Front Air Bag Sensor Control problems of the 1996 Nissan Altima

I have a 1996 Nissan Altima gxe. The air bag system developed a problem, I. E. The indicator light would not go out - it continued to flash. Upon diagnosis by the Nissan service department, they determined the problem to be a malfunctioning control module. This will cause the unit to not operate properly. I have learned through the NHTSA website that Nissan has had prior problems with these air bag systems, and my problem may be a continuation of these.

Air bag module. Light on dash started to flash . Took car to dealer ship and was told it was the airbag modular after they check out the computer. I asked the service manager if their was a recall on this and he said no. I asked if this was common and he said he had seen this before in this model and year. The part cost over $550. 00 not installed. He told me to try to find one in a junk yard, told me how to remove and install same and even offered to let me borrow the special tool needed to remove and install same. Then I was to bring back car to have the light reset, as this would deterrmine if the modular that I got was any good. If light didn't reset then that modular was not good. It was last year when the light started flashing and I have not as yet found a modular in a junk yard.

Airbag sensor light that is located on dash flashes constantly when vehicle being driven. The cause is unknown. Dealer has been contacted.

I would like to add that I have an extented warranty that clearly states that airbag sensors are not covered, however, the dianostics indicated that the failure was an airbag control unit. Which didn't state that it was not covered. I have spoken with the dealer and the Nissan coorporate office and although I have a case number which is 3146876 have not gotten any positive results just the normal red tape a consumer encounters. In any case, I feel this has to be a manufactuer dedect as any safety devices should last the life of the vehicle or at least 100,000 miles. Also the dealer that I put on this form is the servicing dealer. I purchased the vehicle new in sanford, nc. Please assist me with this matter at your earliest convience. Thank you kindly.

Air bag sensor light comes on/off.

Prior to the accident, there was no indication of any defect in the airbag system. When the accident occurred, the airbag indicator light was flashing continiously. After the body work was repair, the body shop took the vehicle to the dealership to determine the cause of the flashing indicator light. They learned that the sensor module was damaged. Our insurance company paid an additional $500+ to replace this. However, when they replaced it, an error message was received which said: "passenger airbag disengaged. " thus, the passenger airbag system needs to be replaced. The airbags never deployed from the accident, although the auto body repair shop said that they should have because of the impact sustained. The insurance company refuses to pay for the replacement of the airbag system because they feel that if the airbag didn't deploy, it was defective from the factory. Their logic is that the impact couldn't have caused damage to the airbag system. Nissan refuses to absorb the cost because our vehicle is out of warranty. At present, we are still without our vehicle. It has been 3 months and this is our only means of transportation.

When turning the ignition switch on the dashboard lights up, when dash lights are out the air bag light stays on continuously flashing, red light never goes out.