In production since April 2022 at the Nissan Motor Tochigi Plant, the Z has been hit with its first safety recall. A grand total of 988 vehicles produced for the United States of America are believed to have been assembled incorrectly.
As per documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the fasteners in the left side of the front bumper reinforcement clip may loosen, thus preventing the pop-up hood from activating in the event of a frontal pedestrian crash. How did Nissan mess this up?
On April 14 this year, a technician at the Nissan Motor Tochigi Plant noticed looseness in the aforementioned reinforcement clip during a paint repair. The Japanese automaker immediately started investing, only to discover that the tightening torque could be inadvertently reset below the required threshold. Nissan determined that the inadvertent torque adjustment occurred due to a unique combination of the torquing tool and storage receptacle, then implemented countermeasures back in May 2023.
From June 2023 through September 2023, the company investigated the potential effect of the aforementioned looseness in the reinforcement clip. Not surprising in the least, the safety boffins determined that reduced rigidity in the front bumper affects the proper functioning of the left-hand front bumper pedestrian detection sensor that tells the car's electronic brain to activate the pop-up hood system.
The pop-up hood feature creates more head penetration space beneath the hood by lifting said panel upon contact with a pedestrian. Banging one's head against a slightly open hood rather than a hood that sits extremely close to the top of the engine (a.k.a. the hood's regular position) appreciably decreases the risk of life-threatening injuries.
Photo: Nissan
In October 2023, the Japanese automaker determined that said condition doesn't comply with regulatory requirements in the Land of the Rising Sun. Out of an abundance of caution, the Japanese mothership recommended Nissan North America to issue a recall of its own. The US division wasn't aware of any injuries related to the subject condition, yet Nissan North America was more than happy to oblige.
The remedy comes in the guise of retorquing the fasteners on the left-hand front bumper reinforcement clip at no cost whatsoever to affected owners. The remedy should take no more than an hour to complete. Dealers have already been informed about safety recall number 23V-725, whereas Nissan Z owners will be notified by mail on December 7.
Affected vehicles were produced for the 2023 and 2024 model years in the period between October 12, 2022 and April 11, 2023. The NISMO performance variant rolled out on August 1, meaning that NISMOs aren't included in this recall. To determine whether your Z is recalled or not, it would be best to run the VIN on the NHTSA's web portal.
From January 2023 through September 2023, precisely 1,309 units of the Z were delivered to US customers. By comparison, the Toyota GR Supra enjoyed 2,097 deliveries. The Japanese coupes retail at $42,210 and $45,540 sans destination charge, although you'll have to pay quite a bit more for the Supra with the BMW-sourced I6 engine. At press time, the Supra 3.0 starts at $54,500.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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