U.S. auto safety regulators have launched an investigation into nearly 75,000 Nissan Rogue Select vehicles from the 2015 model year following reports of unintended side airbag deployments. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) initiated the probe in response to incidents where airbags were inadvertently deployed after the vehicle door was shut or slammed. These unexpected deployments pose a risk of injury to vehicle occupants and could potentially result in the loss of airbag protection.
Nissan is actively cooperating with NHTSA in this preliminary evaluation. The automaker emphasized its commitment to safety and ongoing transparent and collaborative dialogue with the agency on all product safety matters.
This investigation follows another urgent safety alert from Nissan and NHTSA. Last week, they advised owners of nearly 84,000 older Nissan vehicles in the United States equipped with recalled and unrepaired Takata airbags to cease driving them immediately. This directive applies to specific models: the 2002-2006 Nissan Sentra, 2002-2004 Nissan Pathfinder, and 2002-2003 Infiniti QX4, which the company recalled in 2020 but has not yet repaired.
Since 2009, the Takata airbag inflator issue has caused over 30 deaths worldwide, including 27 in the United States, and more than 400 injuries. These inflators can explode, releasing metal shrapnel inside vehicles, thus posing a severe safety hazard.
