- The NHTSA says that side curtain airbags might go off unexpectedly in almost 75,000 Nissan Rogues.
- After several reports from consumers, it’s kicking off an investigation to learn more.
- The move could lead to a recall and isn’t the only issue that owners report regarding airbags in the Rogue.
For a component solely in place to increase safety, airbags sure do lead to a lot of safety issues at times. In this case, it’s possible that they could deploy inadvertently in 74,702 Nissan Rogues. To find out, the NHTSA is launching its own investigation into the matter.
Specifically, the problem lies in 2015 model year Rogue examples only. According to the NHTSA, it’s already received several “Early Warning Reporting” (EWR) about the issue. The airbags in question here are the side curtain ones and they evidently go off at times as the result of someone shutting or slamming the door hard.
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The potential issue raises concerns about occupant safety. If someone is seated next to the airbag, its unexpected deployment could cause harm. Moreover, driving without a functioning airbag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash. Consequently, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) will commence a “Preliminary Evaluation” to determine the extent, frequency, and seriousness of the problem.
It’s possible that it leads to a full-scale recall of the affected vehicles. The NHTSA doesn’t say how it came to the figure it did, so there’s no telling if it could grow or shrink in a potential future recall. Of course, it’s possible too that it doesn’t end up requiring a recall at all.
That was the case in a large investigation regarding Tesla and its in-car gaming technology. In that situation, Tesla changed its software during the inquiry. Nissan doesn’t have that luxury.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, airbag-related issues are one of the largest complaint areas for the Rogue on the NHTSA’s website. As of this writing, 80 such records exist. Interestingly, the majority don’t contain experiences of airbags going off.
Instead, several indicate that the airbag light illuminates even when there’s a person in the front passenger seat. We’ll keep an eye out on this and other related safety issues stemming from this investigation.
