Nissan and the NHTSA this week issued a recall to owners of older Nissan and Infiniti vehicles over defective Takata airbags that remain in place. The recall comes with a do-not-drive request.
The Takata saga
Takata airbags have been responsible for the highest number of recalls for a single problem: defective airbags. These could explode during a collision, sending metal fragments flying into occupants' faces.
The airbags are responsible for over 30 deaths worldwide. In all, over 100 million vehicles have been recalled since this saga began over 15 years ago.
And if we're still talking about them today, it's because some older vehicles still fitted with them have not yet been repaired. An added problem is that the older the cushion, the greater the risk of malfunction.
This week, Nissan and the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a recall to owners of older Nissan and Infiniti vehicles, urging them to stop driving them until they are repaired.
Some 84,000 vehicles are believed to be still on the road with potentially at-risk units in the U.S. In Canada, Nissan estimates the number at 48,000.
All the vehicles have already been recalled, but because they’re often no longer in the hands of original owners, current owners are harder to reach.
The vehicles targeted are the Sentra (2002 to 2006), the Pathfinder (2002 to 2004), and the Infiniti QX4 (2002 and 2003).
The NHTSA states that “If you own one of these vehicles, do not drive it until the repair has been completed and the defective cushions have been replaced.”
Owners of these vehicles should contact a dealer to complete the free repair as soon as possible. Nissan offers free towing, mobile repair and even courtesy vehicles in some areas.
If you know someone who still drives a model from those years, please make sure they get the information. Lives can still be saved, potentially.