Two problems related to air bag have been reported for the 1997 Nissan Pathfinder. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
This was a multicar accident involving the Pathfinder driven by my son. The Pathfinder was stopped behind another car (a prius) at a traffic light when the Pathfinder was rear-ended by a SUV at full speed (no attempt to break). The shock from behind was so violent that the Pathfinder hit the prius, causing serious damage to the front of the Pathfinder (bumper, grill, engine hood, radiator, etc. ) and the rear of the prius. The insurance declaried the Pathfinder a total loss. Despite major damage to the back and front of the Pathfinder, none of the air bags deployed! luckily for my son, the seat-belt did its work.
In all efforts to contact the Nissan CO. Noone was interested in hearing my complaint. They just said I wasn't educated in what makes an airbag work. With all do respect I feel like a head-on collission with a tree at approximately 55 miles per hour an airbag should deploy and if not they are not what safety regulators say they are.