Nissan India to recall 9,000 cars for faulty driver airbags

Nissan Motor India is recalling 9,000 units of Micra hatchback and Sunny sedan due to defective driver airbags in these cars. This is part of the Japanese car major’s recall of 2.6 lakh cars manufactured by it globally between 2008 and 2012.

The company said it will replace the faulty part voluntarily to owners of Micra and Sunny models in the country. The airbags, supplied by Takata, are prone to failure due to corrosion and could spray shrapnels at passengers upon deployment.

“Nissan is conducting a voluntary safety recall campaign on certain Nissan models which are affected by a driver airbag concern that Takata reported to Nissan. Nissan plans to begin notifying customers soon,” a spokesperson from Nissan told Business Line .

The models being recalled are Note (E12), March/Micra (K13), Sunny/Almera/Versa (N17), Patrol (Y62) and Cube (Z12). “Nissan dealers will replace the driver airbag inflator with a correctly manufactured part at no cost to the customers for parts or for labour,” the spokesperson added. Nissan Motor India is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Nissan Motor Japan, and sells products across hatchback, multi-utility vehicle, sports utility vehicle and sedan segments in India which includes Micra, Sunny and Terrano. It has a manufacturing plant and a research and development centre near Chennai with its global alliance partner Renault. Nissan in India has a portfolio of two brands, Nissan and Datsun. With a proposed Road Transport and Safety Bill 2014, which has stringent rules on recall of vehicles, expected to be introduced in the Winter Session of Parliament, companies are set to be fined heavily for such recalls.

The draft Bill proposed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways suggests a fine of ₹5 lakh per vehicle or imprisonment for a term of three months or with both for offences relating to manufacturing of faulty vehicles.

The fine may be differentiated on basis of the vehicle size, it says.

The Bill also stipulates that in case 100 or more people report a defect that may ‘cause harm’ to the driver or passengers of that model of motor vehicle or to other road users’, fine will be imposed on the manufacturers.

“The Authority shall have the power to order a recall of all the motor vehicles of a particular model where a defect in that particular model of motor vehicle that may cause harm to the driver or occupants of that motor vehicle or to other road users,” it says.

Recently, Maruti Suzuki India also recalled around 70,000 diesel cars to inspect and repair the wiring harness fitment manufactured between March 2010 and August 2013.

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