How Nissan Avoided a Massive Recall With One Smart Strategy

Miami Herald

15-07-2025

After nearly seven years of scrutiny, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has officially closed its investigation into more than 2 million Nissan vehicles over concerns of rear suspension failure - and it's doing so without demanding a recall.The agency's probe, originally opened in 2018 and upgraded to an engineering analysis in 2019, focused on whether corrosion could lead to the lower rear control arm separating from the chassis. It covered 2013–2018 Nissan Altima and 2016–2018 Maxima models, and while more than 1,300 owner complaints were examined, only one incident involved actual contact - a minor bump into a trailer hitch. No injuries were reported.While that might seem anticlimactic, it's far from unusual. The NHTSA has become increasingly selective about issuing recalls in recent years, often opting to close cases when manufacturers proactively address faults through internal fixes or extended warranties - as Nissan did here.
The case revolved around corrosion accelerated by road salts used in colder U.S. states. Nissan acknowledged that a crack could form in the control arms due to routine stress and salt exposure, especially on high-mileage vehicles (the average odometer reading in these reports exceeded 113,000 miles). The automaker introduced a redesigned part in January 2018 and launched a "customer satisfaction campaign" in 2019, replacing the component in more than 47,000 vehicles and extending the warranty coverage to 10 years for many affected owners.With a declining trend in complaints and new parts already fitted to a large portion of the affected population, the NHTSA decided further action wasn't warranted - though it's still a good reminder that corrosion-related failures are far from rare in America's salt belt.
The decision comes just several days after the agency opened a far newer probe into 1.2 million Ram trucks over a separate defect, which suggests that while NHTSA may be backing off Nissan, it's still keeping a close eye on automakers elsewhere in the industry.
The Nissan ruling also highlights a broader shift at the NHTSA. Critics - including automakers like Toyota, VW, and GM - have increasingly argued that the agency's safety rules haven't kept up with modern manufacturing realities. And yet, in other areas, NHTSA has taken steps to adapt, such as easing approval timelines for driverless vehicle exemptions, allowing companies to bypass requirements like steering wheels or pedals when deploying autonomous cars.Of course, regulation remains a delicate balancing act. On one hand, Tesla and others have raised concerns that crash-reporting mandates unfairly single out autonomous systems - an issue that may be addressed soon if proposals from Trump's policy team to scrap outdated crash-reporting requirements come into play.As for Nissan, the lack of a recall doesn't necessarily mean the issue is closed forever. Owners in affected states are still advised to check for campaign PC690 and ensure their suspension components are up to spec. While the NHTSA's engineering books may be closed, long-term ownership and safety often rely on vigilance beyond what regulators require.
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