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Nissan, Kia under investigation over occupant detection systems

Kia and Nissan are facing separate investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration because of alleged problems with the occupant detection systems in their vehicles' airbags. The larger investigation is NHTSA's new engineering analysis into 986,826 Nissan and Infiniti vehicles. They include the 2013 Nissan NV200 and 2013-2014 Altima, Leaf, Pathfinder, and Sentra. Among the Infinitis, there are the 2013 JX35 and 2014 Q50 and QX60. Owners allege the occupant classification system can misidentify passengers and turn off the airbag if they don't weigh enough. Nissan recalled over a million vehicles worldwide last year to fix the same problem with a software update, but NHTSA kept getting complaints about the issue after the repair. The agency opened a preliminary evaluation in March, and after 1,271 complaints it has now been updated to an engineering analysis. The Feds intend to evaluate the effectiveness of Nissan's solution. NHTSA is also opening a preliminary evaluation into the 2007-2009 Kia Spectra for the occupant classification not working properly, and it could affect an estimated 186,000 of these vehicles. The government agency has 43 complaints from people allegedly reporting the failures. According to NHTSA, the issue could result in the airbag not deploying with enough force or not activating at all in an accident. This investigation is meant to assess the scope of the potential flaw, and there's no recall yet. INVESTIGATION Subject : Occupant Classification System Fault Date Investigation Opened: SEP 01, 2015 Date Investigation Closed: Open NHTSA Action Number: PE15031 Component(s): AIR BAGS All Products Associated with this Investigation Vehicle Make Model Model Year(s) KIA SPECTRA 2007-2009 Details Manufacturer: Kia Motors America SUMMARY: The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received 43 complaints alleging a malfunction of the front passenger seat occupant classification system (OCS) in 2007-2009 Kia Spectra vehicles. The complaints report illumination of the SRS (air bag) warning light. All of the complaints allege the cause of the light illumination to be a malfunction of the OCS sensor mat imbedded in the passenger seat cushion, and/or report the presence of diagnostic trouble code B1448 which relates to the OCS sensor mat also. Many of the complaints note the malfunction occurred after the warranty period expired and mention high repair costs as a major deterrent to repairing the vehicle.

Infiniti offers chance to design Sebastian Vettel's helmet for the USGP

The Circuit of the Americas will host its second United States Grand Prix in November, and based on what's happening with New Jersey it might be the only US torch left alight in the Formula One firmament. The story even before the inaugural event was about getting American fans involved, and Infiniti appears to be making the first splash this year with a competition to design Sebastian Vettel's helmet for the first two days of race weekend.
The only thing required of the graphic designer within you is to head to the competition site, download the helmet template and slather it in your unique technicolor vision. It will require some thought to make something interesting, though, since much of the helmet is already committed to team and sponsor logos; other than a few thin strips along the sides, your creativity will be confined to the oval atop the shell. Vettel will choose the winner and will wear the selected lid during the free practices and qualifying.
The grand prize winner will also get a VIP trip for two to the grand prix as a guest of Infiniti, which includes some face time with the triple world champion himself. The contest is on now, the deadline for entries is 11:59 pm GMT (6:59 EST), Sunday, September 29th and the winner is chosen the very next day. There's a press release below with more info if you want the complete skinny before putting stylus to digital paper.

2018 Infiniti QX80 reveals fresh face in Dubai

Infiniti has finally revealed its refresh for the Infiniti QX80 at the Dubai auto show, and it's amazingly mild. Not that we were expecting a particularly wild redesign, since even the QX80 Monograph concept that previewed the SUV still looked similar to the existing vehicle, but this is still a pretty low-key update. The main changes are in the front fascia, which was teased not long ago. It features headlights that sit higher up and inline with the top of the grille. The lights are more slender and swept back, too. The tops of the fenders sit higher as well, providing a more squared-off look, and the side fender vents have a new design. Beyond the nose job, there are hardly any other changes. The taillights are new, and the chrome finish over the license plate extends into them. The rest of the roof, doors, windows, basically all the stuff in the middle of the SUV look pretty much identical to the old QX80. Underneath the skin is more of the same. The interior is the same with the exception of some new materials and colors. Apparently the shift knob is new, too. The powertrain is a carryover as well, featuring the same 400-horsepower 5.6-liter V8 with either two- or four-wheel drive. The QX80 has one other somewhat noteworthy change, and that's the price. Base price on the two- and four-wheel-drive QX80 models increases $900 over last year's to $65,745 and $68,845 respectively. The new QX80 goes on sale by the end of this year. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2018 Infiniti QX80 View 27 Photos Image Credit: Infiniti Infiniti SUV Luxury dubai motor show infiniti qx80