Break Lights Won't Shut off

Sounds like the brake light switch need adjusted. There should be a square switch with a thread column coming out of it up by the top of the brake pedal arm. At the end of it a button should be touching the arm. Turn the switch to move it closer to the arm until the lights go off. Then check that they come on when the brakes are pressed and go back off.

I just had the same problem. My 1996 Nissan Maxima brake lights would not turn-off. I took my car to Firestone and they had to replace the "Brake Pedal Stopper". The cost of the part was $10.99 plus $79.00 in labor and taxes. Total cost was less than $100.00.

Had the same problem on a '96. A plastic stopper that apparently was on the break pedal had cracked into pieces and fell out. I put a bolt with the same head thickness through it, then put a nut on it... Problem Solved!!! Cost "NADA"

Had the same problem with my son's '97 Maxima. He is away at college out of state and called me saying his brake lights would not go off. The cracked pieces were on his floor board under the brake pedal. Took AlexW's advise, see above, and within an hour my son had bought a bolt and nut at Lowe's and installed it. 15 cents and the problem is solved!

AlexW, thanks for the bolt tip! I fixed mine with "spare parts"! :^)

2001 Nissan Sentra Even if you know NOTHING about cars or fixing broken things in general you can DO THIS YOURSELF if you have the confidence and patience to do it. You do not need " know how". I just fixed mine by reading these forums, watching youtube videos and not having the cash or desire to take it to the dealer. Look for the clues that your brake light stopper ( black plastic things that turn your break lights off ) have broken into peices on the floor board of your car. If you have broken plastic peices there, you probably need to read the rest of this. There are two identical ones on each side, both of mine were broken. Tools I used to fix it myself. Bolt (similar head size to head of plastic piece that is broken) Nut Wrench that fits nut to be able to to tighten it. Needle nose pliers to hold bolt to be able to tighten even more. Headlamp instead of flashlight so I could use both hands. Block of wood and Hammer to be able to hold the brake pedal down (depress the brake pedal) so I could use both hands. Towel to put your knees on in the driveway. Okay, now come up with a reward for yourself after you SUCCESSFULLY fix this yourself because the next few steps aren't easy but not impossible. Push the seat of the car all the way back and push the backrest all the way down. Put the stearing wheel all the way up. At some point you may have to lay backwards upside down in the seat to see the underside of the brake pedal. At this point I will describe what I did and maybe you can apply it to what you need to do. I found the broken peices and found a bolt similar in size and fairly short. I turned on my car and put on the parking brake. It just felt safer to do this. Turning my car on I was able to depress the brake pedal as far as it would go. It does not depress very far when car is off. I depressed the break pedal with block of wood and hammer. I put on the headlamp and turned upside down to lay backwards in the seat and had the nuts bolts wrench and pliers by my head on the floor board. I put the bolt through the brake pedal hole and put on the nut and tightened it with the wrench then held it with needle nose pliers to tighten it even more. Both of mine were broken so I repeated this on other side of brake pedal. I had to get up and take a break because this isn't the easiest position yo be in for long. DON'T be afraid to take a break! This will help your patience too to be able to successfully complete your project! This worked ! My brake lights now turn off so my battery will no longer die! Please note that I am not a mechanic and my brake lights have only been fixed for an hour. I do not know if this fix will last or if there are any other issues with this do it yourself solution. You can watch youtube videos on how to fix this too. I will try to update in a few weeks!

thank you I'm not much of a car guy but I got this O.K.

I would like to thank Alex W for the bolt tip You rock I am female who drives a 97 Maxima I was about to go to bed and noticed my brake lights were on I called my male friend he came over to help me He didn't have a clue decided to do what I do best GOOGLE I really appreciate your suggestion Thank you so much

Thank you for all the feedback. Went to AutoZone spent less than $5.00 and got the problem fixed.

I just wanted to add that I fixed this by purchasing dime sized magnets. A pack of 8 for $1.36 at Walmart. Slapped one magnet on each side of the metal bracket, I doubt the one on the back was even needed, but hey its there. Done deal - 15 seconds upside down. Car running did make it easier to depress the brake. Good luck everyone. Easy peasy.

I super glued a nickel in place and poof it worked total cost $.05

Here is what it looks like without the stopper. Looking up from the LH driver's side.

Here is a 2 sense 97 Nissan Maxima brake light switch stopper repair. 2 pennies and super glue.

My brake lights were also stuck on. I even got pulled over but, thankfully, was issued a warning. I used two pennies n super glue (like the pic above) works great!!!

Thanks to this thread, I was able to do it myself with my 98 maxima, fixed with 2 small bolts, 4 washers and 2 nuts, found in the shed. Cost me 10 minutes of my time. My mechanics will be spewing, time to ring and cancel.

So I looked at this thread last night as my 94 pathfinder was doing the same thing. Was going to use the pennies or nut/bolt idea, but I stopped by autozone and they sell a pack of about 5 little stoppers that you just glue on. Cost $4.00 and fixed it perfect.

Tried the magnet trick. I put one each on the brake light switch and the A/T shift lock switch since both pads had broken. Now my brake lights work properly and my transmission shifts smoother! Cost: $0.00 (I already had the magnets!) Money saved by not going to a mechanic: $90.00

Many good solutions! The superglued penny worked best on my 2002 Pathfinder and only took about 15 minutes total including much contortionist effort. I'm sure the bolt would be a better long term solution, but the side that broke on mine is very hard to reach; the more toward the center of the vehicle. Thx again!

Very grateful for this information, helped me out in a pinch. Pushed a screw through the hole in my 2001 Nissan.

I had this same problem but couldn't find a nut to fit spare bolts around my house. I really didn't have anything I could use to fix the problem besides a screw and some tape. I decided to go to Dollar General (it was late and all hardware stores were closed). DG didn't have any bolts or nuts, but I saw some felt pads that were about the same thickness, but bigger in circumference. I bought those and some super glue, and drove home. I took the felt pads out, and felt that they had adhesive on the back, and voila. It fit perfectly, and fixed the problem. I'll probably replace it with a nut and bolt, but it was a really quick and cheap fix.

This works great!!! I went to walmart for the magnets and had it done in no time. The hardest part was fitting myself in the floor to see!!

So thankful for this post. I used 2 pennies and duct tape until I can get glue later today. You guys rock.

Impossible for me to get my hands in to fix my Nissan Pathfinder. I tried to use a magnet on the end of needle nose pliers. The magnet would jump to everything metal in the vicinity. So I just threw in a couple dozen magnets hoping one would stick. Such luck.

Fixed my Maxima 03 with 2 cents and super glue Thanks all for your input RAV55

My Goodness, I've replaced that lil black piece and my brake lights are still ON!!! Checked the relay n fuses inside and out, filled the fluids and all.. What next, besides probing??

Had the same problem as AlexW with the broken plastic "push pad," but with a 2000 Nissan Sentra GXE. Found a threaded bolt with nut and a couple of washers in my spare parts drawer that also did the trick. Be sure to turn the engine on so you can move the brake pedal easier. Thanks to all.

Mentally ill engineering, what cha got to do to make something work and let the cheap part wear out and have the customer pay 100s of dollars to have it fixed, Thanks for the tips people,

My 2015 Nissan Altima interior brake lights won't turn off and I just had my brake pads change out can you please tell me what to check for

2 dime size magnets. Cost free. Pulled parts from refrigerator door!

my 2015 light want turn off it’s stays on all day and night needs help anyone

take the stop fuse over night until you fix it