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Nissan recalls 51,000 Qashqais over steering fault

Nissan has announced a worldwide recall of 51,000 Qashqais. The 2012 Qashqai and Qashqai+2 models, 7,000 which are owned by UK drivers, are being pulled off the streets because of a fault with the steering column that could cause a driver to lose control of the steering.

A potentially dangerous steering fault has forced Nissan to issue a recall on its Qashqai.
A potentially dangerous steering fault has forced Nissan to issue a recall on its Qashqai.

“Nissan has identified that the steering wheel boss, which attaches to the steering column, may not have the appropriate strength,” a spokesman for Nissan told the Sunderland Echo.

“In this condition, if a load is applied to the steering wheel which is higher than the load applied during normal steering operation, the boss may separate from the steering wheel resulting in a loss of steering.”

Nissan said it believes only 600 steering wheels – roughly one per cent of all recalls – would need replacing, explaining that all vehicles affected were assembled at the Nissan Sunderland plant between February and May of 2012.

The necessary checks, according to Nissan, won’t cost you a penny if your Qashqai is affected. The steering wheel will be replaced, if necessary, completely free of charge.

“Nissan retailers will inspect the casting date of the steering wheel armature and where necessary replace the steering wheel at no cost to the customer,” a spokesperson for Nissan told the BBC.

Also affected is the 2012 NV200 light commercial vehicle also built by Nissan, but in Spain and not the UK. Around 3,000 examples of this model have been affected.

The recall follows a complaint from Finnish cameraman Kari Alentola, who told Nissan that his seven-seater Qashqai’s steering wheel came off in his hands.

Currently, the UK-built compact SUV is the best-selling car built in the UK, with more than a million sold since its launch in December of 2006.

Watch our review of the Qashqai here.

Source: Which?

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