Nissan recalls 26,398 Altimas, Maximas — including unsold 2010s

NASHVILLE — Nissan North America is recalling 26,398 Altimas and Maximas from the 2009 and 2010 model years — including some Altimas that were never meant for sale — because of a potential safety problem with front struts.
Nissan notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the issue more than a week before the first 2010 Altima rolled off the assembly line in Canton, Miss., last Friday morning.

The recall of the barely debuted 2010 Altima is more of a marketing black eye than a real problem. The bad parts were used on fewer than a dozen 2010 Altimas, and all of them were preproduction cars built in Canton during a week of production trials back in July.

None of those production-trial cars will be sold to the public.

Because the preproduction models were 2010 models, that new model year had to be included in the NHTSA recall notice, said Nissan spokesman John Schilling

The 2010 Nissan Maxima, built in Smyrna, Tenn., went on sale in August.

According to a NHTSA document, some metal upper strut insulators were manufactured out of specification at a plant in China for supplier Trelleborg Automotive Americas. The danger is that the insulator could crack and in extreme driving conditions allow the strut rod to come out of its housing.

Nissan told NHTSA that it plans to begin notifying dealers of the part problem on Oct. 2 and owners on Oct. 5.

Chrysler and Nissan call it quits on car, truck sharing

NASHVILLE — Chrysler Group, whose new Italian partner, Fiat S.p.A., is preparing to supply Chrysler dealers with European-designed small cars, today scrapped plans to share vehicles with Nissan Motor Co.

The decision means:

• Nissan will not supply Chrysler dealers with a small car for global markets starting next year.

• Nissan will not provide Chrysler with a Nissan Versa-based sedan to sell in South America.

• Chrysler will not build the next-generation full-sized Nissan Titan pickup starting in the 2012 model year.

“It was decided it was in the best interests of both companies to end the projects,” Chrysler and Nissan said in a joint statement.

That leaves Nissan with a bigger problem than any facing Chrysler.

Nissan will continue producing Titans at its plant in Canton, Miss., through the 2011 model year. Beyond that, Nissan now must scramble to either find a different manufacturing partner to produce the next Titan or create the truck’s next generation on an abbreviated schedule.

“We’re exploring our options,” Nissan North America spokesman Fred Standish said.

The announcement comes on the heels of press speculation that Chrysler‘s new 20 percent owner, Fiat, soon will begin putting a version of its compact Fiat 500 into production in North America for Chrysler Group dealers. That would bolster Chrysler’s lineup in a market that has shifted from large vehicles, where Chrysler has excelled in the past, to more fuel-efficient small cars, where the automaker has been weak.

Chrysler‘s altered status as a Fiat partner is made clear by the scope of today’s project cancellation.
Chrysler and Nissan call it quits on car, truck sharing

In February, as Chrysler teetered toward bankruptcy and an uncertain future, Nissan and Chrysler said they would temporarily halt work on the global small car and Titan projects. But they said they would press ahead on the deal to sell a Chrysler-badged Versa in South America, despite the corporate uncertainties.

Today’s news signals Chrysler is now taking a larger world view of its product plans under Fiat leadership.

Nissan was developing the global car to be built in Japan to Chrysler specifications, Nissan officials said earlier this year. Chrysler was planning to build the Titan on its Ram pickup assembly line in Saltillo, Mexico, using interior and exterior design plans provided by Nissan.

PRESS RELEASE: The following is a joint statement from Nissan and Chrysler

Nissan and Chrysler today announced a mutual agreement to end three OEM vehicle-supply projects announced last year.

For the past several months, teams from both companies have been studying the viability of the projects in light of significant changes in business conditions since the projects were announced in January and April of 2008.

Today, it was decided it was in the best interests of both companies to end the projects.

The projects had involved:

1. Nissan providing to Chrysler a compact sedan for the South American market beginning this year.

2. Nissan providing to Chrysler a small vehicle for global markets beginning in 2010.

3. Chrysler providing to Nissan a full-size pickup truck starting in 2011.

A separate agreement involving the supply of transmissions from Nissan affiliate JATCO to Chrysler remains unchanged. That agreement has been in effect since 2004.
Chrysler and Nissan call it quits on car, truck sharing