Washington DC Injury Attorney Blog

A vehicles recall is in affect for Infiniti QX4 model vehicles manufactured between 1997 and 2003 and Nissan Pathfinders model vehicles manufactured between 1996 through 2004, sold in various states in the Northeast part of the United States, including the District of Columbia and Maryland. About 196,000 of these vehicles are being recalled due to potential steering problems as a result of corrosion from cold weather and the use of road salt to clear snow and ice from the roads. These are called "salt belt" states, which also include: Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

A mix of water, salt and snow collected in the upper strut housing of these vehicles is causing corrosion and the corrosion is causing the strut housing to crack and separate from the inner hood ledge assembly. This is causing difficult in steering and the steering column could ultimately break, causing an inability to steer or control your vehicle. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been investigating this problem since October of 2010 and has determined that 162,658 Nissan Pathfinders and 33,333 Infiniti QX4s are to be recalled.

Nissan Dealerships in the "salt belt" states will inspect and repair vehicles at no cost to the vehicle owner. Notifications will also be mailed to the owners no later than May 16, 2011. Nissan owners can call (800)647-7261 with any further questions or concerns.

As of December 14, 2010, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that car complaints were four times higher than in recent years, with over 40,000 formal complaints being made, according to data from Edmunds.com, an auto research site. The majority of the complaints came from drivers of Toyota vehicles, as a result of the massive Toyota recall made in 2010. Toyota accounted for over 25% of the complaints filed in 2010.

The average complaints made in the auto industry were 47 for every 100,000 autos sold. In 2010, these numbers were much higher. Toyota was the auto company that received the most complaints. It had 87 complaints for every 100,000 cars sold. Nissan came in second with 62 complaints for every 100,000 autos sold and Volkswagen came in third with 58 complaints for every 100,000 autos sold. This was a huge increase from the 30 complaints per 100,000 cars sold average in 2009.

Toyota announced in 2010, that it would pay $32.4 million in penalties for their lack of informing safety regulators of their vehicles defects, which left millions of hazardous vehicles on the road. Clarence Ditlow, executive of the Center for Auto Safety stated, "People are now more aware that there is an agency called NHTSA and that you can complain to it. Complaints are a good thing." After a complaint is made, changes are made, and hazardous vehicles are taken off the roads and fixed. All of which are positive outcomes. For more information, visit the NHTSA website at www.nhtsa.gov.