Japanese car giant says brake fluid leaking on to a circuit board could ‘in rare instances’ lead to a fire
Affected models in the Nissan recall of cars mainly in the US include the 2016-18 Maxima, 2017-19 QX60, 2015-18 Murano and 2017-19 Pathfinder.
Photograph: Shizuo Kambayashi/AP
Nissan will recall 394,025 cars in the US over a braking system defect that has caused concerns that a brake fluid leak could potentially lead to a fire.
The leak into internal circuit boards will trigger a warning to drivers, which if ignored may lead to a fire in “rare instances,” Nissan said in an 8 November filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) under recall number 18V-601.
“If the warning is ignored and the vehicle continues to be operated in this condition, the brake fluid leak may potentially create an electrical short in the actuator circuit, which in rare instances, may lead to a fire,” the Japanese carmaker said.
The recall, reported on Friday by US media, includes Maxima sedans from 2016 through 2018, Infiniti QX60 luxury crossovers from 2017 to 2019, Murano SUVs from 2015 to 2018 and Pathfinder SUVs from 2017 to 2019.
The document does not mention whether the brake system defect has caused any fires or injuries.
The company also reportedly said that it was working to fix the issue and that owners of the affected cars will be notified starting early next month.
“Once the remedy is available, owners will receive a final notification letter asking them to bring their vehicle to an authorised Nissan dealer or INFINITI retailer to have the remedy work completed at no cost for parts or labor,” it told NPR.
The development comes less than two months after NHTSA opened a preliminary investigation into 553,000 Nissan Rogue sport utility vehicles after reports of their automatic emergency braking systems engaging without warning or an obstruction.
Improper inspections of brakes, steering wheels, speed measurements and vehicle stability had also caused the company to issue a recall of several thousand vehicles in Japan late last year.
In September, the company recalled 1.3m vehicles to fix a problem with its reversing camera displays.