Nissan Motor Co. told the US regulators on Wednesday that it is recalling five 2013 model year vehicles because of a potential problem with a sensor that can result in the failure of the deployment of the front passenger airbag in case of a crash.

According to documents posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website, the recall announced by Nissan covers some of the automaker's redesigned 2013 Altima mid-size sedan; the Sentra compact; the Pathfinder crossover SUV; certain models of the 2013 Nissan Leaf electric car; and the Infiniti luxury division's JX35 crossover SUV.

As per the documents posted on the website, the issue leading to the recall of the mentioned 2013 model year Nissan vehicles involves a supplier for the sensor. The manufacturer apparently changed a manufacturing process such that the sensor was seemingly not up to specifications.

The document further revealed that the malfunctioning of the sensor could permanently disable the airbag; and noted that the automaker had still to ascertain the number of vehicles which might have been equipped with the faulty sensor as well as the manufacturing dates of the affected vehicles.

The faulty-sensor issue was discovered by Nissan because of warranty claims resulting from the fact that airbag warning lights had illuminated in some cars at the company's Tennessee plant. The owners of the under-recall vehicles will be notified by Nissan in April; and the dealers will be asked to check the sensor and replace it if required.