NHTSA issues 'Do Not Drive' alert for nearly 84,000 select Nissan 2002-2006 vehicles

May 29 (UPI) -- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Wednesday issued a "Do Not Drive" alert for nearly 84,000 Nissan-made vehicles produced between 2002-2006 that were equipped with defective airbags.

The NHTSA "is urging all vehicle owners to immediately check to see if their vehicle has an open Takata airbag recall," according to a news release.

The affected vehicles cover model year 2002-2006 Nissan Sentras, 2002-2004 Nissan Pathfinders and 2002-2003 Infiniti QX4s that are subject to open Takata airbag recalls under past NHTSA recall campaigns.

Owners have been advised to contact their dealership "to schedule a free repair as soon as possible and follow any warnings from the vehicle manufacturer," NHTSA, a federal Transportation Department agency, said.

They added that Nissan and Infiniti are offering free towing and mobile repair. And in select locations, loaner vehicles will be offered.

Tens of millions of vehicles are under recall with Takata airbags. More than 63 million airbags were replaced in recalls related to Takata airbags.

The NHTSA, which so far has confirmed 27 U.S. deaths related to defective Takata airbags that exploded with at least 400 reported injuries, is now advising Nissan owners to not drive the vehicles until a repair or replacement is in place if they match the "Do Not Drive" vehicle alert description.

A Recall Lookup Tool is available by NHTSA for vehicle owners to see if their vehicles match any open safety recalls, including Takata's.

Takata-made airbag recalls have extended to several vehicle companies with Takata having an extended past with defective products.

General Motors in November 2020 issued a recall of more than 7 million vehicles for defective Takata air bags.

The federal agency issued a similar May 2023 "Do Not Drive" warning for 90,000 BMW models made from 2000-2006 that likewise were equipped with Takata-made air bags, calling the risk to drive "dire."

That was followed three months later by another Takata airbag warning for Honda.