NISSAN ARMADA · model year

2018 NISSAN ARMADA

111 NHTSA complaints, 3 crash reports, and 1 active recall for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

4 / 5 ★

New Car Assessment Program

The 2018NISSANARMADA carries 111 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 3 crashes, 0 fires, 2 injuries, and 0 fatalities. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall 4/5 rating, with 3/5 front crash, 5/5 side crash, and 3/5 rollover scores derived from standardized barrier and dynamic tests.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2018 ARMADA is electrical system with 37 filings, followed by service brakes (14) and engine (12). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 1 active recall campaign, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.

NHTSA currently has 54 investigation files overlapping the 2018 ARMADA, and 5 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

111
Complaints
3
Crashes
0
Fires
2
Injuries
0
Deaths
2018 NISSAN ARMADA — NHTSA crash-test profile NHTSA NCAP crash-test star ratings for the 2018 NISSAN ARMADA. Overall composite: 4.0 of 5 stars across 3 safety dimensions. Front CrashSide CrashRollover 4.0 NHTSA NCAP of 5 stars
  • Front Crash 3.0 ★
  • Side Crash 5.0 ★
  • Rollover 3.0 ★
NHTSA overall 4.0/5 stars, with front-crash, side-crash and rollover ratings from standardized NCAP barrier and dynamic tests.

Total Complaints

111 filings

Crashes Reported

3 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

NHTSA NCAP overall: 4/5 — Strong NCAP rating · Front: 3/5 · Side: 5/5 · Rollover: 3/5

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM37
SERVICE BRAKES14
ENGINE12
UNKNOWN OR OTHER9
POWER TRAIN7
EXTERIOR LIGHTING6
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM2
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL2
BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING2
BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS2
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS2
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL2
AIR BAGS2
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE2
STRUCTURE:BODY1

Recalls (1)

19V65400012/09/2019

BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Nissan Altima, Armada, Frontier, Kicks, Leaf, Maxima, Murano, NV, NV200, Pathfinder, Rogue, Rogue Sport, Sentra, Titan, Titan Diesel, Versa Note and Versa Sedan vehicles, as well as Infiniti Q50, Q60, QX30 and QX80 vehicles. Additio

Recent Complaints

20260218LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES

See attached document for complaint.

20260218LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LOCK

See attached document for complaint.

20260218ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL

See attached document for complaint.

20251217POWER TRAIN

TCC slips, RPMs are all over the place at light throttle between 15-40mph. Believed to be an issue with the torque converter, known to Nissan.

20251016FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Armada. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled several times after refueling. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who diagnosed that the fuel pump was faulty and needed to be replaced. The fuel pump was replaced. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The contact was informed that the year, make, and model were not included in the NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V676000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 157,000.

Mileage: 157,000

20251016ENGINE

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Armada. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled several times after refueling. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who diagnosed that the fuel pump was faulty and needed to be replaced. The fuel pump was replaced. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The contact was informed that the year, make, and model were not included in the NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V676000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 157,000.

Mileage: 157,000

20251016FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

Well wife was driving car on her way to work and it shut off in the middle of traffic. Was no sure what was wrong until I brought it home and started reading the codes. It gave me P0087 P0090 low fuel pressure regulater circuit open and P119C. So I changed out the sensor the in tank fuel pump, high pressure fuel pump and sensor on the evap can. Car still will not start. So I bought a wiring diagram to see were everything was routed and found out the have a built in fuel relay so I bought a new PCM that didn't work so then I found out it there was a fuel pump controller module so change that and still not cranking. Fuel pump flows fuel for a second then shuts off. Now I am not sure what to do now. Truck has been down for 3 weeks now. And been have to renting a car since then.

20250918POWER TRAIN

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Armada. The contact stated that while shifted in reverse, the vehicle failed to respond; however, the vehicle was able to drive forward. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The mechanic, who was a former mechanic with Nissan, informed the contact that it was known failure with the Nissan transmission, and that the shifter was unable to shift into reverse. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that the transmission replacement was not covered under warranty or recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.

Mileage: 98,000

20250824SERVICE BRAKES

There is a common known issue with the Armadas that Nissan has not addressed, where you will randomly get a "BCI Malfunction" warning, sometimes corresponding to a warning about the ABS System. The car will not shift out of the current gear when this happens, until you turn it off and back on again. If you are really unlucky, like I am, this will progress to the car randomly applying the brakes and initiating hard stops, in traffic. This happened to me two days ago in traffic and I narrowly escaped an accident. I had to get the car towed home and it still intermittently does this. The brakes locked up so badly that the car was covered in smoke and appeared to be on fire. This is terribly unsafe, and Nissan needs to fix it, because it is more likely that an Armada owner WILL encounter this, than that they won't, and people are going to be injured and/or killed, if they have not already. This is very serious. Please help.

20250812FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Armada. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and unoccupied, there was an abnormally strong fuel odor coming from the vehicle and there was fuel on the ground. The contact stated that prior to the failure, there was no warning light illuminated. Upon further inspection, the contact discovered a crack in the fuel pump near the fuel hose connection. The dealer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 114,000.

