Hello all,


I experienced this annoying issue that most of you have seen and have finally gotten it solved! Wanted to share in the hopes that it helps someone out.


THE STORY:


I purchased a 2018 Maxima Platinum as a Certified used vehicle last May with 7000 miles on it. 5 minutes after I drove it away from the dealer, I started getting the dreaded "unavailable: Front Radar obstructed" warning. I would see this warning on nearly every drive roughly 3-5 times per hour. I realized that it seemed to happen when a car in front of me would make a lane change out of my way, or if I went around another car.....though other times it seemed to happen randomly.


I took the car back and the dealer replaced the radar sensor behind the bumper along with the bracket. (The radar sensor was replaced with an updated part number). Also the sensor was aligned. THIS DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM.


I went to a second dealer and they also said the part was out of alignment. They realigned it. THIS DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM.


3rd Trip. After accessing the problem, they told me that the part was the newer part and was perfectly aligned and took the stance that this was a normal issue. Now that's true that there are circumstances where you may see this warning normally (snow or mud on the bumper)......but not EVERY TIME YOU DRIVE THE CAR.

I spoke to the service manager to plead my situation. The service manager set up an appointment with a Nissan Engineer.


4th trip. The Engineer came to look over the car. After determining that the part was new and the alignement was perfect, the engineer finally found the solution.


He pointed out to me, that the car's front bumper had been repainted to prep the car for resale before selling it to me. (This is not uncommon for a dealer to so minor body work on a car to sell it. There was probably a scrape on the bumper or something, so they repainted it to sell). The Engineer told me that he had encountered this problem on other Ceritified Preowned cars. Apparently, if the paint is sprayed on too heavy or is sprayed oddly, it causes the sensor to think that there is an obstruction erratically.


THE FIX!


The engineer ordered that a fresh bumper be painted and put on the car. I no longer have the problem!!!!!


This seems extreme but it may help someone who has tried everything and is stumped. Sensor and sensor alignment should be checked first, but if that is all good, this may be your problem.....especially if your car is Certified Preowned!


I am thankful to the 2nd dealership for working with me to solve the problem and to Nissan's engineer for figuring it out. I had lived with the problem for month and it was quite annoying!


Good luck all!

 

Thanks for the information. Now all we have to do is solve the problem of the sketchy "front radar obstructed" warning for those of us who purchased our cars new.

 

Great report to a vexing problem! Hats off to the Nissan rep for following through with this issue.
It does not take much snow to obsure the sensor.I can at least invoke the standard cruise control mode if this happens, >>>>something I could not do on my 2016 Platinum.

 

How do you invoke the standard cruise control? please help

 

Just hold the cruise ON /Off button for 3 seconds or so and it should turn on the regular radar-free cruise feature. Watch for the dash messages.

 

so they replaced the whole bumper instead of just the sensors?
odd

 

Applies to '19 model year and up.

 

Easy to confuse the functions but the radar cruise control has an antenna behind the front bumper and does not utilize the visible sonar button sensors. Therefore, any extra thickness either from a repaint or accumulated ice/slush will cause the radar system to error out. My 2019 is even sensitive to very heavy rain while driving.

 

if its behind the bumper then how does paint get on it?the inside never gets painted

 

lmao what he's saying is it has to shoot through the front bumper and its calibrated for a specific set of conditions, if the bumper conditions vary too much (paint too thick) then it'll get confused and error out. That's why they replaced the bumper.

 

Well said!

 

i dont know much about these cars having owned one but 5 months but never fear theres always jokers from the peanut gallerys that come here to rag on ignorance.

 

i dont know much about these cars having owned one but 5 months but never fear theres always jokers from the peanut gallerys that come here to rag on ignorance

 

We appreciate your questions but you should accept that the visible round sonar sensors do not have anything to do with the radar cruise control. The cruise control radar antennae is hidden behind the front bumper cover and that is what we are talking about. Thickness changes to the front bumper such as ice, sleet and snow can cause problems. A bumper repaint could cause problems too if the repaint is too thick such as outlined by an earlier post. I am disappointed that the system sometimes goes offline due to that extreme sensitivity.

 

huh? Nobody is making fun of you for not knowing how something works on your car. Hell, I only know how to change the air filters lol everything else mechanical may as well be magic to me. That being said, the explanation about the bumper seemed pretty straightforward to me.

 

valuable information, because I have been with this problem for months.

 

Thanks for posting this. It may help others. I would stick with that dealer!

 

We also have a 2018 Nissan Maxima Platinum. When I first bought the car, the sensor would go off for no apparent reason. It was replaced under warranty, and no issues for awhile. Now, 6 years later it is happening again, and strangely enough, it only happens at certain traffic lights here in Orlando, FL. For some reason, the traffic lights send out some kind of signal that makes the sensor read it as a vehicle in front. Note: This even happens when the vehicle is stopped.