Warning: Nissan Urges Owners Not to Drive Certain Vehicles Due to Airbag Explosion Risk
Nissan issued an urgent warning on Wednesday after a person inside a Nissan vehicle was killed by the explosion of the passenger side airbag inflator, and 58 people have been injured since 2015.
“Due to the age of vehicles equipped with defective Takata airbags, there is an increased risk of the inflator exploding upon airbag deployment, propelling sharp metal fragments that can cause serious or fatal injuries,” Nissan said in a statement.
The warning applies to certain small cars Sentra 2002 to 2006, as well as some SUVs Pathfinder 2002 to 2004 and Infiniti QX4 2002 and 2003. Owners can check if their vehicle is affected by visiting nissanusa.com/takata-airbag-recall or infinitiusa.com/takata-airbag-recall and entering their 17-digit vehicle identification number.
Owners are advised to contact their dealership to schedule a free inflator replacement. Nissan also offers free towing to dealerships, and in some locations, mobile service and loaner cars are available.
“Even minor accidents can result in Takata airbag inflators exploding, which can kill or cause horrific injuries that can be life-changing,” said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in a statement. “Older vehicles pose a higher risk to their occupants as the age of the airbag is one of the contributing factors to the issue.”
Nissan initially recalled 736,422 vehicles in 2020 to replace Takata inflators. The company stated that approximately 84,000 vehicles have not been repaired and are believed to still be in use.
The death was reported to NHTSA in 2018, according to the company. The person killed was in a 2006 Sentra, Nissan said.
This death is one of the 27 in the United States caused by defective inflators, which use volatile ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate airbags in case of an accident. The chemical can degrade over time when exposed to high temperatures and moisture. It can explode with excessive force, rupturing the metal casing and projecting shrapnel. Over 400 people have been injured in the United States.
Globally, at least 35 people have been killed by Takata inflators in Malaysia, Australia, and the United States.
The possibility of a dangerous malfunction has led to the largest series of automobile recalls in US history, with at least 67 million Takata inflators affected. The US government says many of them have not been repaired. Approximately 100 million inflators have been recalled worldwide. The airbag explosions led Takata to bankruptcy.
Honda, Ford, BMW, Toyota, Stellantis, and Mazda have issued similar “do not drive” warnings for some of their vehicles equipped with Takata inflators.