GreenBkk Auto | Nissan Recalls 501,000 Trucks in the U.S. for Steering Problem

Nissan Recalls 501,000 Trucks in the U.S. for Steering Problem

By CHRISTOPHER JENSEN

Credit: The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com)

003 Nissan Frontier Open Sky.

Nissan is recalling about 501,000 trucks in the United States because of a steering problem, the automaker said Friday in a news release.

Nissan said the recall covers 240,000 2002–4 Frontier pickups and 261,000 Nissan Xterra sport utility vehicles from the same model years. The automaker said that “in certain rare instances, the lower steering column joint on the affected Frontier and Xterra vehicles can develop corrosion that limits the movement of the joint. If the vehicle continues to be driven in this condition it may, in an extreme case, lead to cracking of the steering shaft.”

Nissan said it learned of the problem after getting three reports from Canada and it had no reports of the problem in the United States. The company said it was not aware of any accidents.

Nissan also announced it was recalling about 14,000 2010-11 Sentras (assembled between May 15-July 8, 2010) because a problem with the battery cable could cause the engine to stall. Worldwide the recall covers almost 605,000 vehicles in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Argentina and Brazil.

In other action:

• After two fires, General Motors is recalling almost 14,000 of its 2010-11 Cadillac DTSs and Buick Lucernes. The automaker told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the starter or alternator cable could rub against a power steering line causing a leak. That could result in either the loss of power assist or a fire.

G.M. said it learned of the problem after reports of two fires. It later discovered that the routing of the cable was changed last February “due to the assembly line rate being reduced” at the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant. That caused the problem.

The plant is also building the Chevrolet Volt.

• N.H.T.S.A. has opened three defect investigations into Ducati motorcycles. The largest covers about 3,000 of the 2008-9 Superbike 848 and was prompted by reports of a leak that allows “hot, slippery coolant” to contact “the rider’s leg and or rear tire.” The second covers about 2,200 2004-7 Multistrada and Monster models and was prompted after reports of possible fuel leaks. The third covers about 270 of the 2010 Multistrada models and was prompted by reports of the engine stalling.

• Chrysler is recalling about 16,000 2008 Jeep Libertys because the windshield wiper motor may fail. The automaker told the safety agency the failure was caused by either “water ingestion” or “excessive adhesive on the motor magnets.”

For more information or to report a safety problem, go to the government Web site.

Credit: The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com)