Infinity

Faulty airbags have caused the recall of millions of cars over the past year. Another quarter of a million can be added to the list as Nissan has decided to recall 226,326 more of their vehicles due to the issue. This is on top of the 400,000 Nissan had recalled previously for the same issue. The faulty airbags were manufactured by the Japanese company Takata Corporation, and the airbags have caused auto manufactures such as BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Honda and Toyota to recall vehicles due to the problem.

The airbag issue is with the passenger side airbag. There is a defect in the airbag inflaters which has the potential to cause the airbags to break upon inflation so they do not provide the cushion they are meant to to protect passengers in the car. The improper inflation of the airbags could cause serious injury to those in an accident, although Nissan has said they are not aware of any serious injuries or deaths caused by this defect.

This latest recall will affect certain models of the Nissan Infiniti, Maxima, Pathfinder and Sentra produced between the years of 2002 and 2004. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the recall will begin in mid-August, and Nissan will replace the faulty airbags at no charge. These include both airbags which originally came with the vehicles, and replacements added in later years that are known to carry the defect.

The following vehicles are part of the latest recall:

• The 2003 Infiniti FX35
• The 2003 Infiniti FX45
• The 2002 and 2003 Infiniti I35
• The 2002 and 2003 Infiniti QX42
• The 2002 and 2003 Maxima
• The 2002 and 2003 Pathfinder
• The 2002, 2003 and 2004 Sentra

All owners who are impacted by this latest recall should be directly notified about the issue. If you believe that a car you own may be part of this or other Nissan recalls, you can contact Nissan customer service directly at 1-800-647-7261 to confirm if it is and what steps you need to take to get the issues resolved.

With all the recalls going on these days due to these airbags, it makes sense to contact the customer service department of any vehicle you currently own no matter who the manufacturer is to see if there have been any recalls for that particular year and model. This had definitely been the year of recalls, and you may be surprised to find out there has been one issued for your vehicle that you missed. This is especially true if you have moved and the manufacturer doesn’t know your current address. Getting the problem resolved could save you and your passengers from serious injury in the future.

(Photo courtesy of David Guo)