Nissan recalls 40,400 Navara utes

NISSAN will ask more than 40,000 Navara ute owners to have their towbars checked after they were found to either bend or crack the chassis rails.

The recall affects D40 versions of “Australia’s most powerful tradie”, as Nissan markets the vehicle, built between July 2005 and January 2010.

“Approximately 40,400 of these vehicles in Australia require inspection,” Nissan said in a statement announcing the recall.

“Affected customers will be contacted and advised to arrange an inspection of their vehicle at an authorised Nissan dealership.”What service technicians will look for are cracks and bends in the chassis rails around where the two different types of towbar, developed and made by Nissan Australia in conjunction with a local supplier, attach to the Navara.

“Nissan has identified that attachment points on the Nissan Australia genuine accessory towbars – as applicable to Nissan Navara D40 (Spain) ST-X variants and applicable to D40 (Spain) RX variants – can cause excessive stress upon the chassis frame rails over time,” the company said.



Left: Nissan Navara tow-bar stunt at the casting factory in Victoria.

“As a result, cracks can occur at the ends of the chassis rails. In extreme cases, sections of the chassis rails around the towbar may bend when a heavy tow load is applied.”Nissan said owners would have their towbar replaced with a modified version, while any damage to the chassis rails would be fixed free of charge in about two hours.

It said owners who had Navaras fitted with other towbars could also have their vehicle inspected free of charge, but “any repair or replacement to a new revised-design genuine Nissan towbar will be at cost to the customer”.

Nissan said the cracks and bent rails was not due to owners overloading the Navara, and its 750kg unbraked, 3000kg braked tow capacity would not be revised as a result of the recall.