blog home Product Liability Nissan Announces Mass Recall of Model Year 2013-2014 Vehicles Due to Air Bag Defect

Nissan Announces Mass Recall of Model Year 2013-2014 Vehicles Due to Air Bag Defect

By Joseph Low on April 2, 2014

Nissan recently announced a recall of more than 989,000 Nissan, Infiniti, and Leaf vehicles in the 2013-2014 model years, citing a problem with the air bag system’s software that could cause the front passenger air bag to fail to deploy in a crash.

The recall seeks to fix a problem with the vehicles’ “occupant classification system,” a software-driven safety feature that senses the approximate size of the passenger in the front passenger seat and decides whether or not to turn on the front passenger air bag based on this information. If a passenger appears to be too small to be safely protected by the air bag, the system will deactivate the air bag, so that it does not inflate in a crash.

In certain conditions, however, the software may fail to correctly identify the passenger as one who would benefit from air bag protection. If a crash occurs, the air bag may not inflate, even though the front passenger is the right size to use it safely. This situation may lead to preventable injuries or even death.

While Nissan has received several reports of the air bags failing to inflate in accidents, the company says it has not yet heard of any injuries or deaths related to the problem. Owners of the affected vehicles can take them to any Nissan dealership to have the software problem fixed.

Affected vehicles include the Nissan Altima, Pathfinder, and Sentra, as well as the Infiniti JX35, QX60, and Q50. The Leaf electric and the NV200/Taxi round out the list. Owners of these or any vehicles who suffer injury due to an apparent defect should contact an experienced Long Beach, California car accident lawyer to learn more about their legal rights.

Posted in: Product Liability


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