US tells owners to stop driving older Nissan vehicles over air bag concerns

Owners of nearly 84,000 older Nissan vehicles that are still equipped with recalled, unrepaired Takata air bags should immediately stop driving them due to a safety hazard, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Wednesday.

NHTSA's announcement comes after Nissan warned vehicle owners not to drive certain vehicles that were recalled in 2020 but haven't been fixed, including the 2002-2006 model year Nissan Sentra, 2002-2004 Nissan Pathfinder and 2002-2003 Infiniti QX4.

"If you have one of these vehicles, do not drive it until the repair is completed and the defective air bag is replaced," NHTSA said in a statement, noting that Nissan dealers are offering free towing, mobile repair and, in some places, loaner vehicles.

Over the past decade, over 100 million Takata air bag inflators have been recalled around the world – including 7 million in the U.S. – in what is the biggest auto safety recall on record.

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More than 30 deaths worldwide, including 27 in the U.S., and over 400 injuries have been reported since 2009 in vehicles sold by a variety of automakers due to Takata air bag inflators that can explode upon deployment, unleashing metal shrapnel inside cars and trucks.

The issues with the air bags have been blamed on a propellant that can break down after long-term exposure to high-temperature fluctuations and humidity.

Auto regulator NHTSA said that "even minor crashes can result in exploding Takata air bags that can kill or produce life-altering, gruesome injuries."

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The announcement comes as several other automakers have issued similar warnings to drivers of older vehicles to immediately stop driving the vehicles until they're repaired.

Chrysler parent company Stellantis issued warnings last year to owners of 29,000 model year 2003 Dodge Ram pickups to stop driving the trucks until they've been repaired after one person was killed when a Takata air bag inflator exploded.

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Japanese automaker Toyota in January warned owners of 50,000 of its older vehicles – the 2003-2004 model year Corolla, 2003-2004 Corolla Matrix and 2004-2005 RAV4 – in the U.S. to immediately get recall repairs to address Takata air bags.

Reuters contributed to this report.