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The Nissan Rogue's Key May Collapse While Driving, Over 712k Vehicles Recalled

Saved by Renault in 1999 when Carlos Ghosn was trying to prove himself as the be-all-end-all executive in the automotive industry, Nissan used to make high-quality vehicles. The quality started going downhill once the Lebanon-born businessman started calling the shots, with Ghosn cutting expenses wherever possible, again and again, the expense of – you’ve guessed it - quality.
Nissan Rogue Sport 7 photos
Photo: Nissan / edited
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The Japanese automaker and its luxury-oriented arm Infiniti are often ranked at the bottom half of quality and reliability rankings, with Ghosn’s successors continuing to apply the cost-related policy of their brilliant yet controversial predecessor. Cost-cutting measures apply to Nissan’s suppliers as well, which results in substandard parts and assemblies because Nissan said so and to earn the Yokohama-based automaker’s business.

NHTSA campaign number 23V093000 is a classic case of Nissan being cheap, with the Japanese manufacturer calling back a simply outstanding 712,458 units of the Rogue and Rogue Sport in North America. The jackknife-style ignition key is prone to collapse into the folded position while driving, potentially shutting off the vehicle. Not only does this scenario increase the risk of a crash, but if the ignition isn’t in the on position, the airbags and other safety systems will not be operational.

The condition described above is eerily similar to the infamous ignition switch recall saga from General Motors, although there are notable differences as well. The biggest of the Big Three in Detroit called back approximately 30 million cars worldwide over a 57-cent ignition switch component, namely a small spring that doesn’t provide enough force. If accessories are attached to the ignition key, said ignition key may turn into the ignition to accessory mode or off when the vehicle goes over a bump. 124 deaths and 275 injuries have been connected to the 57-cent part that GM cheaped out on.

Nissan advises owners of the Rogue and smaller Rouge Sport to not attach any kind of accessories to the ignition key of their vehicles. Nissan further advises using the key exclusively in the unfolded orientation until a remedy becomes available. There’s no fix for this issue as of February 28th according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Interim recall notifications will be sent to affected owners no later than March 17th, followed by a second notification once the fix becomes available. Nissan has also instructed its United States dealer network to insert a spacer into the key slot of the jackknife ignition key.

The aforementioned 712,458 vehicles are split between the 2014 to 2020 model year Rogue and 2017 to 2022 model year Rogue Sport. The latter has been discontinued in December 2022. A handful of brand-new examples are still available in dealer lots at the moment of writing. The Rogue continues to be Nissan’s bread and butter in the United States. Including the discontinued Rogue Sport, the Rogue lineup accounted for 186,480 shipments in 2022, more than any other vehicle that Nissan offers in this part of the world.
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 Download: Nissan Rogue key recall (PDF)

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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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.
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