Nissan issued a 'do not drive" warning to the owners of nearly 84,000 older vehicles because the airbags could explode. The order applies to 2002-2006 Nissan Sentras, 2002-2004 Nissan Pathfinders, and 2002-2003 Infiniti QX4s that have recalled Takata airbags.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that "propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high-temperature cycling" could cause the frontal passenger airbag inflators to unexpectedly explode.
"Due to the age of the vehicles equipped with defective Takata airbag inflators, there is an increased risk the inflator could explode during an airbag deployment, propelling sharp metal fragments which can cause serious injury or death," Nissan wrote on its website.
The NHTSA said that the defective airbags have killed 27 people in the United States and injured at least 400 others.
"Even minor crashes can result in exploding Takata airbags that can kill or produce life-altering, gruesome injuries. Older model-year vehicles put their occupants at higher risk, as the age of the airbag is one of the contributing factors," the agency explained.
Owners are advised to check for an active recall on their airbags. If so, they can have their vehicle towed to a nearby dealership where technicians will repair the issue. In some cases, the dealer may offer mobile repair services and a loaner car until the problem has been fixed.
You can check to see if your car is under recall by going to nhtsa.gov/recalls and entering your 17-digit vehicle identification number.