Nissan has issued a recall alert covering 1,063 examples of its new 2023 Nissan Ariya electric vehicle for a terrifying reason — their steering wheels may not be properly attached. In some cases, they may not be attached at all.
Nissan says it replaced the steering wheels of some Ariya models in port upon arrival in the United States. The move addressed “potential quality concerns with the steering touch sensor,” Nissan says.
Dealers inspect new cars before they put them on sale. In at least two cases, dealership technicians have found Ariya steering wheels missing the center bolt that holds them on. The company asked dealers to inspect Ariya vehicles in stock and found at least one more with a loose bolt.
The automaker has decided to recall all Ariya models that had their steering wheels replaced in port to inspect them. Dealers will replace all the steering wheel bolts, even if they seem properly torqued, just to be safe. Recall repairs are always free; Nissan says this repair should take less than an hour.
In the meantime, if you own an Ariya, we’d recommend you tug on the wheel and call your dealer if it seems even the slightest bit loose. Nissan notes that owners might notice “excessive play or looseness” in the steering wheel.
Automakers recall many cars to fix safety defects, sometimes more than once. They try to reach every owner to ask them to bring the vehicle in for repair, but they rarely reach them all. Millions of vehicles on American roads need free recall repairs. Check the easy VIN tool at our recall center to find out if your car is one of them.
