Voluntary Safety Recall Campaign PC797 – Transverse Link Inspection – 2020 Nissan Murano

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March 11, 2021

Mr. Jeff Giuseppe
Associate Administrator for Enforcement
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Attn: Recall Management Division (NVS-215)
Room W48-302
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C. 20590

Dear Mr. Giuseppe:

We are transmitting the enclosed Defect Information Report in accordance with 49 CFR Part 573.  A voluntary recall campaign will be initiated and your office provided with the notices.

Very truly,

Derek Latta
Manager,
Technical Compliance

Encl.

DEFECT INFORMATION REPORT

 Manufacturer:

Nissan North America, Inc., Canton Plant

The transverse link supplier is:

KAAP (Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products)
One Kobe Way
Bowling Green, KY 42101

Randy Phillips, Quality Manager
Phone (270) 842 6492 Ext. 251
Email [email protected]

2. Units Potentially Involved:

Certain Model Year 2020 Nissan Murano vehicles manufactured from Jul 28, 2020 to September 16, 2020 at the Canton, MS plant.

This issue is unique to the above manufacturing range based on production information provided by the Tier 1 supplier (Kobe) for the subject transverse links manufactured during a specified period.  Kobe only manufactures transverse links for two Nissan models, MY 2020 Murano and MY 2021 Rogue.  The Rogue is unaffected because the transverse links were not produced using the suspect equipment.  No other Nissan or INFINITI vehicles are affected by the issue described in Section 5 below.

The name, description and part number of the recalled components are below:

3. Total Number of Vehicles Potentially Involved:

Approximately 15,223 MY 2020 Nissan Murano vehicles

4. Percentage of Vehicles Estimated to Actually Contain the Defect:

Unknown.  The estimated percentage of vehicles involved with defect is unknown. However, 1% is used on NHTSA’s safety portal because it will not allow non-numeric values.

5. Description of the Defect:

Due to an equipment issue at the Tier 1 supplier (Kobe), the billet was formed improperly during the roll form process prior to forging.  The manipulator chuck, used to form the part, did not rotate 90 degrees before the required second pass, resulting in excess material being folded over or lap condition.  As a result, the right and left-hand transverse links may be out-of-specification.  In rare cases, the ball joint may separate from the transverse link, which may result in loss of vehicle control and increase the risk of a crash.

6. Chronology of Principle Events:

August 20, 2020 – Nissan was notified by the Tier 1 supplier (Kobe) of a potential issue concerning certain left-hand transverse links supplied to Nissan.  Nissan immediately began to investigate the issue together with the supplier.  Based on the LOT code information provided by the supplier, Nissan identified a list of Murano vehicles that may have had the potentially affected left-hand transverse links installed.

August 2020 through September 2020 – As part of the investigation activity, the Canton plant inspected the potentially affected Murano vehicles in inventory and conducted a retrofit activity at the supplier’s direction to replace all potentially affected left-hand transverse link parts identified by LOT code.

October 2020 through November 2020 – Nissan coordinated with Kobe to assess the issue.  Kobe shared their initial findings that the subject condition was caused by an equipment issue in production, where the billet was formed improperly during the roll form process prior to forging.  Based on the two (2) additional LOT codes provided by Kobe and the fact that billets formed on this equipment were used to produce both left-hand and right-hand transverse links, the list of potentially affected vehicles was updated by the Canton plant to include right-hand transverse links as well.

Concurrently, Nissan conducted a review of available field information and found no reports of incidents involving the subject condition.

November 2020 through January 2021 – As part of the investigation, Nissan initiated a dealer action to conduct a warranty parts collection activity and analyze the returned parts.   In addition, Kobe performed bench testing to re-create the subject condition using varying roll forge lap conditions and a ball joint pull out test, to understand the failure mechanism and potential extent of the issue.

January 2021 through February 2021 – Nissan met with the supplier several times to discuss the results of their bench testing analysis.  The supplier’s testing could not rule out the worst case scenario of ball joint separation, which may result in loss of vehicle control by the driver.

March 4, 2021 – Out of an abundance of caution, Nissan decided to recall all potentially affected vehicles to inspect the LOT code, and replace all potentially affected parts.

As of the date of determination, Nissan is not aware of any warranty claims, accidents or injuries related to the subject condition.

7. Description of Corrective Action:

Owners of all potentially affected vehicles will be notified beginning on April 21, 2021 to take their vehicle to a Nissan dealer where they will inspect both the left-hand and right-hand transverse links for the affected LOT codes.  If the LOT code is identified, the dealer will replace the affected transverse links and perform an alignment.  Dealers will be notified on March 12, 2021.

Nissan will not include a statement in the Part 577 owner notification concerning reimbursement for the cost of obtaining a pre-notification remedy for the subject vehicles because they are still under warranty.

8. Copy of Notices:

Copies of all notices will be provided to NHTSA as they become available.

