2011 Nissan Sentra S on 2040-cars

Auto blog

NHTSA probing whether to call Nissan to the carpet over Versa unintended acceleration

The Nissan Versa and Versa Note may have a carpeting problem that could make the little cars risky to drive. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is launching a preliminary evaluation into the 2012-2014 model year versions of the Versa, Versa Sedan and Versa Note, affecting an estimated 360,000 vehicle. In these vehicles, it's possible that the driver's foot could be caught where the carpet meets a trim panel near the accelerator. The regulator has four reported instances of the issue, but it's still collecting data from Nissan about any further cases.
According to the complaints, the tunnel carpet cover trim panel can possibly snag the drivers' right shoe where it meets the carpet, and can either keep their foot on the accelerator or prevent moving it to the brake pedal. In one case, the problem was bad enough that the driver had to free his foot using his hand, while driving. In two of the four reported cases, the vehicles were rental cars.
This is actually the second ongoing preliminary evaluation for some of these models. In late May, NHTSA started looking into the 2013-2014 Versa and 2014 Versa Note for long brake pedal travel.

10 automakers sued over keyless ignitions

Keyless ignition has rapidly proliferated throughout the auto industry to become a fairly normal feature on new cars. It's supposed to offer the convenience of keeping the fob in your pocket and just pressing a button to drive away. However, ten major automakers are now being sued in US District Court over claims that the system is dangerous, Reuters reports. The suit alleges that people are forgetting to shut off the engine, and the lack of an idle timer is the cause for 13 deaths by carbon monoxide poisoning and multiple injuries. The suit currently includes 28 plaintiffs, according to Reuters, but the lawyers are asking for class-action status to potentially add many more. The case goes after a major swath of the industry, including BMW, Daimler, FCA, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota, and Volkswagen, plus their related brands like Acura, Infiniti, Mini, and Lexus. In all, over five million vehicles are affected. The assertion here is that people walk away from their vehicle without shutting it off because they believe the engine shuts off automatically. If parked in a garage, carbon monoxide can build up, leading to poisoning. The lawyers claim automakers know this is a problem and also cite 27 complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the issue, according to Reuters. The plaintiffs are asking for an automatic shut-off and damages from the companies. These concerns have come up before, though. Toyota previously faced a lawsuit over a carbon monoxide death after a woman accidentally left her Lexus running. Also earlier this year, GM recalled 64,186 examples of the 2011-2013 Chevrolet Volt because owners weren't shutting them off. The problem resulted in two injuries, and the company released a software update to limit the idling time.

Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi will share EV components and AI research

TOKYO — Japanese automakers Nissan and Honda say they plan to share components for electric vehicles like batteries and jointly research software for autonomous driving. A third Japanese manufacturer, Mitsubishi Motors Corp., has joined the Nissan-Honda partnership, sharing the view that speed and size are crucial in responding to dramatic changes in the auto industry centered around electrification. A preliminary agreement between Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. was announced in March. After 100 days of talks, executives of the companies evinced a sense of urgency. Japanese automakers dominated the era of gasoline engines in recent decades but have fallen behind formidable new players in green cars like Tesla of the U.S. and ChinaÂ’s BYD. “Companies that donÂ’t adapt to the changes cannot survive,” said Honda Chief Executive Toshihiro Mibe. “If we try to do everything on our own, we cannot catch up.” Nissan and Honda will use the same batteries and adopt the same specifications for motors and inverters for EV axles, they said. By coming together in what Mibe and counterpart at Nissan, Makoto Uchida, repeatedly called “making friends” to achieve economies of scale, the companies plan more strategic investments in technology and aim to cut costs by boosting volume. Each company will continue to produce and offer its own model offerings. But they will share resources in areas like components and software development, where “making friends” will be a plus, Mibe and Uchida told reporters. They declined to say whether the friendship will extend to a mutual capital ownership, while noting that wasnÂ’t ruled out. The two companies also agreed to have their model lineups “mutually complement” each other in various global markets, including both internal combustion engine vehicles and EVs. Details on that are being worked out, the companies said. Honda and Nissan will also work together on energy services in Japan. Under ThursdayÂ’s announcements, Mitsubishi will join as a third member. Toyota Motor Corp., JapanÂ’s top automaker, is not part of the three-way collaboration. Although Honda and Nissan have very different corporate cultures, it became clear, as their discussions on working together continued, their engineers and other workers on the ground have a lot in common, Uchida said. “Speed is the most crucial element, considering our size,” he added.