All too often, auto recalls are put in place and drivers are not made aware of them. Unfortunately, that’s due because many drivers fail to pay attention to recall notices. But in some cases, negligent automakers simply do not follow through with their obligations. As a result, they fail to launch recalls even after reports of accidents are registered with both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the automaker itself.
Thankfully, those instances are not common. Still, they occur more often than you might think.
Take the Takata air bag-related recalls.
Takata, the air bag manufacturer from Japan, failed to launch a recall when it learned that its air bags came with inflators that could rupture mid-deployment. As a result, several people were injured while about a dozen were killed.
Now, Nissan is launching an additional recall that impacts its 2017 Versa and Versa Note cars.
These vehicles, the company along with Takata determined, come with a ring plate used to secure the air bag cushion to the passenger frontal air bag assembly that may fail. While in this case, the inflator won’t rupture like the inflators in other Takata-related recalls, the air bag may not deploy correctly in the event of a collision. In this case, the passenger may not be properly secured as a result, and injuries may ensue.
The problem was first noticed in February during a lab test at Takata. As the company opened an investigation, it reported the issue to Nissan. Nissan quarantined all suspect air bag modules at least two plants and in March, the issue was properly identified.
While this issue hasn’t produced any injuries so far, Nissan reports, this recall should not be ignored.
To make sure your vehicle is safe, stay alert as Nissan will be contacting you soon to have the frontal passenger air bag modules replaced entirely for free.
