Nissan Motor Co. is recalling 454,000 vehicles worldwide over a brake fluid leak that could cause a risk of fire. About 394,000 of the vehicles are in the U.S., the company said in government documents.
Only about 1 percent of recalled vehicles are believed to have the defect, the company said in a document filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The company is recommending owners who see an ABS warning light on the dashboard park their cars outside until they can have the vehicle towed through Nissan or Infiniti Roadside Assistance to an authorized dealer.
The ABS actuator pump's seal could leak brake fluid onto the control electronic circuit board, a statement by Nissan said. "If the vehicle continues to be operated in this condition, the brake fluid leak may create an electrical short in the actuator circuit, which in rare cases could potentially lead to a thermal incident."
The recall applies to 2016-2018 Nissan Maxima, 2015-2018 Nissan Murano, 2017-2019 Nissan Pathfinder, and 2017-2019 Infiniti QX60 vehicles.
This is the company's third recall for the issue. About 120,000 vehicles were recalled in the U.S. in 2016 and Nissan expanded the recall to 215,000 more in 2018.
The faulty ABS actuators are manufactured by Advics Manufacturing in Lebanon, Ohio, the NHTSA document said. The supplier could not be reached by Automotive News for comment.
A spokeswoman for Nissan said in an emailed statement to Automotive News it is "currently developing its remedy plan."
Nissan plans to begin notifying owners in early December. NHTSA documents stated owners will receive a second notification "when additional remedy parts are available in summer 2020."
