Nissan recalls nearly 4 million cars with air bag problems
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / 2009
Nearly 4 million Nissan cars are being recalled due to major safety problems where passenger air bags or seat belts could fail in a crash, leading to serious injuries or fatalities.
NEW YORK >> Nearly 4 million Nissan cars are being recalled due to major safety problems where passenger air bags or seat belts could fail in a crash, leading to serious injuries or fatalities.
The two recalls are just the latest in a string of safety problems to hit automakers in the past year with Acura, BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Lexus, Mazda, Toyota and other manufactures having to recall cars over air bag problems. The million problems are unrelated to the other air bag issues.
Nissan North America, Inc. said that 3.2 million cars may have a problem with a sensor that detects if the front passenger seat is occupied and if that passenger is an adult or a child. Defective sensors might incorrectly think that an adult is a child or classify the seat as empty, thus turning off the air bag.
The recall applies to certain cars of the following models: the 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF and Sentra, 2013-2017 Nissan Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60 and Q50, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue, 2015-2016 Nissan Murano, Chevrolet City Express and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles.
Nissan will notify owners of the problem and offer to fix it for free, however no schedule has yet been provided for when these notices will go out or how quickly the repairs can be made.
Nissan is also recalling another 620,000 of its 2013-2016 Sentras.
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In these cars, the air bag sensor has the opposite problem: It isn’t shutting off when it should be. The automaker said the front passenger seat belt bracket may become deformed if it is used to secure a child restraint system. That deformed seat bracket might then cause the air bag not to shut off when it should be off.
Nissan has not yet figured out how to fix the problem and is warning owners not to install child restraint systems in the front seats. It will take Nissan more than a month to notify owners of the problem and then the carmaker will follow up with a second letter once it figures out a solution, which will be free.
3 responses to “Nissan recalls nearly 4 million cars with air bag problems”
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A sad, modern-day version of the lesson we all learnt in the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
NISSAN has the worst customer service. I had a 2003 Frontier and the same defect occurred on my truck. The only difference was that according to their diagnostic computer, the fault was my front crash sensor. When the mechanics went to go look for it to repair it, they noticed that I didn’t have one. Their service center wanted me to dish out $1,600 to purchase the sensor and then charge me addition money to put it in. The only thing King Windward could tell me was “sorry we can’t help you” So they gave me their corporate number which I called. They told me they weren’t doing nothing and that they were not obligated to fix the air bag since air bags are not required by law, only seat belts. So I said “you mean you sold and charged me a merchandise that was missing a life safety component that wasn’t even installed?” All she said was “sorry”. They made me feel like it was my fault for buying their truck. I decided to NEVER BUY ANOTHER NISSIAN EVER and will tell everyone about their poor customer service and sh8y cars and trucks. So yeah, not surprised about this recall. Finally caught up to them. Now they’re force to fix the problem for free.
Well, I suppose if you wait long enough people get around to doing the right thing. It often takes quite a nudge though.