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Kaz and Shiro talk Gran Turismo 7 details, Titan Nismo and more in AMA

One of the greatest innovations to come about thanks to the gigantic popularity of Reddit is the Ask Me Anything (AMA) question and answer format. The AMA becomes especially worthwhile, of course, when the person(s) answering the questions have detailed information or insight on products we love.
So, in the case of the recent AMA session with Gran Turismo creator and mastermind Kazunori Yamauchi (above), and his buddy and Nissan chief designer Shiro Nakamura (right), it was basically must-read stuff.
The pair really lived up to our expectations, too, with Kaz offering a lot of useful information about the future of the Gran Turismo franchise (especially the upcoming GT7 for Playstation 4), and Shiro promising to bring some interesting new ideas back to his colleagues at Nissan.

Nissan recalling GT-R, Infiniti crossovers over steering column issue

Nissan has discovered a problem with the steering column on some of its higher-end all-wheel-drive vehicles from a few years back, and has issued a recall in conjunction with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to address the issue. The issue revolves around the outer tube on the steering column, which may not be perfectly round. That would put extra stress on the upper steering bearing, which could cause it to fracture, disabling the car's steering ability and potentially leading to a crash. The problem affects Nissan's flagship GT-R supercar – specifically 2009 models manufactured between March 14, 2007, and April 25, 2008) as well as an array of Infiniti crossovers: namely the 2008 EX35 and the 2008-09 FX35 and FX45. In the case of the luxury crossovers, Infiniti dealers are being instructed to replace just the steering shaft, but Nissan dealers will have to replace the entire steering column assembly on the GT-R. All told, the recall is estimated to encompass 16,973 vehicles across the United States. RECALL Subject : Steering Column Tube may be Out of Round Report Receipt Date: FEB 02, 2015 NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V054000 Component(s): STEERING Potential Number of Units Affected: 16,973 Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc. SUMMARY: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2008 Infiniti EX35 vehicles manufactured June 29, 2007, to April 25, 2008, 2009 Infiniti FX35 and FX45 vehicles manufactured October 31, 2007, to April 16, 2008, and 2009 Nissan GT-R vehicles manufactured March 14, 2007, to April 25, 2008. The steering column outer tube may not be round, resulting in extra stress being applied to the upper steering bearing. This stress may cause the bearing retainer to fracture, creating extra play in the steering wheel or a possible loss of steering. CONSEQUENCE: Extra play in the steering wheel or a loss of steering may increase the risk of a crash. REMEDY: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering shaft on the Infiniti EX35, FX35, and FX45 vehicles, and will replace the steering column assembly on the Nissan GT-R vehicles, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Infiniti owners may contact customer service at 1-800-662-6200. Nissan owners may contact the GT-R hotline at 1-866-668-1487.

Nissan recalls 3,065 Pathfinders for transmission fluid leak

Nissan is recalling 3,065 units of the 2013 Pathfinder equipped with the CVT, due to a potential transmission fluid leak. On crossovers built from April 18, 2012 to October 3,2012 "inadequate clamping force" on the hose connected to the internal oil cooler can cause the hose to come loose and let fluid escape. A severe loss of fluid can cause the transmission to stop working properly.
The recall is the result of a safety investigation begun last September, when it was thought a recall could involve 110,000 units of the Pathfinder and Infiniti JX35. Asked for comment about how such a large number of vehicles potentially involved could end up with just 3,065 being recalled, Nissan rep Steve Yaeger told Autoblog that Nissan initiated a service campaign for the issue last year - a service campaign notifies owners to take their vehicles to the dealer for repair of "what is generally not a safety issue" - and that there was a "production improvement" that addressed the clamping issue. The service campaign included the vehicles being recalled, but the recall is limited to just those vehicles that were built before the production-line fix.
Nissan will begin informing affected owners next month, at which time owners can take their vehicles to dealers to have the hose clamp repaired. The press release below from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has more information.