Quick News About Infiniti Problems

A malfunction in the hybrid cooling system is shutting down the engines in the 2012-2013 M35 Hybrid, prompting a recall.

A driver will receive a warning light but if the warning is ignored, the powertrain control module is designed to shut off the engine to prevent engine damage.

Nissan says the recall is "out of an abundance of caution," and that drivers shouldn't ignore dashboard warning lights. The recalled cars were built between March 23, 2010 and September 9, 2013.

Issues with the self-driving software that tend to happen soon after starting up, have led to the recall of 60,000 Q50 sedans.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) hasn't released details of the Q50 recall, but the problem is apparently the steering system key that can malfunction and cause the self-driving capabilities to have problems with the steering. Infiniti says problems could also occur to the turning radius of the cars due to a software problem in the systems.

This is just a hunch, but I doubt this will be the last we hear of self-driving complaints as Infiniti irons out the kinks.

Earlier this month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) told everyone to expect a Takata recall expansion of 35-40 million vehicles.

And now, it's happening. Of those 35 million, Nissan and Infiniti are recalling 402,000 cars. Nissan says the 2005-2008 Infiniti FX35 and FX45, 2003-2004 Infiniti I30 and I35, 2006-2010 Infiniti M35 and M45 and 2007-2011 Nissan Versa vehicles are recalled if originally sold or ever registered in zone A.

As mentioned above, the recalls are now being split into zones. For the breakdown on zones and other recall info by visiting CarComplaints.com.

Anyone else getting the feeling there's a major issue with Nissan and Infiniti's Occupant Classification System (OCS)?

For roughly the 103rd time, Nissan announced an OCS recall. The difference is this one is a doozy at 3.8 million vehicles. Nissan says the occupant classification systems in the front passenger seats can turn off because the systems classify an adult as a child or classify a seat as empty even if an adult is in the seat.

That will disable the airbags for someone who really needs it. But there's something else.…

The OCS mop-up continues as complaints continue to pour in about an airbag warning light that won't shut off.

Nissan (and Infiniti) is issuing a third recall to fix problems with airbag sensors not recognizing front-seat passengers.

"Nissan blames the problem on a supply chain error that caused incorrect occupant classification control unit parts to be installed on vehicles that received the incorrect part after the March 2014 recall was completed. There are also vehicles that were not part of the March recall but received the wrong part from other repairs."

The latest round includes many Nissan vehicles, as well as the 2013 JX35, 2014-15 QX60, and 2014 QX60 Hybrid.

The

X35, Q50, QX60, and G27 are all named in a lawsuit against Infiniti's parent company, Nissan, for an allegedly defective Occupant Classification System (OCS). Plaintiff Matthew Senci filed the proposed class-action lawsuit that alleges the vehicles have occupant classification system software that can incorrectly classify a front passenger seat as empty when it's occupied by an adult passenger. The error can cause the airbag to deactivate and fail to deploy in a crash.

Complaints and warranty claims led to the first OCS recall in March 2013, but it was limited to only 83,000 vehicles. Nissan later admitted, however, that the "fix" for that recall didn't work when they expanded the OCS recalls.

The lawsuit, Matthew Senci v. Nissan North America, Inc., accuses the automaker of being deceptive and selling vehicles with known defects.

Heads up, EX35 owners!

If your steering feels loose, just wait until you come to a stop and the steering column separates entirely. According to Nissan, a manufacturing problem with the outer tube in the steering column is responsible for a recall of 17,000 vehicles. In the words of the automaker, the outer tube might have been manufactured 'out-of-round.' The wrong specifications can cause stress at the upper bearing and cause the bearing retainer to fracture. Once broken, the steering wheel will move without turning the vehicle as intended.

This seems to be a response to last year's EX35 investigation for loose steering. The recall includes the 2008 Infiniti EX35, 2009 Nissan GT-R and the 2009 Infiniti FX35/FX45.

The hood release cable was installed incorrectly in over 170,000 Nissan and Infiniti vehicles, preventing the latch from working as it should.

That means the hood could fly open while driving, which I'm told is really bad for visibility. Nissan says the recalled vehicles include the 2013-2014 Nissan Pathfinder and Pathfinder hybrid, 2013 Infiniti JX35, 2014 Infiniti QX60 and the QX60 hybrid.

The fix includes making the cable longer, but there's no word on when that'll begin.

It's a two-part transmission recall for the 2014 Q50 Hybrid and Q70 Hybrid.

First, software errors in the motor inverter and Transmission Control Module (TCM) are shutting down the electric motors. Thankfully, the cars don't depend on these motors at highway speeds. Second, manufacturing errors with the transmission housings mean 1,600 hybrids will need to have their transmission assemblies checked for cracks.

The recalls are expected to begin in November 2014, for additional information including build dates, check CarComplaints.com.