NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Defect Petition DP16-002: Scope of Recalls 08V311 and 09V431
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Defect Petition DP16-002 on December 20, 2016 and closed it on October 2, 2017. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2007–2008 Nissan Sentra for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- DP16-002 (also written DP16002)
- Investigation type
- Defect Petition A petition asking NHTSA to open a defect investigation; NHTSA grants or denies it, and granting one opens an investigation.
- Status
- Closed October 2, 2017
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Nissan North America, Inc.
- Components
- Service Brakes; Service Brakes, Hydraulic — Foundation Components — Master Cylinder
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2007–2008 Nissan Sentra
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 Defect Petition DP16-002.
Nissan conducted safety recalls 08V-311 and 09V-431 to remedy leaking master cylinders on certain MY 2007 and 2008 Nissan Sentra vehicles.
The recall populations were determined based on production changes to the master cylinder which were fully implemented into production on April 18, 2008.
NHTSA utilized vehicle owner questionnaire (VOQ) reports and did not request field information from Nissan.
ODI identified two MY 2008 Nissan Sentra VOQs including the petitioner?s vehicle, which were not covered by the recalls and reported a leaking master cylinder.
Both of these incidents occurred 6 or more years into the service life of the vehicle.
ODI also identified three VOQs which reported a leaking master cylinder after receiving the recall remedy.
While one of these failures occurred within 36 months of the recall remedy, the other two occurred at a later time.
ODI notes that the original recall addressed failures which occurred early in the life of the vehicle, typically during the first 36 months of service.
Master cylinders are generally expected to experience wear and thus will display a finite service life.
After a thorough review of the available data in NHTSA's VOQ database, the agency has not identified a trend that would call into question the scope or adequacy of Nissan's recalls.
Accordingly, and in view of the need to allocate and prioritize NHTSA's limited resources to best accomplish the agency's safety mission, ODI is denying the petition.
A detailed summary of ODI's analysis of this petition is available in the investigative file for this action, and will be published in the Federal Register also.
The agency reserves the right to revise this assessment should future circumstances warrant.
The VOQs cited above can be viewed at NHTSA.gov under the following reference numbers: 10299791 10330891 10449038 10567372 10638813 10805749 10839357
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Defect Petition DP16-002. 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
All Nissan recallsWhat 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 DP16-002
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.