Nissan Recalls 2010 Frontier Due to Faulty Child Seat Anchorages

Nissan is issuing a service campaign in the U.S., calling back 951 Frontier vehicles that have been manufactured from June 10, 2010 through June 26, 2010. According to the official notice posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website, Nissan has found out that these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 225, “child restraint anchorage systems.”

“The welding of the tether anchor wire to the seat gusset on the restraints is out-of-specification. As a result, and based on Nissan’s engineering judgement, the tether anchor could separate from the seat when tested under the conditions required by the standard,” the safety notice posted on the NHTSA website stated.

The direct consequence of such a problem is that, in the event of a crash, the tether anchorage could separate from the vehicle seat and therefore increase the risk of injury to the seat occupant.

According to the manufacturer, the seat gusset containing the tether anchorage will be replaced by authorized dealers with a new one free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin on or before September 1, 2010.

The Nissan Frontier has been found as the safest pickup in case of a rollover accident by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) earlier this year. Of the five small pick ups tested, the Nissan Frontier was the best, as its roof rated "good."

According to the IIHS, a roof rated “good” must be at least twice as strong as the minimum required under the current federal safety standard. However, the Frontier lost the 2010 IIHS award due to being rated acceptable instead of good for protection against neck injury in rear crashes.