Nissan Motor said on Thursday it will recall 713,986 Altima and Sentra cars in North America, mostly in the United States.
The Japanese automaker said the models' engines may suddenly stop running.
Affected models are 2002 and 2005-2006 Altimas and Sentras with 2.5-litre engines.
The crankshaft position sensor can overheat and briefly stop sending signals, possibly causing the engine to stop.
Nissan filed a recall of 622,634 Altimas and 28,373 Sentras in the United States, a company spokeswoman said.
The rest were sold in Canada and Mexico.