Table 1 shows one common seats related problems of the 2017 Nissan Altima.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Seats problems |
The passenger airbag system failed, specifically the occupant sensor and the pad beneath the passenger seat. These components are responsible for detecting whether a passenger is present and ensuring the airbag deploys correctly in a crash. I've also been told that I may be at risk of not having my airbag deploy in an accident. My vehicle is available for inspection upon request. I am a single mother. My child rides in the vehicle regularly, and my elderly parents occasionally ride in the passenger seat . Because the occupant sensor has failed, the passenger airbag may be suppressed entirely in the event of a collision. No passenger in the front seat would have airbag protection in an accident, and it's possible I would not either. We have been driving under these conditions for an extended period of time without a remedy. A trusted independent mechanic inspected the vehicle and confirmed the fault. They diagnosed the issue as a failure of the occupant classification sensor and seat pad, and noted that recalibration was attempted. The recalibration did not resolve the problem, and the airbag warning light remains on. I have not yet taken the vehicle to a Nissan dealership for diagnosis. It has not been inspected by Nissan, law enforcement, or insurance representatives. The airbag warning light on the dashboard has been illuminated continuously for many months. The light is solid, not flashing, which my mechanic indicated reflects a confirmed, persistent fault in the system rather than an intermittent issue. There were no prior symptoms before the light appeared.
In November 2023 vehicle had an airbag warning light, took to Nissan dealer. Inspected by Nissan service. Diagnostic and "repair" performed on driver side airbag. 8 months later in mid July -same airbag warning light came on. Needed an oil change in a few weeks and was not driving the vehicle due to out of town vacation. Took vehicle to the same Nissan dealership on 8/5/2024. Nissan again inspected and we were again charged for a diagnostic and told needed to fix by replacing the entire seat for $3000. When we asked the service manager why it wasn't fixed he stated perhaps the service in 2023 caused "corrosion" or a faulty airbag or faulty electrical. This is an internal issue inside the seat. Dealership would not help fix. Called Nissan corporate and filed a case. This vehicle has never had any accidents or damage. Half of the national average of mileage. Meticulously cared for and taken only to Nissan for oil changes. Never touched the seat . After owning this vehicle for less than 7 years it has 45,142 miles . Filed a report with bbb a week ago and have not had any response. Was hoping in good faith Nissan would do the honorable thing and replace this seat as this is our family car. We take our children. To school in it. Go to church in it. Drive to family for get together in it. Now we are worried that the airbag may randomly deploy, or not deploy at all. It is a huge safety concern. We are worried that there may be other 2017 Nissans out there with similar issues. And we cannot sell , as we would never want to put another family at risk . Bottom line , Nissan is being negligent. There is a vehicle that clearly has faulty manufacturing / parts - and they do not wish to do the right thing. We do not feel we should be responsible for something that is not our fault. We hope this can be investigated, as this is an extremely popular vehicle - and there may be many more families at risk. Thank you.
Took vehicle to get an oil changed & was informed that air bag light was on. Driver side air bag light came on with no warning & noticed now that the air bag seems deployed in the seat. Shop inspected & reset computer but could not find issue.
As appears to be the case with many other 2017 Nissan Altima drivers, the light indicating the passenger side air bag is off remains on even when adults are in the seat. When the dealership took a look at the issue, they said the occupant control sensor system required replacement, and quoted ~$1,000 to fix this issue. This is a cost we weren't able to bear, and so we have had to use the car with no functional passenger side airbags for several years. The OCS failed approximately 5 years after the car was purchased. For a safety-critical feature, it is concerning that there is no remedy for the public. This issue appears identical to the OCS problem identified in NHTSA campaign #16v-244 (reference #ntb16-054b) from August 25, 2016. It appears that the 2017 Nissan Altima was excluded from this recall, despite suffering the same manufacturing issues.