The car maker says the recall affects about 195,991 vehicles that were sold or are currently registered in Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington D.C., West Virginia and Wisconsin.
In regions where a lot of road salt is used, water and salt can get into the upper strut housing through a hole and eventually cause corrosion. If this happened the strut housing could break away from its attachment point under the hood. Such a separation could result in grinding sounds and difficulty steering.
In cases like this the vehicle typically remains drivable, but continued use in this condition could lead to the strut housing coming in contact with the steering column and causing it to break. The resulting loss of steering control increases the risk of a crash
Under the recall, Nissan says it will inspect the strut housing and repair it if necessary, free of charge. A letter notifying about the recall will be mailed on or before May 16, Nissan says. Owners may contact Nissan at 800-647-7261.
Nissan Motor Co. is recalling certain Nissan Pathfinder SUVs from the 1996 through 2004 model years and Infiniti QX4 vehicles from the 1997 through 2003 model years to fix a possible corrosion problem that could result in the loss of steering.