10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
28 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
34 / 0
Average Mileage:
23,833 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2013 Nissan Altima:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #106

Jan 102013

Altima 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 1,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact stated the air bag warning light illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was included and repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 13V069000 (air bags). After the recall repair was performed the failure continued. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and an engineer inspected the vehicle. The engineer recommended replacing the interior of the front passenger's seat. After the vehicle was repaired the failure continued to occur. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 1,000....updated 02/11/2014

- Grand Rapids, MI, USA

problem #105

Jan 092014

Altima

  • 14,000 miles
The passenger front airbag does not detect adults sitting in the seat and therefore may not deploy in a crash. My car does not fit under the previous recall. Nissan corporate says it is aware of the problem. But cannot provide a date of a software patch. As a solution, I was told to pull the car over and restart it every time it happens.

- Decatur, GA, USA

problem #104

Oct 012013

Altima

  • 35 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the passenger's side air warning lamp illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician diagnosed that the air bag passenger occupant sensor was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 35 and the current mileage was 4,000.

- Spencer, NY, USA

problem #103

Jul 012013

Altima

  • 1,000 miles
Passenger air bag off light has been on 9 times while with 140 to 200 lb passenger seated. Notified Nissan service department and I was informed that it would be difficult to trouble shoot this problem as no code would be generated therefore it would have to have the light on for them to troubleshoot. And I know the light won't stay on long enough for that to happen. Also I was told my car was not up for recall.

- Fridley, MN, USA

problem #102

Dec 092013

Altima 4-cyl

  • 19,221 miles
Bought this car new and have continual problem with passenger air bag light coming on saying the air bag is off when a passenger of more than 125 pounds is sitting in the seat. Car has been to Nissan service several times for this problem and they say there is no computer codes. I've documented this happening 9 times since July and I am very concerned about safety of my passengers. When I see the light, I stop the car, turn car off and back on and light goes out. One time the passenger moving around in the seat caused the light to go out. I do not have confidence the air bag will work if needed. Nissan North America has just about washed their hands of trying to fix it and tell me the system is operating as designed. Frustrated~!

- Bluffton, IN, USA

problem #101

Nov 012013

Altima

  • 11,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the passenger air bag off warning light remained illuminated while a passenger was occupying the seat. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection however the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure and advised the contact that the passenger side air bag was operating normally. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 11,000 and the current mileage was 12,300.

- Greesnboro , NC, USA

problem #100

Dec 142013

Altima 4-cyl

  • 500 miles
Driving with a person in the front passenger seat, the passenger airbag light on the dash illuminated to indicate the airbag had turned off. It did this twice on the same day. The person sitting in the front passenger seat was 175 lbs, well big enough that the sensors should have detected. This appears, from numerous online forums, to be a common problem. Prior to manufacture of my 2013 Altima (06/2013) a recall was conducted for this very same problem. Apparently, post recall, the problem still exists. Many people could be killed or seriously injured as a result of this safety failure.

- West Melbourne, FL, USA

problem #99

Sep 182013

Altima 4-cyl

  • 750 miles
After owning my vehicle for less than a month, an indicator light came on indicating that the passenger side air bag was now deactivated even though the front passenger seat was occupied by an adult. After the vehicle ignition was turned off and restarted the light disappeared. A few days later the light once again came on to indicate that the air bag was off with an adult in the seat. I took it to the dealer to be serviced... and was told that it was probably caused by the person " not sitting in the seat correctly " and proceeded to show me how a passenger should sit in the seat ! I explained that once it was on, the light never went back off no matter how the passenger sat.the light continued to warn that there was no active airbag ! after the dealer investigated they said that nothing was wrong with the sensors. They said that" the sensors take a while to adjust ". I inquired as to why Nissan had just recalled the 2013 Altima for this same problem ( recall 13V069000 )... but I was told that the problem had been fixed on new vehicles like mine. This air bag deactivated light continues to come on and stay on randomly to this date. The dealer says the only way to diagnose it correctly is to bring the vehicle in while the airbag light off is illuminated. Needless to say this is difficult to do.it is going back in for this problem next week. At this point I am unsure whether or not I truly do have active passenger side airbags... I don't want to have that answered when it is too late ! search the internet ( Altima forums ) and you will see a large number of people with the same issue, as well as the same hollow explanation !

