Short stories about Nissan Pathfinder recalls, lawsuits, and other interesting bits. Signup to have these stories emailed to you for free from CarComplaints.com.
Seems like a quick way to make a lot of enemies on the road. Good news is that it's being recalled. The not-so-good news is the recall won't begin until March 1st.…
keep reading article "2013-2015 Pathfinder Recalled to Fix Busted Brake Light Switch"following a U.S. District Court judge tossing out the automaker's motion to dismiss. AEB systems monitor the road and can apply the brakes if the system detects a collision is imminnent. But according to the lawsuit, Nissan's AEB detects items that aren't there and can randomly bring the car to a screeching halt.…
keep reading article "Nissan Wanted An Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) Lawsuit Tossed. It Didn't Work."that detects objects that aren’t really there. Instead of protecting drivers, system creates perfect conditions for rear-end and side crashes. A safety feature that actually causes crashes? Talk about awwwkward.…
keep reading article "Another Lawsuit for Forward Emergency Braking Malfunctions"A California lawsuit says malfunctions in the system create random emergency braking situations when the radar detects objects that aren’t really there.
The owner's manuals for many of the vehicles admit the automatic emergency braking systems do "not function in all driving, traffic, weather and road conditions.” But the plaintiff says the manual leaves out the part about how the systems can cause vehicles to suddenly stop even when no objects are in the driving lane.
It’s scary to think that a safety system might actually create more crash scenarios than it prevents.
keep reading article "AEB Lawsuit Says System Can Randomly Stop Vehicles"And yes, I realize that is an odd thing to say, but hear me out. The pump leaks brake fluid onto internal circuit boards which starts fires. And it’s been a problem more than once.
The pumps were first recalled back in 2016. However the seals used to “fix” the leak have failed and now the pumps have been recalled again.
Nissan is even worried enough to ask owners of the 2015-2017 Murano, 2016-2017 Maxima, 2017-2018 Pathfinder and the 2017 Infiniti QX60 vehicles to park their cars outside and away from things you wouldn’t like to see turned to ash.
Maybe I should direct my choice words at Nissan instead.
keep reading article "Nissan ABS Actuator Recalled for Starting Fires. Again."In the case of Kobe Falco, et. al., v. Nissan North America, Inc., and Nissan Motor Company, LTD., the plaintiffs say they were forced to pay for expensive timing chain repairs which happened to fall ever-so-conveniently just outside of Nissan's warranty period. Earlier this year, the class-action was certified by a judge.
So now Nissan has brought together their best engineers and a top-notch legal team to come up with their defense –– ok, our timing chains are noisy, but they're not a safety defect.
From CarComplaints.com:
"According to the automaker, there has never been anything defective about the timing chain systems and the most that owners can show is that the timing chains make noise, not that the systems are a safety risk. Nissan says the plaintiffs admit no crashes are attributed to the timing chains, even though the majority of the vehicles have been in service more than 10 years."
So the case will attempt to answer are Nissan's timing chains just loud and annoying? Or are they loud, annoying, and potentially dangerous?
The vehicles named in the suit all use the same uniform timing chain system: the 2004-2008 Maxima, 2004-2009 Quest, 2004-2006 Altima (VQ35 engine), 2005-2007 Pathfinder, 2004-2007 Xterra, and the 2005-2007 Frontier (VQ49 engine).
keep reading article "Nissan Says Their Timing Chains Are Just Super Noisy, Not Busted"A lawsuit alleges that all of Nissan's factory-installed sunroofs (panoramic or otherwise) can explode without warning. This includes any vehicle since 2008.
"Plaintiff Janelle Horne says she was riding with her husband and four kids in a leased Infiniti QX80 when the sunroof exploded like a shotgun, causing Mr. Horne to pull off the highway and see shards of glass everywhere.
Yikes, that'll get your attention. Hopefully this lawsuit means Nissan will start paying attention too.
The lawsuit only includes residents of California at this time, but similar lawsuits may be filed nationwide based on its results.
keep reading article "Heads Up, Nissan Owners! That Sunroof Isn’t As Safe As You'd Hope"that kills the transmission entirely. If it hasn't happened to you, you've probably at least heard of it. And if you haven't heard of it, well ... I'm sorry to be the bearer of some really bad news.
