Japan's Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. will recall a total of 307,962 vehicles equipped with potentially deadly Takata Corp. airbags in the U.S.

The recall covers Nissan's Maxima, Sentra, Pathfinder and Versa models and its luxury unit Infiniti's FX35, FX45, I30, I35, M35, M45 and QX4 models from various model years between 2001 and 2011, according to a Jan. 13 notice from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA.

These vehicles were fitted with frontal passenger airbag inflators that contain phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate propellant used as interim remedy parts for previous Takata recalls. According to the NHTSA document, these airbag inflators are at risk of exploding, ultimately resulting in serious injury or death when sharp metal fragments strike the driver or other occupants.

About 1% of the total number of cars recalled are estimated to possess the defect, according to a safety recall report filed with the NHTSA.

Takata airbags have been linked to massive recalls in recent years after causing fatalities and injuries around the world.

Nissan's U.S. arm, Nissan North America Inc., will start recalling the affected cars Feb. 10 to have dealers replace the front passenger airbag inflators, free of charge.