Nissan recalls over 20,000 cars in the US, blame it on a faulty steering wheel

Nissan has issued a recall for its Versa sedan and Kicks SUV in the US, owing to a faulty power steering. The recall programme has impacted a total of 20,040 units of Nissan cars in the US market, which were produced between 19th July and 27th September last year. Nissan USA first became aware of the issue in 2021 and opened a probe in December, claims a report by NHTSA.

The affected cars reportedly lose power steering control abruptly. It is not clear if the problems were connected, but a Nissan Kicks owner reported this problem at a time when Nissan Versa was already under the scanner. The automaker reportedly started collecting dealer parts in January 2022 and conducted a study investigating the effects of losing power steering and the effort that would then be required of a driver.

The automaker came to the conclusion that poor weld penetration at the steering wheel terminal within the torque sensor, which could result in a disconnection of the terminal welds within the steering column torque sensor.

Now, the automaker has initiated a recall campaign in an abundance of caution, as it has said. While the steering wheel column is at all times connected to the wheels, an electronic power steering failure could abruptly increase the steering efforts required of the driver and result in an increased risk of major mishaps.

Nissan will start contacting the affected owners of the Versa and Kicks models on November 9 to ask them to return to their local dealerships, where technicians will inspect the vehicles and steering column torque sensor lot code. Also, if they believe the cars require replacement of the steering column assembly, they will do so at no cost to the vehicle owners.