Dongfeng Nissan Recalls 50,000 Qashqai and X-Trail

Nissan's Chinese joint venture, Dongfeng-Nissan, will recall approximately 50,000 vehicles in the domestic market due to a malfunction affecting the steering system. The recall information was rolled out yesterday by China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, China Car Times reports, and claims that the Chinese carmaker will inspect 14,168 X-Trails and 33,667 Qashqais.

It appears the steering system error, which might cause the handling to get extremely difficult in some cases, affects X-Trails manufactured between March 31, 2008 and August 26, 2009. The affected Qashqais were rolled out between February 18, 2008 and May 22, 2009.

Nissan announced last month a separate recall in the United States, this time affecting the 2009-2010 Altima and Maxima . More than 26,000 vehicles contained a suspension glitch that could increase the risk of a crash, it was mentioned in a notification posted on the official website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

"Nissan is recalling certain model year 2009 and 2010 Altima and Maxima passenger cars," it is mentioned in the advisory. "The upper front strut insulators may have been manufactured of specification resulting in a potential for the strut insulator to crack."

"If the strut insulator is cracked, there is a potential for the strut rod to come out of its mounting position, which could affect vehicle stability and increase the risk of a crash," NHTSA explained.

The US recall started earlier this month and all operations will be conducted free of charge. "The company will notify owners and dealers will replace both left and right side front strut insulators free of charge," it said.