The all-new 2021 Nissan Rogue is displayed at the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California on November 18, 2021.
(Photo : FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
Nissan announced a recall for more than 793,000 small SUVs in the United States and Canada over concerns that a faulty electrical connector in those vehicles could be a fire risk. The massive recall affects the Nissan Rogue SUVs from 2014 to 2016. This is a huge blow for Nissan, as the Rogue is its top-selling vehicle in the United States.
Nissan and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recall 699,946 of those 2014-2016 Rogue models in the US. The NHTSA says in a document that water and salt can enter the vehicle through a wiring connector in the driver's footwell.
That causes corrosion, which can disable the driver's power seat or power window. That might also drain the battery or cause the all-wheel-drive warning light to come on. If any of these problems arise, the connector can heat up and potentially cause the vehicle to go up in flames.
Nissan has seven reports of fire or thermal incidents
Government documents posted on Wednesday, January 26, say there have been seven reports of fires or thermal incidents related to the affected Nissan vehicles. Nissan released a statement about the recall, saying that owners whose vehicles emit a burning odor or smoke should park outdoors and immediately call Nissan Roadside Assistance to have the SUVs towed to a dealer.
The recall transpired after safety regulators in Canada opened an investigation in July 2020 regarding the defective wiring in some of Nissan's vehicles. Nissan said in a statement that it is currently working on a fix, and the automaker expects to have one available later in the spring.
Nissan will send Rogue owners an interim notification letter in March regarding the recall. The owners will be told later when to take their Rogue SUVs to a dealership once Nissan has solved the problem with the following service coming free of charge.
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Nissan's sales drop in the fourth quarter of 2021
It has been a rough few months for Nissan, which saw its fourth-quarter sales in the United States for 2021 tumble. Nissan sold just 194,983 vehicles from October to December of last year, a 19.8 percent drop compared to its 2020 numbers during the same period. Like other automakers, Nissan had trouble dealing with supply chain issues and the computer chip shortage last year.
This forced Nissan to suspend production at several manufacturing facilities around the globe. The good news for Nissan is that its total sales for 2021 increased by 8.7 percent compared to the prior year. Nissan sold 977,639 units in the US last year, a huge jump from the 899,217 vehicles it delivered in 2020.
The 919,086 of those vehicles came from the sales of the Nissan Division, with the remaining 58,553 units coming from the sales of its Infiniti brand. Nissan Kicks had a banner year in 2021, selling 82,960 units last year, its highest annual sales since launching in the US in June 2018.
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