In the nearly 10 years since the Takata airbag recall was initiated, but Nissan has now issued a “do not drive” warning for nearly 84,000 of its vehicles from model years 2002-06, including a population of SUVs from its Infiniti sub-brand.
The affected vehicles are model-year 2002-06 Nissan Sentra sedans and 2002-04 Pathfinder SUVs, plus model-year 2002-03 Infiniti QX4 SUVs. All of these vehicles were already subject to open recalls. In issuing the warning, however, Nissan noted that due to the vehicles’ age, there is “an increased risk the inflator could explode during an airbag deployment.”
Nissan strongly advises drivers not to drive the affected vehicles until the repair is completed and stresses that the repair is free. Dealers will provide free towing and, in some cases, loaner vehicles for owners to drive until the repair of their vehicle is complete.
The airbag inflators that caused the recall can explode when the airbag deploys, blasting metal shards into vehicle occupants even in relatively minor accidents. Owners of affected Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can contact Nissan at 800-647-7261 or use NHTSA’s free recall lookup tool.
