Older Nissan Models Recalled for Potentially Detaching Steering Wheel Emblem
The Takata airbag recall is massive and ongoing today, despite being issued years ago. Nissan recently recalled hundreds of thousands of vehicles for another dangerous airbag issue, this time related to the company’s steering wheel badge.
Automotive News reported that Nissan recalled 404,690 vehicles in the U.S., more than 17,000 in Canada, and almost 6,500 in Mexico. The Armada, Frontier, Pathfinder, Titan, and Xterra from between 2008 and 2011, and the Nissan Quest van from 2008 and 2009 are affected.
Recall documentation states that resins in the Nissan emblem on the airbag covers may not be as durable, which can cause cracking over time. If the airbag deploys, the cracked badge can detach and become a projectile in the cabin. Though it sounds similar to the problems that triggered the Takata recall, pieces of plastic badging are likely less lethal than the metal shards from the first airbag recall.
The automaker is working on a fix for the issue and said it would work to reimburse owners for fixes obtained before the recall since all vehicles are out of warranty. Owners will be notified by April 10, and Nissan will be in further contact when parts become available. This is also an excellent time to remind you not to stick things on your steering wheel’s airbag cover. No matter how cool the bejeweled look is (to you), having a bunch of cheap plastic flying at your face isn’t going to improve your chances of survival in a crash.
[Image: Nissan]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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Low rent brand keeps on killing. I had considered Nissan after divorcing Ford after 40 years of ownership, but I saw far too many fatality crash videos of Nissans to decide I wanted something that wasn't going to kill me by just looking at it.
So, Nissan being Nissan? I see tons of Nissans on the road - there's a sucker born every minute.
I won't join the chorus of people who pick on the Nissan brand.
The one Nissan I had (12 Leaf) was well-built and reliable, and the (ancient history) 74 610 my family had was durable despite rusting like everything else back then. Friends who have Nissans today have no complaints.
I'm all about safety recalls, but this will be a tough one. Getting a badge edge-on in your eye sounds like no fun.
Re-affixing a badge to an old airbag cover won't be a simple matter of pry off, glue on. There will likely be a manual labor step of surface prep that takes time and finesse, and which requires validation before it is deployed to the dealers.
No recalls to fix the chronically burned out right front headlight?