NISSAN IS RECALLING 480 AFTERMARKET HITCH STYLE BIKE RACKS, PART NO

Feb 01, 2008 — Recall Campaign #08E014000

NISSAN IS RECALLING 480 AFTERMARKET HITCH STYLE BIKE RACKS, PART NO. 999R5-AR000. THESE BIKE RACKS CAN BE INSTALLED ON MY 2002-2008 NISSAN QUEST, MURANO, FRONTIER, XTERRA, PATHFINDER, TITAN, ARMADA, AND MY 2004-2008 INFINITI FX35, FX45, QX56, AND QX4 SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES. A PINCH BOLT EXISTS BETWEEN THE BIKE ARM BRACKET AND THE UPRIGHT ASSEMBLY.

The recall was influenced by the manufacturer with about 480 units affected.

See recall notice

NHTSA Safety Recall Notice

08E014000

Manufacturer:	Nissan North America, Inc.
Recall date:	February 01, 2008
NHTSA Campaign #:	08E014000
Units affected:	480

Description:: NISSAN IS RECALLING 480 AFTERMARKET HITCH STYLE BIKE RACKS, PART NO. 999R5-AR000. THESE BIKE RACKS CAN BE INSTALLED ON MY 2002-2008 NISSAN QUEST, MURANO, FRONTIER, XTERRA, PATHFINDER, TITAN, ARMADA, AND MY 2004-2008 INFINITI FX35, FX45, QX56, AND QX4 SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES. A PINCH BOLT EXISTS BETWEEN THE BIKE ARM BRACKET AND THE UPRIGHT ASSEMBLY.
Consequeces:: WHEN MOVING THE BIKE ARM BRACKET TO ITS DOWN POSITION, THIS PINCH BOLT HAS THE POTENTIAL OF CAUSING SEVERE LACERATION OR AMPUTATION TO THE USER'S FINGERTIPS OR HAND.
Corrective action:: NISSAN WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND PROVIDE A FREE RETROFIT KIT. THE RECALL BEGAN ON FEBRUARY 19, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261 OR INFINITI AT 1-800-662-6200.
Notes:: CUSTOMERS MAY CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153); OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.

Affects the following:

INFINITI 999R5-AR000 Complaints
9-20-2017 APPROXIMATELY 4PM, 90 DEG SUNNY DAY, DRIVING 2017 INFINITI QX60 ON INTERSTATE WHEN SUNROOF EXPLODED. NO OVERPASS OR TRUCK IN AREA WHERE FAILURE OCCURRED. THIS WAS MY FIRST OCCURRENCE OF THIS FAILURE. LOUD NOISE AT TIME OF FAILURE. PHOTOS TAKEN LATER. VEHICLE TAKEN TO INFINITI DEALER FOR REPAIR THE FOLLOWING DAY. SUNROOF REPLACED. I HAVE $1000 DEDUCTIBLE INSURANCE SO I ELECTED TO PAY THE $1319.22 BILL FROM MY PERSONAL ACCOUNT SINCE WARRANTY REPLACEMENT WAS NOT OFFERED. I LATER APPEALED THE EXPENSE AS A WARRANTY FAILURE AFTER SEEING A TV NEWS PROGRAM ABOUT EXPLODING SUNROOFS. I BEGAN MY APPEAL WITH THE DEALER 10-13-2017 AND WAS EVENTUALLY DENIED BY AN INFINITI CASE MNGR ON 10-25-2017. CASE MNGR SAID "THE FAILURE IS NOT A KNOWN CONCERN AT INFINITI". MY RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET SHOWED THAT THERE ARE A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS TYPE OF FAILURE AND THE CAR MANUFACTURER ARE NOT TAKING CARE OF THESE PROBLEMS AS THEY SHOULD. CONSUMER REPORTS HAS PUT OUT TWO ARTICLES IN THE LAST ELEVEN MONTHS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. I BOUGHT MY CAR NEW 1-30-2017 AND THE SUNROOF FAILED 9-20-2017 WHILE IN NORMAL OPERATION. THE FAILURE OCCURRED LESS THAN EIGHT MONTHS AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS PUT IN SERVICE. THE MANUFACTURERS WHO FAIL TO HONOR THESE FAILURES SHOULD BE PUNISHED AND MADE TO PROVIDE RESTITUTION TO OWNERS WHO HAVE BEEN AFFECTED.;
NISSAN 999R5-AR000 Complaints
MANY TIMES WHEN DRIVING ON INTERSTATES AT NIGHT, I SEE NEWER MODEL VEHICLES DRIVING OBLIVIOUSLY WITH ONLY THEIR DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS / LED LIGHTS ON. THERE ARE NO TAIL LIGHTS ON AT ALL, AND THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. I'VE SEEN THIS IS A PARTICULAR PROBLEM WITH NISSAN MODELS, SUCH AS THE NISSAN ROGUE AND INFINITI Q30. THE DRIVER DOES NOT REALIZE THAT THEIR LIGHTS ARE OFF, AS THE DASH CLUSTER IS FULLY ILLUMINATED DESPITE THE HEADLIGHTS BEING "OFF". MY OWN VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT DOES NOT HAVE THIS PROBLEM - IF THE HEADLIGHTS ARE "OFF", THE DASH CLUSTER IS DARK, THEREFORE IT IS OBVIOUS TO THE DRIVER THAT THE HEADLIGHTS NEED TO BE TURNED ON. I'VE ALSO SEEN THIS AFFECTING OTHER CARS SUCH AS THE TOYOTA PRIUS AND FORD MUSTANG, BUT THE NISSANS ARE BY FAR THE MOST FREQUENT. ONCE I TOLD SOMEONE IN A PARKING LOT THAT HER TAIL LIGHTS WERE OFF AND SHE HAD NO IDEA - SHE WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THEY WERE AUTOMATIC DESPITE BEING SWITCHED "OFF" BECAUSE THERE WAS ILLUMINATION AHEAD OF THE VEHICLE, AND THE DASH CLUSTER WAS ILLUMINATED. I HOPE THAT NHSTA WILL TAKE THIS CONCERN SERIOUSLY AS I AM SURE THIS DESIGN FLAW IS RESPONSIBLE FOR A NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS. THANK YOU.;