Recalls
| Campaign | Manufacturer | Manufacturing date | Type | # of units affected | Date Owner notified Mfg | Recall Initiated by | Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products | Report Recieved Date | Record Creation Date | Regulation Part Number | FMVSS Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR | ||||||||||||||||
| 02V171000 | NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC. | from 02/13/1997 to 02/27/1998 | V (Vehicle) | 161000 | 07/29/2002 | ODI | NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC. | 06/24/2002 | 06/26/2002 | |||||||
| Defect Summary | On certain passenger vehicles, one of the diodes used in the alternator may have been damaged when built. this can eventually result in failure of the diode and an electrical short which could melt the plastic housing. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | If the combustible gas emitted by the melting plastic does not disperse due to air flow through the engine compartment, it could ignite and in turn ignite the fan guide in the alternator. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Dealers will replace the alternator. owner notification began july 29, 2002. owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact nissan at 1-800-647-7261 or infiniti at 1-800-662-6200. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | Also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-dash-2-dot (1-888-327-4236). | |||||||||||||||
Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||||
| NTB-09-030 | 04/06/2009 | 10030165 | Nissan: the 12 volt battery is an important part of the vehicle electrical system and is required to stay connected when the engine is running. to prevent damage to vehicle electronic components follow the instructions/cautions. no mod | 08/12/2009 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY | |||||
| NTB-09-030 | 04/06/2009 | 10030165 | Nissan: the 12 volt battery is an important part of the vehicle electrical system and is required to stay connected when the engine is running. to prevent damage to vehicle electronic components follow the instructions/cautions. no mod | 08/12/2009 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY - CABLES | |||||
| NTB-09-030 | 04/06/2009 | 10030165 | Nissan: the 12 volt battery is an important part of the vehicle electrical system and is required to stay connected when the engine is running. to prevent damage to vehicle electronic components follow the instructions/cautions. no mod | 08/12/2009 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - FRONT UNDERHOOD | |||||
| NTB98008B | 09/16/1999 | NTB98008A | 610036 | Subject regarding egi harness wire breakage diagnosis and repair procedure. *tt | 04/14/2000 |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 10/15/2012 | 239900 | 1 | |
| When we bought our nissan at 96648 miles, there was remarkably little rust underneath. the alternator went out on 10-12-12 and we had the car towed to a repair shop. they refused to repair it after finding that the core support for the motor is rusted and rotted out. further research indicates that this issue has occurred in this model of car for many years. if we had known that this car was so unsafe we would never have purchased it in the first place. toyota had a similar problem with their pickup trucks and they were buying back the trucks for large sums of money. why isn't nissan doing / being forced to do the same? we expected another 50,000 miles out of this car and now it is worthless. there are so many complaints about this issue, there has to be a huge safety concern. a major structural component should be the last thing to corrode. *tr | |||
| 03/15/2011 | 170000 | ||
| I have a 1998 nissan maxima i now have to replace all six coils, maf mass airflow, all spark plugs and wires, all three o2 sensors it stalls, runs rough, and cuts off. now it will not start. i have read numerous complaints about this problem and noone seems to want to resolve the issues the customers are having including me. seems like nissan needs a recall on these parts it is very dangerous for the car to shut off in the middle of traffic. | |||
| 02/20/2010 | 177055 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 1998 nissan maxima. the contact was driving approximately 30 mph, when the check engine light came on. the contact stated the vehicle was taken for a oil change, figuring that would remedied the vehicle defect and it did not remedied the defect. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic and repair. the dealer stated that owner of the vehicle would have to pay for repairs. the contact stated that eventhough the check engine light was out after repair, the vehicle still defective. the e failure mileage was 177,055. the current mileage was 177,106. updated 5/6/10 *cn | |||
| 08/05/2008 | 120000 | 1 | |
| My car is a nissan maxima 1998, it has 120k miles on it. this is my only mean of transportation; recently the car just won | |||
| 1 | |||
| The battery was constantly drained and the interior lights were dim. *jb | |||
| 03/10/1999 | 8788 | 8 | 06/14/1998 |
| Headlight harness connectors burned out in 3 months causing safety hazard for night driving. i have replaced the right and left harness 6 times and they continue to blow. the replacement harnasses are oem replacement parts and were purchased from the nissan dealer. | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR | |||
| 11/30/2006 | 125996 | 1 | 07/09/1998 |
| On 30 november 2006 i started the car which then quit running and started smoking from under the hood. i could see the alternator was burning so i pulled the battery cable to stop the fire. damage affected the alternator, electrical connector and some wiring. i discovered there was a recall for defective alternators on this vehicle. my alternator failure appears to be the same as the failures covered by the nhtsa campaign id 02v171000 dated june 24, 2002. i contacted nissan on december 1, 2006 who stated my vin was within the range of vehicles for this recall and they would contact the dealer after further research. i contacted the dealer who stated it appeared the vehicle should be covered by the recall but could not proceed until authorization from nissan. on 8 december, 2006,after 7 days, nissan contacted me and stated my vin was not included in the recall and refused to fix the defective alternator. nissan could not explain how my vin was within the range of vehicles affected by the recall but my particular vin was not included. i had the vehicle repaired at my expense and had to turn-in the defective alternator as a core so the defective alternator is not available for inspection. it appears the range of defective alternators is larger than nissan is willing to accept responsibility. this is a safety defect that needs to be addressed and nissan held accountable. the damage could have been much worse. *nm | |||