- East Hartford, CT, USA

problem #98

Aug 012013

Altima 4-cyl

  • 12,000 miles
Passenger presence detection system failed to recognize a passenger and enable the passenger side air bag approximately 30% of the time. Dealer reprogrammed the controller. Same error occurred 2 months later. Dealer reprogrammed the controller and advised against placing anything over about 10 lbs in the passenger seat as this would corrupt the presence detection algorithm. But the dealer couldn't offer any assurance that the system wouldn't fail again.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #97

Nov 162013

Altima 4-cyl

  • 1,500 miles
Passenger air bag light comes on intermittently with an adult passenger in the front seat weighing approximately 150 lbs. The yellow light (middle dashboard) always comes on when car is started. It usually goes out (as it should) after about five seconds. Sometimes it stays on -- sometimes for 15 minutes or more. It sometimes comes on after I have been driving for a while. I sometimes pull over and turn off the car and restart and it usually goes out like it is supposed to. Took car to dealership where we bought it. They said they couldn't duplicate the problem. They also said there is a recall for some 2013 Altima for air bag weight sensor problems, but that our VIN # wasn't included. Looking online, it looks like many people are having same problem. This is a definite safety hazard. When light is on, air bags won't deploy if in an accident occurs.

- Grandview, WA, USA

problem #96

Nov 012013

Altima 4-cyl

  • 6,000 miles
1. I purchased a new 2013 Nissan Altima sl in April 2013. After couple of weeks I started noticing passenger air bag off light is always on, whether a passenger sits in passenger seat or not. I went to dealer, they told that there is a recall on passenger airbag sensor and they were waiting for new sensors. After couple of months they received new sensors and they installed it in my car. 2. after installing new sensor I started noticing issues with airbag again. My wife weighs about 110lbs-115lbs, I see 'passenger airbag off' light is on in following scenarios with my wife in passenger seat with seat belt fastened. A. after starting the car 'passenger airbag off' light supposed to on for 7 seconds then go off. But it stays on for a lot more time than that (more than 15 minutes) some times it goes off after 15 min/ 30 min, some times it is always on. This doesn't happen always but happens almost 2-3 times out of 10. If I restart car it works normal again. This happened driving in various speeds from 0 -70 mile/ hour. B. when driving, all of a sudden 'passenger airbag off' light comes on stays on for a while. Sometimes it goes off after 15 minutes approximately, some times it stayed on for more than 30 minutes. This happens in very random manner and doesn't always happen. This happened driving in various speeds from 0 -70 mile/ hour with my wife in passenger seat with seat belt fastened. I have took my vehicle to dealer 2 times, they checked but said they couldn't find anything wrong. Performed 'passenger weight sensor' reset 2 times suggesting it may fix the problem. But it didn't help. I am still driving my car with weird bugs like this. So in case of accident passenger airbag may not deploy when required, please take an action on Nissan to fix this serious safety issue.

- Farmington Hills, MI, USA

problem #95

May 012013

Altima

  • 2,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 13V069000 (air bags) and stated that the manufacturer advised that the VIN was not included in the recall. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated, which he believed was associated with the recall. The failure mileage was 2,000.

- East Brunswick, NJ, USA

problem #94

Sep 012013

Altima 4-cyl

  • 10,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the front passenger air bag off warning message illuminated while the passenger's seat was occupied. The manufacturer was contacted and advised that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number 13V069000 (air bags). The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 10,000...updated 12-30-13 updated 1/23/2014

- Niles , IL, USA

problem #93

Mar 142013

Altima

  • miles
Bought 2013 Altima in Feb. In March noticed the passenger light was on when someone was sitting in the seat. Followed by on and off frequently. Took the car to the dealer.....said he found sensor was bad. On Nov. 5,2013 it happened and returned to the dealer who said it showed no errors. Told me it was safe but if the light came on take a picture. It came on twice on 11/8/2013. I am at a loss of what to do other than hold Nissan libel for not fixing an obvious safety defect. I will return to the dealer later this week in November 2013. How can we get Nissan to react to our protection on an obvious complaint from so many owners?

