The Takata airbag issue rears its head once again, affecting some early 2000s Nissans.
Nissan recently published a “do not drive” warning to 83,920 owners driving certain cars built between 2002 and 2006. Specifically, this matter covers 2002-2026 Nissan Sentra models, as well as the 2002-2004 Pathfinder and related 2002-2003 Infiniti QX4.
This announcement expands on recalls from 2020 concerning Takata airbags, with the Japanese supplier ultimately on the hook for more than 67 million defective airbags across multiple automakers. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 27 people have been killed by defective Takata airbags, while more than 400 have suffered injuries. Takata filed for bankruptcy in 2017, after pleading guilty to wire fraud concerning its sale of faulty airbags and agreeing to pay $1 billion in criminal penalties.
“Due to the age of the vehicles equipped with defective Takata airbag inflators,” Nissan says on its website (shown below), there is an increased risk the inflator could explode during an airbag deployment, propelling sharp metal fragments which can cause serious injury or death. Drivers are urged to stop driving the vehicle immediately and contact their local authorized Nissan dealer to schedule the necessary free repair.”
Owners can head to Nissan’s official recall page concerning the Takata airbag replacement campaign for more information.
While the recall doesn’t impact any of the automaker’s more modern vehicles, some 84,000 people may still be driving models with defective airbags. Considering more drivers than ever are keeping their cars longer (the average car on the road’s age just passed a record 12.6 years) and buying older cars to save cash, it’s crucially important to have these repairs done as soon as possible.
