Nissan issues recall over faulty Takata airbags

Nissan South Africa has issued a recall of several older model vehicles affected by the ongoing Takata airbag debacle that saw the Japanese components manufacturer file for bankruptcy four years ago.

Y61 Nissan Patrol.

In a short post on its Facebook page, the automaker names the vehicles affected as the:

  • Tiida
  • Livina
  • D40 Navara
  • Y61 Patrol
  • D22 NP300,
  • K13 Micra
  • Second generation (T31) X-Trail
  • N16 Almera

No model years or indeed how many vehicles affected were revealed, with Nissan stating that owners “are urgently required to take their vehicles to the nearest Nissan dealership for the airbag fix”.

Nissan Almera.

One of the biggest recalls in recent years that has so far claimed 26 lives worldwide, according to Consumer Reports, a reported 63-million vehicles globally have been recalled as a result of a faulty inflator, of which 42-million are located in the US alone.

Filled with propellant located inside a metal canister that triggers the airbag on impact, the inflators, together with environmental elements such as prolonged exposure to sunlight and fluctuating temperatures, were discovered to  rupture and send shrapnel into the cabin regardless of the vehicle being in an accident or not.

Nissan Micra

The report also revealed that vehicles made between 2002 and 2015 in the US were likely to be equipped with the faulty inflators, with Road and Track reporting in February last year that around 15.9-million malfunctioning airbags still feature on cars across the US.

Of the manufacturers hardest hit is Honda and its luxury Acura division, followed by Toyota and Lexus, Nissan and Infiniti, General Motors, Ford, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Mazda, Chrysler, Dodge, Subaru, Ram, Audi, Mitsubishi and Volkswagen.

Nissan Livina.

In the latest US recall, Ford announced last month that 154 000 examples of the US-spec Ranger, Edge, Fusion and Mustang were being called in for repairs, along with examples of the Lincoln MKZ and Mercury Milan, both based on the Fusion, and the Lincoln MKX that uses the Edge as a base.

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Published by
By Charl Bosch
Read more on these topics: Motoring NewsNissan