NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Audit Query AQ12-003: Gwinnett Place Nissan / Quest Recall

Closed

NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Audit Query AQ12-003 on October 25, 2012 and closed it on December 12, 2014. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2011–2012 Nissan Quest for it.

Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file

Key facts

NHTSA number: AQ12-003 (also written AQ12003)
Investigation type: Audit Query An administrative investigation into compliance with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting Early Warning data on time or carrying out a recall.
Status: Closed December 12, 2014
Opened: October 25, 2012
Closed: December 12, 2014
Vehicle or equipment manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc.
Component: Electrical System — Software
Vehicles and equipment: 2011–2012 Nissan Quest

A recall appears here only when NHTSA's investigations file links one to the investigation; NHTSA's summary or record can name others.

NHTSA's summary

As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Audit Query AQ12-003.

NHTSA opened Audit Query (AQ) 12-003 to determine whether Gwinnett Place Nissan of Duluth, Georgia complied with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 (Safety Act) and its implementing regulations. The Safety Act requires, among other things, that a manufacturer notify its dealers of defects related to motor vehicle safety and noncompliances with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and, in turn, that a dealer not sell a new vehicle subject to a recall unless the recall remedy has been performed. 49 U.S.C. ? 30120(i). NHTSA issued an information request (IR) to Gwinnett Place Nissan on October 31, 2012. Gwinnett Place Nissan responded to this request on November 19, 2012. NHTSA then issued an IR to Nissan North America, Inc. on March 11, 2013. Nissan North America, Inc. responded to this request on April 5, 2013.

NHTSA's investigation indicated that Gwinnett Place Nissan sold and delivered 28 recalled vehicles that did not have the recall remedy completed at the time the vehicles were delivered to the customers. Gwinnett Place Nissan did not contest this finding. NHTSA therefore concluded that Gwinnett Place Nissan was liable for civil penalties for violations of the Safety Act, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. ? 30165. Under a Settlement Agreement dated November 24, 2014, Gwinnett Place Nissan paid compromised civil penalties in the amount of $110,000.

This AQ is closed.

Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation

NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Audit Query AQ12-003. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.

Nissan

Nissan Quest
- 2011, 2012

All Nissan recalls

What an NHTSA investigation is

NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.

An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.

To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Nissan VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.

Sources

NHTSA's investigation record for AQ12-003

Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.