Random Brake light/ vsc on
 

My dads 09, will randomly show brake light while driving and vsc will light up. But he isn't doing anything aggressive while driving. Anybody have this problem? Dealer said sometimes master brake cylinder leaks internally???? idk

Anybody experience this?

Nope. No problems like that with my '09.

You may want to check the brake fluid level. A few have reported this type of issue due to low fluid levels.

I second checking the brake fluid level, same thing was happening to me with the lights coming on, just put in a tiny bit of brake fluid and no more brake or vsc lights coming on, just make sure to put a tiny bit of fluid back in, it should be in the middle of min and max, I ended up putting in too much and it was annoying to take the excess out.

i seen that happen to a 7th gen that came body shop after accident.

Thanks for info. I wonder if he checked brake fluid level.

its your brake fluid level, happened to me after having my rear brake pads replaced. have them top it off and you're fine

Thanks for all info. He checked today and it was low (under half way mark). Hopefully that's it.

Random lights on dashboard
 

for some reason the VCS or whatever the traction light is keeps coming on randomly, as does the "brake" light. It goes off eventually, but I think I'm gonna have to take this is to have them figure out why they are on randomly. anyone else have this issue? Car has 16k miles

Check the brake fluid levels, they are most likely low

Exactly. Randomly turning the VDS and 'brake' lights on and off is the way Nissan chose to tell us our brake fluid is getting low. Should both those lights stay on, the likely cause would be the brake fluid is getting dangerously low.

Well its under warranty, and it also needs body work from a rear end incident, so I guess I'll try to make it a one stop. Brake fluid should not be low after 15k miles...has to be a warranty repair.

i had this issue in my '09 S

turned out to be a cracked master brake cylinder or something?

ouch.

well definitely have them check the brake fluid level especially if someones worked on your brakes recently. topping it off or fixing whatever is wrong should be covered by warranty

I have noticed quite a few here on the org over the past three years who have had their brake fluid level drop enough to trigger the VDS and brake lights on the dashboard, then added fluid to bring the level back to the 'full' mark, then never had this problem again. No one seems to be absolutely sure exactly why this happens.

This. Same thing happened on my 09 Sport, dealer said it's Nissan's way of letting you know that it's time for new brakes, or at least have them looked at. The guy checked the brakes(which obviously were fine even at 50k) and just topped off the brake fluid, and the lights don't come on anymore.

Well, I know why mine went on - they came on right after I had my rear brake pads replaced by my mechanic (not Nissan) so made sense he wouldn't think to top off the brake fluid. Just glad it was something simple.

Had this issue in my '09 - Do not assume the low brake fluid is the root cause, it could be a symptom. In my case, it was a defective master cylinder/vacuum booster - was replaced under warranty. Eventually, you may also see the 'service engine soon' light, because the brake fluid can get aspirated into the mass air flow sensor and set a code. Take it to the dealer - the repair took several days to get done, due to parts availability.

Ok ill head to dealer then. Going to call tomorrow.

Nissan fixed it
 

You guys were right...brake fluid was NOT dangerously low, but it was on the fill or sensor line, and when i drove, it would fluctuate and cause VDC and BRAKE light to come on. nissan put brake fluid in, and it was all off and back to normal. However, someone I know familiar with cars questioned why a 3 year old car with 16k miles should have low brake fluid??

One of my old cars used to have the brake light turn on every time I went uphill, even after I topped off the fluid.. Maybe a faulty sensor of some kind?

Thanks for posting this!! I had this same issue for the last couple of months. I am out of warranty and was kinda living with it for the time being. I saw this thread and went and got some brake fluid and filled it up (it was about a/2 empty) and no more lights!!! Thanks again.

As your brake pads wear at all 4 corners the piston pushes out further dropping the fluid level:)

No probs, that's what the org is all about. Happy to report no issues since then either.

I want to thank you guys who posted all this great info on the vdc and brake light. I went to the dealer today for a standard oil change and explain to the tech guy about the vdc/brake light coming on. He told me it was 100 bucks just to check what the problem was. Long story short I refused do it, felt like I was being robbed. Went home after did a little research, found this forum. Added a lil brake fluid and that's all she wrote!

THANKS GUYS!!

Now for some Monday Night Football 100 a dollars richer...:laugh::laugh::laugh:

This ^^^^^

I had the same problem and the brake fluid had gotten low enough that caused this exact symptom. I put in just a little bit of fluid and problem has dissapeared.

brake fluid.