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OWNER NOTIFICATION
NOTIFICACION PROPRIETARIO
Dear Nissan Murano Owner:
NHTSA RECALL 21V-170
This notice is sent to you in accordance with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety
Act. Nissan has decided that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety exists in some 2020 Model Year
Nissan Murano vehicles. Our records indicate that you own or lease the Nissan vehicle identified by the VIN on
the inside of this notice.
Reason for Recall
Motivo del Retiro
The right and left-hand transverse links may not be manufactured to meet design specification, which may
affect vehicle drivability. The ball joint may separate from the transverse link, which may result in loss of vehicle
control and increase the risk of a crash.
What Nissan Will Do
Que Hara Nissan
Your dealer will inspect both the left-hand and right-hand transverse links for the affected LOT codes. If the LOT
code is identified, your dealer will replace the affected transverse links and perform an alignment, free of charge.
The inspection and/or remedy could take up to three (3) hours depending on LOT code applicability (none, lefthand,
right-hand, or both) identified in the inspection. Your dealer may require your vehicle for a longer period of
time based upon the dealer’s work schedule.
What You Should Do
Que Debes Hacer
Contact your Nissan dealer at your earliest convenience in order to arrange an appointment to have your
vehicle inspected, and if necessary, repaired. Please bring this notice with you when you keep your service
appointment.
Comunfcate con cualquier concesionario Nissan a la mayor brevedad para concertar una cita de reparaci6n
para tu vehfculo. Se requiere que traigas esta notificaci6n el dfa de tu cita.
For more information about the recall, please visit
https://nna.secure.force.com/recall?camp=PC797.
Para obtener mas informaci6n sabre el retiro, visite
https://nna.secure.force.com/recall?camp=PC797.
If the dealer fails to, or is unable to make the necessary repairs free of charge, you may contact the National
Consumer Affairs Department, Nissan North America, Inc. P.O. Box 685003, Franklin, TN 37068-5003. The toll free
number is 7-800-867-7669.
Si el concesionario no cum pie, o no le es posible realizar las reparaciones necesarias sin cargos, puedes
contactar al Departamento Nacional de Asuntos del Consumidor a: National Consumer Affairs Department,
Nissan North America, Inc. P.O. Box 685003, Franklin, TN 37068-5003. El numero libre de cargos es 7-800-867-
7669.
You may also submit a complaint to the Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 7200 New
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590; or call the toll-free Vehicle Safety Hotline at 7-888-327-4236 (TTY: 7-
800-424-9753); or go to http:/ /www.safercar.gov.
Federal law requires that any vehicle lessor receiving this recall notice must forward a copy of this notice
to the lessee within ten days.
Thank you for your cooperation. We appreciate your Nissan ownership and apologize for any inconvenience
this may cause you.
Gracias por tu cooperaci6n. Agradecemos tu patrocinio coma dueno de un Nissan y te ofrecemos nuestras
disculpas por cualquier inconveniente que esto pueda ocasionar.

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CAMPAIGN ID: PC797 | REVISION 1
CAMPAIGN
BULLETIN
Transverse Link Inspection
Voluntary Safety Recall Campaign
Reference: PC797
Date: April 27, 2021
Attention: Dealer Principal, Sales, Service & Parts Managers
SAFETY RECALL
IMPORTANT: It is a violation of Federal law for dealers to sell or deliver vehicles in their inventory covered by this notification until the campaign action is performed.
Affected Models/Years:
Affected Population:
Dealer Inventory:
SERVICE COMM Activation date:
Stop Sale
In Effect
MY2020 Murano (Z52)
15,223
1,219
March 12, 2021
YES
***** What Dealers Should Do****
1. Verify campaign applicability using Service Comm or DBS National Service History – Open Campaign I.D. PC797.
UPDATE April 27, 2021
Please discard earlier versions of this bulletin.
The announcement from March 12, 2021 has been revised to include the following:
 The parts restriction will be removed and dealers can order parts, as needed, via normal ordering process beginning April 27, 2021.
• Parts currently on order in DBS will be fulfilled.
CAMPAIGN ID: PC797 | REVISION 1
• New vehicles in dealer inventory can also be identified using DBS (Sales-> Vehicle Inventory, and filter by Open Campaign).
 Refer to NPSB 15-460 for additional information
• Please continue to check newly arriving inventory for campaign applicability.
2. Dealers must not sell, lease trade, rent or loan any vehicles in dealer inventory subject to this recall campaign until after the vehicle has been remedied.
3. Dealers should use NTB21-022 to remedy any vehicles subject to this campaign.
4. Once remedied, dealers should submit the claim, using the claims coding provided, and release the vehicle.
***** Release Schedule *****
If inspection results indicate that parts replacement is necessary, parts may be ordered via normal ordering process beginning April 27, 2021.
Parts replaced under this activity will be placed on parts collection. Parts requested are VIN and repair order specific. It is important for dealers to return parts applicable to the VIN and repair order identified.
***** Dealer Responsibility ****
It is the dealer’s responsibility to check Service Comm or DBS National Service History Open Campaign using the appropriate Campaign I.D. for the campaign status on each vehicle falling within the range of this voluntary safety recall campaign, which for any reason enters the service department. This includes vehicles purchased from private parties or presented by transient (tourist) owners and vehicles in dealer inventory. If a VIN subject to this recall campaign was part of a dealer trade, the letter associated with that VIN should be forwarded to the appropriate dealer for service completion.
NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
Aftersales DIVISION
Revision History:
Date
Announcement
Purpose
March 12, 2021
Voluntary Safety Recall Campaign
New campaign announcement
April 27, 2021
REVISION 1
Update regarding parts restriction removal

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