Hybrid Car Review

Nissan is recalling 3,403 2009 Altimas built at their Canton, MS plant for a possible loose bolt on the tire.  It's unclear if this would affect any hybrid Altimas.

Any 2009 Altima equipped with 16-inch alloy wheels may be affected.  One or more the five lug nuts may come loose, leading to a loss of control and possible crash.  Anyone who thinks they may be affected should contact Nissan immediately, or go to safercar.gov for more information.

The Recall notice from safercar.gov is below.

Manufacturer : NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC. Mfr's Report Date : SEP 04, 2008 NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number : 08V464000 N/A NHTSA Action Number: N/A

Component: WHEELS

Potential Number Of Units Affected : 3403

Summary: NISSAN IS RECALLING 3,403 MY 2009 ALTIMA VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 16-INCH ALLOY WHEELS. SOME THESE WHEELS MAY NOT HAVE BEEN MANUFACTURED TO SPECIFICATION. THIS COULD CAUSE ONE OR MORE OF THE FIVE LUG NUTS ATTACHING THE WHEEL TO THE VEHICLE TO BECOME LOOSE.

Consequence: IF THE LUG NUTS BECOME LOOSE, IT COULD EVENTUALLY RESULT IN A LOSS OF CONTROL AND A CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE VEHICLE TO DETERMINE IF IT IS EQUIPPED WITH ONE OF THE AFFECTED WHEELS. IF IT IS, THE WHEELS WILL BE REPLACED WITH NEW ONES THAT HAVE BEEN MANUFACTURED TO THE CORRECT SPECIFICATION. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING SEPTEMBER 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.

Notes: CUSTOMERS MAY CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153); OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.

Update: I fixed the note at the top to reflect the plant is in Mississippi (MS), not Michigan (MI)... Doh!