Nissan Just Dodged A 2-Million Recall Bullet

Cash-strapped Nissan can be thankful for small mercies this week after US regulators decided to end a long-running safety investigation that could have forced the automaker to recall over 2 million cars in North America.

Related: This Isn’t The New Sentra Or Altima, It’s Something Else

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a case almost six years ago after receiving reports of rear lower control arm failures in 2013-18 Nissan Altima and 2016-18 Maxima sedans.

The Problem

While the feds concluded that there is a very real problem with the cars’ suspension components, and that failure of those parts could affect the handling, it still doesn’t think recalling the 2,038,307 potentially affected cars is necessary.

Nissan used pressed steel for its rear lower arms, and those arms are susceptible to developing cracks from the stresses that come with regular use. But the real problem is in rust-belt states, where the salt sprayed on the roads to melt snow and ice was found to exacerbate those cracks.

The ODI had received 91 consumer complaints of control arm failure at the time it opened the investigation – it has 322 now, and Nissan has 1,035 – some alleging increased steering effort or a loss of control.

But tests carried out by Nissan and the ODI found that drivers would always get advance warning of failure through unusual sounds and vibrations, and that even if the arm did fail, the car’s ESP system would prevent the handling from getting too squirrelly.

The reports back this up: while some owners claimed they lost control, only one said they made contact with another vehicle, and that was just a minor bump into the tow hitch of a car traveling ahead.

Nissan’s Proactive Moves

The ODI also noted that Nissan had been proactive and already fixed 47,000 Altimas through a service campaign and extended the standard three-year warranty to 12 years with no mileage limit. Nissan also changed the design of the lower arms in 2018 to make them more durable. Regulators concluded that the drop in the number of reported failures, plus Nissan’s service campaign and warranty extension, meant no recall was necessary.

Do you own a 2013-18 Altima or 2016-18 Maxima that hasn’t had the lower arms swapped yet, and so how do you feel about driving around with a major suspension that’s known to fail? Drop a comment and let us know.