Japanese carmaker Nissan Motor Co. is recalling several thousands of its mid-size Altima cars as users are encountering issues with its hood latches.
This is the third time Nissan has issued a recall for the Altima to fix the faulty latch issue, which can cause the hood of the car to fly open when the vehicle is in motion.
On Friday, the carmaker announced that it is going to recall 930,000 of its vehicles worldwide that were suffering from the faulty latch problem. The vehicles affected by the issue are the company's Altima sedan models from 2013 to 2015.
Of the 930,000 cars that Nissan will be recalling, 846,000 vehicles are in the U.S., 24,895 in Canada and 56,844 in other parts of the world, says Nissan spokesperson Steve Yaeger.
The secondary faulty hood latch issue is apparently due to the incorrect application of the rust coating, which renders the bind to stay unlatched even when the hood is shut. This could potentially make the hood fly open suddenly when one is driving the vehicle.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has received complaints from owners of Nissan's Altima – which coincidentally accounted for 25 percent of the company's sales in the U.S. in 2015 – saying the hood of the car opens unexpectedly.
Luckily, the faulty issue has not resulted in any injury or crash, according to Yaeger.
Nissan says the dealers will be fixing the problem as is the case with recalls. The dealers will be replacing the faulty latch and repair work is anticipated to begin in February.
The company has also acknowledged that fixes performed during its previous recalls may not have been consistent enough to get rid of the safety hazard. However, with dealers replacing the faulty hood latch with new ones that have an improved coating to evade rusting, Altima owners will be able to breathe easily.
In its defense, Nissan says that the paint on a latch can flake off in time, resulting in the bare metal being exposed. The latches can end up getting rusty, causing the secondary hood latch to remain open.
The company has let on that the previous recalls in 2014 and 2015 saw dealers adjust the latches as well as the application of lubricants.
