Nissan Versa, Sentra Being Investigated For Unwanted Acceleration By NHTSA

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Saturday it is investigating whether the 2012-14 Nissan Versa, Versa Sedan and Versa Note are prone to unwanted acceleration.

NHTSA said 360,000 vehicles are involved in the investigation, which resulted from four complaints the tunnel carpet cover trim panel interferes with a driver's ability to work the accelerator and brake pedals by trapping his or her shoe, Reuters reported.

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (OTCMKTS:NSANY) said it would cooperate with the investigation.

The Detroit News reported one of the complainants said he had to grab his leg and pull it up to free his foot, nearly crashing the vehicle. Two of the four complaints said the vehicles were rental cars.

NHTSA has been looking into floor-mat issues for at least four years. For example, it is investigating such issues with Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) vehicles. Last month, Ford recalled for potential interference with accelerator pedals 82,579 all-weather floor mats sold for vehicles from 2006-2011, including Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ models.

In the same area, the Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM) was forced to recall millions of vehicles for unintended acceleration due to floor mats and other issues that led to four deaths.

According to Wall Street OTC, Nissan Sentras also are being investigated for a similar issue.