Side/window Air Bag problems of the 2005 Nissan Altima

I was driving down I-95 south, just north of exit 13. Cloudy, rainy evening commute about 5:50pm. I was slowing down in preparation to get off the highway at my exit and I was traveling in the second to right lane. All of a sudden I heard a bang and was hit simultaneously in the left side of the head and neck. At first I thought something had come through the window and hit me in the side of the face. It took me a few seconds to figure out what had happened - the curtain and side airbags on both the drivers side and passenger side had deployed with no warning or collision. Fortunately I was able to maintain control of the vehicle and was able to pull off the highway. I was lucky that the airbags deploying spontaneously did not cause a serious accident resulting in injuries or death. I was also lucky that my 17 month old daughter was not in the vehicle when this malfunction occurred. Upon examining the exterior of the vehicle there was no impact damage anywhere to have caused the deployment. The vehicle has been towed to the nearest dealership. We contacted Nissan USA and they have determined it is not their problem. We have comprehensive insurance and they have determined it was an electrical or mechanical malfunction and it is not their problem. The repairs have been quoted by the dealership at about $6000 (the car isn't worth that much). We have taken care of the vehicle as could be reasonably expected and it seems to me that this is outside the scope of reasonable care though none of the parties seem interested in addressing it further.

I failed to stop at a stop sign, and was traveling about 25-30 mph when I collided with a vehicle that hit my passenger side front quarter panel. The crash happened at such a high impact that the passenger side airbag deployed, but the airbag on the driver's side did not deploy, causing me severe bruising and injury. The crash was severe enough that our insurance declared our vehicle a total loss. The airbag should have deployed in this crash, and Nissan should be held responsible for these injuries in cases like this. My husband and I purchased this car for many reasons, but the safety from air bags was a primary reason. They failed in my case, and I am concerned that others may have experienced faulty air bags as well from Nissan.

My wife wrecked her 2005 Altima. The car just all of sudden left the road and she couldn't control or stop it.

New 2005 Altima 3. 5 se bought August 2005 1st month I had noticed a vibration in the steering at high speeds, and the vehicle pulling/drifting from left to right. This concern makes the vehicle unsafe to drive because you do not have a sense of control when driving, in addition when driving on a highway for a long period of time the vibration in the wheel makes your hands and arms fall asleep. It is always necessary after an hour or hour and a half to pull over and give your arms/ hands a rest. The dealer addressed this concern by balancing the wheels by road force balance (corrected specs - 21lbs road force down to 7lbs) no alignment issues were noticed. After 3 tips to the dealership for the vibrations I had noticed a clunk in the front end, it ended up being a strut that needed to be replaced. With the next trip the dealership the vibration in the steering was now evident at all speeds, it was still drifting, and a new "hum" had developed at random times while driving. The dealer unable to verify any of my concerns suggested that I go for a ride with the service manger. After that ride he suggested that I have my tires swapped for new ones of another brand. On my next trip to the dealer they swapped all 4 of my tires for another brand name and re-aligned the front suspension and front end. Throughout the winter the car ran ok other than some electrical problems that would kill my battery and the rear pillar airbags coming out. It was not until the spring that I was forced to bring my car down again for the vibration in the steering wheel and the clunk in the front end. The dealer could not verify any clunk in the front end but agreed that there is again a vibration and remedied the problem by adjusting the steering rack pre-load. Initially the vibration was reduced, but within a month it was back. The service manager admitted that adjusting the steering rack pre-load was only a "temporary fix" a "bandaid for the problem".