Franklin, Tenn. — July 19, 2016 — Vehicle owners around the world could be affected by the new Nissan recalls affecting thousands of Infiniti vehicles.

Reuters reported on this new effort, which could affect vehicles in China and Canada as well as the U.S. A steering-related software glitch could reportedly trigger a malfunction, resulting in more difficult handling for drivers trying to use the adaptive steering functions.

At the time of this writing, few official details about the recall have been released. The manufacturer will include around 60,000 Q50 vehicles in the total from all impacted countries, as the company works to address the risk level.

Reuters spoke to Roland Krueger, president of Infiniti Motor Company, Ltd. and senior vice president of Nissan Motor Company, Ltd., about upcoming plans for new steering systems. Nissan and Infiniti apparently want to integrate autonomous driving functions at some point in the future.

“With this (steering) function, we can offer what we call partial autonomous drive already, so the car above approximately 60 kilometers per hour on the highway can be driven hands free,” Kreuger said.

While no remedy was listed, Autoblog guessed that the concern could require a software update at dealerships as the manufacturer starts notifying owners.

Previous recall: Occupation Classification System issues

It’s the most recent recall to affect the brand, months after an unrelated concern prompted a different action. On April 26, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration posted information about a wide-reaching Nissan recall concerning the Occupant Classification System. According to the Safety Recall Report, the OCS could potentially wrongly suppress the airbag by misidentifying whether a seat is occupied.

Although the report described this case as “rare,” it did say that the misclassification could stay in place until up to 13 seconds after the vehicle has stood stationary. The system could misread a seat occupied by an adult as either containing a child or not occupied at all. In the latter case, the Passenger Airbag Indicator light will not turn on, leaving owners with no way to determine if the glitch has occurred.

The preliminary information in this report said that 2.6 million vehicles were potentially involved in this recall. In addition to 2014-2016 Infiniti Q5 models, the action also included two other ranges of Infiniti models: the 2013 Infiniti JX35 and the 2014-2016 QX60.

Another Q50 recall for steering problems

Reuters also mentioned another recall including the Infiniti Q50, this one from 2013. Other NHTSA documents confirm that the company recalled 23 model year 2014 Q50 autos, also for an adaptive
steering problem.

The Defect Information Report on this action said that freezing temperatures could disrupt the normal flow of electrical current within the steering setup. Vehicle occupants could then be at higher risk of a crash, since the mechanical backup system would take longer than usual to engage.

Nissan’s investigations into this problem dated back to 2013, when it started identifying the possibly affected Q50 vehicles. Within six days, it had decided to submit a report to the NHTSA in response to the safety defect. A later Quarterly Report showed that all of the remedies for this recall were completed by Q2 of 2014.

The future of adaptive steering

Other manufacturers are paying attention to the future possibilities of adaptive steering. Last September, Ford announced that the 2016 Ford Edge would harness this technology for both low and high speeds.

The system is said to be housed in the steering wheel, a press release from the company said, though it also adjusts the turn ratio based on the vehicle’s speed and the current conditions. The maker’s Edge Sport and Titanium were slated to use this feature, as well as the Ford S-MAX and Galaxy in Europe, before expanding to other Ford brands.

Franklin, Tennessee — July 6, 2016 — Some Nissan owners may notice a problem with the brake lights in their vehicles. Because a switch in certain 2013 and 2014 Pathfinder vehicles may not have been properly installed, the lights could stay on when the owner isn’t currently activating the brakes.

As an official report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration noted, this could inadvertently lead to a crash if other drivers mistakenly assume that the affected Pathfinder is slowing down. As of  June 1, no crashes were yet attributed to this issue, though there were also no specific indications listed for owners to look out for.

In addition to this concern, the same recall addresses a related problem in the same vehicles. A badly installed brake light switch could also disrupt the shift interlock and accidentally move the vehicle out of park when it is left stationary. As such, the remedy will address both the brake lamp switch and the stop lamp relay.

Nissan officially decided to conduct this recall May 19, more than six months after it addressed the possible problem in a December 2015 Technical Service Bulletin. A total 79,853 units are potentially affected, although only 2 percent are estimated to have the defect.

Last month, a similar concern prompted a different recall, this one from Fiat Chrysler. According to the Detroit News, that manufacturer recalled 2,185 trailer light modules because of a possible software error. The article stated that these units could potentially fail to light up when the driver presses the brake pedal, also creating the chance of a crash.

Franklin, TN — May 18, 2016 — Brake fluid issues are the source of a new series of Nissan recalls for Murano and Maxima model vehicles, with 2016 or 2017 model years. Only the 12,622 vehicles included in this effort are subject to the recall since they contain a specific type of anti -lock braking system actuator. As with a Toyota recall announced earlier this year, the Nissan action concerns vehicles with weakened O-rings: this condition could lower brake pressure to dangerous levels.

