Nissan Recalls 323,000 Pathfinder SUVs Over Hood Latch Failures
Make extra sure your primary hood latch is secure.
Give that hood a real good push every time you close it.
If you've ever been frustrated trying to find the secondary hood release, rest assured, that redundancy exists for a reason. And if it's not working right, it could become a safety hazard, as a couple hundred thousand Nissan Pathfinder owners could soon discover.
Nissan this week issued a recall for 322,671 examples of the 2013-2016 Pathfinder SUV. All the affected vehicles were built between June 20, 2012, and July 27, 2016. There are also approximately 37,700 Pathfinders subject to recall in Canada, as well, Reuters reports.
According to the recall documents Nissan filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (PDF), the problem comes from a component called the bell crank lever, which engages and disengages the secondary hood latch. Accumulating dust and dirt that isn't cleaned from the lever may cause it to remain open, preventing the redundant hood latch from securing properly. That alone will not cause a hood to open while a vehicle is in motion, but in the off chance the primary hood latch is either disengaged at the wrong time or not properly closed, an accidental hood deployment is possible. This may reduce forward visibility and increase the risk of a crash.
While a permanent fix has not yet been devised, Nissan will begin interim remedies in the near future. This week, Nissan will send notification letters to a random sample of 40,000 owners, inviting them to the dealership to have the affected components inspected and, if they are defective, replaced.
Every other owner will receive a different notification letter, urging them to first examine, clean and condition the bell crank lever themselves, since the owner's manual explains how to do it, although heading to the dealer is still an option. The end result is the same, though: Busted levers will be swapped out for a fully functioning replacement. When the final remedy has been developed and approved, Nissan will contact owners again with more information.
