BUSINESS NEWS
Recall possible for emergency brakes
Associated Press
Published 2:02 PM EDT Sep 12, 2019
DETROIT – The U.S. government’s road safety agency is investigating complaints that the automatic emergency braking on the Nissan Rogue can turn on for no apparent reason.
The probe covers about 554,000 Rogue small SUVs from the 2017 and 2018 model years.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said 843 owners complained to the agency and to Nissan about the problem. Owners reported 14 crashes and five injuries.
The agency said Nissan issued a technical service bulletin and undertook two customer service actions related to the problem. Investigators will try to find a cause and determine how often the false braking happens and could seek a recall.
The investigation was opened in response to a petition March 21 from the Center for Auto Safety, a nonprofit group that represents consumers.
Nissan couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday morning.
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Nissan has said that it notified all customers of a software update that improves performance of the automated braking system. The center said the campaigns don’t acknowledge the seriousness of the safety problem and give owners little incentive to get the SUVs fixed.
In its petition, the Center for Auto Safety said that, according to the complaints, the Nissan braking system can be triggered by railroad tracks, traffic lights, bridges, parking structures “and other fixed objects that do not pose a threat to the vehicle.”