The Part 573 Recall Safety Report stated that the efforts behind the recall go back to January 2016, when a Nissan plant operator discovered a possible issue within a pair of actuators. Nissan officially decided to enact the voluntary recall on March 30, with a plan to notify owners within 60 days, with the recall proper beginning on June 6. Affected vehicles could violate the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

Dealers can help owners by replacing any actuators that fall within the range of the recall. Though there is reportedly no field information related to this issue, the company began looking for any relevant field data between February and March. The affected parts come from the supplier ADVICS North America, based in Lebanon, Ohio.

The similar Toyota recalls were announced on April 6, with the company warning of damaged actuator components. This case involved 12,400 ES350 vehicles, among others, and only concerned 2016 model year vehicles.

Dealers were instructed to use the serial number to find whether or not a brake actuator is included in the recall. The actuator in this case doesn’t just control anti -lock braking, but also traction and vehicle stability control, posing possible larger issues for drivers when something goes wrong.

Franklin, TN — May 03, 2016 — According to a recent National Highway Traffic Administration report, March 7 found saw an accident at a Nissan plant that would later lead to a recall. Further investigations revealed that a starter wire harness terminal had been installed incorrectly on a 2016 Nissan Frontier. After further inspection, the manufacturer officially launched a voluntary recall action, including 1,554 Frontier pickup trucks.

Because of the way these harnesses were installed, the report states, affected Frontiers with a V6 engine could experience an electrical short, eventually causing a possible “thermal incident.” To fix the issue, dealers will reorient the harness to meet safety standards. Only 18 percent of the recalled vehicle population is believed to have the defect present. A short could lead to a possible fire in affected vehicles.

In a bulletin for dealers, the manufacturer provided more specific instructions on the repair procedure. The remedy does not require additional parts, but it does demand that dealer staff look closely at the motor wire area to improve harness alignment.

In particular, the wire eyelet needs to be facing the correct position: If not, the person conducting the repair has to reposition the wire so it’s at the right angle before reconnecting the battery. The original owner notification date was listed as some time in early April.

On the other hand, if the eyelet is already in the recommended position, no further action may be necessary. What’s more, mechanics only need to replace the heat shield if there are signs of damage. The same document also stated that the recall has expanded to now include 1,680 Nissan Frontier vehicles. Out of this number, the majority (1,543 vehicles) were in the United States. Other countries/territories included in the new action are Canada, Puerto Rico, Guam and Saipan.

Franklin, TN — February 11, 2016 — Because of issues with the hood latches in hundreds of thousands of Altimas, Nissan has issued a recall, set to take effect sometime later this month. The Part 573 Safety Recall Report, submitted through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on January 21, states that 846,000 vehicles manufactured at plants in Tennessee and Missouri are at possible risk in this action.

The report further describes the latch problem as the result of improper plating at the supplier, Ontario-based Intier Automotive, Inc. Paint can flake off of the affected latches, potentially leading to corrosion that leaves the secondary hood latch in a vulnerable open position.

The hood could then open while the vehicle is moving, causing a visual hazard for the driver. Model years for these 4-door light vehicles range from 2013 to 2015.

This issue was the subject of previous recalls, in which the solution involved lubricating the latch joint after a sufficient inspection. The new remedy replaces the latch entirely, and should be taken by owners that were part of the earlier recall actions.

“The hood latch in the subject vehicles will be replaced with a new one, even if the customer received a new latch as part of the repair for the previous recall,” the report reads.

While there are no crashes currently connected to this problem, Reuters notes that the manufacturer has received complaints regarding hoods that unlatch and open unexpectedly, and that the two other similar Nissan recalls happened within the past two years. The new recall also reportedly concerns 58,644 vehicles outside of North America.

Franklin, TN — January 04, 2016 — Last month, Nissan and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) both acknowledged an issue potentially affecting 33,880 Rogue vehicles. According to documents from the Administration, these units could violate the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) by allowing vehicles to slip out of the parking gear unintentionally. The recall was scheduled for this month, with dealers notified as of November 19.

This source notes that the vehicles would be able to shift gears without the driver pushing down the brake pedal. Though the fault affects the transition, it traces back to the selector knob in the control system. As such, dealers can address the problem simply by replacing the knob.

A Noncompliance Information Report included on the NHTSA described the circumstances that would trigger this problem in greater detail. The first issues were reportedly discovered in a routine inspection, and concern two areas of focus: one in the selector knob, and the other in the shifter rod.

“In certain instances, the combination of both quality issues may cause the spring to bind during operation due to excessive clearance between the shifter rod and the shift selector knob hole,” this report said. “As a result, the shift lever can be cycled without depressing the brake pedal.”

The shift selector supplier involved in this case is Guangzhou Jofu Machinery Industry Co.,Ltd., from China, while the shift assembly supplier is Ficosa North America S. A. is Madison Heights, Michigan. The transmission issue, if present, specifically violates S5.3 of the FMVSS 114, but only this section.