Nissan expands recall of vehicles with faulty air bags

Nissan has expanded the number of vehicles recalled as part of an industry-wide problem with defective air bags.

The automaker said Tuesday that 664,628 Nissan and Infiniti vehicles have now been recalled to fix faulty air bag inflators, up from 438,302 to include another model year.

The air bag components were built by Japan’s Takata Corp. They’ve been linked to the recall of more than 3 million vehicles by Honda, Subaru, Ford, Chrysler, BMW, Mitsubishi and Mazda.

The Nissan vehicles affected are the 2001-03 Maxima and Pathfinder and the 2002-03 Sentra. Infiniti is recalling the 2002-03 I35 and QX4 and the 2003 FX. The recall covers vehicles even if they’ve already been in an accident and have had new air bags installed.

In each of these vehicles, the inflator housing for the front passenger air bag can rupture when the air bags are deployed. This can potentially cause metal fragments of the housing to strike passengers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Nissan is aware of two injuries related to the issue, both in Puerto Rico. No accidents or deaths have been reported, said company spokesman Steve Yaeger.

“Nissan and Infiniti are committed to a high level of customer safety, service and satisfaction and are working with NHTSA, Takata and their dealers to promptly address this issue,” Nissan said in a statement.

The automaker will notify dealers and owners of the vehicles of the recall within 60 days and a new air bag inflator will be installed at no charge, Nissan said.

These latest recalls add to 2014’s already record number of vehicle recalls in the U.S., with more than 30 million recall notices being sent to consumers by all manufacturers.