— A Nissan Pathfinder cooling fan recall allegedly should have been issued long ago because the radiator fans make loud rattling noise and can cause engine failures.
According to a class action lawsuit, 2013-2017 Nissan Pathfinder and 2014-2017 Infiniti QX60 radiator cooling fans should have been recalled to prevent customers from paying their own money for cooling fan repairs and replacements.
Nissan allegedly knew in 2013 the Pathfinder and QX60 radiator cooling fans were defective and make loud rattling noise in the engine compartments.
"The Cooling Fan Defect causes a loud rattling sound in the front of the engine and can result in overheating and ultimately engine failure—leaving the vehicle occupants stranded and creating unreasonable safety risks." — Nissan cooling fan lawsuit
Without a Nissan radiator cooling fan recall, an owner may pay more than $1,000 to replace a radiator cooling fan. And the plaintiffs say when a Nissan or Infiniti dealer does the job, it won't help because the replacement cooling fans are also defective and will make noise and fail.
An engine cannot operate safely without a functioning radiator cooling fan, yet Nissan won't issue a recall.
The class action alleges Nissan was only able to sell the SUVs because the radiator cooling fan problems were concealed from consumers.
A Nissan dealership will allegedly deny the cooling fans are a problem until after the 3-year/36,000-mile warranty has expired.
And as every automotive class action lawsuit says, the Nissan cooling fan lawsuit asserts:
"Had Plaintiffs and prospective Class Members known about the Cooling Fan Defect, they would not have purchased the Class Vehicles or would have paid less for them."
The lawsuit describes the Nissan and Infiniti cooling fan noise as "loud squealing, rattling, or clacking sound" before the fans fail.
Nissan Pathfinder Radiator Cooling Fan TSB
In September 2017, Nissan sent dealers technical service bulletin (TSB) NTB17-100 to cover 2013-2017 Nissan Pathfinders.
Titled, "2013 – 2017 PATHFINDER; RADIATOR SHROUD AND COOLING FAN ASSEMBLY REPLACEMENT PROCEDURE," the TSB didn't mention any symptoms related to the radiator shroud and cooling fan.
Because there has been no Nissan radiator cooling fan recall and owners allegedly have not been reimbursed, the plaintiffs want Nissan to give owners all "ill-gotten profits" made from selling the vehicles.
The plaintiffs also contend Nissan should replace all the cooling fans with non-defective fans, and the automaker should also extend the warranties for the radiator cooling fans and components.
In addition, the plaintiffs want Nissan to stop selling and leasing the vehicles at dealerships.
These four customers filed the class action lawsuit for more than $5 million after their radiator cooling fans made noise and were replaced.
- Lauren Anderson / Massachusetts / 2017 Nissan Pathfinder
- Fred Balsam / Maryland / 2017 Nissan Pathfinder
- Calvin Wiley / Maryland / 2017 Nissan Pathfinder
- Walid Antonios / Ohio / 2017 Nissan Pathfinder
The four plaintiffs contend Nissan should have paid for the Pathfinder cooling fan replacements even though the warranties had expired.
The lawsuit alleges the statute of limitations should be suspended because Nissan allegedly concealed the Pathfinder and QX60 SUVs were defective.
The Nissan radiator cooling fan class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee: Lauren Anderson, et al., v. Nissan North America, Inc., et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Stranch, Jennings & Garvey PLLC, and Greenstone Law APC.
