Nissan issues ‘do not drive’ warning for 84,000 older models

Nissan has warned owners of older vehicles to abandon driving 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 2002-2006 Nissan Sentra, 2002-2004 Nissan Pathfinder and 2002-2003 Infiniti QX4 vehicles that may have Takata airbags that were recalled in 2020.

Nissan shares ended Wednesday’s session down about 3% after 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 have one of these vehicles, do not drive it until the repairs are completed and the defective air bag is replaced.”

Nissan and Infiniti will offer affected owners free towing and mobile repair, as well as loaner cars at select locations. Infiniti is a division of Nissan.

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

According to the NHTSA, 27 people in the United States have been confirmed killed by a defective Takata airbag that exploded. At least 400 others are believed to have suffered injuries, according to the NHTSA.

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

In 2017, Takata filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan and the US after agreeing to pay $1 billion in criminal penalties related to its alleged fraudulent conduct in the sale of defective airbag inflators.