Nissan Recalls Over 3.5M Cars Over Faulty Airbag Sensors

Nissan announced a new recall yesterday affecting 3.53 million of its cars, most of which are in the US, over concerns the passenger-side airbag may not deploy. The carmaker said the problem lies within the Occupant Classification System, or the sensor that detects if someone is sitting in the front passenger seat. The airbag is designed not to deploy if that seat is empty, however, if the sensor fails to detect a passenger, they wouldn't be protected by an airbag in the event of a crash.

This is Nissan's fourth recall over problems with the sensor since 2013. The company says it has reports of three injuries related to the issue, but thankfully no deaths, while the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has received more than 1,200 complaints over the sensor.

The recall applies to the following vehicles in their 2013-2017 models: Nissan Altima, Leaf, Maxima, Murano, Pathfinder, Sentra, Rogue, NV200, NV Taxi, the Infiniti JX35/QX60 and Q50, and the Chevrolet City Express, which was built by Nissan.

Nissan says it will begin notifying dealerships of its plan to fix the issue by late May, with affected customers being contacted within 60 days. The car company notes that most of the recalled vehicles will just need software reprogramming, while the remainder will see a parts replacement.

VIA Reuters