Nissan Issues Recall Over Keyed Ignition Defects

Nissan has announced that it is issuing a recall on 166,000 vehicles in the US and Canada due to a defect in the ignition system. The defect can cause the ignitions to wear out over time and lead to the vehicle shutting off while driving down the road. A sudden loss of power while driving could lead to an accident.

Nissan is specific in noting that none of the recalled vehicles use the push to start feature. This recall is only for Nissan cars and trucks that have an ignition you place a key into. While Nissan has confirmed the recall directly as of writing the NHTSA hasn't issued an official recall notice.

The Canadian equivalent to the NHTSA is called Transport Canada and it has issued a recall notice and advises Nissan owners to remove everything from their key, such as keyrings etc, to help prevent this issue from occurring. Nissan has said that this recall is cautionary and that it is unaware of any issues related to this recall.

Nissan is right to err on the side of caution, a similar GM ignition switch defect in 2014 was linked to at least 13 deaths and 47 crashes. GM's ignition switches could also turn the car off while in motion and had the potential to disable power steering, brakes, and airbags.

Nissan has an official page where owners of any Nissan vehicle can enter their VIN and determine if their ride has any open recalls. That page can be accessed here.

SOURCE: Consumer Reports