Nissan issues ‘no driving’ warning for nearly 84,000 older models with recalled airbags – NBC New York

• According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Nissan has warned owners of nearly 84,000 older vehicles not to drive them.
• The warning applies to certain Nissan Sentra vehicles (model years 2002-2006), Nissan Pathfinder vehicles (model years 2002-2004) and Infiniti QX4 vehicles (model years 2002-2003) that may be equipped with Takata airbags that were recalled in 2020.
• The NHTSA said it had confirmed that 27 people were killed and at least 400 others injured when a defective Takada airbag exploded in the United States.

Nissan has warned owners of older vehicles not to drive cars equipped with recalled, unrepaired Takata airbags, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced Wednesday.

The NHTSA said the Japanese automaker’s “do not drive” warning applies to 83,920 cars. The affected vehicles include Nissan Sentra (model years 2002-2006), Nissan Pathfinder (model years 2002-2004) and Infiniti QX4 (model years 2002-2003), which may be equipped with Takata airbags that were recalled in 2020.

Nissan shares lost almost 3% during the meeting on Wednesday following the warning.

“NHTSA urges all vehicle owners to immediately check to see if their vehicle has an open Takata airbag recall,” NHTSA said in a statement. “If you own one of these vehicles, do not drive it until repairs are completed and the defective airbag is replaced.”

Nissan and Infiniti are offering free towing and mobile repairs to affected owners, as well as loaner vehicles at select locations. Infiniti is a division of Nissan.

“Due to the age of vehicles equipped with defective Takata airbag inflators, there is an increased risk that the inflator could explode when the airbag deploys, ejecting sharp metal fragments that could cause serious injury or death,” a Nissan spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC.

According to NHTSA, 27 people were killed in the USA by the explosion of a defective Takata airbag. At least 400 other people are said to have been injured.

At least 67 million Takata airbag inflators have been recalled domestically and more than 100 million worldwide, making it one of the largest auto safety-related recalls in history.

In 2017, Takata filed for bankruptcy in Japan and the United States after agreeing to pay a billion dollars in fines for allegedly fraudulent conduct in the sale of its defective airbag inflators.