Dongfeng-Nissan JV recalls 84,200 cars on oil leak

Shanghai, May 4 (Gasgoo.com) Dongfeng Motor Co. Ltd, a joint venture between Dongfeng Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Corp., started to recall 84,200 passenger cars in China from May 1 to fix an automatic transmission system defect which could lead to oil leaks, Xinhua News reported Saturday, citing the country's quality regulator.

The recall involves two Nissan models produced by the joint venture, including 69,285 Sylphy cars manufactured between January 2006 and July 2008, and 14,915 Qashqai cars produced from August 2007 to July 2008, said the General Administration of Quality, Inspection and Quarantine on its website.

The regulator said that these cars could have oil leak problems if they are driven under high load for a long time. Dongfeng will update control programs of the continuously variable transmissions (CVT) of the vehicles to fix the related problem.

The Sylphy and the Qashqai cars are manufactured by Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Co., the passenger vehicle company of Dongfeng Motor Co. Ltd. It also produces Nissan's Sunny, Bluebird, Teana, and Tiida models for sale in China.

The affected Sylphy cars are of an old model no longer sold. Dongfeng Nissan launched a new version in April 2009, which topped the joint venture's first-quarter sales this year with 37,631 units sold.