Nissan Motor Corp. announced a recall of more than 226,000 cars after receiving reports of defective airbags.
The recall covers some of the 2002 to 2004 models of Infiniti, Maxima, Pathfinder and Sentra vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Saturday that the owners of these models would be advised of the situation, and urged affected consumers to contact customer service.
Tokyo-based Takata Corp. supplies Nissan with its air bag system for vehicles. The NHTSA received reports that the air bag inflators could break, causing metal fragments to potentially fly when the air bags deploy, causing serious harm to the passengers, the Associated Press reported.
Takata acknowledged the problem after receiving six reports of ruptured inflators in Puerto Rico and Florida. The Tokyo-based supplier believed high humidity in those particular areas caused the problem, but promised to investigate the matter further before making an official statement.
The federal agency gave Nissan until August 11 to start the recall, which will reportedly be initiated in Puerto Rico, Florida, Hawaii and the Virgin Islands. The air bags will be replaced free of charge.
Meanwhile, Nissan spokesperson Brian Brockman said the company hasn't yet received reports of accidents or injuries related to defective air bags.
Defective airbag systems are not limited to Nissan. In June this year, the problem of defective Takata- supplied air bag inflators affected seven carmakers including BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Mazda, and Toyota.
BMW recently announced a recall of 2.27 million vehicles worldwide for 20 models. Honda has recalled about 6 million vehicles since 2008 and documented two deaths related to the air bag issue. Toyota also announced a recall for 2.27 million vehicles around the world, with 766,300 coming from the United States. Mazda also recalled roughly 34,600 vehicles sold in Florida, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii.
