More than a million vehicles in Canada and the United States are being recalled by Nissan Motors in order to resolve a software issue that could keep front passenger airbags from activating during an accident, CNN reported.
"Nissan (NSANF) said it is not aware of any deaths caused by the problem, but can not give details about resulting injuries," the news source said. "The problem is with the sensors in the front passenger seats that are supposed to tell if an adult or a child is sitting on the seat."
"Because the risk of injury or death to child is greater from an airbag than from an accident itself, if the system senses there is not enough weight in the front passenger seats, that airbag will not deploy."
Additionally, the sensors reportedly still shut off airbags even when an adult occupies the seat.
The New York Times observed that this recent announcement makes it the "fifth huge recall" for vehicle manufacturers this year.
The cars affected by the recall are the 2013-2014 Altima, Leaf, Pathfinder and Sentra, as well as the 2013 NV200 Nissan taxi, the 2013 Infiniti JX35, and the 2014 Infiniti Q50 and QX60 cars, CNN noted.
In September 2013, U.S. safety regulators called for an investigation into two of the currently recalled cars, the Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti JX35, Reuters reported. This was triggered by consumer complaints that centered on the failure of the transmission cooler line connection.
"Nissan owners told the NHTSA that the failures caused a sudden loss of power from the transmission due to the loss of the transmission fluid," Reuters said. There were no mention of crashes or injuries connected to this issue.
The massive recall is said to start mid-April this year; the software updating process will be free of charge, Reuters said.
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