Nissan Recalls 166,000 Vehicles In North America Due To Ignition Issue

Nissan is recalling roughly 166,000 of its vehicles in the United States and Canada, over a potential issue with the ignition switch that might cause the engine to shut off while the car is moving.

Approximately 153,000 of those vehicles are in the United States, while 13,000 reside in Canada. Right now, Nissan wants drivers to remove objects such as additional keys and key chains from their ignition key ring, effective immediately.

The problem is that on certain vehicles that come with a mechanical key ignition system, a spring in the ignition switch could wear and potentially break, in turn allowing the key to move from the ‘on’ position to the ‘accessory’ position. This could cause the engine to shut off, while the airbags might stop working. Also, a loss of power could influence the steering and braking forces, increasing the risk of injury.

As of right now, it’s unclear if these issues have resulted in any crashes, injuries or worse, with Nissan saying that as far as they know, there have been no incidents in the U.S., reports Automotive News.

For the U.S. market, the recall covers certain 2017 and 2018 Frontier, Juke, Sentra, Versa, Versa Note, Micra, NV, NV200 and Taxi models, while in Canada, affected cars include the Frontier, Micra, Versa Note, NV200, NV1500, NV2500 and NV2500.

Drivers will be notified about the recall in September, as dealers will inspect the vehicles and replace the ignition switches if deemed necessary.