2009 Nissan Cube recalls and problems

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE25005 on June 13, 2025, to assess the scope, root cause, and potential defect in 2009 Model Year (MY) Nissan Cube vehicles equipped with Takata PSDI-X air bag inflators.At the time the investigation was opened, analysis by Nissan and Takata (now New Leaf LLC) indicated that a rupture occurred at a weld point between the inflator cap and housing in a 2009 MY Nissan Cube.Nissan ruled out the propellant degradation root cause characteristic of the larger, well known, Takata recall, and instead identified a welding root cause. On April 9, 2026, Nissan North America, Inc. submitted a Part 573 Safety Recall Report to address the weld defect.Recall 26V230 includes the 28,388 2009 MY vehicles identified in the opening resume for this investigation and expands the population to include 2010 MY Nissan Cube vehicles for a total population of 47,928 vehicles produced between October 10, 2008, and September 25, 2010.Nissan identified the driver’s front air bag inflator (Takata PSDI-X, Part Number 98560-7991C) produced by TK Services Inc. within a specific lot may contain an improper body weld seal to the inflator base. This improper weld can cause the air bag module to detach from the steering wheel during deployment, increasing the risk of injury to the occupant in the event of a crash. Dealers will inspect the serial number on the driver’s air bag inflator in recalled vehicles to identify the air bag inflator …

From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substance that traps and holds moisture) in US vehicles are under recall. These "non-desiccated" inflators either have been or are required to be replaced.In some cases, the remedy part for these recalled inflators was, or will be, an inflator using either propellant 2004 or 2004L that does contain a desiccant. None of these "desiccated" remedy parts (which were installed in older model year vehicles) are currently under recall for a degradation concern. Certain subsets of desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004 for use as original equipment, however, have been recalled for a degradation concern. All Takata inflators produced with propellant 2004L contain desiccant, and none of these desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L are under recall for a degradation concern. There have been n…