Nissan and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are warning owners of many older Nissan and Infiniti vehicles to stop driving them because of a dangerous problem with the Takata airbag inflators. The NHTSA used strong language to highlight the seriousness of the issue.
They said, “Even minor crashes can result in exploding Takata airbags that can kill or produce life-altering, gruesome injuries.” This warning affects around 84,000 older vehicles with Takata airbag inflators that are more likely to explode during a crash and cause serious harm.
One person was killed by an exploding inflator in a 2006 Nissan Sentra, and many others have been injured in Nissan vehicles since 2015. The risk of explosion increases as the cars get older. Nissan stated, “Due to the age of the vehicles equipped with defective Takata airbag inflators, there is an increased risk the inflator could explode during an airbag deployment, propelling sharp metal fragments which can cause serious injury or death.”
Here are the vehicles that are affected:
– Certain 2002-2006 Sentra small cars.
– Some 2002-2004 Pathfinder SUVs.
– 2002-2003 Infiniti QX4 SUVs.
If you own one of these vehicles, you can check if it’s affected by visiting nissanusa.com/takata-airbag-recall or infinitiusa.com/takata-airbag-recall and entering your car’s 17-digit vehicle identification number (VIN). If your car is affected, Nissan urges you to contact a dealer immediately. They will tow your car to the dealership and replace the airbag inflators for free. Loaner cars might also be available for you to use while your car is being repaired.
This isn’t the first time Nissan has issued a recall for Takata airbag inflators. They originally recalled over 736,000 vehicles in 2020, but the 84,000 affected by this announcement haven’t been repaired yet. Nissan has tried to reach the owners of these cars multiple times, but they may not have been able to track everyone down.
Takata airbag inflators have caused many deaths and injuries worldwide. In the U.S. alone, 27 people have died, and more than 400 have been injured. The issue has led to the largest series of auto recalls in U.S. history, affecting at least 67 million inflators.
Many of these inflators still haven’t been replaced, posing a significant risk to drivers and passengers. Other car manufacturers like Honda, Ford, BMW, Toyota, Stellantis, and Mazda have also issued similar warnings for their vehicles equipped with Takata inflators.
