explanation as to what the issues are regarding both systems. After carefully testing the system we found that the brakes are in fact failing and the vehicle is not stopping. *Tr

Filed Incident Electronic stability control (ESC) · Service brakesNHTSA 11329232
Brakes

Very light brake pedal, pedal goes all the way to the floor before the truck starts to slow down. The brake and vdc lights come and the brakes skip and truck slides. Took to nissan dealership they said it was my brake booster and master cylinder causing the issue, I had items replaced and the problem is still there.

Filed Incident Service brakesNHTSA 11186178
Electrical systemFire

Tl* the contact owned a 2012 nissan armada. While the vehicle was parked outside the contact's place of employment, an explosion was heard. The contact exited the building and noticed smoke coming from her vehicle. The contact opened the front driver's door and noticed flames under the steering column, console, and accelerator pedal. There were no injuries sustained. The fire department extinguished the fire. There was no police or fire report filed. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a towing lot. The vehicle...

Read the full complaint

was not taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that an investigator would investigate the fire. The approximate failure mileage was 60,875.

Filed Incident Electrical systemNHTSA 11084195
Electrical system

The motors on all 3 nissan vehicles have and keep going out. I owned a 2009 nissan altima, currently own a nissan titan 2006 and armada 2012. I've had to replace the titan back passenger motor 5x. Main window motor 1x. Altima front passenger once. Armada two passenger motors are giving out. This happens either parked or driving. Am I the only one having these issues?

Filed Incident Electrical systemNHTSA 11062336
Airbags

I was identified as the owner of a vehicle with one or more takata -manufactured airbag inflators potentially defective , do I have a claim ?

Filed Incident Air bagsNHTSA 11042877
Transmission & drivetrainBrakes

Right rear parking brake cable bracket snapped. Cable dropped down on to right rear drive axle and a loud grinding noise was heard. Took vehicle to nissan dealer and they claimed it was not a warranty repair.

Filed Incident Power train · Service brakesNHTSA 10726326
Fuel system

At approximately 45-50 the car began to shudder on a state highway and stalled making it impossible to steer with normal effort . It would not start and was towed. Of note this is my 2nd armada my 2004 had the same problem. I can't imagine nissan does not know and has done nothing to fix it. Any thoughts ?

Filed Incident Fuel / propulsion systemNHTSA 10721221
Other & unknown

Left rear parking brake cable bracket snapped causing the brake cable to wrap around the left rear drive axle, pulling the drive axle out of the trans-axle, and causing severe damage to the drive shaft and drive train. The truck would not drive forward or in reverse and would drift in park, as if it was in neutral. Also, due to the parking brake cable wrapping around the drive axle, the parking brake cable had eventually snapped, rendering no function of the parking brake when attempting to engage the parking brake. I had to push the vehicle back up against a curb to stop the vehicle from drifting when in park.

Filed Incident Unknown or otherNHTSA 10720926
Brakes

On or about 1/14/2015 I pulled into my mother's driveway to drop off my child for daycare. I put my vehicle in park, applied the emergency brake because the driveway sits up high, and turned off the armada. Upon exiting my mother's house I observed my vehicle rolling off the driveway on it's own. It didn't stop until it hit the curb across the street. This could have lead to a crash or worse if I had been unloading my child from his carseat when the incident occurred. I hate to think what would have occurred if one of my other children was standing behind the vehicle when the vehicle rolled off the driveway. *Tr

Filed Incident Service brakesNHTSA 10679106
Fuel systemElectrical system

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 nissan armada. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer on five occasions for diagnostic testing. The contact stated that the intake sensor and the fuel pump were replaced several times, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 37,000. Updated 11/24/14*lj

Filed Incident Fuel system, gasoline · Electrical systemNHTSA 10643379
Visibility & wipersBody, doors & structureEquipment & accessories

I was driving to the store one morning about 3 miles from home. All of a sudden the rain started coming in the car bc the sunroof drain lines were improperly working at 10% because when manufactured they were placed the wrong way. This caused water to pour into my car as I was driving . My feet were soaked as rainwater poured on the gas and brake pedals. It also started to come through the dvd player ,the sunroof when closed and the side top panel in front. My lights and speedometer began to go in and out as...

Read the full complaint

then water continued to flood my car . My car was in the shop for 2 months and had to be completely gutted due to the water ruining the seats and the carpet. Nissan didn't take responsibility for there factory default that could have caused more unknown problems . We bought the car in dec. 2012 Brand new. *Tr

Filed Incident Visibility · Structure · Equipment adaptive / mobilityNHTSA 10621277
Body, doors & structure1 injury

I hit the button to close the rear lift gate. I then stepped away and when coming back around the corner I did not cut the corner wide enough and went right into the gate which continued to close on my head. This resulted in a laceration to my forehead, a concussion and a trip to the er. At my admission, I was rushing around the corner so I thought perhaps that maybe I did not give it enough time to sense me and retract. However, I have since "tested" this automatic close feature with my arm and it does not sense...

Read the full complaint

it and continues to close. Obviously, this time I was aware of what I was doing so I had time to retract my arm. I am left with a permanent scar on my forehead but I fear this could potentially have even worse consequences for someone else in the future, especially a child. *Jb

Filed Incident StructureNHTSA 10541742

Nissan Armada: every year compared

YearComplaintsRecallsCrashesFiresTop problemGrade
20161000AirbagsA
201521310AirbagsC
201413100AirbagsA
201317231BrakesB
201217101Body, doors & structureA
201140122Engine & coolingC
201048511BrakesC
200923431Body, doors & structureC
2008161701BrakesF
All Armada years

2012 Nissan Armada vs rivals

More sales usually means more complaints, so compare similar vehicles of the same year. The grade compares each vehicle with its own model's other years.

Own a 2012 Nissan Armada? Share your experience.

Your experience goes live straight away and helps every owner and buyer who checks this vehicle. Anonymous, free, no account.

Overall, how would you rate it? *

0/4000 · Please leave out names, phone numbers and your full VIN.

By posting you confirm it's your own, honest experience and agree to the rules. Safety defect? Also report it to NHTSA - that's how recalls start.

Questions about the 2012 Nissan Armada

Does the 2012 Nissan Armada have any recalls?

Yes - NHTSA lists 1 recall for the 2012 Nissan Armada: labels (April 2012). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether yours has been fixed.

What are the most common problems with the 2012 Nissan Armada?

By the complaints owners filed with NHTSA, the most common problem areas are the body, doors & structure (4), brakes (4), fuel system (4).

How many complaints has the 2012 Nissan Armada had?

17 complaints have been filed with NHTSA, the first on September 4, 2013 and the latest on June 12, 2025. Of these, 0 describe a crash and 1 a fire, and together they report 1 injury and 0 deaths.

Is the 2012 Nissan Armada a reliable vehicle?

Its Safety Index is 79 out of 100 (grade A: far fewer problems than a typical Nissan Armada year, for its age). The index weighs complaints, crashes, fires, injuries, deaths and recalls against how long the vehicle has been on the road, compared with the same model's other years. It is not a measure of every repair - read the complaints and owner experiences, and have any used vehicle inspected before you buy.

Which Nissan Armada years have the most complaints?
What should I do if my 2012 Nissan Armada has a problem?

If it is a safety problem, stop driving it if it is unsafe and contact your dealer. Report it to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem - enough reports start investigations and recalls - and share your experience here so other owners know what to look for.

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data

Owners helping owners

Know before you drive.

Every experience you share - good or bad - shows on that vehicle's page and helps the next owner and buyer. Two minutes, anonymous.

Share your experience