| 04/17/2006 | 113000 | 1 | 04/01/2001 |
| Dt*: the contact stated the alternator caught on fire. there is an nhtsa recall, # 02v171000 regarding the electrical system: alternator/generator/regulator. the vehicle has the same problems as indicated in the recall; however it is not included in the recall due to the vin. *ak | |||
| 03/16/2006 | 1 | ||
| On thursday, march 16, 2006 at approximately 10:15am i went out to my driveway and started my 1998 nissan maxima. upon starting there was a terrible grinding noise. i turned the car off and restated it at which time the car began smoking. i drove the car directly to my independent service station (approximately 1/4 mile ) for them to check the vehicle. upon opening the hood, we observed fire, which was extinguished. further observation confirmed that the alternator had caught fire and the service station made the repairs. the old parts are available for inspection. as there is a recall on some 1998 nissan maxima's for this problem i can't understand why this matter is being taken so lightly. the next time this occurs, the results could be tragic. *nm | |||
| 07/22/2005 | 1 | 07/16/2005 | |
| Recall-nissan maxima alternator ,1998 .open recall,does not need to be original owner. before i was informed of recall alternator stopped working (on highway going 55 lucky to be alive)! after repairs were made,car came out of repair shop with air bag light blinking. took car to nissan. after paying $100.00,they informed me side air bags were faulty and they're not sure if front air bags will work properly. after i was informed of recall i brought car back to nissan,they replaced new alternator with another new alternator and paid me for the first alternator. my claim is that the faulty alternator under a recall notice caused my air bags to stop working. nissan has informed me it's possible we will look into it. have not heard anything from nissan. they did inform me it would cost $1,200.00 to fix. so now my son is driving the car without knowing one way or the other if the air bags will work. nissans not sure if fronts will work! nissan needs to replace air bags at there cost. there product caused the problem. *nm | |||
| 12/15/2005 | 103000 | 1 | |
| Dt: the contact stated while pulling out of the driveway the alternator caught on fire, and the fire was immediately extinguished. the vehicle has not been taken to dealership yet for inspection. the alternator was replaced prior to this incident under nhtsa recall 02v171000 .the manufacturer has agreed to fix the vehicle under the recall. the repairs have not made. *ak | |||
| 08/15/2005 | 64336 | 2 | |
| Dt: there is a recall for the alternator, however, nissan stated this vehicle was not included in the recall due to vin. the consumer started the vehicle and could hear a sound and viewed smoke coming from under the hood. the consumer opened the hood and saw fire in middle of the alternator. this happened on august 15, 2005. the vehicle was repaired. the consumer kept the bad alternator. *ak recall campaign# 02v171000. the consumer requested reimbursement for the replacement of the alternator. there was also a vibration in the steering wheel while driving on the highway. *sc | |||
| 11/01/2004 | 1 | ||
| Vehicle caught on fire. recall 02v171000 was issued. consumer was told that his vehicle was not included in the recall due to vin. *ak when the consumer started the vehicle he noticed smoke coming from the engine compartment. as the hood was opened fire was seen burning inside the alternator. after testing the alternator results confirmed that the malfuntion to be identical with the basis of the recall campaign. the dealer replaced the faultyalternator with a new one. *tc | |||
| 03/06/2004 | 135000 | 1 | 07/15/2000 |
| 1998 nissan maxima , vin # jn1ca21d9wm928319 . i check the recall vin # on this vehicle and it was not in the range of #'s. but my alternator started on fire in my driveway when i started it up that night. it did everything the recall stated it would. i am calling the dealer tomorrow to see if its covered. *jb | |||
| 07/14/2002 | 1 | 07/25/1998 | |
| A clicking noise was coming from front of vehicle that was getting louder and louder. engine light illuminated and engine shut off. took vehicle to dealer who stated it was the alternater, not to use rear defogger because it may result in a vehicle fire, also dealer told consumer not to fix it because there was going to be a recall.*ak *jb | |||
| 07/23/2002 | 1 | 10/01/1997 | |
| Vehicle stalled and started smoking in a busy intersection while making a turn. engine failed with no dasbboard warning lights. vehicle was diagnosed for a loose wire in alternator which could have caused an electrical fire to vehicle. consumer just received nhtsa recall 02-v-171-000/ manufacturer's recall for the same problem that occurred.*ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY | |||
| 2 | |||
| Battery exploded when starting vehicle. battery was replaced by dealer in february 2002. the dealer has inspected vehicle. please provide further information.*ak | |||
| 1 | 07/28/1998 | ||
| Battery failed. nlm | |||
| 11/01/1998 | 2 | 08/01/1998 | |
| Battery failed. yh | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION | |||
| 05/01/2007 | 1 | ||
| My 1998 nissan maxima has been misfiring. it turns out that i have bad ignition coils. this is a problem that shouldn't be happening, especially at 80k miles. it's especially frustrating because this is a very costly problem. i did some research, and this is an extremely typical problem for this model. judging by the frequency of complaints on this issue there should without a doubt be a recall. *jb | |||
| 03/27/2002 | 1 | 08/01/2098 | |
| Diagnose from nissan elmwood for $39.22 states: a ck fog lamp burnt by ignition wiring whoever installed alarm system in vehicle tapped into harness near ignition and left wires bare and after time these wires touch and burnt. bring vehicle back to whoever installed alarm system into vehicle for repairs!!!. i brought my car to nissan route 22 were i had alarm installed. they want to charge me for diagnoses and perhaps repairs then. i bought new car from nissan dealer, did all repairs and maintenance with nissan. demage wasn't caused by me. driving with danger of another short and perhaps fire. did diagnose with independent mechanic shop who states: nissan ignition side is not secure, it is completely open and my wires are already melted which he doesn't warranty my safty. i woul like to fax copies of those statments. i had called nissan hot line. i had called gm from nissan route 22 who never returned my call and left me with this situation. car may go on fire at any time. | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - FRONT UNDERHOOD | |||
| 11/01/1998 | 3 | 01/01/1998 | |
| Air suspension replaced twice; wiring harness also replaced | |||