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Feds Investigate Nissan Transmission Problems

DETROIT (WWJ) - The federal government is investigating reports of a transmission line problem with a 110,000 Nissan SUVs.

There have been a handful of reports of a leak in the transmission line of the Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti JX. It's feared the leak could cause the transmission to suddenly fail.

WWJ Auto Analyst John McElroy says it's not clear yet if the SUVs will be recalled — but he wouldn't be surprised.

"Oh, you'd be surprised how many recalls there are," said McElroy. "I mean, literally, there is a recall every single week with some automaker.

"And of course NHTSA [the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] is trying to be super cautious these days; so they'll issue a recall notice on even some of the slightest things," he said.

There have been no reports yet of any injuries.

"Five reports [of transmission failures] is not a lot, but, or course, what NHTSA wants to look at is how dangerous? Even if it's something that does not happen very frequently, they want to make sure that it does not pose a danger to the public," McElroy said.

It's not clear how long the NHTSA investigation will take.

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