Chicago, Apr 25 (AFP) Japanese automaker Nissan has recalled nearly 271,000 sport utility vehicles in the United States and Canada to fix a defective steering column which can crack when exposed to road salt, officials have said.
An assembly hole can allow road salt and snow to collect in the steering assembly and cause corrosion, Nissan said in a filing with US safety regulators.
"The strut housing may crack and pull away from the inner hood ledge assembly," Nissan said.
"This may lead to grinding noises, increased steering effort, and possibly the steering column to break, resulting in the loss of steering control, which could result in a crash."
The recall affects model years 1997 through 2003 of the Infiniti QX4 and model years 1996 through 2004 of the Nissan Pathfinder.
Nearly 163,000 Pathfinders were recalled in the United States and 63,000 were recalled in Canada, a Nissan spokeswoman said.