Unfortunately, the news gets worse. There were high hopes that the government would open an investigation that would lead to a recall, but we now know that ain't going to happen.…
keep reading article "Investigation into Cracked Radiators Killing Transmissions? Don't Count On It"One of the most common? How it violently jerks and shakes during acceleration. This is commonly attributed to a "CVT belt slip" and can be dangerous.
A few lawsuits have been filed by owners with similar themes.…
keep reading article "Pathfinder CVT 'Belt Slip' Lawsuit Nears a Settlement"That would have been very helpful advice, say, 5 or 10 years ago. Next they might tell us the sun is very bright and they recommend not looking directly at it.
The radiators in these vehicles --- as most of you know by now --- are ticking time-bombs. They leak coolant into the transmission, killing it.…
keep reading article "NCCC Tells Consumers to Stop Buying Certain Nissans"For roughly the 103rd time – ok, 4th – Nissan is recalling their defective OCS. And this one is a doozy at 3.8 million vehicles.
"Nissan says the occupant classification systems in the front passenger seats can turn off because the systems classify an adult as a child or classify a seat as empty even if an adult is in the seat."
That will disable the airbags for someone who really needs it.
"Nissan says in the case of a child classification, the system is designed to illuminate the airbag light indicating the airbag is turned off. However, if the initial classification is “empty seat,” the light will not illuminate and there is no indication that the airbag is suppressed."
Does any part of this thing work?
Nissan has been accused of covering up the OCS issue and issuing repairs that didn't work in a lawsuit.
keep reading article "For the Love of Everything, Nissan Issues Another Massive OCS Recall"Plaintiff Matthew Senci filed the proposed class-action lawsuit that alleges the vehicles have occupant classification system software that can incorrectly classify a front passenger seat as empty when it's occupied by an adult passenger.
The error can cause the airbag to deactivate and fail to deploy in a crash and the lawsuit alleges Nissan has known about the problem since at least 2012 due to complaints and warranty claims.
The first "limited" recall was in February 2013, but the fix was ineffective. A second, larger recall was announced in March 2014, but once again the lawsuit says the fix didn't do diddly.
The lawsuit, Matthew Senci v. Nissan North America, Inc., accuses the automaker of unfair and deceptive acts and seeks damages for the decreased value of the cars.
keep reading article "Nissan Sued Over Faulty Occupant Classification System (OCS) And Airbag Warnings"A ti
ing chain lawsuit filed in New York accuses Nissan of manufacturing defective timing chain systems, with issues in the chain tensioner, guides, and shoes. Five lead plaintiffs claim the Nissan vehicles have timing chain systems prone to early failure that can cause a huge expense for repairs. The plaintiffs claim failure of the timing chain can cause extensive damage to the car, including to the catalytic converter and destruction of the engine.
The class-action is currently only for current and former Nissan owners (and lessees) who live in New York, Florida, Maryland, and New Jersey. However, this could lay the groundwork for other states.
Loose and busted timing chains are a longtime nightmare for many 2004-2010 Nissan owners. When not properly tensioned, timing chains can cause everything from engine rattles, to misfiring, and eventually catastrophic engine failure.
The lawsuit alleges that Nissan has known about the issue since at least 2004 when they issued a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) to their dealerships. Additionally, the automaker is accused of ignoring the defect until the systems fall out of the warranty period.
The plaintiffs in Vincent Chiarelli, Philip Dragonetti, Michele Maszon, Todd Maszon and Chris Santimauro vs. Nissan North America Inc. and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. are represented by Kantrowitz, Goldhamer & Graifman, P.C.
keep reading article "Timing Chain Lawsuit Filed Against Nissan in NY"Just take a look at this not so glorious run from the last few years.…
keep reading article "Nissan Owners Still Having Airbag Problems After OCS Recall"but I want to make sure you heard about Nissan and Infiniti's January recall of problem that can quickly limit your visibility.
