Nissan Recalls 196k Vehicles

[Nick R]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/04/26/nissan.recall/index.html?hpt=Sbin


Quote:
(CNN) -- Nissan North America has announced the recall of nearly 196,000 sport utility vehicles in the United States for corrosion problems that could damage steering and suspension systems.
The recall extends to the Nissan Pathfinder from 1997 to 2003, and the Infiniti QX4 from 1996 to 2004.
"In areas of the country in which heavy concentrations of road salt are used, a mixture of snow/water and salt ... may result in corrosion of the strut tower housing in some subject vehicles," the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration website said.
"This may lead to grinding noises, increased steering effort, and possibly the steering column to break, resulting in the loss of steering control, which could result in a crash."
Most of the vehicles were sold in Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington D.C., West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Nissan will inspect the SUVs and repair the vehicles free of charge as needed.

 

[addyguy]

I see a LOT of old Pathfinders and QX-4's on the road that are rusted like crazy on the body. I'm always suprised how a 'premium' vehicle like an Infiniti would be allowed to have corrossion problems like that.....

 

[VNTS]

Not surpising, I see many of those in the local yard over the years, sad part is when these things were newer CR couldnt ball wash them fast enough with kudos, but the tale is told when the vechicle is 10 years old and has rot all over it.

 

[Johnny248]

seems wrong to recall a 14 year old vehicle for corrision.

It is pretty common to see this things rust through on the front strut towers. Yay for me... more old recall vehicles with owners who wont spend a dime....

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

Originally Posted By: Johnny248
seems wrong to recall a 14 year old vehicle for corrision.

It is pretty common to see this things rust through on the front strut towers. Yay for me... more old recall vehicles with owners who wont spend a dime....


If there's proof that there's a defect in materials, then what's so wrong about it?

 

[Vikas]

I still have hope! May be Nissan will recall that era Maxima's too for radiator support bracket. I can only hope.

- Vikas

 

[Hootbro]

Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
Originally Posted By: Johnny248
seems wrong to recall a 14 year old vehicle for corrision.

It is pretty common to see this things rust through on the front strut towers. Yay for me... more old recall vehicles with owners who wont spend a dime....


If there's proof that there's a defect in materials, then what's so wrong about it?


I think the point is at what age is a vehicle really suppose to not fall apart from rust?

Back in the 1970's and 1980's, most Japanese makes and some American makes would not even last 5 years in the rust belt states. Nobody was screaming recall back then nor was it implied that your vehicle was to last longer.

 

[Mr_Joe]

I just brought my 2000 Tacoma in today as part of their 14 yr extended frame rust-thru warranty. As expected my truck was not a candidate for the 1.5 times blue book buy back. They said they basically have to be able to put a hammer thru the frame in certain areas.

I will follow through with the next step, which is a free frame corrosion protection re-do. I plan to do that next week.

 

[Towncivilian]

I'll have to pull through the local dealership around mid-May, which is when Nissan will start notifying owners. I'm sure the dealerships will have been informed of this recall by then. They performed the fuel filler tube recall which was also a corrosion-related fix, and the recall info said it affected those in northern states only. The car's been down south its entire life, so I'm sure this is a nonissue for me. This article states:
Quote:
Dealers will inspect the strut housing and if no corrosion or only minor surface corrosion is present, an anti-corrosion sealant will be applied. If moderate corrosion is present, resin patches will be applied in addition to the sealant. If there is evidence of more significant corrosion, a metal reinforcement plate will be used to reinforce the strut housing assembly. In rare instances where it is impossible to repair the vehicle, Nissan will "provide an appropriate remedy."

So if my vehicle is one of the ones affected I'm sure Nissan will just slap on some sealant and send me on my merry way.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: Towncivilian
I'll have to pull through the local dealership around mid-May, which is when Nissan will start notifying owners. I'm sure the dealerships will have been informed of this recall by then.


Usually for most brands, the dealer just needs to enter your VIN into the national network and this will confirm eligibility for the recall or campaign.

 

[Spyder7]

Originally Posted By: Hootbro

I think the point is at what age is a vehicle really suppose to not fall apart from rust?

Back in the 1970's and 1980's, most Japanese makes and some American makes would not even last 5 years in the rust belt states. Nobody was screaming recall back then nor was it implied that your vehicle was to last longer.


If there is an issue like this that could result in someone losing control of the vehicle and crashing it (potentially into yours or mine as well), I'd prefer they recall it. Though like you, I'm still surprised they're doing so in cases with that kind of time involved (14 years, etc).

-Spyder

 

[ltslimjim]

Hmm, I may mention this to the lady that drives a 2000 QX4 I do oil changes/basic maintenance for. Her car looks fine though, I doubt she has this issue, but if I had the car and were moving up north I'd get it done before the trip. You know, re-do the area and at least pre-treat it right.

 

[Nick R]

Guy at work has a 99 Pathfinder, let him know yesterday about it. He had no idea.

 

[D189379]

That must be a record. Recalling a 14 year old vehicle? I'm suprised they'd stand behind their product like that.

 

[OVERKILL]

This gets really scary when let go. My wife has a friend who's owned two Pathfinders affected by this. They scrapped the first one because it got so unsafe you couldn't drive it. I'm not sure how bad the corrosion is on the second one.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Originally Posted By: Towncivilian
I'll have to pull through the local dealership around mid-May, which is when Nissan will start notifying owners. I'm sure the dealerships will have been informed of this recall by then.


Usually for most brands, the dealer just needs to enter your VIN into the national network and this will confirm eligibility for the recall or campaign.


You are assuming they can use the VIN to figure out manufacturing date, when a box of defective parts were sitting on the line. This is not an example of a batch of poorly cast or wrongly sized doodads; rather a design defect where a very important thing fails before less important things. (Though I wonder why rotten metal brake lines aren't recall worthy on the same principle.)

The VIN won't tell the dealer if there's rust, they have to visually examine for it.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Originally Posted By: The Critic
Originally Posted By: Towncivilian
I'll have to pull through the local dealership around mid-May, which is when Nissan will start notifying owners. I'm sure the dealerships will have been informed of this recall by then.


Usually for most brands, the dealer just needs to enter your VIN into the national network and this will confirm eligibility for the recall or campaign.


You are assuming they can use the VIN to figure out manufacturing date, when a box of defective parts were sitting on the line. This is not an example of a batch of poorly cast or wrongly sized doodads; rather a design defect where a very important thing fails before less important things. (Though I wonder why rotten metal brake lines aren't recall worthy on the same principle.)

The VIN won't tell the dealer if there's rust, they have to visually examine for it.

Although the VIN may not determine whether the vehicle needs a fix, it will still confirm if the vehicle is eligible for repairs under this recall.

 

[Towncivilian]

I pulled through the local dealership and the service adviser hadn't heard of this recall yet, but he did print out the recall and showed it to me and said I should come back around May 16th which is when the dealerships will have the materials and information necessary to perform the recall.

 

[doitmyself]

Chrysler had a widespread Caravan strut tower corrosion problem back in the late '90s and more recently Sebring rear strut mount disintegration. They only put out a TSB, with repair costs payed by the owner in most cases.

To become a mandated recall, I imagine the Nissan problem must be more prone to causing a more serious safety condition?

Kudos to Nissan/whoever effected this. Shame on Chrysler.

 

[stenerson]

I wish dodge recalled the struts towers on the Caravans. mine rotted and I know several others who had same problem with caravans.