Nissan urges owners to stop driving due to exploding airbag inflators

SAN ANGELO, Texas – Nissan has issued an urgent warning to owners of approximately 84,000 older vehicles, urging them to stop driving due to the increased risk of Takata airbag inflators exploding in a crash and throwing dangerous metal fragments.

This plea follows the death of a Nissan driver caused by the explosion of the front passenger inflator. Since 2015, no less than 58 people have suffered injuries linked to this defect. The Do Not Drive advisory affects certain models: 2002 through 2006 Sentra small cars, 2002 through 2004 Pathfinder SUVs, and 2002 through 2003 Infiniti QX4 SUVs. Owners can check if their vehicle is affected by visiting nissanusa.com/ takata-airbag-recall or infinitiusa.com/takata-airbag-recall and entering their 17-digit vehicle identification number.

Nissan advises owners to contact their dealers to arrange free inflator replacement. The company offers free towing to dealers, mobile service and loaner cars in select locations.

Nissan initially recalled 736,422 vehicles to replace Takata inflators, but approximately 84,000 remain unrepaired and are believed to still be in use. Despite numerous attempts to contact owners of unrepaired inflators, the problem persists.

Defective inflators use volatile ammonium nitrate which can deteriorate over time when exposed to high temperatures and humidity. The chemical can cause an explosion with excessive force, detonating a metal canister and scattering shrapnel at 200 mph. In the United States, more than 400 people have been injured due to this defect.

Globally, at least 35 deaths have occurred in Malaysia, Australia and the United States. The risk of malfunction prompted the largest series of automobile recalls in U.S. history, involving at least 67 million Takata inflators. The U.S. government says many of them remain unrepaired. Around 100 million inflators were recalled worldwide, leading to Takata’s bankruptcy.

Other automakers, including Honda, Ford, BMW, Toyota, Stellantis and Mazda, have issued similar “do not drive” warnings for vehicles equipped with Takata inflators.