[Shayneox]

Last night my brake lights where stuck on....looked inside and found a broken rubber nipple on floor of drivers side....It hits the switch to turn off brake lights. Grabbed wire harness and unplugged till stores are open and got light.

So....in the past I have fixed this with just a small nut and bolt...but room is limited in this repair and it is tight for guys with large hands , so I went to Nissan paid $11.35 for the new nipple , now black not the original tan color and put it in...

I suggest you use needle nose and double sided tape unless you got small hands,

tape nipple to needle nose , have wife or kid press down brake lever , reach under and line it up with hole and squeeze.... and TADA....done deal brake lights fixed....


OK I know its not a gnarly walk through , but in case someone else less mechanically inclined runs into to it....its there...

 

[theReverand]

I just had this problem today! Have to wait until the dealership opens up tomorrow, or salvage a Pick-n-Pull, but thank goodness it's an easy fix. But for the record, what is that nipple called?

 

[Garrick]

Link to description of parts with pictures.

I had the same plastic part wear out for my cruise control last week.

I did some searching and found a good post in a forum about Nissan Z cars - they use the same parts for the brake switches:

Brake lights stay on/Cruise control doesn't work

I actually went to the auto parts store and bought a generic stopper that fit in the hole because it was the weekend and the Nissan Parts Department wasn't open. I found it hard to reach into the spot to get the stopper in even with the plastic shroud below the steering wheel removed. Once I got it in, though, problem solved.

 

[wolfman79]

These things were a beast to put in because of my giant fingers :censor:.
You can get more room if you turn the vehicle on. I had to hold the stopper in place and then pull the brake forward to jam the stopper in the hole.

The clear and green stoppers in the walk through are interchangeable, just cost more.

Thanks to all

 

[bwarren228]

What I've done in the past for friends when this happened was to tape a penny in place of the rubber stopper. Worked great.

 

[waitingtundra]

couldn't get a penny to stick, so used a nylon trim fitting, lol. So far so good amazen this forum is, got me out of another situation, lol.

 

[Fishguy]

I put a small bolt with a nut through hole that he rubber plug goes in. Permanent fix and low cost.

 

[Cusser]

Some ingenious fixes posted here, good to know.

I went to Nissan paid $11.35 for the new nipple , now black not the original tan color and put it in...

Can you please post the part number for this, on your receipt?

Maybe different color is an indication that Nissan wised up and had the composition changed for longer life.

 

[Shayneox]

Some ingenious fixes posted here, good to know.




Can you please post the part number for this, on your receipt?

Maybe different color is an indication that Nissan wised up and had the composition changed for longer life.

Sorry this post is 4 or 5 years ago I think, I dont have part number or receipt.

 

[kevinjohnson3216]

I also had this problem

I couldn't find a brake pedal bushing at the auto parts store that had a good fit so I used a nut and bolt, it's a lot easier to thread in with the master cylinder yoke clevis pin out

Soon after, my clutch pedal bushing went out so I had to change that to a nut and bolt also. Without this your truck won't start because the clutch switch is a safety. (You can just press it by hand or jump the circuit to eliminate it until you get a replacement bushing or nut and bolt in there)

I think polyurethane like energy suspension makes for suspension bushings would last the life of the truck but they use a cheap plastic that gets brittle and cracks with age

 

[brilock]

Bolt fix for me too!

Had the cruise control issue since purchasing the truck about a year ago, no big deal, last weekend my battery was completely dead, nothing left on, or so I thought. Jumped the truck then noticed the brake lights were stuck on. Club Frontier led me to the solution to BOTH of my issues, the plastic button was always missing for my cruise control brake check switch and now my brake light switch button was also broken causing the brake lights to stay on all the time and kill my battery.

2 bolts (approx 1" long x 1/2" diameter) inserted into the holes and I am back up and running with cruise and brake lights as expected!

I LOVE CLUB FRONTIER and of course my truck!

 

[Cusser]

I've still not had these plastic things break on either of my Frontiers, but yesterday my daughter called with brake lights-on issue, Memorial Day; she has a 1998 Pathfinder.

Turns out that her brake switch and the cruise control switch were in switched positions according to the diagram, and both her plastic nubs had broken, cruise control not working for a while now.

I ended up doing the bolt/nut trick like I've seen in this thread and online. Let me tell you that even with average-sized hands getting access to any of this is a bit$ch !!! I can't believe that someone or someones at Nissan actually thought drilling holes and having plastic pads to depress the pins on these switches would be better than just the steel itself. Plus the design having these things so inaccessible, think even inserting the "real" repair part would be tough. By the way: none of this is in the official service manuals either, just the diagram of the stoplight switch wiring.

One question: daughter's Pathfinder still has right brake light, and 3rd brake light lit when pedal is pushed down. But no positive voltage getting to socket of left brake light. I believe some vehicles have the brake lights on separate circuits, as some sort of safety thing. Anyone know if that's the case with these vehicles, and if so, which fuse might be for left brake light?

 

[Cusser]

Do the new green ones go in easily, considering that there's not much room there with which to work?

I think I like best to epoxy in a penny over the hole !!!

Any guesses why Nissan used the little plastic inserts/bumpers?

 

[Roader]

One question: daughter's Pathfinder still has right brake light, and 3rd brake light lit when pedal is pushed down. But no positive voltage getting to socket of left brake light. I believe some vehicles have the brake lights on separate circuits, as some sort of safety thing. Anyone know if that's the case with these vehicles, and if so, which fuse might be for left brake light?

Just one fuse. It looks like the center light gets its power from the left light connector so it's kind of a head scratcher but I could be looking at the wiring diagram wrong.

