nissan to recal 195000 pathys and qx4 suv's

[lookzcustoms]

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news ... /index.htm

http://www.autoweek.com/article/2011042 ... /110429906

updated the links

[Adam]

Well it is about time, the body shop guy I go to has already fixed 3 of these.

[Nd4SpdSe]

Lol, would they fix Rod's?

[01R50]

The strut tower rotted out on mine, but on the passengers side. I had to re-plate it to fix the huge amount of rust that had eaten away the bottom of the tower. Over the space of 2 weeks a crack had grown from nothing up to an inch across. Was a pain to fix as I had to remove everything in there to be able to fix it. And it doesn't help that the tower is made from pretty thin metal. I had the welder on the lowest setting and still had to be careful not to punch holes through it while welding. I plated it using 1/8" steel and coated it with rocker guard then bed-liner and finally some paint. Shouldn't rust out again any time soon.

Took pics. Can post them if interested. Wasn't pretty.

Funny thing is that the drivers side is pretty much perfect (last time I looked).

[Bow_Tied]

This apply in Canada?

[Morpheus]

Canada recalls are usually about 3-6 weeks behind the usa, and only if transport canada agrees they are a safety recall.

Ministry of transportation usa might say this is excessive rusting that is a safety concern. Transport canada may say, what do you expect, this is canada, cars rust...

Previous recalls that specified "salt areas" usually included canada in the end, but the repair might not be the same.

I had to do the same repair on my R50 when I got it, driver side tower had failed, had both sides done at that time too.

[Morpheus]

Just got memo'ed

Recall has been accepted by Canada, and transport canada has been notified.

They expect to release furthur information mid-may.

[01R50]

Well it looks like I will be getting fixed. Checked the truck today and the drivers tower has started to rust badly as well.

Will wait to get the notice.

[Morpheus]

Subject: 1996-2004 Nissan Pathfinder Front Strut Tower Corrosion Voluntary Safety Recall Campaign



Attention: Dealer Principals, Sales, Parts and Service Managers



***** Corporate Statement *****

“Nissan will be conducting a Voluntary Safety Recall Campaign to inspect the front

strut tower housings on Model Year 1996-2004 Nissan Pathfinder and 1997-2003

Infiniti QX4 vehicles in Canada.



In certain rare instances, in areas where heavy concentrations of road salt are used in the winter, the front strut tower housing on the potentially affected vehicles can develop corrosion that may cause weakening of the seams on the edge of the housing and, over time, it may lead to strut tower damage. This may allow portions of the strut tower to come in contact with the steering column. This condition is expected to create a grinding noise and increase the steering effort which should alert the driver to the existence of a problem. However, if this condition is ignored, it could in extreme cases lead to damage to the steering column and potential loss of steering.



Nissan will begin contacting owners of potentially affected vehicles in Canada in mid-May to advise them about this campaign. Nissan is committed to a high level of customer safety, service and satisfaction and is working with dealers to promptly address this issue.”



***** Campaign Details *****

Nissan will alert the owners of potentially affected vehicles in mid-May to advise them of the issue and to offer an immediate inspection if the customer believes their vehicle is affected by this condition. If necessary, Nissan will arrange to provide an appropriate remedy.



Second, Nissan will issue a second owner notification once the remedy is fully

developed advising all owners of the subject vehicles to have their vehicles inspected and

remedied. The dealers will inspect the strut housing and if no or only slight surface corrosion

is present, an anti-corrosion sealant will be applied. If moderate corrosion is present, resin

patches will be applied in addition to the sealant. If there is evidence of more significant

corrosion, a metal reinforcement plate will be used to reinforce the strut housing assembly.

In addition to the campaign remedy, and in the interest of customer satisfaction, owners of

similar vehicles that are not subject to this recall because they were originally sold in and are registered in states where corrosion causing this issue is unlikely to occur will receive a

courtesy notification. For those customers wishing to have their vehicles inspected, the strut housing will be inspected and repaired, if necessary, in the same manner as described above.



***** Vehicle Identification *****

Nissan Online Applications (NOA) is not yet activated for this campaign, and will be visible by 04/29/2011.



***** Repair Instructions *****

A Voluntary Safety Recall Campaign bulletin including initial inspection instructions and claims information is currently under development. A campaign update will be sent to advise dealers when the bulletin will be available on ASIST and the dealer portal, http://www.nnanet.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.



