Nissan recall now totals 165,000 local cars

Importer announces fifth recall action for Takata airbags, but expects issue to be solved by end of year

Nissan Australia has updated its statement for consumers affected by the Takata airbag recalls that have been announced here and abroad.

Peter Fadeyev, Nissan Australia's General Manager of Corporate Communications, has told motoring.com.au that the statement was updated late last week and now covers the "five separate recall actions that are on the ACCC website".

According to Fadeyev, 165,167 Nissan vehicles are now subject to recall for airbag replacement, but the good news for Nissan owners is that the importer expects all airbags to be replaced in Australian-delivered cars before the end of the year. Other brands operating in Australia have gone on record stating that they can't guarantee any rectification will take place until replacement parts are available in sufficient numbers – and that is unlikely before next year.

"Certain vehicles that were initially recalled have parts available; the ones that we've most recently announced will be [fixed] around quarter four this year – at the latest," Fadeyev said.

A very conservative estimate puts the number of vehicles from Nissan, Toyota, Mazda, Subaru and Honda been fitted with defective airbags supplied by Takata at over 600,000, but the total may be as much as 50 per cent more than that.

The revised statement from Nissan is reproduced in full, as follows:

Background:

In 2013 and 2014, Nissan Australia announced recall actions concerning Takata airbag inflators fitted to various Nissan vehicles officially sold in Australia. As part of this ongoing investigation into Takata airbag inflators, in 2015 the Nissan Group will expand its ongoing global recall campaign for Takata passenger airbag Inflators to include additional vehicles equipped with "SPI" inflators. As a result, Nissan Australia is advising that a total of 165,167 vehicles officially sold in Australia are potentially affected by this matter. The Nissan models in Australia that are affected by these recall actions are:

N16 Pulsar (front passenger airbag)
D22 Navara (front passenger airbag)
Y61 Patrol (front passenger airbag)
T30 X-TRAIL (front passenger airbag)
J31 Maxima (front passenger airbag)
K13 Micra (driver airbag)

Specific build dates for these models affected by these recall actions:

The specific build date ranges for these models affected by these recall actions are summarised in the section Summary of Takata airbag-related safety recalls for Nissan in Australia (as at 12 June 2015) at the bottom of this statement

Replacement parts:

For the recently launched recall campaign covering 2003 model year vehicles, replacement parts for these vehicles will progressively become available during July and August 2015. Replacement parts for the 2004-2007 model year vehicles affected will be available from the fourth quarter of 2015.

Notifying the owners of these vehicles:

As confirmed parts availability becomes known, Nissan will contact customers affected by these recalls. These recalls will be carried out at no cost to customers. Nissan is committed to a high level of customer safety, service and satisfaction and is working with its dealers to promptly address this issue. Anyone concerned about this matter can contact the Nissan Australia Customer Assistance Centre on1800 988 334.

How can customers establish if their Nissan vehicle is affected by this recall?

Anyone concerned if their Nissan vehicle is affected by these recall actions can call Nissan Australia on 1800 988 334 and provide their vehicle's VIN (Vehicle Identification Number, also known as a chassis number). This number can be found either on the vehicle or on the vehicle's registration papers. Nissan Australia will be able to confirm if a vehicle is affected by these recall actions according to this number.

Summary of Takata airbag-related safety recalls for Nissan in Australia (as at 12 June 2015):

Recall campaign published: 10 June 2015
Recall campaign number: R1508
Airbag: Front passenger airbag front
Models affected: N16 Pulsar, Y61 Patrol, D22 Navara, J31 Maxima & T30 X-Trail
Build date range: Jan 2004-Mar 2007
Reason for recall: The front passenger airbag inflator may have been assembled with improperly manufactured propellant wafers
Target: 98,915

http://www.recalls.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/1072278

Recall campaign published: 10 June 2015
Recall campaign number: R1420 (amendment to campaign from 2013/2014)
Airbag: Front passenger airbag
Models affected: N16 Pulsar, Y61 Patrol, D22 Navara, J31 Maxima & T30 X-Trail
Build date range: Apr 2003-Dec 2003
Reason for recall: The front passenger airbag inflator may have been assembled with improperly manufactured propellant wafers
Target: 16,092

http://www.recalls.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/1072277

Recall campaign published: 12 November 2014
Recall campaign number: RT015
Airbag: Driver's airbag
Model affected: K13 Micra
Build date range: Sep 2010 – Nov 2011
Reason for recall: The driver-side airbag inflator may have been incorrectly assembled.
Target number: 12,859

http://www.recalls.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/1065644

Recall campaign published: 27 June 2014
Recall campaign number: R1407
Airbag: Front passenger airbag
Models affected: N16 Pulsar, Y61 Patrol, D22 Navara, A33 Maxima and T30 X-Trail vehicles
Build date range: Apr 2001 – Jun 2003
Reason for recall: Airbag inflator might have incorrect propellant wafers of insufficient density for correct airbag deployment
Target number: 25,941

http://www.recalls.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/1060911

Recall campaign published: 12 April 2013
Recall campaign numbers:
•         T30 X-Trail campaign number: R1302
•         N16 Pulsar Sedan campaign number: R2302
•         Y61 Patrol campaign number: R3302
•         D22 Navara campaign number: R4302
Airbag: Front passenger airbag
Models affected: N16 Pulsar, D22 Navara, Y61 Patrol, T30 X-Trail
Build date range: Oct 2001 – May 2003
Reason for recall: Front passenger airbag inflator may have been manufactured out of specification
Target: 11,360 units

http://www.recalls.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/1046956