Nissan Recalls 153,000 Vehicles For Braking Issue

Nissan Motor Co. said it is recalling 153,000 2013-2014 Pathfinder SUVs, 2013 Infiniti JX35, and 2014 Infiniti QX60 crossover vehicles over braking problems.

The Japanese automaker said during light braking on rough roads, the antilock brake system brake pressure output software may lead to an increase in stopping distance. Nissan said the condition could "cause customers to experience stopping distances that are longer than customer's expectation for the given pedal force. This may increase a risk of a crash."

Nissan implemented a software reprogramming in vehicle production on September 20, and decided on October 7 to issue the recall. The automaker said in May it received a technical report from a Canadian dealer about the issue.

Nissan conducted an incident vehicle investigation in Canada to duplicate the incident. Nissan identified four previous field incident reports received in the prior four months concerning the brake performance on Infiniti JX35 vehicles, which Nissan investigated but could not duplicate.

After testing this summer, Nissan found the effect on the stopping distance was minimal and the vehicle still met the applicable requirements. However, during the study, Nissan determined the ABS brake pressure output software setting could cause stopping distances that are longer than expected for the driver's pedal force when the ABS was activated over rough or uneven roads.

Nissan will notify owners within the next two months and dealers will reprogram the software.