Massive Recall Affects Almost 444,000 Cars
Ford has been dominating the recall news of late, but it's not the only automaker having a hard time. According to Reuters, a new recall issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration impacts 443,899 vehicles across both Nissan and Infiniti brands. The problem lies in a potential manufacturing defect in some engine bearings that could lead to engine damage or complete failure. The engines under scrutiny are VC-Turbo engines, which are marketed as the world's first production variable compression ratio engines, and have a capacity of 1.5 or 2.0 liters, so they're found in several products.
Affected Vehicles Include Popular SUVs And A Sedan
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The recall affects various model years of the Nissan Rogue SUV and Nissan Altima sedan, as well as the Infiniti QX50 and QX55 twins, which were culled last year, and depending on which engine is under the hood, the remedy may vary. First, dealer technicians must drop the oil pans of these vehicles to determine the damage, if any. If the pan is clean of any engine debris, those with 2.0-liter engines will get an oil change, while 1.5-liter engines will also need a new sump gasket and a reprogrammed engine control module. If not, Nissan will evaluate how bad the damage is and repair it if possible, but it's more likely that a full engine replacement will be undertaken, free of charge to the customer. The affected model years are listed below.
- 2021-2024 Nissan Rogue
- 2019-2020 Nissan Altima
- 2019-2022 Infiniti QX50
- 2022 Infiniti QX55
If you start hearing a knocking noise or experience any other sort of roughness in the engine, it's recommended not to continue driving, as a sudden seizure could lead to a crash. Happily, only 1.2% of the vehicles are expected to have the defect.
Nissan Facing Plenty Of Pressure
This recall is just another problem of many for Nissan to contend with. The automaker's sales slid in the last quarter, and things are so bad from a financial perspective that Nissan is asking suppliers if it can delay payments. Even with new CEO Ivan Espinosa at the helm, not everybody is convinced that Nissan can return to success, but it's not all bad news. The new Nissan Leaf looks like just the sort of EV that can find mainstream success, a solid-state battery could be ready in the next few years, and Nissan recently topped the 2025 J.D. Power quality rankings alongside Lexus.
Related: This Nissan SUV Drives Like An EV But Runs On Gas: Here's How