***** Parts Availability *****

The campaign remedy is being developed. A campaign update will be provided as soon as the remedy plan is finalized.



***** Dealer Responsibility *****

It is the dealer’s responsibility to check NOA – Campaign I.D. R175/R1101 on the 1996-2004 Nissan Pathfinder, for the campaign status on each vehicle falling within the range of this voluntary safety recall campaign which for any reason enters the service department. This includes vehicles purchased from private parties or presented by transient (tourist) owners and vehicles in dealer inventory. If an affected VIN was part of a dealer trade, the letter associated with that VIN should be forwarded to the appropriate dealer for service completion.

[the x kid]

Is this similar to the recent Xterra recall?

[Morpheus]

Is this similar to the recent Xterra recall?

no, completely different issue

[Morpheus]

Got a little more information.

We are now able to inspect the affected vehicles.

If there's any "scab rust" or perforation in the driver wheel well, the vehicle is not repairable, and we are to hold the vehicle at the dealership and provide the owner with a rental vehicle until furthur notice.

There are 3 areas to inspect spot welds, if the welds are broken in one specific area, the vehicle is repairable, but not driveable, we are to provide the owner with a rental vehicle until furthur notice.

If the welds are broken in one of the other 2 places, the vehicle is repairable, and is driveable, and we are to return the vehicle to the owner and tell them repair information will be provided in the near future.

[nige]

No offense Mike, Jay and any other Nissan employees, but it bothers me tremendously that Nissan decided to recall the 96 and up Pathfinders over this, but left the w/d21 owners with the proverbial dick in the wind when it comes to recognizing safety issues due to abnormal amounts of corrosion. Even Toyota had the good sense to support the 4runner and Tacoma owners who experienced pretty much the same degree of corrosion problems that Nissan shouldered their owners with.

[Morpheus]

I don't think that the recall is because of rust specifically, it's because of the safety issue of the rust causing the metal to come in contact with the steering column, and damaging the steering column.

Anything to do with steering failure is an immense safety concern. The fact that the original failure is due to the corrosion is a side issue. I think that's also why the recall is specific to the driver side wheel well, and does not address the passenger side at all, even tho that side rusts just as bad as the driver side.

The rear frame on the WD21 is a definate issue, however I don't think they look at it as a safety concern, therefore not a recall issue... sucks, I know..

[Adam]

If someone goes and throws a trailer onto a wd21 with a hitch, not knowing that there is an issue with the frame (not everyone knows to look) and it rips off on the highway killing the person behind them, I think that is a safety issue! Not arguing with you but just thought I would throw that scenario out there.

[Morpheus]

WORD OF WARNING!We have reviewed the complete inspection proceedure, and if the vehicle is found to have a certain spot weld broken, or excessive rust, you will lose your vehicle. It will be deemed "unsafe" to drive, and must stay at the dealership. You will be provided with a rental car, and nissan will pay for the rental. They will then contact you at a later date for what sounds like a "buy out" of your truck.

Keep this in mind if you want to schedule to have this inspection completed.

[Bow_Tied]

Thanks for the tip. Are you able to share any details on the inspection such that we might do our pre-check? My wife would be some ticked if we lost our pathfinder.... although it may depend on if they do their buy out in a very fair way like Toyota did with the Tacomas. If I got an equivalent vehicle.....

[Morpheus]

I have no details on what their plans are for the grounded vehicles, other than they're still working on it.

As far as the inspection, it's pretty straight forward. Look in the wheelwell. If it looks like it's falling apart, it's gonna be grounded, if it's got slight surface rust, then it's ok.

[Pezzy]

From a Nissan/Infiniti mechanic on NPORA:

[quote name='5523Pathfinder']
Just did my first inspection on a QX4. It was pretty easy to inspect. Yes, the TSB does state that we are to hold your vehicle if we find excessive rust. The one I did was perfect and it ahd 160,000 miles on it. If you want to take a look yourself, look in at the strut over the left front wheel. Look at the unibody behind the spring. You are looking near the top for rust, then look straight down at the bottom of the unibody and look for rust flaking. The other area to look is at the front of the strut tower just behind the air box. Look to see if the panels have seperated and ar coming in contact with the steering shaft. Yes, you may loose your vehicle if you take it in, so I would check ahead of time.
[/quote]

[Morpheus]

We did 2 of them today, both were fine. One was petepath's truck, the other was an 02 with 200,000km on it.