Mileage: 114,000

20250715ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

My 2018 Nissan Armada (VIN: [XXX] ) has been experiencing no-start issues consistently for the past three years. Two years ago, I purchased a new battery from a Nissan dealership after being told the existing one had failed. Despite that replacement, the problem persisted and continues to this day. The vehicle intermittently fails to start, often producing only a click sound even though the battery, alternator, and starter test as functional. I now have to jump my car at least five times a week just to drive it. Through research and online forums, I’ve found that many other owners of this model report identical issues, which appear linked to the brake lamp switch or Body Control Module (BCM). While Nissan has issued Technical Service Bulletins for these concerns, no formal recall has been offered. This ongoing electrical malfunction is a serious reliability and safety issue—especially if the vehicle fails to start during a critical situation—and I urge NHTSA to investigate. INFO

20250617ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

No start, no codes. Have replaced brake switch several times and it fixes it for a bit and then happens again. I have read several forums and it seems to be a commen issue but no recalls for fault. 2018 nissan armada platinum. Shouldn't have to keep replacing switch.

20250617ENGINE

No start, no codes. Have replaced brake switch several times and it fixes it for a bit and then happens again. I have read several forums and it seems to be a commen issue but no recalls for fault. 2018 nissan armada platinum. Shouldn't have to keep replacing switch.

20250617SERVICE BRAKES

No start, no codes. Have replaced brake switch several times and it fixes it for a bit and then happens again. I have read several forums and it seems to be a commen issue but no recalls for fault. 2018 nissan armada platinum. Shouldn't have to keep replacing switch.

20250602ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The display is not working properly, the low window washer fluid comes on and then goes off. The light in the back of the display wants to come on but doesn't. The sensors are lighting up when there is a vehicle next to you but no warning signal. also there is no radio and the buttons on top do not work. I researched this and there was a recall for a DCU in 2018-2019 and that seems like the problem again. I have had nothing but issues with this car since i bought it. Nissan says its the battery which is highly doubtful because they just changed that and the brake switches a million times. BCM came up a bunch of times also in the past but Nissan cant recreate the problem which I am starting be frustrated with and dont even want this car anymore although it was my dream car

20250602UNKNOWN OR OTHER

The display is not working properly, the low window washer fluid comes on and then goes off. The light in the back of the display wants to come on but doesn't. The sensors are lighting up when there is a vehicle next to you but no warning signal. also there is no radio and the buttons on top do not work. I researched this and there was a recall for a DCU in 2018-2019 and that seems like the problem again. I have had nothing but issues with this car since i bought it. Nissan says its the battery which is highly doubtful because they just changed that and the brake switches a million times. BCM came up a bunch of times also in the past but Nissan cant recreate the problem which I am starting be frustrated with and dont even want this car anymore although it was my dream car

20250522ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The Display Control Unit (DCU) has failed in my 18 Armada. My VIN is not part of the recall with the other 18 Armada models. The safety features of the collision warning system does not work because the DCU has failed. This is a pedestrian safety issue. The Navigation system does not work because the DCU has failed. None of the control panel buttons on dash or the steering wheels work because the DCU has failed including the cruise control. The Nissan dealership has confirmed it is the DCU but it is not under the recall with my VIN, however it appears all 18 Armada's have been recalled due to the same issue. No warning lights appears, the display screen stopped working only displaying the Nissan symbol. I would like my VIN added to the recall list for the DCU so the vehicle can become safe to myself and others. replacement is nearly $%,000.00 dollars 1 Affected Product Vehicle MAKE NissanMODEL amarda

20250518ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The start hesitation started about 2 years ago, but my Armada never did not start. Then about a year so ago the Armada would not start, and it would not start in Dover, DE, and I had to call Geico to get a jump. I had a brand-new battery installed thinking that was the issue months prior, but my Armada would not start again. I took it to the dealership, and they charged me diagnostic but could not find any issues. After numerous times of my Armada not starting, I bought portable jumper whenever this happens. Just last week I was in Milford and went to start my Armada and it would not start. It clicked and then no power anywhere... the same as other times. I called Geico roadside and while waiting about 10 minutes, my Armada started, and I drove it straight home. I tried to start it the next day, and it started with a slight hesitation, but it started. So now when I go places, I will not turn my Armada off for fear it will not start again.

20250514SERVICE BRAKES

Break pressure sensor is bad, the car will intermittently not crank. If car is in park it will not go into gear. It’s as if the break system can not build up enough pressure for the car to register the breaks are being pressed

20250414CrashSERVICE BRAKES

BCI (Back-up Collision Intervention) Malfunction. It's random when this comes up on the dashboard warning lights. It lights up several other things as well. It doesn't allow you to use the cruise control, or the 4-wheel drive. It disables the ABS and traction control. I don't know how this is not a recall, because I see several forums talking about this issue for this vehicle specifically in this year. We took it to the dealership, and they brushed it off, and claimed they didn't know how to fix it. It has caused multiple problems and has put my family at harms risk due to it disabling the safety features.

Compare 2018NISSANARMADA to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations 5 Open

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2018 NISSAN ARMADA have?
The 2018 NISSAN ARMADA has 111 NHTSA complaints, 3 crashes, 0 fires, 2 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What is the safety rating for the 2018 NISSAN ARMADA?
The 2018 NISSAN ARMADA received an overall NHTSA safety rating of 4/5, front crash rating of 3/5, side crash rating of 5/5, and rollover rating of 3/5.
Are there any recalls for the 2018 NISSAN ARMADA?
Yes, the 2018 NISSAN ARMADA has 1 recall(s). The most common affected component is BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA. Recalls are issued by NHTSA and manufacturers must provide a free remedy.
What are the most common problems with the 2018 NISSAN ARMADA?
The most-complained component for the 2018 NISSAN ARMADA is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM with 37 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include SERVICE BRAKES and ENGINE.
Is the 2018 NISSAN ARMADA safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. The 2018 NISSAN ARMADA has an NHTSA safety rating of 4/5. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.