Nissan expands recall to 203,000 trucks for rollaway risk

The Nissan Titan and Nissan Frontier pickup trucks equipped with a 9-speed automatic transmission are being recalled because the trucks can slip out of “Park” and roll away, the NHTSA disclosed this week. This is an expansion of a previous recall. 

An issue with the transmission can prevent the parking pawl from being engaged, so when a driver shifts the truck into Park it may not actually be in Park. If the driver doesn’t engage the emergency parking brake, the truck could roll away without warning. 

The issue affects more than 203,000 newer Nissan trucks. The bulk of the recall encompasses more than 92,000 units of the redesigned Nissan Frontier mid-size pickup truck from the 2022-2023 model years. Yet its predecessor from the 2020-2021 model years is also included because Nissan put the new engine in its old truck. Nearly 59,000 Nissan Titan full-size pickup trucks have been recalled from the 2020-2023 model year. 

Most of the affected trucks had been recalled in June, but that recall had been limited to models produced from late 2019 to June 14, 2022. After that fix, Nissan uncovered another issue of the trucks not engaging in Park, and expanded the recall under “an abundance of caution,” Nissan explained in paperwork filed with the NHTSA. During the expanded investigation, Nissan also scrutinized the 2023 Nissan Z sports coupe, but it has not been included in the current, expanded recall.

Other Nissan and Infiniti vehicles equipped with the widespread 9-speed automatic transmission could be affected, with Nissan admitting the ongoing investigation does not have a remedy at the moment. In the meantime, Nissan will advise owners to engage the emergency parking brake until a fix is finalized. 

Owners can expect notification by mail as early as Nov. 1. For more info, call Nissan’s customer service at 1-800-867-7669 or visit the brand’s dedicated recall hub.