Nissan recalling vehicles over ignition switch issues

Nissan confirmed Tuesday it is recalling over 700,000 of its vehicles over issues with the ignition.

The Japanese carmaker said the issue applies to 712,458 of its Rogue vehicles over several model years in the United States.

At issue is a fault with the ignition system, which the company says could cause the engine to shut off if a driver inadvertently touches the key to a certain position, posing a safety hazard.

The company estimates recall affects around 1 percent of the overall number of vehicles produced.

The recall applies to its Rogue Sport vehicles between the 2017 and 2022 model years. It extends to the Rogue light hatchback for the 2014 to 2020 model years.

“The jackknife key may not hold the key blade in the extended “open” position.
Over time the internal pivot of the jackknife key may weaken, and the key fob
could unlock and rotate downwards,” the company said in its recall notice.

“If the vehicle is driven with the key in the collapsed position, contact with the
key fob by the driver could inadvertently turn the vehicle off while driving,
increasing the risk of a crash.”

There is no warning for the driver.

Nissan’s Rogue, a light hatchback, was the eighth best-selling used vehicle in the United States last year, according to Autoweek.

The company is working on a fix for the problem.

Affected owners have been or are being notified.

“Owners will be instructed to avoid attaching accessories to the key fob and to use the key in the non-folding orientation until the remedy is available,” Nissan said in a statement.

“In addition, dealers and rental fleets will be instructed on an interim remedy to insert a fastener into the key slot that will prevent the key from folding. When remedy parts
are available, dealers will insert a spacer into the key slot of the customer’s key fob that will not allow the key to collapse.”