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NHTSA probes Nissan Versa for potential pedal problem

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is commissioning an engineering analysis to investigate a possible problem with the 2013-2015 Nissan Versa and 2014-2015 Versa Note. The agency wants to gather more information about sections of the footwell that can potentially interfere with operating the pedals, and NHTSA estimates this could affect 360,000 vehicles if the agency requests a recall. The preliminary evaluation of this problem was opened last June when NHTSA received a report of a driver's foot being trapped by a trim panel on the right side of the footwell. Since then, the government agency has tallied 24 total complaints, including one crash and an injury, which might have been linked to this issue. It's also possible the HVAC relay actuator in a nearby area could be doing the same thing. Either might lead to unintended acceleration and delayed braking. NHTSA's new engineering analysis is meant to "assess the scope, frequency and safety-related consequences of the alleged defect." It also adds the 2015 Versa Sedan and Note to the list of potentially affected models but removes the examples from 2012 because of a different footwell panel design. "Nissan is cooperating fully to answer the agency's questions," the automaker said in a prepared statement emailed to Autoblog (embedded in full below). You can read the entire report in PDF format, including photos of the potential issue, here. INVESTIGATION Subject : Pedal Operation Interference Date Investigation Opened: APR 01, 2015 Date Investigation Closed: Open NHTSA Action Number: EA15003 Component(s): SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC , VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL All Products Associated with this Investigation Vehicle Make Mode lModel Year(s) NISSAN VERSA 2013-2015 NISSAN VERSA NOTE 2014-2015 Details Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc. SUMMARY: On June 24, 2014, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-018 to investigate allegations that the tunnel carpet cover trim panel on model year (MY) 2012 through 2014 Nissan Versa, Versa Sedan and Versa Note vehicles has, in certain situations, interfered with the driver's ability to promptly release the accelerator pedal and transition to the brake pedal. This may result in delayed brake application or brief incidents of unwanted acceleration.

Nissan recalling more than 1M vehicles for airbags that may fail to deploy

Nissan and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have issued a recall for 989,701 vehicles in the US due to an issue with their passenger-side airbag systems. Affected Nissan models include the Altima, Leaf, Pathfinder and Sentra from the 2013 and 2014 model years, and 2013 NV200 taxis. Affected Infiniti models include the 2013 JX35 and 2014 Q50 and QX60 utility vehicles.
Reuters is reporting that a total of 1,053,479 vehicles are included in the recall globally, with about 60,000 of the affected vehicles having been sold in Canada.
The fault apparently lies in something called the occupant classification system, which may, in the recalled vehicles, incorrectly classify the passenger seat as empty when it is in fact occupied by an adult. When the system fails to recognize the passenger, the passenger-side airbag may deactivate, and could therefore fail to deploy in the event of a crash.

Japanese automakers will seriously subsidize hydrogen fuel stations

Fresh off the announcement of the EPA-rated fuel economy and range figures for the Toyota Mirai, three of Japan's major automakers are throwing their weight behind hydrogen on the other side of the Pacific. Toyota, Nissan, and Honda are detailing their partnership in Japan to subsidize the creation of an expanded FCV refueling infrastructure there in the coming years. The plan could provide a much-needed boost for goals that are already looking to miss their targets. The partnership, which is called the Joint Hydrogen Infrastructure Support Project, is subsidizing a third of the annual operating expenses up to a maximum of 11 million yen ($90,000) for any hydrogen refueling station that applies and is accepted into the program. For now, the automakers plan to keep this running through around 2020. Toyota senior managing officer Kiyotaka Ise tells Bloomberg the whole thing over that time is expected to cost 5 billion to 6 billion yen ($40.5 million to $49 million). In addition to the money, the companies are trying to raise awareness about the alternative fuel to build popularity. Japan has been pushing extremely hard to build the FCV market there for quite some time by subsidizing both the models and building refueling stations for them. By the 2020 Olympics, the country's goal is to have 6,000 fuel cell vehicles on the roads and possibly even 100,000 of them by 2025. The cars to fulfill these lofty hopes are just gaining steam, though. For example, the Mirai is already experiencing high demand, and Honda is set to bring its new challenger in 2016. This announcement says Nissan is aiming a potential entry for 2017, as well. According to Bloomberg, the fuel cell industry in Japan is forecasted to balloon from 400 million yen (3.3 million) in the current fiscal year to 100 billion ($813 million) by 2025. Toyota, Nissan, and Honda Agree on Details of Joint Support for Hydrogen Infrastructure Development Toyota Motor Corporation, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. have agreed on key details regarding a new joint support project for the development of hydrogen station infrastructure in Japan. In addition to partially covering the operating costs of hydrogen stations, the three automakers have also agreed to help infrastructure companies deliver the best possible customer service and create a convenient, hassle-free refueling network for owners of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs).