The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has urgently advised the owners of nearly 84,000 older Nissan vehicles in the U.S, fitted with unrepaired recalled Takata air bags, to refrain from driving them due to the potential risk they pose. The notification from the agency came following Nissan's warning issued this Wednesday that certain models - namely the 2002-2006 Nissan Sentra, 2002-2004 Nissan Pathfinder, and 2002-2003 Infiniti QX4 - were part of their 2020 recall but remain unrepaired.
Owners are urged not to drive these vehicles until the defective air bag is repaired and replaced, according to the NHTSA. Complimentary towing services, mobile repairs, and, in some cases, courtesy cars are available through Nissan dealerships.
Takata air bag inflators have been the subject of the largest vehicle recall to date. During the previous decade, over 100 million of these inflators have been recalled globally, with 7 million in the U.S alone. This recall comes in light of 30 reported deaths worldwide - including 27 in the United States - and over 400 injuries since 2009 due to the defective Takata air bag inflators. The failure is caused by propellants that degrade over time due to exposure to varying high temperatures and humidity, causing the air bags to explode and throw metal shards into the vehicle.
The NHTSA warns that even minor accidents can trigger the Takata air bags to explode, leading to fatalities or severe, life-changing injuries.
In a related move last year, Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler, cautioned owners of 29,000 2003 Dodge Ram pickups to avoid driving until they were repaired following a fatality resulting from an exploding Takata air bag inflator. Toyota too had implored owners of 50,000 older models - 2003-2004 Corolla, 2003-2004 Corolla Matrix, and 2004-2005 RAV4 - in the U.S to promptly seek recall repairs to avoid potential fatality caused by an exploding Takata air bag inflator.