More than 600,000 Nissan pickup trucks, sports-utility and sedan model vehicles are being recalled because of a malfunctioning steering and battery cable terminal that could be a safety hazard.
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. announced the recall Thursday, citing the lower steering column joint and shaft on nearly 303,000 Frontier and 283,000 Xterra vehicles, as well as the positive battery cable terminal on 18,500 Sentras need to be replaced, according to news reports . The recall stemmed from the discovery the steering column joint on the vehicles can corrode, limiting the movement of the joint, which could lead to cracking of the steering shaft in extreme cases.
“The affected Frontier and Xterra vehicles were sold in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and a number of other Latin American countries, and were manufactured at the Smyrna, Tennessee-based plant between July 2001 and January 2005, as well as the Curitiba, Brazil-based plant between November 2001 and June 2008. These include 240,000 Frontier, and 261,000 Xterra vehicles in the U.S. as well as 4,500 Frontier, and 9,900 Xterra vehicles in Canada.
“Meanwhile, the affected Sentra vehicles were sold in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Argentina, Brazil and a number of Latin American and African countries, and were manufactured at the Aguascalientes, Mexico-based plant between May 22, 2010 and July 8, 2010. These include 14,000 vehicles in the U.S. and 1,900 in Canada.”
Nissan recalled 2.14 million vehicles last month to address a faulty ignition relay, which could cause engine problems. As a North Charleston personal injury attorney , I try to keep track of vehicle recalls, which are becoming more and more prominent because they are usually an expensive exercise for car companies.
Owners of the recalled vehicles should visit their dealer in early December, after they received a notification in the mail, to have the new parts installed for free.