At the time it was announced, Nissan (parent company of Infiniti) didn't know when the recall would begin. It's entirely possible that it already has. Have you received a recall notice in the mail?
Owners with questions or concerns should contact Nissan at 800-647-7261.
keep reading article "Hoods Recalled for Flying Up While Driving"The lawsuit says Nissan installed transmissions that can shake and shudder violently when accelerating between 15mph and 30mph. They then continued selling the defective transmissions even after they found problems.…
keep reading article "Shaking Transmission? A Pathfinder CVT Lawsuit Stutters Into Gear"About 1,800 Infiniti vehicles were recalled for the same issue just a couple days ago.
The newest air bag recall includes the 2003-2004 Nissan Pathfinder, 2004-2006 Nissan Sentra, 2003-2005 Infiniti FX35 and FX45, 2003-2004 Infiniti I35, and 2006 Infiniti M35 and M45.
The recalled vehicles are all in areas of high humidity.
keep reading article "More Pathfinder and Sentras Added to Takata Recall List"Yikes, remember when 3 million vehicles seemed like a big number? The massive expansion includes Nissan who has announced a recall expansion of 226,000 vehicles. They had previously recalled 480,000.
To better manage the recalls, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has separated areas of the country by "zones" A, B and C. Checkout CarComplaints.com for more information on the recalls and recall zones.
keep reading article "Maxima and Pathfinder Takata Recall Expansion"If that sounds familiar, it's because they issued the same – albeit smaller – recall last year. But now Nissan admits the problem is more widespread than they anticipated and their previous fix didn't work.
The OCS is supposed to turn on the airbag when there's an adult in the front passenger seat. but it's malfunctioning.
"Nissan says a combination of factors could cause the problem, such as high engine vibration at idle when the seat is initially empty and then becomes occupied. Even the posture of the passenger could cause the air bag to deactivate."
The recalled cars include the 2013-2014 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, Sentra, the 2013 NV200, plus additional Infiniti vehicles. It is expected to begin in April 2014.
keep reading article "Nissan Admits Their Prior OCS Fix Didn't Work, Expands Recall to 1 Million Cars"To be clear, when an airbag deploys there's always going to be a miniature explosion to make the inflation possible. But that explosion is controlled. In the case of Takata, the propellant used to make that explosion can deteriorate over time and cause dangerous –– possibly deadly –– issues when the airbag deploys:
"Takata said the propellant wafers produced at a plant in Moses Lake, Washington, between April 13, 2000 and September 11, 2002, may have been produced with an inadequate compaction force. The propellant could deteriorate over time and cause too much combustion, which could cause the body of the inflator to rupture during air bag deployment."
When that inflator canister ruptures, metal shards can shoot out into the cabin. Most of the recalls are expected to begin in May, 2013.
keep reading article "Millions of Vehicles Recalled Because of Dangerous, Explosive Airbags"The automaker says sensors within the passenger occupant detection system may have been manufactured out of specification which could cause the air bag to be suppressed permanently.
The affected vehicles include the 2013 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, and Sentra. It also includes the Infiniti JX35.
The recall is expected to begin in April, 2013.
keep reading article "Passenger Airbags Aren't Deploying Because of a Faulty OCS"Namely, how those coolant leaks seep into the transmission and render it useless.
While the automaker has offered an extended warranty for the radiators, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and other safety organizations have received numerous complaints from owners alleging they have spent thousands of dollars for transmission repairs because the added radiator warranty coverage only applied to vehicles with fewer than 80,000 miles.
That “small percentage” appears to be on the rise, as this problem regularly tops the CarComplaints.com trending problems list.
Because it’s an extended warranty, and not a recall, Nissan isn’t obligated to tell owners about it. And, for those who know, it isn’t exactly clear if the radiator warranty extension covers damage done to the transmission by the leaking coolant.
keep reading article "Radiators to Blame for Automatic Transmission Failures in Some of Nissan’s Most Popular Trucks and SUVs"The best way to find out what's wrong with a vehicle is from the people who drive them. Not only do owner complaints help us rank vehicles by reliability, but they're often used to spark class-action lawsuits and warranty extensions. Plus, they're a great way to vent.