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NHTSA campaign 21V170000 · manufacturer recall PC797

2020 Nissan Murano: steering recall

Ball joint separation can cause a loss of vehicle control, and increase the risk of a crash.

high 15,223 vehicles affected 95% reported repaired

What was reported

Source: manufacturer filing, 49 CFR Part 573
Problem Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2020 Nissan Murano vehicles. The left and/or right-hand transverse link may not have been manufactured correctly, which could result in it separating from the ball joint. Risk Ball joint separation can cause a loss of vehicle control, and increase the risk of a crash. Fix Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the transverse link's lot codes, and if necessary, replace them and perform a vehicle alignment, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 6, 2021. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is PC797.

Reported to NHTSA Mar 11, 2021 by Nissan North America, Inc, owners notified May 6, 2021.

What that means, in plain English

Source: WhichTrim's reading of the filing above — not NHTSA's wording

Transverse link separating from the ball joint is a suspension/steering failure that can cause loss of vehicle control, but the filing uses hedged language ('could result in') and requires inspection first, stopping short of a stop-drive order that would warrant critical.

Written for us by a language model from the manufacturer's filed text, which is quoted in full above. Where the two differ, the filing is the record and this is only our summary of it.

The fix, from the dealer bulletin

Source: NHTSA remedy instructions and dealer notice
Stop-sale Not stated in the dealer documents
Remedy Instructions filed: the dealer bulletin exists

Parts named

Part numberDescriptionQty
54500-5AA0CLINK COMPL – TRANSVERSE, LH1
54501-5AA0C1
54588-JA060
40262-JA000
40262-2Y00A
40073-0L700

Labour, as the warranty table lists it

  • 0.4 h · op PC7970
  • 1.8 h · op PC7971
  • 2.4 h · op PC7972

The operation code and time the manufacturer pays the dealer; a customer-pay estimate elsewhere is a different number.

Read from NHTSA’s copy of the manufacturer’s dealer documents (manufacturer campaign PC797). The procedure itself is in the bulletin; a franchised dealer has the current copy on the manufacturer’s portal, and that copy governs. Working a lot or a fleet? Recall Watch carries this line on every VIN it checks: remedy status, hours, stop-sale.

Which vehicles are covered

Source: NHTSA campaign 21V170000
Model yearClassSafety SignalRecalls on file
2020 Nissan MuranoCompact SUVB2

Those are the model years inside WhichTrim's range, 2016 onward. The campaign may cover others outside it, and the only thing that settles whether one specific vehicle is included is its VIN.

How much of it has been fixed

Source: manufacturer quarterly report, 49 CFR 573.7
Reported repaired 95%

of the campaign

The final figure: the six quarters of reporting that 49 cfr 573.7 requires have closed.

This is the manufacturer's own cumulative count of vehicles it has inspected and repaired, divided by the vehicles the campaign covers. It files that count with NHTSA every quarter for six consecutive quarters, starting from the quarter in which owners were told a remedy was ready, and then the obligation ends — so a figure on an older campaign is where the count stopped, not where it stands today.

It rarely reaches 100%, and not because the work was not done. The same report asks manufacturers to count vehicles they could not reach at all — exported, stolen, scrapped, or simply never located — and those stay in the denominator. A low number means a lot of these vehicles are still out there unrepaired; it does not tell you which ones.

The federal paperwork

Source: nhtsa.gov

Check one specific vehicle

A recall applies to a build range, so year, make and model cannot settle it. Type the VIN and the WhichTrim recall report checks this campaign’s build window and engine against it.

Campaign 21V170000 · the manufacturer calls it PC797

Own one, or run a fleet? Recall Watch checks each VIN against every new NHTSA campaign and emails you when one lands, this one's expansions included. Or take a free one-line alert by model year.

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A recall covers a build range. Only your VIN settles it.

Check it with the WhichTrim recall report now, or have us check it every night and email you when something new is filed.

Photo: Taiga Miyamoto / Unsplash

Common questions

Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR Part 573

Is PC797 the same recall as 21V170000?

Yes. PC797 is the number Nissan North America, Inc uses for this campaign in its own paperwork and in the letter it sends owners. 21V170000 is the number NHTSA files it under. One recall, two references — dealers and service departments generally quote the manufacturer's.

Does this recall repair cost anything?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to remedy a safety defect or a compliance failure at no charge, for vehicles up to 15 years old measured from the date of first sale. A dealer that asks you to pay for a recall repair is in the wrong.

How do I know whether my vehicle is included?

By VIN, not by model year. The manufacturer files a build range with NHTSA and only vehicles inside it are covered, so two identical-looking cars from the same year can differ. NHTSA's own lookup checks a VIN against the manufacturer's list.

What if the repair is not available yet?

It happens, and often. Manufacturers must notify owners when a defect is found even if the parts or the software are not ready, then notify them a second time once the remedy exists. The remedy filed for this campaign is described above.

What did the manufacturer say was wrong?

The problem, risk and fix quoted on this page are the manufacturer's own words as filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR Part 573. WhichTrim does not paraphrase them.

Who started this recall?

NHTSA's record credits the manufacturer. A recall can begin with the manufacturer's own testing, with a defect investigation, or with a compliance test against a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard.