The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced a recall of more than 463,000 Nissan vehicles due to an issue involving airbags.
A resin emblem located on the steering wheel can develop cracks and dislodge during airbag deployment, causing it to act as a projectile, according to the news release. Nissan said it has received four reports of injuries allegedly related to this problem.
The recall covers emblems supplied by Autoliv and only involves specific Nissan models, as reported by Motor 1 News.
Vehicles affected by the recall are the 2008 to 2011 Nissan Titan, Pathfinder, Xterra, Armada, Frontier, and the 2008 to 2009 Nissan Quest. In addition, about 11,000 parts used in servicing these vehicles are included in the recall.
Currently, no solution has been identified for this problem. In early April, customers will receive an interim letter explaining the issue. The manufacturer will send another letter later to advise vehicle owners when a repair becomes available.
This recall does not seem to be related to an earlier recall affecting tens of millions of vehicles with Takata airbags. The faulty airbags are allegedly linked to the deaths of 24 people.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Takata used small amounts of ammonium nitrate in its airbags to help them deploy during a crash. Ammonium nitrate can become more volatile with long-term exposure to heat and humidity, causing the airbags to explode in the event of a crash.
Automobile recalls are nothing new to many car manufacturers. In December, a recall was issued for nearly 1.3 million Ram pickup trucks due to a problem with the tailgates, as reported by The Dallas Express.
The recall announcement stated that the tailgate on some Ram trucks might not latch properly due to the misalignment of the tailgate strikers.
Vehicle owners can go to the NHTSA website and enter their car’s VIN or year, make, and model to determine whether there are any recalls for their particular automobile.