Nissan Recalls 270K Vehicles Worldwide To Fix Start Buttons

DETROIT (AP) - Nissan is recalling about 270,000 vehicles worldwide because the ignition start buttons can malfunction and unexpectedly shut down the engine.

The company says the recall covers certain Note, Cube, Juke and Leaf and Venucia e30 vehicles as well as the Serena, March and Micra, and the Latio and Versa sedans. Also included are the Sunny, Almera, Tiida, Pulsar and Sylphy sedans, and the eNV200 and NV350 vans. They are mainly from the 2013 and 2014 model years.

In the U.S., the recall affects about 14,600 Versa, Cube and Juke vehicles.

Nissan says the buttons can stick inside a housing when exposed to hot temperatures. If that happens, road vibrations can cause the switches to shut off the engine.

Dealers will replace the housing for free starting in August.

Nissan said in documents posted Tuesday with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that it got five warranty claims in June and July of 2014, so it opened an investigation. Two claims involved the engine shutting off while cars were moving, but there were no crashes or injuries.

By the end of 2014, four more claims came in, none involving engine shutdown while the cars were in motion. Complaints slowed to one in 2015, but Nissan decided to do a recall to be cautious, the documents said.

Nissan