Japanese carmaker Nissan is recalling 2.1 million vehicles worldwide because of an ignition problem.

The recall includes nearly 84,000 Micra and Infiniti models that were built at Nissan's Sunderland factory between January 2004 and March 2006.

Nissan said there had been no reports of accidents caused by the fault, which can lead the engine to stall while running.

The global recall involves nine models including the Cube, March and Tida.

Owners have been told to take their vehicle to a dealer for checks.

Nissan told the BBC it would be contacting the owners of affected vehicles for the work to be carried out.

It says this will take around 20 minutes and will be at no cost to the customer.
Free exchange

In Europe, 354,170 vehicles are being recalled, but the majority affected are in Japan itself and North America.

In Japan alone, Nissan will recall a total of 834,759 vehicles with another 762,000 units being called back in the US and Canada.

A further 194,409 are being recalled in China and Taiwan.

The company will exchange for free defective parts on certain models, as the fault may cause the engine to stall while running.

Earlier this year, Nissan recalled about 76,000 cars in Japan and more than 2,000 overseas due to a defect that may cause engine failure.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11641425

It has not been a good year for auto makers. There have been quite a few recalls this last year or so.

There're always recalls. The numbers have just been newsworthy recently.

I drive but do not have a car, so do not pay attention most of the time. This last year or so there have been some big numbers involved as you said. I actually think that it is a good thing. It shows that the company is actually trying to maintain the safety of their cars.

Very true, it's going to cost a pretty penny though, even though it's apparently an easy quick fix.

Yes but a couple of fatalities and a huge civil settlement could wipe out any potential savings of not doing it. Plus courts get very angry when companies do a cost benefit analysis of avoiding a recall, and punish them accordingly.