— A Nissan Sentra tie-rod recall has been announced for nearly 139,000 cars because the tie rods may bend and break.
The 2020-2021 Nissan Sentra cars need to be inspected by dealerships to determine if one or both tie rods should be replaced.
The recalled Sentra cars were built in Mexico between November 25, 2019, to March 24, 2021.
Nissan received a report in July 2020 about the right front wheel of a customer car which didn't respond when the driver turned the steering wheel. The automaker inspected the Sentra and found the right front tie-rod broke into two pieces although there was no apparent damage to the car.
In August 2020, the Nissan Mexico assembly plant added a new sensor to the transfer arms to allegedly prevent movement when the front suspension assembly was transferred from one process to another.
The supplier was notified and discovered a failed tie-rod had been deformed from bending of the tie-rod that led to fracture at the ball end housing.
By December Nissan knew of four Sentra tie-rod warranty reports, but out of 3,556 cars inspected at the plant, there were no vehicles found with bent tie rods.
Nissan inspected an additional 4,551 Sentra cars in March 2021 and found none with tie-rod problems. In addition, 35,000 tie rods were inspected at the Mexico plant and none were bent. By the end of inspections, Nissan had checked more than 86,000 Sentras and found no bent tie rods.
As of June 10, Nissan is aware of seven tie-rod warranty claims.
Nissan Sentra recall notices will be mailed August 5, 2021.
Owners of 2020-2021 Sentras may call Nissan at 800-867-7669 and ask about recall reference number PM985.