Nissan North America submitted a Part 573 safety recall report, number 26V331, to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on May 29, 2026. It covers 51,598 Nissan Kicks of the 2025 and 2026 model years equipped with an affected combination meter display unit. Parts of the report follow, not the whole.
A Blank Screen
The report describes "a software logic error within the Combination Meter (combi-meter)" that "may cause a communication failure between the graphic controller and the automotive controller Integrated Circuits." As a result, during a cold start-up, "the combi-meter could display a partial or fully blank screen. If this condition occurs, it will prevent the illumination of telltales and indicators," and the car may not meet the federal motor vehicle safety standard on controls and displays.
The risk, in the report's words: "the driver may unknowingly operate the vehicle in an unsafe condition, increasing the risk of a crash." On any warning that can occur, the report says, "There is no preceding warning. The customer will notice the partially blank, blue or fully blank combi-meter screen."
A Fault That Took Cycles to Show
The chronology starts with a field report on February 4, 2025, alleging a blank screen at start-up. The dealer "was unable to duplicate the condition," though diagnostic trouble codes for the meter and for communication errors had been stored. The supplier at first could not reproduce it either, and "bench testing methods were developed to reproduce the concern." Twelve more meters were collected from the field after similar reports.
Between June and October 2025 the supplier "determined that an IC weakness required multiple thermal or power cycles to manifest, which may explain why the condition was not detected during end of line production testing." Further analysis indicated that "a potential malfunction within the integrated circuit may trigger an internal error flag." "When the error flag is set, the software may enter a continuous loop without a recovery mechanism, resulting in a loss of communication between the graphic controller and automotive controller," it says.
The Fix and the Recall
Bench testing results were used to identify the software changes needed, and software validation testing was conducted "across a temperature range of -40 degrees C to +80 degrees C and over 375 test hours to confirm the effectiveness of the software upgrade." The countermeasure software went into production on January 16, 2026.
Nissan decided on May 14, 2026 to conduct a voluntary non-compliance recall in the US market. It reports seven technical reports and 205 warranty claims for the issue between October 27, 2024 and April 14, 2026, and says it "is not aware of any reports of accidents or injuries related to this subject condition." Dealers are to update the meter's software free of charge.
Sources
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (Part 573 Safety Recall Report submitted by Nissan North America, Inc.). Part 573 Safety Recall Report 26V331. 29 May 2026. safety notice