The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has begun investigating reports of inadvertent deployment of side curtain air bags in 2015 Nissan Rogue vehicles.

Field reports allege side curtain air bags deploy after the door is shut and/or slammed.

The investigation follows a separate “do not drive” warning issued by NHTSA last week for nearly 84,000 model year 2002-2006 Nissan vehicles equipped with Takata air bags.

Takata, a now-bankrupt parts supplier, was responsible for manufacturing air bag canisters in defective air bag inflators that can explode and spray sharp metal fragments toward the driver and passengers, comparable to shrapnel from an exploding grenade.

The Takata air bag inflator recall, issues of which first surfaced in 2008, is the largest safety recall in automotive history covering more than 67 million affected vehicles worldwide.

The warning covers certain model year 2002-2006 Nissan Sentras, 2002-2004 Nissan Pathfinders, and 2002-2003 Infiniti QX4 vehicles subject to open Takata air bag recalls under NHTSA recall campaigns 20V-008 and 20V-747.

NHTSA urges all vehicle owners to check if their vehicle has an open Takata air bag recall. If it does, owners should contact their dealership to schedule a free repair as soon as possible and follow any warnings from the vehicle manufacturer.

Nissan and Infiniti are offering free towing and mobile repair as well as loaner vehicles in select locations.

Customers with questions or concerns can reach Nissan at 800-647-7261 or visit Nissan’s recall website. Infiniti customers can reach the OEM at 800-662-6200 or visit its website.

NHTSA has confirmed 27 people in the U.S. have been killed and 400 injure by defective Takata air bag inflators that exploded.

Even minor crashes can result in exploding Takata air bags that can kill or produce life-altering, gruesome injuries, according to NHTSA. Older model year vehicles put their occupants at higher risk as the age of the air bag is one of the contributing factors to the issue.

Images

Featured image: Stock image of a deployed side curtain air bag. (Credit: kynny/iStock)

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