Thursday, February 21, 2008
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Nissan Motor Co. is recalling 16,365 Murano and Infiniti EX 35 sport-utility vehicles to fix a software program that may lead passenger air bags to fail.
The recall affects 11,511 Muranos from model year 2009 and 4,854 Infiniti EX35s from 2008, according to a Feb. 12 letter from Nissan posted on the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Web site.
The air bags may fail to inflate in a crash because of incorrectly programmed software, increasing the risk of injury, according to the agency.
Nissan sold 76,358 Muranos last year, according to Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey-based Autodata Corp. The Infiniti EX, a compact sport-utility vehicle introduced in December to compete with Bayerische Motoren Werke AG's X3 and Honda Motor Co.'s Acura RDX, sold 305 units in 2007.
Jeannine Ginivan, a spokeswoman for Nissan, didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Tokyo-based Nissan is Japan's third-largest automaker, behind Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda.
Volkswagen AG's 2003 and 2004 New Beetles are being investigated by U.S. safety regulators for a sensor malfunction that can reduce air-bag protection.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it received five complaints
that the failure of the front crash sensor triggered an air-bag warning light. The
preliminary inquiry may involve 104,000 vehicles, the Washington-based agency said today on its Web site.
"There have been no incidents or accidents resulting from this and we are
cooperating fully" with the agency, Keith Price, a spokesman for Volkswagen's Auburn Hills, Mich.-based U.S. unit, said in an interview.
About half of the initial inquiries by NHTSA result in a recall. Volkswagen, based in
Wolfsburg, Germany, is Europe's biggest carmaker.
Ford Recalls 470,000 Mustangs to update air bag software
Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday it is recalling 470,000 Ford Mustangs from the 2005-2008 model years to recalibrate how forcefully the air bag deploys on the front passenger side of the car.
GM is recalling 181,516 MY 2006-2008 Chevrolet HHR vehicles not equipped with optional roof rail air bags for failing to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 201, 'Occupant Protection in Interior Impact.' In tests, one of the upper interior occupant protection test points exceeded the standard's requirement. This standard specifies performance requirements to provide head impact protection for occupants. Dealers will install an energy-absorbing plastic piece to the headliner trim. The recall is expected to begin during March 2008. This recall was the subject of an investigation, OA-201-060918B, conducted by the Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance. 08V-046
Mitsubishi is recalling 7,340 MY 2006-2007 Endeavor vehicles. The right side lower seat belt anchor may separate during a severe vehicle crash. A severe crash could allow the seat belt to not properly restrain the passenger and potentially result in injury or death. Dealers will replace the front passenger side seat belt and bracket assembly. The recall is expected to begin during February 2008. 08V-022
Maserati is recalling 56 MY 2008 Granturismo vehicles equipped with the advanced passenger seat air bag weight sensor system. A malfunction can occur in the supplemental restraint system (SRS) electronic control unit (ECU) software when the battery is not fully charged. In the event of a crash, the passenger side air bag and passenger seat belt pre-tensioner may not deploy increasing the risk of injuries. Dealers will replace the SRS ECU units as necessary. The recall is expected to begin during January 2008. 07V-550
Honda is recalling 34,300 MY 2007-2008 Fit vehicles originally sold in or currently registered in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. The wire harness for the occupant detection system (ODS) and the occupant position detection system (OPDS) is routed underneath the carpet on the driver's side floorboard. In areas where road salt is used, salt from the snow on the driver's shoes will melt and may penetrate the carpet and leak into the wire harness. If the harness is exposed to salt brine, corrosion may occur and the wire may break causing the SRS indicator light to illuminate. A failure of the ODS and OPDS may not detect the presence of a child seat or an out-of-position passenger and deployment of both the front seat passenger's frontal and side air bags will not be suppressed. In the event of a crash, a deploying front passenger air bag or front passenger's side air bag will increase the risk of injury to small or out-of-position occupants. Dealers will inspect and replace the wire harness. The recall is expected to begin during January 2008. 07V-549
GM is recalling 57,100 MY 2007 Chevrolet Equinox and Pontiac Torrent passenger vehicles not equipped with optional roof rail airbags or optional sunroof. These vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 201, "Occupant Protection in Interior Impact." During NHTSA impact tests, the interior occupant protection test points exceeded the standard requirements. The results of this test indicated a possibility of an increased risk of head injury in a crash. Dealers will install an energy absorbing foam piece to each of the a-pillar trim assemblies. The recall is expected to begin during January 2008. 07V-520
Ford is recalling 45 MY 2008 Focus, Expedition, F250 and F350 vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, 'Occupant Crash Protection.' The driver air bag module may not have been properly assembled. This condition may prevent the driver air bag from properly deploying and reduce occupant protection in the event of a crash. Dealers will replace the driver air bag module. The recall began on November 20, 2007. 07V-541