Two problems related to front air bag sensor control have been reported for the 2003 Nissan Altima. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2003 Nissan Altima based on all problems reported for the 2003 Altima.
Air bag sensor the light turns on and off when a passenger sit in the seat. The sensor was reprogrammed in 4/2104 . The OCS sensor continues to come on and off still defected. I had it rechecked when the car was brought in for a front hood latch at this time I was told the sensor on the airbag was bad and needed to be replaced and it would cost me $700. I refused to pay and it needed to be taken care of from Nissan as it is a defected part not from a wear and tear. Dealership called Nissan they agreed to pay for part but I would be responsible for labor. I contacted consumer affairs and was told very contradicting answers from them and the regional specialist. I will say the people I talked with sounded very uneducated about the products and issues with their cars. It sounded as though they were reading scripts and never heard my situation of all that had occurred with is OCS sensor. I talked with several people from consumer affairs, so called regional specialist and customer service of which represent Nissan . I have 4 different reference numbers. The customer service with Nissan has not been cooperative or helpful at all. I continue to hear it's not under warranty and they can not help me. This could be a lawsuit if something happened and this airbag does not open.
In October 2010 the air bag light flashing, result: retrieved code b1129-rh side air bag module open circuit, not detected at the time, code was in past tense. May have intermittent fault. Cleared code and light stayed off at the time. In July 2011 the air bag was flashing again retrieved code b1129-rh again. This time they said seat back needs to be replaced and/or needs a sensor unit . I find this a manufacture issue and responsibility, due to the fact that this car has never been in a car accident or abused. The air bag is not a tire to go bad, if one was in a car accident and replaced it at a private place that is another story! it is not fair for the same code (b1129-rh) once they just turned off and once they say you need to replace it.