Nissan recalls 841,000 Micras and Cubes

The recall covers the Micra, known as the March in some markets, and the Cube models produced in Japan and Britain between 2002 and 2006, a company spokesman said.

Nissan sold the cars, 763,000 Micras and 78,000 Cubes, in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East, but has not received any accident reports related to the glitch, the spokesman said.

"A bolt in the steering wheel system may not be fastened appropriately, and in the worst case, the cars can't be driven properly," she said.

"Nissan will fix the problem free of charge in accordance with regulations in each country," she added.

The latest recall is another blow to the reputation for safety and reliability that Japan's car manufacturers have had.

Last month four companies including Nissan said they were recalling nearly 3.4m vehicles worldwide, in a blow for the country's manufacturers.

Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mazda, all cited the same malfunction of the Japanese-made passenger-side airbags.

In January Toyota said it would recall nearly 1.3m vehicles globally over airbag and windscreen wiper problems.

At the end of last year Toyota said it had agreed to pay about US$1.1bn to settle a class action lawsuit launched by US vehicle owners affected by a series of mass recalls.

Despite its travails, Toyota recaptured the title of world's biggest manufacturer from General Motors in 2012, selling 9.75m vehicles.

Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge