Nissan has issued a recall of over 250,000 vehicles that contain potentially hazardous airbag inflators from the manufacturer, Takata.
The affected models include SUVs, trucks, and vans that have been sold all around the world.
Specifically, this new recall includes Nissan NV Cargo and Passenger vans manufactured between 2012 and 2017. It also includes Titan pickup trucks from 2013-2015, Armada SUVs from 2013-2015, and Infiniti QX56 SUVs from 2011-2012.
“The airbags that are part of this new recall have defective inflators that could explode or cause the airbag to not inflate properly when it deploys,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration explained.
“A faulty seal on the inflator is believed to cause the problem. If the inflator is not sealed properly, moisture can get into the propellant used to inflate the airbag and cause the inflator to malfunction. This could lead to the airbag deploying slowly during a crash, which means it won’t protect you as it’s designed. Or, it could also lead to the inflator deploying aggressively and even exploding. The metal parts from the exploding inflator could injure or kill someone.”
Some models also included a compound to mitigate this threat, but it is unknown at this time if these models also need to be recalled. Takata was given until last year to determine if these models were safe or not, so the decision now rests with the NHTSA.