Nissan defect petition DP16002
Scope of Recalls 08V311 and 09V431. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this defect petition about the master cylinder on 2 model years (2007–2008). Opened Dec 20, 2016, closed Oct 2, 2017 after 9 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedNissan 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
A Defect Petition is a petition from a member of the public asking NHTSA to open a defect investigation; the agency grants or denies it and publishes the reasons. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the opening and closing resumes with the full reasoning are on NHTSA’s site under this number.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one closed without a recall. That means NHTSA found no defect trend it chose to act on at the time, or the manufacturer addressed the condition another way (a service campaign or a bulletin, which have their own pages). A closed file can be reopened if new reports arrive.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2007 Nissan Sentra; 2008 Nissan Sentra.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs DP16002 a recall?
No. A defect petition is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one closed without one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is DP16002 still open?
No. It closed on Oct 2, 2017 without a recall.
Which vehicles does DP16002 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 2 model years: 2007 Nissan Sentra, 2008 Nissan Sentra. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.