According to a document filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Nissan USA has found a problem with the air bag system on several of its 2013 models, and has issued what it refers to as a “voluntary” recall in both the United States and Canada. The vehicles being recalled include the 2013 Nissan Sentra compact car, the Altima midsize car, the Leaf electric car, the Pathfinder SUV, and the Infiniti JX35 SUV.
According to Nissan, sensors within the Occupant Detection System (ODS) may have been manufactured incorrectly, which may cause those on the front passenger seat to malfunction, resulting in the passenger-side air bag being turned off, meaning that the air bags would fail to deploy in an accident, increasing the risk of personal injury to the seat occupant. Normally, those sensors would only turn off the air bag if the seat was empty or a small child was occupying the seat.
According to the document, the company said they discovered the problem in December 2012, after warranty claims caused them to conduct an investigation. There is no indication in the documentation whether anyone was hurt. Because they are still trying to determine which vehicles got the defective sensors, the company has yet to report how many of its vehicles are affected by the recall.
Nissan says owners of the potentially affected vehicles will be notified of the recall in early April, and that dealers will begin to inspect the sensors replace them free of charge if necessary at that time.
If you own one of these vehicles, follow this recall and have your vehicle inspected immediately. If you or a loved one has been injured or killed by an accident involving a any sort of failure of safety features on your vehicle, please have them contact the experienced Texas Automotive Defect Attorney at Hill Law Firm. It is important to act quickly so that evidence is preserved and protected as quickly as possible.