Safety hazard reappears! Nissan recalls 176,000 cars, nearly 84,000 car owners are warned not to drive

On May 30, Nissan of Japan announced that due to the potential malfunction of the driving assistance system, it will recall a total of 176,158 vehicles of two models manufactured from December 2021 to January 2024 for free repairs.

Nissan Motor Company also issued a "do not drive" warning for nearly 84,000 vehicles produced from 2002 to 2006 as these cars may be equipped with faulty safety airbags that have caused hundreds of deaths or injuries.

This warning involves Nissan Sentras from 2002 to 2006, Nissan Pathfinders from 2002 to 2004, and INFINITI QX4 vehicles from 2002 to 2003 equipped with the recalled, unrepaired Takata airbags. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urges the owners of the affected Nissan models to check whether their vehicles have a Takata airbag recall issue, and not to drive the vehicle until the defective airbag is replaced.

The issue with Takata airbags have been around for a long time. In 1995, the U.S. regulatory body recalled more than 8 million vehicles with faulty Takata seat belts. It is reported that Takata knew about the dangers of the airbags about ten years before the first airbag recall. Between 2003 and 2013, airbag defects caused more than 100 deaths and serious injuries worldwide. In the summer of 2014, a pregnant woman died in a low-speed collision due to the explosion of a car airbag. Less than six months after filing a lawsuit, the National Traffic Safety Administration finally ordered a recall of vehicles with Takata airbags.