One problem related to mid/rear seats assembly has been reported for the 1997 Nissan Altima. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
While at a complete stop, I was hit from the rear by a car traveling about 30mph. Upon impact the driver's seat collapsed and came off track. The airbags did not deploy. Because of the severity of the damage, I contacted Nissan to find out what needed to be done to prevent tthis from happening again because if my children were in the back seat, any child behind me would have been crushed to death. Nissan said that the seat was supposed to collapse as a saftey mecahanism. I am still undergoing therapy for injury to my low back, which hurt upon impact, and my neck and shoulders. I want this seat fixed. I would rather have whiplash, which I sustained anyway, than crush one of my children to death. ( dot number: tire size: p205/60r15 ).