Recall 11V244000: 1996–2004 Nissan Pathfinder and 1 other model

Report received

Apr 20, 2011

Manufacturer

Nissan north america, inc.

Potentially affected

195,991vehicles

Model years

1996–2004

Check your own vehicle. A recall applies only to vehicles within the affected build range. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer.

What NHTSA recorded

Nissan is recalling certain model year 1996-2004 pathfinder and model year 1997-2003 infiniti qx4 vehicles originally sold, or currently registered in, connecticut, delaware, iowa, illinois, indiana, massachusetts, maine, maryland, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, washington d.c., west virginia and wisconsin. In areas of the country in which heavy concentrations of road salt are used, a mixture of snow/water and salt may enter an assembly location hole in the upper strut housing, causing water to collect at the mating surface of the strut housing panel and the inner hood ledge assembly. Over time, this snow/water and salt intrusion may result in corrosion of the strut tower housing in some subject vehicles.

Possible consequence

The strut housing may crack and pull away from the inner hood ledge assembly. This may lead to grinding noises, increased steering effort, and possibly the steering column to break, resulting in the loss of steering control, which could result in a crash.

Remedy

Nissan will inspect the strut housing and repair the vehicles as necessary, free of charge. An interim notification letter was sent out in may 2011. The second notice was mailed on july 25, 2011. Owners may contact nissan at 1-800-647-7261.

Affected model years

Pages for each model year show complaints, parts, mileage and other recalls.

• 1997 Infiniti QX445 complaints
• 1998 Infiniti QX429 complaints
• 1999 Infiniti QX443 complaints
• 2000 Infiniti QX428 complaints
• 2001 Infiniti QX473 complaints
• 2002 Infiniti QX437 complaints
• 2003 Infiniti QX420 complaints
• 1996 Nissan Pathfinder159 complaints
• 1997 Nissan Pathfinder217 complaints
• 1998 Nissan Pathfinder149 complaints
• 1999 Nissan Pathfinder104 complaints
• 2000 Nissan Pathfinder112 complaints
• 2001 Nissan Pathfinder230 complaints
• 2002 Nissan Pathfinder156 complaints
• 2003 Nissan Pathfinder110 complaints
• 2004 Nissan Pathfinder67 complaints