FRANKLIN, Tenn. -

Nissan North America recently launched a recall of nearly 196,000 models of the Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti QX4, concentrated in wintry weather areas in the U.S. and Canada.

The recall stems from the need to make a repair in the steering column for effected units originally sold or currently registered in Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.

The recall includes any effected models sold in Canada, according to a statement sent to Auto Remarketing.

Officials indicated the recalled vehicles include the Nissan Pathfinder from the 1996 through 2004 model years and the Infiniti QX4 from the 1997 through 2003 model years.

The recall includes a total of 195,991 units.

In areas of the countries in which heavy concentrations of road salt are used, officials discovered a mixture of snow or water and salt may enter an assembly location hole in the upper strut housing. If this situation occurs, they determined water can collect at the mating surface of the strut and the inner hood ledge assembly.

Nissan reported that over time this water and salt mixture may result in the corrosion of the strut tower housing and may allow portions of the strut tower to come in contact with the steering column.  

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration fears corrosion may cause the strut housing to crack and pull away from the inner-hood ledge assembly, leading to grinding noises and increased steering effort. In the worst case, NHTSA insists the steering column could break, resulting in the loss of steering control and creating the potential for a crash.

NHTSA pointed out that Nissan dealers are prepared to inspect the strut housing and repair vehicles as needed for free.

The automaker plans to begin mailing recall notifications by May 16. In the meantime, owners of potentially effected models can contact Nissan at (800) 647-7261.

“Nissan is committed to a high level of customer safety, service and satisfaction and is working with dealers to promptly address this issue,” the automaker emphasized.