Nissan Expands Hood Latch Recall To 625,000 Additional Altima Sedans

Five months after Nissan first issued a recall of its most popular vehicle for hood latch issues, the car maker is adding more than 640,000 Altima sedans to the list.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports in a notice [PDF] that Nissan has recalled an additional 625,000 model year 2013 to 2015 Altima sedans that may include a secondary hood latch that could fail, causing the hood to fly up while the car is in motion.

As with the October 2014 recall of 220,000 model year 2013 Altimas, the affected vehicles’ secondary latch – which is supposed to keep the hood down if the primary latch is not engaged – may not hold the hood closed as designed.

Nissan says in a notice to NHTSA that the company has yet to find the root cause of the issue or how to fix it.

“We will provide information about the remedy plan when it is finalized,” the company says. “Nissan will implement an interim procedure to inspect and lubricate the secondary hood latch assembly on all subject vehicles manufactured prior to December 31, 2014 in dealer inventory prior to retail sale.”

The auto manufacturer reports that it has not received reports of injuries or crashes related to the issue. However, it has received information about hood fly-ups that caused damage to vehicles.

Nissan says that as it continues to investigate the issue it could increase the number of affected vehicles.

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