Although Nissan’s Ariya is available with the automaker’s ProPilot Assist hands-free driving package, the EV and its autonomous technology is still about two generations off being able to function without a steering wheel.
But that’s a situation some current Ariya owners might have to face. Nissan has discovered that some of the 2023 model year EVs may not have had the bolt holding the steering wheel to the column correctly tightened. But worse than that, some may not have a steering bolt at all.
Obviously this isn’t the kind of issue that can wait until service time rolls around to be fixed, so Nissan is recalling 1,063 Ariyas, though it estimates that only 0.18 percent off vehicles – equating to two SUVs – are likely to contain the defect.
The problem didn’t result from a mistake at the factory, but at dealerships. A number of Ariyas recently returned to showrooms to fix another issue relating to the steering touch sensor and during the course of that repair some cars may not have had their steering wheels correctly re-installed.
Related: A Tesla Steering Wheel Fell Off While Driving – Again
And by the way, that bit about some Ariyas maybe not having a securing bolt at all isn’t just hypothetical worst-case extrapolation that you often hear in recall stories. In late January and early February in two entirely separate incidents Nissan dealer technicians investigated reports of loose-feeling steering wheels and discovered that the bolt was missing in both cases.
Drivers of the 1,063 vehicles potentially affected are being asked to return their cars to dealerships where the workshop staff will replace the bolt and tighten it to the correct 32 lb-ft (44 Nm) torque setting. The dealers are also supplied with a bulletin from Nissan giving step-by-step instructions about how to go about making the checks and repairs, and that bulletin includes a handy picture pointing out where the steering wheel bolt is located (surprise, surprise, it’s in the center), just in case there was any confusion.