 

[Cusser]

Thanks. She had an issue with fuse for tail lights/instrument panel burning out, shop fixed "something" in the trailer harness connection (she doesn't tow, was on the Pathfinder when she got it. I didn't tear into it to see if this issue is related, told her to ask at the repair shop.

I can solder in a repair/wire if need be, also she has a left tail light issue as that contact in the socket dies get tail light power (but no brake light power) but very intermittent with lighting the bulb (inserted correctly), even tried two other bulbs, might need new socket or build up contact with a bit of solder.

 

[skypliot]

When I had to do mine I got frustrated enough (I have large hands) I released a brake bleeder valve on the front, pushed the pedal to the floor, did the replacement with the nissan part and then bled the brakes. easypeasy! Even though the cruise control one was still good I went ahead and replaced it at the same time, I figured it was going to go soon, so while I was there.....

 

[Cusser]

I've still not had these plastic things break on either of my Frontiers, but yesterday my daughter called with brake lights-on issue, Memorial Day; she has a 1998 Pathfinder.

Turns out that her brake switch and the cruise control switch were in switched positions according to the diagram, and both her plastic nubs had broken, cruise control not working for a while now.

I ended up doing the bolt/nut trick like I've seen in this thread and online. Let me tell you that even with average-sized hands getting access to any of this is a bit$ch !!! I can't believe that someone or someones at Nissan actually thought drilling holes and having plastic pads to depress the pins on these switches would be better than just the steel itself. Plus the design having these things so inaccessible, think even inserting the "real" repair part would be tough. By the way: none of this is in the official service manuals either, just the diagram of the stoplight switch wiring.

One question: daughter's Pathfinder still has right brake light, and 3rd brake light lit when pedal is pushed down. But no positive voltage getting to socket of left brake light. I believe some vehicles have the brake lights on separate circuits, as some sort of safety thing. Anyone know if that's the case with these vehicles, and if so, which fuse might be for left brake light?

Do the new green ones go in easily, considering that there's not much room there with which to work?

I think I like best to epoxy in a penny over the hole !!!

Any guesses why Nissan used the little plastic inserts/bumpers?

So, 3 weeks later, my daughters come over for Fathers' Day. I told the story of the stupid plastic nub to my oldest's boyfriend. An hour later, i noticed that the brake lights on my own '98 Frontier were on, same issue. So 8:30pm at night, this time I started the engine (read that helped get more working room as brake pedal could go lower), got daughter to hold down brake pedal with a golf club, I cleaned the "hole" area with brake cleaner and a paper towel, then somehow got a penny with JB Weld on it into position (NOT EASY !!!!) and released the brake pedal to hold in place. Brake lights are off. Good thing: I need to leave tomorrow morning at 6:30am, and likely would've found a dead battery.

So hopefully that will be a permanent fix. Please don't ask year of penny, whether heads or tails, etc., not in the mood !!!

 

[Frontierdud]

Glad to see the the Clubfrontier search feature works so well.

Subject: 2004 Frontier, 2.4L Manual.

Symptoms: Truck will not start. Fix: Replaced (designed to fail) clutch "rubber bumper" on clutch pedal with metal bolt. Took just a few minutes.

Afterwards, the truck would start BUT now the brake lights are on all the time! You guessed it ... the (designed to fail) brake pedal "rubber bumper" failed!


The brake pedal bumper is much harder to replace than the clutch. The whole job takes 20 minutes if you do it the way we did:

1) Remove lower dash plate under steering wheel.

2) Lower steering column by removing 2-12mm nuts/bolts from both the top/bottom of column (4 total).

3) Have someone sit in driver's seat and gently lower column to seat. Start engine to allow more depression on brake lever. Push on brake lever with foot. There should now be adequate clearance to get hand to where rubber bumper sits.

4) Using right hand locate bumper hole and forcefully press bumper into hole.

5) Turn off truck and reverse these steps (takes about 5 minutes and you are done).



I just wanted to thank Nissan for making what should have been a 5 minute job and over-complicating it! Nissan then adds salt to the wound by charging $12 for a little plastic part that should cost $0.25! Yes, you can use a metal bolt for the brake pedal bumper replacement but you will find it much more difficult and time consuming to do it that way.

Many makes use this type of scheme (vice using a piece of metal that would last a lifetime) for brake/clutch sensor engagement. Checked the wife's Honda and yes, there are two of them but replacement should take no longer that 5 minutes.

Really disappointed in Nissan on this one! Thanks to the forums for being so very helpful!

 

[pieperg]

2000 Frontier XE, 4cy, auto transmission. Brake lights stay on. I can see that the rubber grommets are gone. My vehicle does not have cruise control. Why do I see 2 switches? Do I have to replace both grommets?
Thanks for any help.

 

[Frontierdud]

2000 Frontier XE, 4cy, auto transmission. Brake lights stay on. I can see that the rubber grommets are gone. My vehicle does not have cruise control. Why do I see 2 switches? Do I have to replace both grommets?
Thanks for any help.

Yes, but am confused when you say "the rubber grommets" as in plural. The truck I posted about was a manual. Both the brake AND clutch pedals have their associated sensors and both required grommet replacement. I do not have an auto and cannot comments on having to replace any more than one (1) grommet (brakes).

You have two options. You can:

1) Drive another vehicle to your local stealership and pay then about $12 for a small piece of plastic that should cost a quarter.

2) You can insert a both/nut into the hole and that should do the trick.

The sensor does not care about what you replace the grommet with ... just so that it has something in that hole to make contact with.


Good luck ...