Its Shop Time Mondays: Nissan And VW Are In The Hot Seat

Passenger Frontal Air Bag Inflator May Explode

An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V401000

Manufacturer Nissan North America, Inc.

Components AIR BAGS

Potential Number of Units Affected 104,762

Summary

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2011 Nissan Versa sedan vehicles and 2011-2012 Nissan Versa hatchback vehicles ever registered in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Nissan is also recalling 2010-2011 Nissan Versa sedan vehicles and 2010-2012 Nissan Versa hatchback vehicles ever registered in the states of ever registered in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. 

In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these passenger air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

Remedy

Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began July 5, 2018. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669.

NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V464000

Manufacturer Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Components STEERING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Potential Number of Units Affected 33,168

Summary

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Volkswagen Golf and Golf Sportwagen vehicles. The build of silicate on the shift lever micro switch contacts may enable the key to be removed from the ignition while the vehicle shift lever is not in "Park." As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."

Remedy

Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will install an additional switch and circuit board, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin September 8, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 37L5.