NHTSA investigating Nissan Rogue for potential steering defect | Automotive Dive

Oct 14, 2024

The safety probe follows an incident of inner tie rod failure on a low mileage 2021 model.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched a safety investigation on Aug. 5 that covers an estimated 77,131 model year 2021 Nissan Rogue SUVs after receiving a field report of an inner tie rod failure on a model with approximately 16,655 miles.

According to the NHTSA, its Office of Defects Investigation received Vehicle Owner Questionnaire and Early Warning Reporting field report data for a 2021 Rogue from a customer in New Jersey alleging inner tie rod failure and a loss of steering control. The incident occurred on Oct. 20, 2023.

The report states that the driver of the vehicle was pulling out of a parking lot when the steering wheel suddenly pulled to the right and the right front tire became “misaligned” due to a detached inner tie rod, which made the vehicle undrivable.

The Rogue was towed to a Nissan dealer, where service technicians diagnosed a bent right front inner tie rod, which required replacement. But after the part was replaced and a routine wheel alignment was performed, the steering wheel did not return to the center position as expected.

Nissan was notified of the issue by the dealer but informed the customer the repair was not covered under warranty because its service department determined the bent tie rod was a result of an impact. However, the customer insisted there was no impact that could have caused the damage. Still, no further assistance was offered by Nissan.

As part of its investigation, the NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation will further assess the scope, frequency and root cause of the premature tie rod end failure on the 2021 Rogue models. If the agency determines that the inner tie rods are defective, Nissan could face a costly recall.

The Rogue has been Nissan’s most popular vehicle in the U.S. for three consecutive years. The automaker sold 271,458 units in 2023, a 46% year-over-year increase.