- Maryland, MD, USA

problem #92

Mar 012013

Altima 4-cyl

  • 15,000 miles
In approximately March 2013, the passenger air bag "off" light began coming on while driving our 2013 Nissan Altima. At first, the light would come for a minute or two and then go off. As time progressed, the occurrences became more frequent and longer in duration. On May 31, 2013, the car was taken to the Nissan dealer from which the car was purchased to have the problem corrected. The dealer could not find a problem and there were no error codes. No repair was performed. The frequency and duration of the light coming on continued to increase. At one point during a trip to the southwestern United States, the "off" light was illuminated for more than two hours while driving. On September 23, 2013, the car was again taken to the dealer to have the problem fixed. Again, the dealer could not duplicate the problem, and there were no error codes. Supposedly, the dealer contacted Nissan for assistance. It was reported that Nissan declined to do anything since there were no error codes and the dealer could not duplicate the problem. Again, no repair was performed. The passenger air bag "off" light continues to come on occasionally while driving. Although, with the arrival of cooler weather, the frequency and duration are less than the occurrences during the summer heat.

- El Dorado, KS, USA

problem #91

Nov 062013

Altima 4-cyl

  • 12,400 miles
Passenger air bag indicator light indicates that airbag remains off while passenger is in the seat. Nissan dealer tech claims that this is not a problem; just the way the system works. He wouldn't even look at it.

- Chardon, OH, USA

problem #90

Sep 172013

Altima 4-cyl

  • miles
Airbag light is on with front passenger (more than 115lb). Went trough the recall (13V069000 )with the replacement of the sensor in passenger seat. It didn't help and at dealership I am told that they can't do anything about it.

- San Ramon, CA, USA

problem #89

Sep 292013

Altima 4-cyl

  • 28,000 miles
The car was traveling between 25-30 mph when the driver swerved to miss a deer that had jumped out of the woods. The car went off the road and into some trees and a rock wall. The front end of the car was damaged pretty extensively (total loss), with damage to the drivers side fender and a direct impact to the center of the vehicle pushing the interior bumper approx. 10" back and into the radiator. The airbags did not deploy during this crash. We had been told previously that Nissan had a recall for the passenger air bags, and when it was brought to the dealer, nothing was done because they ran a report stating that our vehicle was not due for the recall. After showing the dealer pictures of the damage, their response was that "they couldn't believe that the airbags didn't deploy, and that "they believed that they should have". I have pictures of the damage, and I also have video evidence of my daughter sitting in the passenger seat with the airbag light on stating that the airbag is off. This was shown to the dealer prior to the crash, and still nothing was done to investigate the issue further. When I showed the GM of the dealership the video, and told him that nothing was done to repair it, his response was "god forbid that anyone of us got into an accident and the airbags didn't deploy'!! a few weeks later....that's exactly what happened. I believe there is a huge problem with the airbag systems of these cars, and something should be done before someone is severely injured or killed during a crash.

- Lyman, ME, USA

problem #88

Oct 012012

Altima 4-cyl

  • 1,000 miles
Dash mounted passenger air bag light illuminates...air bag system for passenger is off. Has occurred about 12 times since purchase in Sep 2012. Light is lit sometimes for long periods of time; sometimes for short (minute or less). Dealer has replaced sensors in passenger seat. Problem continues.

- Landenberg, PA, USA

problem #87

Jun 102013

Altima 4-cyl

  • 2,000 miles
The vehicle passenger air bag "off" warning lite comes on intermittently when an adult, weighing approximately 160#, is in the passenger seat.

- Prescott, AZ, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »